Leveraging P-12/University Partnerships to Better Prepare Pre-Service Teachers

The primary responsibility for training pre-service teachers previously fell solely on the shoulders of university teacher-preparation programs, with a short field experience component in partner P-12 districts. As research continues to support the value of increased clinical practice in P-12 schools when training pre-service teachers, the responsibility is becoming shared equally between university teacher education programs and P-12 school districts. This chapter describes three innovative programs implemented by P-12 schools through strong partnerships with Monmouth University's teacher education and Provisional Teacher Preparation program. These strong partnerships afford students the opportunity to receive direct instruction in P-12 settings with the support of curriculum, mentors and professional development. The partnership with Lafayette Mills School (the last of three initiatives discussed) was also awarded, along with the university's other PDSs, the National Association of Professional Development Schools Distinguished Partnership award in 2017.

Leadership and the Adoption of Innovative Planning

Schools have become places filled with digital tools. Despite this fact, school leaders find technology planning to be an area of relative weakness. This chapter describes the experiences of four school leaders who adopted an unfamiliar strategy for making technology decisions. The leaders participated in a series of semi-structured interviews. Two leaders displayed characteristics of early adopters of the innovative planning strategy and two displayed characteristics of early majority users of the strategy. Profiles of the two types of leaders are presented. The aspects of the planning strategy that differentiated it from more familiar planning strategies for these leaders are discussed.

Leadership in Rural Central American Villages

Educational leaders in rural schools across the world face distinctive challenges. In this chapter, the authors report the findings of two studies examined through narrative inquiry conducted in a Garifuna and Ketchi Mayan village in Central America. The case studies explore the role of the principal as a strategic leader to improve the education system, and the impact of these leaders in their communities. By sharing these stories, the authors illustrate the importance of strategic thinking, as well as both transformative and servant leadership to promote change.

Uplifting Leadership to Support Strategic Plan Implementation

This case study examines how uplifting leadership by the superintendent of one rural school district utilized various structures and processes to successfully implement the first year of their district strategic plan. The study is framed around the literature on change theory and the literature on uplifting leadership. Interviews with goal area team leaders, building principals, district leadership, and school board members yielded various leadership characteristics, structures, and processes that resulted in successful implementation of year one of the district's strategic plan. The interdependence of uplifting leadership with supportive structures and processes were examined as pivotal to the district's successful implementation.

Strategic Curriculum Planning

This chapter is designed to inform and educate the reader about the strategic curriculum planning as well as various types of curriculum designs and models. The chapter explains what strategic planning is and the various components of the plan, and provides a sample format to follow. The chapter continues with a discussion about three different curriculum designs, subject-focused, learner-focused, and problem-focused, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each. The chapter finishes with a discussion about numerous curriculum models and the school leader's role in strategic planning.

Applying Strategic Leadership in Educational Contexts

This chapter provides a professional perspective of the relevance and necessity of strategic leadership in PK-12 settings. As school systems continue to evolve, it will be paramount that school leaders are strategic in the way they lead. Specifically, school leaders must be deliberate and thoughtful in the decisions they make, in order to ensure maximum success. This has become even more important in a high-stakes environment in which student scores and organizational efficiency is often linked to job performance. This type of leadership employs a multifaceted approach, which requires leading through a variety of contexts, as well as recognizing and leveraging the ability to effectively collaborate and make intentional decisions that are evidenced-based. If the aforementioned traits are balanced and appropriately executed, educational leaders will be well positioned to experience significant and positive outcomes.

School Inspection for Quality Leadership, Teaching, and Learning in South Africa

South African secondary schools have gradually increased access to a diverse number of students, but that has not led to a related increase in student success. Several factors contribute to low throughput and pass rates, and these include, among others, poor leadership, under-preparedness of students to pursue their education, lack of effective instruction, and inadequate access to student support services. The above-mentioned factors are important, but the key to improving throughput and pass rates in secondary education lies in ensuring quality leadership for effective teaching and learning through school inspection. Teaching and learning should be informed by institutional approaches that translate leadership into effective teaching and learning practices and learning support for students. This chapter will address school inspections as well as identify the constraints and enablers of leadership for teaching and learning to improve student performance.

Strategic Leadership

Partnerships, strategic leadership, and educational collaborative networks are paramount to underpinnings of systemic change along the education continuum. Community, political, and corporate stakeholders transcending primary, secondary, and postsecondary education markets are supporting actors in the education of a growing diversity of students throughout the 21st century. Ascendancy of academic capitalism and neoliberalism incorporated into educational institutions' strategic business model seek to establish a competitive advantage while simultaneously fulfilling higher education institutions' mission. These conditions serve as a pivotal entry point for underrepresented, minoritized students to excel academically and vocationally. A neoliberalism theoretical framework is the mechanism of disruption undergirding the education continuum.

Leading P-12 Transformative Initiatives in Personalized Learning

Innovation P-12 school settings is happening every day in schools across the country. This chapter focuses on three transformative initiatives emphasizing personalized learning of both students and teachers. Three of the authors are presently employed as school- and district-level administrators in various central New Jersey P-12 school districts. In addition to serving as administrators, they are also completing a doctoral program in educational leadership at Monmouth University, where the final two authors are employed. A key component of the doctoral program is the implementation of a transformative learning project (TLP). The first two projects discuss innovations that encourage elementary students to take agency in their learning through student-led conferences and the SPARK program. The third project emphasizes one principal's dedication to providing personalized learning in staff development, empowering teachers to take control of their own professional growth. All projects provide a comprehensive view of the implementation process through a leadership lens.

Academic Entitlement and the K-20 System

This chapter was designed to explore the current crisis that the K-20 education system is facing with academic entitlement. This chapter per the researchers indicated the various causes of this phenomena. This chapter then unfolded to the researchers discussing academically-entitled students' behavior and how studies have revealed the lack of respect that students have towards their professors. The researchers further revealed that there is a relationship between academic entitlement and narcissism and that the levels of narcissism are higher today than they were in the 1970s. Lastly, this chapter discussed the methods of preventing academic entitlement from occurring in the K-20 system. The researchers then delved in discussing the various methods in helping children who have an entitled mindset. Furthermore, the researchers revealed the importance of the anecdotal philosophy of teaching advanced school policy information to academic leaders, who need to develop superior policies to include a firm policy regarding entitlement. Lastly, suggestions for future research were included.