The story of the past 15 years in U.S. education has been one of fundamental reform and transformation. These changes are felt most acutely in the daily lives of teachers and principals and often have lasting effects on the context of the school community. This case study explores the challenges facing a principal when attempting reform and improvement efforts set in a larger backdrop of social and economic change. This case involves issues related to understanding school context and improving communication skills for new principals and can be used for principal preparation and educational leadership courses.
AinscowM.BeresfordJ.HarrisA.HopkinsD.SouthworthG.WestM. (2013). Creating the conditions for school improvement: A handbook of staff development activities. New York, NY: Routledge.
2.
DeMatthewsD. E. (2014). Looks like 10 miles of bad road: Cheating, gaming, mistrust, and an interim principal in an urban Texas high school. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 17(4), 19-33.
3.
FormosoD.WeberR. N.AtkinsM. S. (2010). Gentrification and urban children’s well-being: Tipping the scales from problems to promise. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46, 395-412.
4.
FullanM. (2014). Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley.
5.
HabeggerS. (2008). The principal’s role in successful schools: Creating a positive school culture. Principal, 88(1), 42-46.
6.
HallingerP. (2003). Leading educational change: Reflections on practice of instructional and transformational leadership. Cambridge Journal of Education, 33, 329-351.
7.
HallingerP.HeckR. H. (2011). Exploring the journey of school improvement: Classifying and analyzing patterns of change in school improvement processes and learning outcomes. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 22(1), 1-27.
8.
MaslowskiR. (2001). School culture and school performance: An explorative study into the organizational culture of secondary schools and their effects. Twente, The Netherlands: University of Twente Press.
9.
PattersonK.GrennyJ.McMillanR.SwitzlerA. (2012). Crucial conversations. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
10.
PetersonK. D.DealT. E. (1998). How leaders influence the culture of schools. Educational Leadership, 56, 28-31.
11.
PriceH. E. (2012). Principal–teacher interactions: How affective relationships shape principal and teacher attitudes. Educational Administration Quarterly, 48, 39-85.
12.
StollL.BolamR.McMahonA.WallaceM.ThomasS. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7, 221-258.
13.
TaylorD. L.TashakkoriA.Crone-KoshelL. (2014). A model of planning for school improvement and obstacles to implementation. Journal of School Leadership, 11, 493-510.
14.
ten BruggencateG.LuytenH.ScheerensJ.SleegersP. (2012). Modeling the influence of school leaders on student achievement: How can school leaders make a difference?Educational Administration Quarterly, 48, 699-732.
15.
ThoonenE. E.SleegersP. J.OortF. J.PeetsmaT. T. (2012). Building school-wide capacity for improvement: The role of leadership, school organizational conditions, and teacher factors. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 23, 441-460.
