This past March saw the launch of Dr. Nancy Matthews’ book which came out in July 2023 titled, The Role of Leaders in Educational Decision-Making: Examining Implementation Factors and Providing a Newfound Model.

Published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, the book presents insights into the experiences and perspectives of educators in formal positions of leadership involved in decision-making processes in an education system. In Dr. Matthews’ words, “This book shares my research findings which explored the intersection between decision-making and decision implementation.”

When talking to Dr. Matthews about her inspiration for the book, she shared that the idea emerged from her over 30 year career in education where she held a variety of leadership roles: “decision-making nagged at me. Not because I did not like making decisions at my workplace, but because I wanted assurance that decisions would be implemented, and that decisions made would last. As I reflected, I was reminded that at times decisions that were made in education were met with resistance, and at times decisions that were made failed at implementation. I realized through the literature that research pointed out the importance of effective decision-making in leadership; however, there was a lack of research literature on the link between decision-making and implementation. This pushed me to conduct a study with the goal to better understand the link and to generate a model for ensuring implementation of decisions. The findings from the study inspired me to write the book.”

Being knowledgeable and passionate about the topic, Matthews hopes that sharing what she has learned and offering a newfound model will resonate with others when it comes to decision-making and implementation of decisions. 

Congratulations to Dr. Matthews on her new book. If you’re interested in reading The Role of Leaders in Educational Decision-Making: Examining Implementation Factors and Providing a Newfound Model, it is available from many major book retailers. 

Crandall University is Atlantic Canada’s leading Liberal Arts university rooted in the Christian faith, offering undergraduate degrees in Arts, Science, Business Administration, Organizational Management and Education, and Graduate degrees in Education and Management. For more information, visit https://www.crandallu.ca/ or call 1-888-968-6228.