This book, the product of the task force on research co-sponsored by the American Educational Research Association Division A and the University Council on Educational Administration, sets an ambitious agenda for research in educational leadership. Prominent scholars in the field review current knowledge about leadership, frame new questions to generate important research in the field, and direct researchers and policymakers to rethink how educational administration, leadership, and policy should be understood. Covering a broad range of topics, from accountability systems and school–community relationships to the education of students from diverse backgrounds, the authors submit current research to critical scrutiny in order to develop frameworks for new research that can have a significant impact on policy and practice.

Contributors: Albert Bennett, Mary Erina Driscoll, Carol R. Fendt, Gail C. Furman, Ellen B. Goldring, Pamela Konkol, Kenneth A. Leithwood, Barbara Scott Nelson, Nona A. Prestine, Pedro Reyes, Carolyn M. Shields, Dorothy Shipps, Mark A. Smylie, James P. Spillane, Mary Kay Stein, Lonnie Wagstaff

William A. Firestone is professor of Educational Policy and Leadership at Rutgers University. Carolyn Riehl is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.