Dr. Sharon D. Kruse is Academic Director and Professor at Washington State University- Vancouver. Her scholarship broadly addresses two concerns, (1) to help teachers and school leaders better understand the key role leadership plays in schools and (2) to explore how education is currently structured and influenced by social and organizational complexity. Kruse’s work focuses on understanding how schools can be better places for the children who attend them and the teachers who work in them. By focusing on the ways issues are framed, decisions are made and problems are identified she seeks to understand how schools can better educate and meet the needs of students. Kruse has served as a project level evaluator for six Teaching American Historygrants, and PI for evaluation of the Ohio Department of Education Supplemental Educational Services program. Kruse’s expertise in qualitative methods, developing interview and focus group protocols, data collection and analysis tools and interpretation contributes to the growing body of knowledge concerning organizational practices and outcome measures. Her recent publications include Building Strong School Cultures (with Karen Seashore Louis, 2009), Decision making for educational leaders: Under-examined dimensions and issues (with Bob L. Johnson Jr. 2009). She co-edits the Journal of Research on Leadership Education with Gordon Gates.
