This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping educational policies in the United States, with a focus on California, Texas, Florida, and New York. Drawing on policy diffusion theory and institutional isomorphism, this study examines state-level policy approaches to AI integration, equity, and ethics in K-12 education within the broader federal policy context. Data were drawn from policy briefs, executive orders, task force reports, guidance documents, and policy updates issued between January 2023 and January 2026. Using structured juxtaposition, the analysis examines cross-state variation in policy approaches and the extent to which federal guidance, equity, and ethical concerns are reflected in state-level responses. Findings reveal emerging patterns of convergence and divergence between federal guidance and state legislation shaped by political support, institutional capacity, and policy priorities. This study contributes to the literature by identifying emerging patterns of AI governance across states, clarifying the role of federal guidance as a normative reference point, and advancing understanding of how equity and ethical considerations are embedded in state AI education policies. This study also highlights implications for educational policy, practice, and future research to ensure AI in K-12 education is adopted in ethical and equitable ways within a decentralized federal system.
This study examines the effect of school principals' distributed leadership behaviors on teacher collaboration and investigates the mediating role of teacher agency in this relationship within the Turkish context. Employing a quantitative correlational survey design, the study draws on data from 525 teachers working in public K-12 schools across 12 provinces in T & uuml;rkiye. The results indicate that distributed leadership has significant and positive direct effects on both teacher agency and teacher collaboration. In addition, teacher agency partially mediates the relationship between distributed leadership and teacher collaboration. Enhancing teacher autonomy and participation strengthens sustainable collaborative professional practices.
A critical component of performance evaluation in education is feedback. Increasingly, school-level accountability systems in the United States have featured qualitative evaluations by outside experts to complement test-based accountability and provide schools with formative feedback to help them improve. This paper exploits the staggered implementation of a school accountability system in New York City between 2009 and 2014. Employing a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, I examine the effects of additional evaluation and feedback on other measures of school quality, primarily student outcomes, and teacher practice. I find some effects of quality review on teacher practice, but results on academic outcomes are small and sensitive to specification. Higher review scores predict test score gains, suggesting the reviews have value as a leading indicator.
Many P-12 districts have established equity director (ED) roles amid social and political pressure, often with limited attention to intentional role design. Drawing on interview and survey data from 72 EDs across 29 states, this article presents the largest and most geographically distributed examination of ED role design to date. Analyzing role design characteristics and their consequences for equity-focused organizational learning, the findings identify three role design dynamics: rank with limited resources, access with limited authority, and celebration with limited collaboration. Collectively, these design decisions often relegate ED roles and equity work to a horizontally siloed district island, constraining the equity-oriented organizational learning and impact that roles are intended to drive.
While research has identified a link between leadership diversity and various school outcomes, the demographic makeup of the US principal workforce has only marginally shifted over the last decade. Meanwhile, student diversity has increased, resulting in a representation gap. This study is grounded in Representative Bureaucracy Theory, examining conditions that stifle districts from attaining a diverse workforce and identifying transformations to close the gap. It utilizes a mixed methods approach by examining descriptive statistics to evaluate existing leadership representation gaps while also conducting content analysis of archival documents from six U.S. urban school districts. Findings underscore that causes are systemic and embedded in structure and culture, such as a lack of culturally responsive recruitment criteria and strategic plans without commitment to diversity. We offer several implications, including strengthening pipelines, expanding preparation programs, setting diversity goals, and building inclusive cultures.
This study uses design-inspired leadership (DIL) to examine school leadership roles and practices in Oman and Kuwait during the educational transformations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from nine schools clarify school leaders' role as designers of learning systems, position schools as complex problem-solution design spaces, highlight the role of technology in remote leadership, and identify autonomy as a design agency enabler. The study suggests 42 DIL practices to support adaptive and innovative school leadership. It offers a novel contribution to empirical global evidence on school leadership during crises and transformation by extending its adaptive capacity through structured DIL practices.
This study examines the relationship between principals' proactive behaviors and teachers' sense of collective responsibility in schools. A convergent mixed-method design was employed, combining quantitative survey data from 466 teachers in public primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary schools with qualitative interviews conducted with 30 teachers. Structural equation modeling revealed that principals' proactive behaviors significantly predicted teachers' collective responsibility, with differences observed across school levels and age groups. The qualitative findings suggest that proactive leadership practices play an important role in strengthening shared accountability among teachers. The qualitative results further explain this relationship by indicating that proactive principals encourage collaboration, facilitate shared decision-making, and create supportive school environments that foster collective engagement among teachers. By integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence, the study demonstrates that proactive leadership not only influences teachers' perceptions of collective responsibility but also shapes collaborative practices within schools. These findings contribute to the educational leadership literature by highlighting proactive leadership as an important factor in promoting collective responsibility and collaborative school cultures.
This study examined how heads of schools acquired leadership competencies for leading schools in Tanzania rural settings. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative research approach with a descriptive case study design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Purposive sampling was employed to select 14 heads of schools. Data were thematically categorized, coded, and analyzed verbatim. The findings revealed professional storytelling, utilizing life experience, engaging in professional development opportunities, and active engagement with staff and students were employed to acquire leadership competencies. Thus, the government should strengthen both informal and formal learning to increase leadership capacity for leading schools.
