School District Leadership Matters challenges policy makers, administrators, and academics in the field of educational leadership to reassess their traditional approaches to learning, working, and planning. The authors believe that government restructuring, standards-based reforms, and centrally imposed strategic planning have been painfully ineffective. As a consequence, student learning has become increasingly superficial and inauthentic.

This book bridges the traditional divide between the generalizations of social science theory on the one hand and the world of educational practice on the other. It argues that a more promising approach to education reform is through effective school district leadership. Sheppard, Brown and Dibbon draw on their collective experience both as educational leaders and researchers of leadership, having spent five years researching and working in one school district. Here, they show how a district superintendent can successfully navigate the paradoxes and challenges of facilitating collaborative leadership in a school district with a traditionally hierarchical organizational structure.

As a conclusion to their work, the authors highlight what they call five 'recognitions' that deepen readers' understanding of school district leadership. They illuminate, too, ways that senior level practitioners can apply theory to practice in order to break down the traditional hierarchical bureaucracies that inhibit learning, and create professional learning communities.

School District Leadership Matters urges researchers, graduate students, practitioners, and policymakers to focus on improving authentic learning for all students and argues that the best hope rests with effective school district leadership. This empirically-based yet practical book provides new insights and questions for academic researchers and will inspire policy makers and practitioners to imagine what could be and towork towards it.

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Preface. References. Acknowledgments. 1: Where Theory Meets Practice. Our Case Study Methodology. The District Case. The Socio-Political Context of Discovery School District. Charting a New Course. References. 2: Leadership and Organizational Learning. Confronting the Challenge. How Can Formal Leaders Facilitate Collaborative Leadership and Organizational Learning? Study One. Study Two. Study Three. Study Four. Study Five. Implications for the Implementation and Practice of Collaborative Leadership. References. 3: Meeting the Challenges of Hierarchy through District Leadership. Overcoming Resistance to Collaborative Leadership through District Leadership. My Voice. Through the Lens of Critical Friends. References. 4: Establishing Collaborative Structures. My Voice. Nurturing Collaborative Leadership at Discovery School District. Collaboratively Defining Shared Decision-Making. Through the Lens of Critical Friends. Analysis of the Structural Changes. Teacher Perceptions of Collaboration. Conclusion. References. 5: Strategic Thinking and Adaptive Learning. My Voice. Strategic Planning in Discovery School District. Developing a Shared Vision for Teaching and Learning. Personal Reflections. A Final Observation. Through the Lens of Critical Friends. References. 6: Professional Development and Capacity Building. Professional Development in Discovery School District. My Voice. Adopting a New Approach to Professional Development. Through the Lens of Critical Friends. References. 7: Systems Challenges to Growth and Sustainability of Meaningful Educational Reform. Toward Meaningful School Reform. Systems Thinking in Discovery School District. Systems Challenges to the Discovery School District Reform Agenda. Challenge 1: Government Control of Financial and Human Resources. Challenge 2: The Difficult Transition from Purpose to Practice. Challenge 3: Localized Education in a Globalized World. Challenge 4: A Market Oriented Approach to School District Restructuring. References. 8: Recognizing What Makes Effective School Districts. Recognitions: Discussion, Implications, and Recommendations. Final Thoughts. References.