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Though bullying is a near universal experience for middle school students at some point, LGBTQ + students experience additional stress and poorer academic outcomes than their peers do. This qualitative study interviewed six middle school principals from rural, suburban and urban schools. Data collection for this study included two semi-structured interviews over a four-month period. Data analysis included a constant comparative method using minority stress prior-research themes. Principals noted that many of the LGBTQ + students experienced prejudice and stigma. They also stated, that some of the LGBTQ + concealed their identity and at times internalized their phobias.

Does student voice matter? This study examined how Latinx students used their voice to share their experiences about how they were perceived and treated at their schools. Data collection included focus groups with Latinx students. Students' responses indicated they did not feel safe nor did their school create a caring environment. Students' also noted their concerns about not getting access to school counselors or post-secondary schooling. Findings indicated that listening to students is an important factor in keeping schools accountable for how they serve underrepresented students.

The relationship between academic dishonesty and ethics has received minimal attention in the research literature. Due in part to the added pressure and stress induced by accountability mandates, researchers hypothesized new demands could trigger an array of undesirable responses. This study examined the relationship between teachers' perspectives of their ethical orientation and their self-reported behavior regarding academic policies. Utilizing a survey instrument to capture perspectives on academic decisions, data were collected from elementary teachers (N=155) in one suburban school district within a large metropolitan area in Southeast Texas. The data were then analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The results suggest elementary teachers did report engaging in academic misconduct to some degree. The findings suggest, as well, that reported misconduct was significantly related to the ethical viewpoint of the respondent. Collaboration and professional development are discussed as potential interventions at reducing academic impropriety.

Principals who lead demographically diverse schools play an important role in changing the dynamics that often occur in these contexts. Consequently, principals must have the leadership skills to revolutionize teachers' belief systems. Their energies are consumed with reshaping teachers' instructional practices and focusing on improving student expectations. Teachers may oppose modification of their teaching practices due to fears of letting go of familiar ways of teaching. The inability to influence teachers will result in continual problems of low expectations, unfair discipline practices, and poor student performance.This study focused on (a) how principals perceived their leadership in responding to their schools' changing demographics, and (b) the challenges they experienced in attempting to mediate across school groups. Administrators often questioned their leadership capacity in how to mediate racial differences that occurred in their schools as their student demographics changed. Findings revealed that European American leaders forwarded their responsibilities to the teachers of color, which resulted in ongoing tensions surrounding students of color. African American leaders fell into stereotypical roles, in which they were perceived as being hired to be the disciplinarian and having to prove their expertise on instructional and curriculum issues.

Purpose: The expansion of alternative education, globally, has coincided with a shift towards greater accountability for ensuring educational access and opportunity, high academic standards and increased graduation rates. While studies suggest the pervasive influence of accountability may be redefining how school leaders provide meaningful learning experiences and facilitating high achievement, little is known about school leaders of alternative schools administering accountability polices. If there are inconsistencies between meaningful learning experiences for at-risk students and performance-based standards outcomes, this may suggest issues around equity and alternative schools that should be evaluated. Using a theoretical frame of policy implementation, specifically the authoritative design of policy and social constructs of compliance, this study aims to examine how alternative school leaders implement accountability policies. Design/methodology/approach: this cross-case study employs a qualitative thematic strategy of data analysis in conjunction with Fairclough's three-dimensional framework of discourse analysis to examine how seven school leaders at five alternative schools in California and Texas interpret and administer accountability policy. Findings: The theme of reconciliation: tension between compliance and innovation was revealed from the data. The discourses surrounding the nature of students at risk and policy compliance converged, creating a notion that alternative school leaders were losing their autonomy as knowing what is best for their students amidst increasing accountability standards. Research limitations/implications: While many of the administrators are positioned by their districts to act as an at-risk student expert when designing or sustaining academic and social programs at their respective alternative schools, they are in the process of losing some of their autonomy because of the pressures derived from accountability standards. However, school leaders continue to take responsive and reflexive actions to create distance between their settings and accountability policy in order to protect their students and schools from external pressures. Originality/value: The study presents original findings in the area of accountability policy implementation in alternative school settings. This work suggests that the social constructs of compliance and student risk factors converge with the authoritative nature of accountability policy. In turn, tension was created for alternative school leaders as they consider what is best for at-risk students. (Contains 3 tables.)

Traditionally schools in the past were mostly homogenous, but with demographic shifts, schools are becoming more ethnically diverse, disadvantaged, and multilingual. In contrast, the teaching population still reflects that outdated homogenous template: "predominantly white and female," middle-class, and unilingual. This exploratory study examined administrators' perceptions of their ability to implement a diversity plan. Principals were unable to articulate what "diversity" meant in terms of its strategic implementation; they saw no value in addressing their changing student demographics. Principals were ill prepared to lead on issues of diversity and were unable to address conflicts that often occur among diverse demographic groups. Principals had a sense of diversity awareness but lacked the efficacy to address diversity-related issues with teachers and parents. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

Background/Context: There is much literature that examines how the desegregation literature had implications for majority teachers and its impact on students of color. However, little has been written about the experiences of teachers of color working in suburban desegregated majority schools. Focus of Study: This article examines how intergroup differences created performance pressures for African American teachers and how this affected their ability to contribute optimally in these environments. Setting: The study took place in four predominantly European American districts that surround a large midwestern metropolitan area. When the desegregation program was implemented in these districts, it was court mandated; however, now the program operates on a volunteer basis whereby students can elect to participate and withdraw as necessary. The district accepted less than 25% of their minority students from a court-mandated desegregation program. Participants: A total of 7 male and 7 female African American teachers were interviewed. These male and female participants differed in grade-level positions. There were 4 female African American teachers at the elementary level, and 1 female and 3 male African American teachers at the middle school level. At the secondary level, there were 2 female and 4 male teachers who taught English, math, and history. There were some similarities between the male and female African American teachers. Research Design: For this study, a case study is defined as a single entity, a unit of similar groups of people within the bounded context of suburban desegregated schools surrounding a midsized midwestern city. Case studies are differentiated from other types of qualitative research in that they are intense descriptions and analysis of a single unit or bounded system. Data Collection and Analysis: In our sample of 14 participants, we had an equal representation of males and females (7 each). We were specifically interested in the perceptions and experiences of the African American teachers in their interactions with school administrators, parents, and students. A qualitative thematic strategy of data analysis was employed to categorize and make judgments about the interpretation of the data. This analytical procedure allowed important themes and categories to emerge inductively from the data across schools and districts. The researchers used the prior-research-driven approach to identify themes and to develop a coding process. In establishing the reliability for this study, the data were analyzed using what Glaser and Strauss called a constant comparative method. Conclusions and Recommendations: Our findings, based on the experiences of 14 self-reported accounts of African American teachers in these school environments, illuminated patterns of experiences for teachers of color. Regarding the first subtheme, automatic notice, teachers developed strategies that assisted them in their transitions to inhospitable environments in the suburban schools. The female teachers reported the need for a strong reference-group orientation that would enable them to retain their cultural identity within the school. Whereas the female teachers viewed automatic notice negatively, the male participants recognized their high visibility as way to compete with their peers. Dealing with symbolic consequences, the second emergent subtheme, underrepresented individuals often bear the burden of dispelling myths and representing their race in their exchanges with coworkers. The African American teachers also became resistant to representing their race. In many ways, these teachers expressed the notion that their European American colleagues expected them to take ownership for issues that affected only the African American children. These teachers were compromised by this narrow definition of their expertise and disliked their limited role as the "minority representative." In fighting discrepant stereotypes, the third subtheme, the underrepresented African American teachers had to defend their status to have their accomplishments recognized. The teachers reported that their individuality was often overshadowed by their colleagues' stereotypical beliefs about African Americans. The male teachers constantly had to refute negative male African American stereotypes, and the women had to deal with proving their worth as "qualified" teachers. The final pressure, what we call cultural switching, became apparent as the African American female teachers expressed the heaviness of being in an environment where they were often one of few people of color, or the only person of color, in the school. The female teachers struggled with the cultural incongruity that occurred between them and their European American peers. In many ways, these performance pressures resulted in the feeling constrained and unable to use social cues to navigate their school's culture. Recommendations from this study may provide insights on how suburban desegregated schools may improve workplace relationships to recruit and retain teachers of color in these contexts.

Leadership and diversity are invariably connected, as US schools are under pressure to educate an increasingly diverse population. Creating an inclusive school requires school leaders to respond to any intergroup conflict that may occur among an ethnically-diverse group of schools' participants. The study on which this article is based examined European-American and African-American administrators' responses to intergroup conflict arising from cultural incongruities in desegregated suburban US schools. The researchers employed intergroup theory to understand how both African-American and European-American school leaders perceived and negotiated sources of intergroup conflict and how this affected their potential for creating an inclusive school environment.

Examines the responses of principals to intergroup conflict that occurred as a result of cultural incongruities between teachers of color and their European American counterparts in desegregated suburban schools. Employs intergroup theory to explicitly define and measure how school leaders managed group conflict in their schools. (Contains 24 references.) (Authors/PKP)

Intensive open-ended interviews examined professional experiences of seven male and seven female African American teachers who were recruited into suburban schools to satisfy school desegregation mandates. Findings focus on respondents' heightened awareness of group boundaries in the work environment, racial differences in teachers' instructional and management practices, negative stereotypes, respondents' insider-outsider role and entrapment in the role, and special difficulties for Black male teachers. (SV)

Examined how intergroup differences within suburban schools affected African American teachers' experiences. Organizational culture strongly influenced how whites treated their minority counterparts. Because the majority established norms, minorities were expected to comply with uniform sets of rules and regulations. Intergroup conflict arose among groups of teachers if only one or very few teachers of color worked in the school. Minority teachers often felt pressured to prove their worth. (SM)

Interviewed African American teachers at two suburban elementary schools to investigate their perceptions of and experiences in schools where European American teachers and students predominated. Data were analyzed with a focus on organizational culture and ethnic identity. Results indicate that such teachers need preparation with strategies for protecting themselves from potentially hostile colleagues and situations. (SM)

Public school decentralization has increased involvement of multiple constituencies in school governance. This study of a private school and a public school illustrates the complexities of leading teachers in the decision-making process. Both principals were transformational leaders, but teachers were not empowered enough to make changes. (34 references) (MLH)

Summarizes a study examining exchanges among private and decentralized school leaders and their possible implications for school decentralization. Four principals were interviewed, two from established private schools and two from charter schools operating within a large urban district. All were formulating mission statements. Private-school principals were more facilitative and market-driven, stressed historical mission, and dealt more proactively with parents. (21 references) (MLH)

Summarizes a 1992-93 qualitative study examining how three private elementary schools used a shared-governance structure for involving participants in school-improvement efforts. Since private schools must solve their own problems and define educational directions, they benefit from autonomy. They survive by establishing a voluntary community with a collective identity and stakeholder responsibility--a suitable model for public schools. (13 references) (MLH)

Most traditional research approaches emerge from the position that all "good" research is "objective." While this is critical for conducting scholarly inquiry, we contend that it is equally important to acknowledge the significant impact social, cultural, and political contexts have on the research process. That is, research is a malleable process informed and influenced by broader socio-political forces. Because research is not conducted in a vacuum, researchers have a duty to consider the context within which one engages in research. It also requires the researcher to understand their position or status along with their participants' power and expertise when undertaking research studies, particularly in cross-contexts. In this chapter, we explore the nuances - some overt others subtle - that have informed and influenced how our cross-cultural team navigated our research spaces. The authors of this chapter are a cross-cultural team comprised of a White American and a Black African academic. Both the United States and South Africa have complex histories of race relations and racial identity within their broader socio-political context which must be considered when conducting research. Therefore, to dissociate and compartmentalize aspects of our identity when conducting research in these contexts may in fact compromise scholarly insights which might emerge from these contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article continues a series initiated by members of the Bulletins Editorial Board. The goal of the series is to interview Delta Kappa Gamma members or other educational leaders on a topic related to the theme of the issue. Here, hoard member Irby presents responses to questions posed to Dr. Jean Madsen, Professor, and Dr. Pat Schroeder, Member of the Educational Leadership Research Center, Department of Educational Administration and Human Development, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese employees' perceptions on their ethical decision making in relation to the workplace guanxi context in state-owned enterprises (SOE). Design/methodology/approach – Using a qualitative method, two rounds of interviews were conducted with 18 participants in two SOEs "to explore Chinese employees" ethical perceptions and experiences in the workplace. A qualitative thematic strategy was adopted to analyze and interpret the data. Findings – The authors identified three major themes on SOE employees ethical decision making in relation to workplace guanxi: the ethical self; malleable ethical standards; and submission to authority. The authors derived a conceptual framework to outline the relationship between the invisible hand of guanxi and the SOE employees' ethical decision making. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the business ethics literature by presenting a three-dimensional profile and a conceptual framework for Chinese business ethics research. It provides an in-depth understanding of a complex dynamics of guanxi and its impact on employees' ethical decision-making behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]