Going Restorative, Staying Tough: Urban Principals’ Perceptions of Restorative Practices in Collocated Small Schools

Drawing on data from a year-long multi-case ethnography of three secondary urban public schools implementing restorative practices, the current piece examines how principals negotiate restorative practices despite conflicting pressures to maintain order and compel obedience. I frame my inquiry through Sergiovanni’s (2000) concept of “systems” in the “lifeworld,” asking whether principals use restorative practices as systems in service of cultural transformation or merely as a replacement for suspension. Findings suggest tensions between principals’ purposes for implementing restorative practices and the pressure they feel to maintain an image of “school order” and “toughness” in the eyes of internal and external stakeholders. I close with recommendations for research and practice. I also make some preliminary recommendations for principal preparation.

Evaluation of Financial Management Competencies of School Principals and their Impact on Institutional Development at KP, Pakistan

The study aimed at finding the impacts of secondary school principals’ financial management competency on the institutional development. All male and female principals of secondary and higher secondary schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were the population of the study and among them a sample of 200 head teachers including 100 male (40 urban & 60 rural) and 100 females (40 urban & 60 rural) from two conveniently selected districts were selected. Two research instruments; one questionnaire for Principals and a checklist was developed. The data were analyzed through frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation and t-test. Major findings of the study were; majority of the Principals were competent in planning, organizing, and controlling financial matters of their schools except in the tasks of fund raising, and internal audit. . Urban Principals were better in planning than rural Principals. It is recommended that rural Principals may be provided training especially about planning financial matters.

Urban high school principals’ promotion of college-and-career readiness

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how two urban principals, in high schools that feature comprehensive college-and-career readiness practices, utilize distributed leadership to facilitate their implementation. Design/methodology/approach This study employed qualitative methods. Drawing upon semi-structured interview data, observational data gathered as part of site visits, and internal and electronic documents, case descriptions were developed of each school, focusing on principals’ activities in support of career pathways. Findings The principals contributed significantly to their schools’ college-and-career readiness reforms and programming. Although their approaches were distinct, six common themes were identified: facilitating processes to form a shared vision, developing relational trust, a focus on learning, successful partnerships, conducive structures, and developing leadership skills and capacity. The principals described utilizing distributed leadership approaches – including practices, structures, and tools – to support these reforms. Originality/value This study represents the initial phase of a multi-year research project investigating the implementation of college-and-career pathways in urban communities. Prior research has overlooked the important role of principals in leading and facilitating these reforms, and this study contributes to the literature because it focuses on principals’ contributions in supporting college-and-career readiness. Additionally, in both cases, substantive, regular leadership contributions were made by business representatives external to the organization.

Evaluation of Financial Management Competencies of School Principals and their Impact on Institutional Development at KP, Pakistan

The study aimed at finding the impacts of secondary school principals financial management competency on the institutional development. All male and female principals of secondary and higher secondary schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were the population of the study and among them a sample of 200 head teachers including 100 male (40 urban & 60 rural) and 100 females (40 urban & 60 rural) from two conveniently selected districts were selected. Two research instruments; one questionnaire for Principals and a checklist was developed. The data were analyzed through frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation and t-test. Major findings of the study were; majority of the Principals were competent in planning, organizing, and controlling financial matters of their schools except in the tasks of fund raising, and internal audit. Urban Principals were better in planning than rural Principals. It is recommended that rural Principals may be provided training especially about planning financial matters

An Urban School Principal Encounters a Group of Teachers Who Seek to Address Racism in Their School

Urban principals lead complex schools. Although such schools often serve racially marginalized students from low-income families, they also exist within an environment that negatively stereotypes the students and their parents. Such stereotypes are even often held by school leaders and teachers in these environments. At the same time, there are often school professionals who are highly successful with urban students and who have substantive critiques of negative stereotypes about urban students and their families. In this case, a group of critically oriented urban school teachers come together, raise difficult issues, and thus provide a dilemma for their principal.

A Community College District Chancellor’s View on Transformational Leadership

In an effort to promote school improvement, principals have primarily focused on developing quality teachers as a method of enhancing the academic achievement of students. This article seeks to shed light on the experiences and per-ceptions of urban principals regarding teacher effectiveness. Specifically, this article focuses on principals’ outlooks on teachers’ in three areas: student achievement, hiring and retention, and school culture. Empirical data from this study was derived from a mixed-method cross sectional survey administered to urban school principals in Arizona and California. It was evident in this study that principals perceive teachers as either well qualified or very well qualified to educate urban students. These findings are incongruent with the greater literature on this topic which illustrates the quality of urban school teachers is in question in comparison to non-urban teachers. The implications of principals’ overwhelmingly positive outlook are discussed coupled with recommendations for future research.

Undermining Racism and a Whiteness Ideology

This article reports on six White urban principals who came to administration with a commitment to create more equitable and excellent schools for students from marginalized communities. These leaders made strides in raising student achievement, creating a climate of belonging for students, staff, and families, and increasing access to learning opportunities for marginalized students. The analysis sought to address the following research question: “In what ways do White leaders who make significant progress in creating excellent and equitable schools include race and racial issues in their leadership?” Five aspects of these leaders’ work around undermining racism and a Whiteness ideology are highlighted.