School Leadership and School Improvement

Dear Colleagues,

Those of us who study educational leadership know that without effective leaders at the helm, school improvement endeavors are bound to fail.

To address this issue, I am excited to announce the upcoming Special Issue of Education Sciences. This edition will delve into the latest theories, practices, and research pertaining to the role of school leaders in driving forward school improvement programs. We invite articles that introduce innovative ideas, propose future research directions, or explore the optimal methods for preparing building and district leaders to effectively lead school improvement initiatives. All methodological approaches are welcome, as well as a range of theoretical perspectives: for example, the improvement of science and program evaluation. In addition, examples from various countries around the world will be critical for understanding what works across different contexts.

As the Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I am eager to receive contributions that shed light on the importance of leadership in the context of educational improvement. By fostering a deep understanding of this critical aspect, we can pave the way for meaningful progress in our schools.

I look forward to receiving your valuable submissions and witnessing the collective wisdom of our esteemed colleagues in this field. Together, let us work towards empowering our leaders and fostering successful school improvement initiatives.

Warm regards,

Prof. Dr. Liz Hollingworth
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• school leadership
• school reform
• improvement science
• program evaluation

Title: Exploring the Link between Rural School Teacher Leadership, Teacher Wellbeing, and Job Intention: Evidence from the 2020-21 NTPS Data

Abstract: Leadership in rural schools is well studied. However, few studies have investigated how teacher leadership influences rural teacher job satisfaction, burnout, and attrition. This study aimed to assist in filling the research gap by seeking evidence from a sample of U.S. rural teachers included in the 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey data. The authors found that (a) rural teachers with higher levels of teacher leadership reported higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of burnout, (b) rural teachers with higher levels of job satisfaction or lower levels of burnout are less likely to leave or move, and (c) instructional and particularly non-instructional teacher leadership are indirectly linked to teacher intent to leave or move through job satisfaction and burnout. The discussions, conclusions and implications for school policy and school leadership are presented. Keywords: rural school, instructional teacher leadership, non-instructional teacher leadership, teacher job satisfaction, teacher burnout, teacher intent to leave or move

Title: The Continuum of Leader Preparation for School Improvement

Abstract: This retrospective, qualitative, cross-sectional study examined students’ perceptions regarding their understanding of school improvement and their ability to lead school improvement efforts within their professional contexts. The study is situated in a school leadership department which threaded school improvement as a construct into the design and delivery of both their master’s and PhD preparation programs. School improvement was a cross-curricular thread in the master’s program and a specific course in the PhD program, both of which aimed to develop students’ capacity to understand school improvement at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels, and equip them to lead school improvement efforts within their contexts. The study investigated the perception of three cohorts of doctoral students and three cohorts of master’s certification program students who completed their coursework for their respective degrees in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and was guided by the following research questions: 1) How did the school leaders’ programs influence students’ understanding of school improvement as a construct and their development as leaders of improvement efforts within their contexts? 2) In which ways were students’ learning experiences about school improvement different in the master’s versus the PhD programs? We used de-identified archival data and documents that included student’s final reflections and capstone projects.