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This case describes the experience of a principal named Jade working in a diverse school in South Central Ontario. A teacher in Jade's school had been confronted by parents and a school board trustee for reading a book to their class about a family with two moms. The teacher, no longer feeling safe or welcome, eventually decided to switch schools. Jade would have liked to be more involved in the issue, but given her mounting workload, found it difficult to devote as much time as she would have liked. This case is a starting point for discussion with educational leaders and teachers about the challenges of leading and teaching for social justice in a context where many are experiencing work intensification. The teaching notes are designed to help the readers understand the micro and macropolitical context in greater detail including perspectives and values of the key actors, particularly that of the principal. The role of the principal is underexplored and therefore often misconstrued or misunderstood. The principal of a school is expected to be an instructional leader, a human resources manager, and a leader for students and the broader community. They are primarily and ultimately responsible for too many aspects of the day-to-day operations and the lives of staff and students. This case raises important questions about the role of schools and the roles of principals within those schools.

Our effectiveness as instructors lies ultimately in how well our students can understand and apply the concepts we teach. In response to the growing importance of accountability in the educational process and the abundance of social networking technology and communication tools available for possible classroom use, this paper will use The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine the adoption of established and emerging information technology in higher education classrooms. Hence, the goal of this paper is to test theoretical explanations from UTAUT in the context of higher education through the development of a set of hypotheses predicting the conditions under which classroom technology use is likely to emerge. Data collection occurred via an online survey. The instrument was sent to business faculty members teaching face-to-face classes at a southeastern university. Our findings suggest that in the context of instructors' use of technology for classroom purposes, the most important antecedents are performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and habit with more complex effects when gender is added as an interaction term. Results from this study will provide useful information on the frequency of use of technology, along with significant factors affecting its adoption in the classroom. Departmental leaders interested in the variations in individual faculty's level of inclination toward technological changes would find them particularly useful.

There are many important priorities for leadership education in a democratic society. In this article, the author concentrates on just one--the way in which leadership is conceived. This is an important issue. Indeed, the way in which potential leaders perceive leadership will shape the way in which they eventually practice it. The problem to date has been that the prevalent ways in which leadership has been perceived, conceived, and conveyed have not been consistent with principles of democracy. The dominant view of leadership as a generic, individualistic, and hierarchical practice that strives to "build capacity" or focus on effectiveness or efficiency violates many democratic principles, particularly those associated a view of democracy that values the equitable and meaningful inclusion of everyone in the cultural, institutional, and economic lives of schools and communities. If potential leaders are to be properly equipped to participate in leadership practices appropriate for a truly democratic society then they need to understand the dynamics associated with the various conceptions of leadership. Among other things, the future leaders of schools will need to understand the genesis of the term, its connection to power, and its moral basis in way that will enable them to work with others as strategic advocates so that they can see to the life chances of all students. Understanding the various conceptions of leadership and the ways in which they either promote or inhibit democratic practices is important. But it is also important to take these understandings and put them into practice. Unfortunately, it may not always be easy to put democratic-friendly leadership approaches into practice. This is because members of school communities routinely resist such efforts. And so those involved in leadership activities must approach their tasks strategically. That is, they will need to understand the political environment in which they are working, put these understandings into practice, and routinely monitor their actions. Only in this way, the author contends, will they be able to make headway in promoting meaning democratic practice in their schools and ensure that all students will have the opportunity to engage in learning that optimizes their life chances.

Executive function (EF) encompasses several neurocognitive processes that are important in self-regulation of behavior and the attainment of social and cognitive competencies. While much progress has been made in developing valid measures for adult and adolescent EF, there is a dearth of valid measures for preschool children. Given the steep trajectory of neuropsychological development among this age group and the importance of EF, a valid measure for clinical assessment and research is needed that can capture EF in the everyday context of early childhood. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) measures parent and teacher observations of children’s everyday self-regulatory behaviors. The BRIEF-P has been validated in a range of normative and non-normative samples, but further validation is needed across cultures. This study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural validity and reliability of the BRIEF-P when used by New Zealand Māori (n = 131) and European (n = 193) parents of children born with risk factors of neonatal hypoglycemia. Parents of children who participated in the prospective, longitudinal Children with Hypoglycemia and their Later Development (CHYLD) study completed the BRIEF-P when the child was 2 years ±4 weeks and 4.5 years ±8 weeks old. Results showed that the BRIEF-P is a highly reliable and valid instrument. Comparisons between Māori and New Zealand European samples revealed biases, which could be a source of further work to improve the construct validity of this measure, such as the development of norms and item validation for non-European and non-Western samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern automobile maintenance, like most skilled-trades jobs, is more than simple nuts and bolts. Today, skilled-trades jobs might mean hydraulics, computerized monitoring equipment, electronic blueprints, even lasers. As chief executive officer of Grainger, a business-to-business maintenance, repair, and operating supplies company that distributes a range of products from nuts and bolts to solar panel analyzers, the author has watched firsthand the evolution of industry and the skilled-trades jobs that keep it running. Today's skilled-trades jobs are more challenging and rewarding than ever before. In order to remain competitive, businesses have to excel in innovation, productivity, and quality. Education is an important part of an organization's ability to remain competitive. In order to be an industry leader, a business must have a trained and engaged workforce. Postsecondary education is vital for anyone interested in any job in industry. This is why Grainger is an advocate for technical education. Since 2006, Grainger and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) have worked to provide more students access to skilled-trades jobs and technical education. In this article, the author advocates for attracting more students to skilled trades careers.