The purpose of this qualitative, single case study was to identify leadership practices and processes that contributed to the success of a single High Needs, Title 1 elementary school that has experienced acknowledged superior academic success, particularly for its minoritized and low socioeconomically disadvantaged students, as indicated by the school's success on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests. The study sought to explore the principal's and teachers' conception of leadership for success and to examine what effective practices and processes were employed at a high-needs, high-performing campus that accounted for its success. The study applied the culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) framework to analyze the practices employed at the school. Results of the study, from interviews with the principal and a focus group of three teachers, indicated that not only did they apply the principles of the CRSL framework, which employed the critical self awareness, culturally responsive curricula and teacher preparation in a culturally responsive and inclusive school environment which engaged parents and students in community contexts, but they also enhanced their effectiveness through the provision of additional resources for teachers and students, with a heavy reliance on data to guide academic decisions.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to define and describe the work of external instructional design consultants. Study participants included seven instructional designers with varied educational backgrounds and work experience who work in a variety of contexts supporting clients in the design and delivery of learning experiences. All seven participants completed an initial survey with demographic and background questions. Five participants then took part in semi-structured interviews. Collected data was coded using both deductive and inductive methods with each case considered individually before combining the data for analysis across cases. Study findings support previous research suggesting that the work of instructional designers is dependent on context. Results further indicated that external instructional design consultants regularly engage in project management, communication and collaboration, and the analysis and evaluation components of the instructional design process, all in keeping with existing literature. External instructional designers differed in that they do more sales-related work, and, in the analysis process, focus more on client needs than learner characteristics. Study participants were invested in creating high quality, engaging learning experiences, while also willing to accommodate the unique challenges facing any given client. The study findings suggested that prospective employees' instructional design knowledge is of …