From our journals: Collective leadership and women of color graduate students
Collective leadership: A catalyst for school improvement
By: Jonathan Eckert and Grant Morgan, Baylor University
Published in: Education Policy Analysis Archives, Aug. 1, 2023
Collective leadership of teachers and administrators can be a vehicle for catalyzing school improvement. Leadership that accelerates good work without depleting the leader is increasingly necessary. The researchers identified schools that demonstrated exemplary STEM learning, and using a theoretical model of collective leadership development, conducted a multiple-case study to identify common themes that provided insight into school improvement. They surveyed STEM leaders, conducted interviews and focus groups with teachers and administrators, and conducted site visits to five schools. They found seven implications for policymakers: 1) enact policies that support site-based leadership; 2) implement professional learning of teachers and administrators together on work related to shared goals; 3) support peer observation and feedback; 4) provide opportunities for administrators, teachers and students to design flexible schedules that support cross-curricular STEM connections; 5) develop public or private partnerships that can provide expertise and materials; 6) create opportunities for educators and students to make their work public; 7) engage school-based teams in iterative improvement cycles that rely on collection of observable evidence of improvement using engineering and design principles.
Review of Degrees of difference: Reflections on women of color on graduate school
By: Meseret F. Hailu and Minji Kim, Arizona State University
Published in: Education Review, Aug. 2, 2023
Hailu and Kim reviewed this collection of reflective essays written by women of color who offer insight into the complex challenges, opportunities and relationships embedded in graduate education in the U.S. They found the book's editors offer a clear and timely text about many unwritten rules of academia, and discuss multiple themes that acknowledge the layers of oppression that women of color in graduate school experience, while describing some of the creative ways students manage to thrive. “Overall, this book offers a rich resource for women of color graduate students who may often feel rendered invisible, underserved and exploited by higher education institutions,” the reviewers write. The book emphasizes the need for coalition building and peer support, especially in ultra-competitive and high-stakes graduate training environments, and such coalition building can happen within the higher education institution itself, but often happens with people at different academic institutions, or outside of the academy all together. Hailu and Kim posit that this volume is a useful resource for administrators who want to better understand and improve the graduate student experience.
Leadership updates:
Jeanne Powers, professor, is EPAA’s lead editor.
Tipsuda Chaomuangkhong, graduate service assistant, is CIE’s lead editor.
Frank Serafini, professor and Danah Hendrikson, associate professor, are CIE’s faculty advisors.
About our journals
MLFTC sponsors three innovative, open-access journals on education scholarship. EPAA is a peer-reviewed, international, multilingual and multidisciplinary journal designed for researchers, practitioners, policymakers and development analysts concerned with education policies. Education Review publishes reviews of books on education topics and Acquired Wisdom essays by esteemed educational researchers, and CIE is a peer-reviewed journal led by MLFTC graduate students.
Contact Stephanie McBride-Schreiner to learn more about our journals.