美国中小学校长“走课”制度述评

“走课”是近几年美国中小学校长改善教学领导的一种有效方式．是指校长或学校管理者为了改善教学实践,在一个焦点问题的引导下,频繁地走进课堂,以非威胁性的方式观察课堂活动的一种方法。“走课”与传统的课堂观察活动不同,主要表现为时间短,关注学生的学而不是教师的教,具有非评价性、非威胁性及合作性等特点。“走课”的发展应用为我国中小学校长带来了新的观念和思路,有助于校长更好地发挥教学领导的角色。     

走课——美国中小学校长教学领导的新举措

一、走课的缘起与内涵 “走课”,源于20世纪70年代美国惠普公司的高层领导在企业管理中采用的一种新方法,即“走动式管理”。美国众多知名公司内运用并取得良好效果后,在美国中小学校长教学领导中也开始萌芽并逐渐盛行。     

美国校长“走课”制及相关启

校长听课在我国中小学校园里是很普遍的现象,校长听课在美国被称为“走课”,名称的不同暗含着具体操作与实践上的不同,本文首先介绍了美国校长是如何走课的,然后归纳出“走课”与“听课”的区别,最后针对走课的优缺点和实践经验,得出几点对我们有益的启示。     

面对“校长走课”，需要三思而后行

“校长走课”是美国中小学中的一种非评价性教学活动和教学管理行为。它的存在和延续有助于校长及时地了解和发现学校教育教学中的诸多不足,并及时地进行修正和完善。但是,如果把“校长走课”这种教学管理行为照搬到我们的中小学教育中,就未必会取得同样的管理效果,甚至,在一定程度上会或多或少地影响和干扰到我们对课堂教学的正常判断以及课...     

美国校长“走课”评析及其借鉴

近年来,美国中小学校长走课活动非常普遍。走课是校领导特别是校长到教室走访的一种形式,它不同于传统的听课活动,主要表现为时间较短;专注于学生的学而不是教师的教;是非评价性教学活动,对教师不具有威胁性等特点。对走课活动的借鉴将有助于我国中小学校长发挥教学领导角色。实施走课必须首先转变校长的管理理念,其次是教师与校长共同接受走课培训,最后是营造良好的走课氛围。     

走课——美国校长的管理硬功

走课(walk-throughs):在课堂环境中,校长以不具威胁性的方式观察学生学习情况的一种方法。在一个焦点问题的引导下,走进课堂的校长寻找教学实践及学习结果的可观察证据,以支持问题的探究。该过程提供的数据及信息用于反思和对话,以及有关改善学生学习的决策。走课是非评价性的,它将学校所持的教育理念以及相关计划,与发生在课堂中和学生身上的可观察变化联系起来,是校长进行教学管理、领导教学改革的基础。走课是通过拉近管理者与课堂的距离,使之不断具备教学领导能力,进而促使学校产生真正变化的重要一步。和中国校长一样,美国的中小学校长…     

“走课”——美国校长的管理硬功

和中国校长一样，美国的中小学校长也会进教室“听课”，但注意力集中在学生身上，而不是教师；校长在教室里并不呆一整节课，只有短短几分钟，而且边走边看，谓之“走课”。     

美国中小学校长流行“走课”

近年来,在欧美等国家＂有效教学＂运动的促进下,＂走课＂成为美国中小学校长进行教学管理、提高教学效率、领导教学改革的手段之一。＂走课＂一般是指学校领导为了改善教学实践,对学习环境、课程资源、教学策略、教师及学生的课堂行为等进行的频繁的（一天一次或一周三至四次）、短暂的（10分钟以内）、有焦点的、不带威胁性的巡视。     

美国校长“走课”制及相关启示

和中国的校长一样.美国的中小学校长也会走进教室"听课",但是校长的注意力集中于学生身上,校长在教室里也不是呆一整节课的时间,只有短短的十几分钟甚至更少,而且边走边看,这被称为美国校长的"走课".在美国所谓的走课是指:在课堂环境中.校长以不具威胁性的方式观察学生学习情况的一种方法.在一个焦点问题的引导下,走进课堂的校长寻找教学实践与学习结果的可观察证据,以支持问题的研究.并将该过程中获得的数据及信息用于反思和对话,以改进教室的教学与学生的学习.     

着力推进中小学党组织领导的校长负责制走实走深

<正>为进一步把党建工作作为办学治校的重要内容，健全发挥中小学党组织领导作用的体制机制，确保党组织履行好把方向、管大局、作决策、抓班子、带队伍、保落实的领导职责，省委教育工委在全省中小学开展了党的建设和组织工作新成就新经验新情况的专题调研工作，旨在以“调”促改、以“研”促推，推进中小学党组织领导的校长负责制走实走深。     

试论幼儿园园长教学领导

教学领导是一种新的教学管理理念。借鉴现代领导理念及校长教学领导的已有研究,对园长教学领导的内涵、角色进行了界定,并从理念、实践两个层面对有效实施园长教学领导提出了建议,以期为提高幼儿园教学管理水平提供一定参考。     

试论幼儿园园长教学领导

教学领导是一种新的教学管理理念。借鉴现代领导理念及校长教学领导的已有研究,对园长教学领导的内涵、角色进行了界定,并从理念、实战两个层面对有效实拖园长教学领导提出了建议,以期为提高幼儿园教学管理水平提供一定参考。     

School principals’ evaluations of their instructional leadership behaviours: realities vs. ideals

The purpose of the current study was to examine primary and middle school principals’ evaluations of their own instructional leadership behaviours, and thereby pay closer attention to the ideal instructional leadership behaviours suggested in the related literature and the realities of principals’ instructional leadership behaviours. Although studies in the instructional leadership literature have vastly examined instructional leadership and its relationship with various variables, few studies have focused on school principals’ evaluations of their instructional leadership behaviours using a qualitative approach. This study was framed to contribute to gain an insight into the essential characteristics of instructional leadership in Turkey and to suggest some educational implications for school leadership in a Turkish context. The researchers conducted a qualitative case study in a large city in South-eastern Turkey in the academic year of 2012–2013. The study group consisted of 11 primary and middle school principals chosen via a maximum variation sampling technique. It was found that some of the school principals painstakingly tried to improve school-related factors which may potentially increase positive student outcomes. However, they were not able to display some instructional leadership behaviours such as change management, promoting teachers’ professional growth, collaborating with teachers and forming a positive learning environment due to multifarious reasons. The study concludes by presenting implications for the development of school principals as instructional leaders in Turkey.     

Instructional leadership and the charter school principal

Few studies have investigated what occurs inside charter schools with respect to instructional leadership, teaching, and learning. To address this gap in the literature, this case study examines two major issues: how the principals at four charter schools enact instructional leadership in their respective schools, and what barriers the principals encounter when enacting instructional leadership at their school sites. The results highlight three main categories of instructional leadership practices: developing a school mission, managing curriculum and instruction, and promoting school climate and culture. In addition, the data reveal that while the principals attempted to engage in instructional leadership, they encountered barriers related to budgeting and staffing. The paper broadens the scholarly understanding of instructional leadership in schools with high levels of autonomy.     

Instructional leadership in Malaysia: a review of the contemporary literature*

This article provides a review of the contemporary instructional leadership research base in Malaysia. The core aim of this review is to assess the recent knowledge base on instructional leadership in Malaysia and to evaluate its current contribution to the existing international literature. The article explores a range of published material that has focused explicitly on instructional leadership and instructional leadership practices in Malaysia, including that written in Bahasa Malaysia. The article outlines the findings from the review and highlights certain strengths and limitations. The article concludes by identifying areas for further enquiry and investigation.     

Perceptual inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals

ABSTRACT

The instructional leadership approach expects school leaders to give top priority to ongoing improvement of teaching quality and academic outcomes. Researchers have found that despite the top-down pressures to assume an instructional leadership role, school principals demonstrate limited direct involvement in such leadership. The current qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, aimed to expand inquiry into inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals. Data analysis uncovered that Israeli principals’ perceptions served as key inhibitors of instructional leadership, identifying three main perceptual inhibitors: (1) perceptions regarding principal-teacher relationships; (2) perceptions regarding the role of the principal; and (3) perceptions regarding the goal of schooling. These findings expands the available knowledge by illustrating how for Israeli principals, the inhibitors of instructional leadership did not only involve the constraints and capabilities of school principals but also deep disagreements with the conceptual framework that underpins instructional leadership. Implications and further research are discussed.     

Challenges in preparing aspiring principals for instructional leadership: voices from the field

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the challenges professors of educational leadership encounter as they prepare aspiring principals to be instructional leaders. Drawing upon an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews of professors from across the U.S.A., we analyzed significant statements and created themes that illuminate the challenges facing university faculty in preparing aspiring principals for instructional leadership. From the analysis of the combined data sources, five overarching challenges emerged for preparing future principals for the role of instructional leader. These challenges are: (a) teaching instructional leadership via online courses, (b) time in the internship to focus on instructional leadership, (c) instructional leadership mindsets, (d) pedagogical knowledge for use in instructional leadership and (e) the professor’s knowledge/experience in instructional leadership. The five challenges presented in the findings highlight the need for continuous program evaluation and collaboration among faculty to address coursework both in the classroom and in the internship. Additionally, the challenges highlight the need for more research in how to prepare aspiring principals to be culturally responsive and adopt a growth-mindset when it comes to teacher development, and how to create powerful learning experiences for aspiring principals in varying program contexts.     

校长教学领导：内涵、特征与培养策略

随着教育改革的深入推进和教学专业化的凸显,校长不能仅仅扮演行政管理者的角色,还应该成为一名积极的教学领导者。教学领导是校长领导力的核心和关键,它是一种专业领导力。这种专业领导力建立在专业权威和道德权威的基础上,以尊重教师的专业自主权为前提,并表现为多种角色。校长行使教学领导主要通过创建共同愿景、关注课堂、促进教师专业发展、构建中层领导团队等途径实现。校长教学领导力的获得和提升,不仅要通过相关训练来帮助校长提高教学领导的能力,也要减少校长过多的行政负担,但最重要的是校长自身的修炼和提升。     

Disentangling school leadership and its ties to instructional practices – an empirical comparison of various leadership styles

This paper investigates the direct and indirect ties between various leadership styles, namely, instructional, transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership, and the instructional practices of teachers by applying a structural equation model. For this purpose, we analyzed survey data of n = 3,746 teachers from 126 schools collected by the Hamburg school inspection in Germany between 2012 and 2015. The underlying model is based on Leithwood’s framework for guiding research on leader effects on learning and instruction. First, the results show that a bi-factor model seems to be the best measurement model. Next, it is shown that mediating variables are influenced by a leadership core as well as by different leadership facets. Third, we found that for influencing complex instructional practices like cognitive activation with challenging content, a combination of leadership styles is most promising, while for classroom management instructional leadership is the only and, thus, the primary determinant.     

Instructional leadership practices in Singapore

This paper presents a review of the literature on principal instructional leadership in Singapore. The authors investigated the dimensions of instructional leadership in the practices of Singapore principals and highlighted the strategies these leaders adopt to enact their instructional roles. Singapore principals were found to play an active role in defining the school vision and promoting the school climate. However, in the areas of curriculum implementation and classroom instruction, the middle management team in the school played more active roles as compared to principals. Five broad conclusions were discussed to provide perspectives on instructional leadership practices in Singapore. This paper also highlighted limitations on current instructional leadership research in Singapore and pointed to areas of future research.