Cypriot primary school principals’ understanding of education for sustainable development key terms and their opinions about factors affecting its implementation

‘Transformative leaders for sustainable schools’, was a nationwide research project conducted in 150 primary schools in Cyprus during 2005–2007. The project explored the role of the principals in the organisation of sustainable schools. A mixed methods approach to data collection was employed combining quantitative and qualitative methods. This paper presents primary school principals’ perceptions of sustainable development, their views on the characteristics and operation of the sustainable schools as well as factors supporting or impeding the development of such schools in Cyprus. Our analysis reveals that the term ‘sustainable school’ is a concept only vaguely understood by the principals. Education for sustainable development is interpreted loosely as environmental education and sustainable schools’ operation is limited to sustainable development’s environmental aspects. Principals place their emphasis on environmental conservation, for satisfying humans’ needs whereas the notion of environment, economy and society are marginalised. The development of sustainable schools in Cyprus is restricted by limitations in time, lack of ESD teacher education, the centralised educational system and the overloaded curriculum. Suggested reinforcing factors are parents’ associations’ support and the school–community dialogue. Further exploration of the principals’ role as potential carriers of change and effective leaders is needed.     

Teacher identity development through action research: a Chinese experience

This study explores how two language teachers constructed and reconstructed their professional identities through their action research (AR) facilitated by university researchers in China. Informed by the theory of ‘community of practice’, the findings of the study show that AR exerted a transformative impact on the teachers’ identity development. Four distinctive routes of identity change were noted, namely their transformation from ‘fisherman’ to ‘fishing coach’, from ‘craftsman’ to ‘teacher researcher’, from ‘lonely fighter’ to ‘collaborator’, and from ‘housekeeper’ to ‘change agent’. Such change can be attributed to their engagement and practice in different communities of practice. However, the participants’ identity development also encountered some contextual obstacles, including the rigid school curriculum, lack of research knowledge, as well as the power dynamics between them and the researchers. Several implications can be drawn for teachers, teacher educators, and school leaders to help teachers construct a solid and robust professional identity in seeking their continuing professional development through AR.     

Leaving a sinking ship? School principals in flight,Lessons and Possible Solutions

This qualitative study was motivated by a sizeable number of school principals retiring early in South African schools. They either leave teaching for other careers or retire before the retirement age of sixty. It was then necessary to explore what factors, if any, made them leave school management and the teaching career. Sixteen school principals were purposefully selected and interviewed through semi-structured interviews. Eleven of these had already left teaching in the previous four years, while the others were waiting for their last days in teaching at the time of the study. The results illustrate that there are various reasons that lead to the early retirement of school principals from historically black schools. Among these are burnout, lack of teacher commitment, increased unionisation of teachers as well as the non-involvement of district officials in the schools’ improvement and management plans. Consequently, many participants maintained that it was almost impossible to run schools effectively when this scenario prevailed. The conclusions point out that school managers and leaders need to be supported in various ways as they steer various programmes in their schools. This includes constant mentoring, management preparation as well as continual formal professional development programmes.     

Leadership in High Achieving Schools in Singapore: The Influence of Societal Culture

‘Societal culture’ in Singapore can be understood as an evolving mix of ‘traditional’ and ‘modernizing’ cultural strands, complexly related to dominant political and economic processes and aligned in the pursuit of a wider national vision. Following the mid-80s economic slowdown, there was a major realignment in these cultural strands that resulted in a process of decentralization of the education system, and a rethinking of the principal's role. Though the immediate effect of this was the creation of independent and autonomous schools, a space for autonomous action was opened up generally for school principals who were willing and able to seize the opportunity. We draw on two case studies of improving Singapore secondary schools to explore the links between societal culture, school leadership and school improvement. We argue that although both of the case study principals appropriated aspects of societal culture as part of their improvement strategies, it was the nature of the appropriation that made the schools and leadership styles distinctive.     

‘Tomorrow's Schools’ in New Zealand: from social democracy to market managerialism

This paper uses one national case to illustrate how diverse ideological agendas of central state agencies contest the discursive space within which major education policy reforms are developed. In Aotearoa New Zealand in 1988, ‘self‐managed’ schools were promoted ostensibly to allow parents more say in their children’s education and local school administration. The Tomorrow’s Schools reform policy texts included an existing social democratic partnership rhetoric, positioning principals as professional leaders working collaboratively with elected parent boards of trustees. However, the new ideology of ‘parental choice’ of school within a local schooling marketplace, underpinned by a chief executive or market managerial model of principalship, was later operationalised through mechanisms of ‘steerage’ from the centre. To explain this shift, we examine selected policy text pre‐cursors to the reforms and identify how contrasting forms of ‘principal’ and ‘teacher’ identity emerged within social democratic, neo‐liberal and market managerial ideologies. We further show that while radical (Treasury) market liberal arguments for labour market deregulation and consumer choice failed to gain widespread support, the State Services Commission preferred market managerialist strategies for promoting public accountability of schools (based on aggregate student achievement outcome data and centrally determined national educational priorities) were successfully embedded during the 1990s.     

More than heroes and villains: pre-service teacher beliefs about principals

New teachers enter schools with already established beliefs about principals.This paper reports on the nature and primary influences on what a group of Hong Kong pre-service teacher participants believe about principals. The nature of beliefs reflect underlying personal constructs that relate to interpersonal communication and management. Influences include past school principals, school leaders and parents. Beliefs were attained using a modified personal construct interview and analyses of participant stories. Findings highlight a close association between the leadership/management style of the principal whom participants would like to be and mothers, and the interpersonal behaviour of fathers and the principal whom participants would not like to be . The authors argue that reforms are needed in the course design of teacher education, teacher induction and programmes of professional development for principals. These reforms must address the influence personal history has on an individual's thinking about teaching, interpersonal communication and leadership - a reform process that begins with teacher educators and principals reframing their beliefs and associated practices.     

Relationships and early career teacher resilience: a role for school principals

Given the current climate of high levels of teacher attrition, it is critically important that we understand what keeps early career teachers in the profession. This paper reports early findings from a project addressing the question: ‘What conditions are conducive to promoting teacher resilience and retention in the first two years of teaching?’ The research aims to identify the internal strengths and external strategies that promote resilience in early career teachers. School leaders and first year teachers from 59 schools across two states in Australia contributed to in-depth, open-ended interviews in which they talked about the experiences of beginning teaching. From this data, narrative portraits were developed and emerging themes documented and analysed. A strong emerging theme is how relationships with principals influence teachers’ feelings of personal and professional well-being, with both negative and positive effects reported. This paper uses portraits of two early career teachers to examine this theme. The findings provide important insights for principals who wish to foster resilience in early career teachers.     

A cross-cultural analysis of educational leadership for social justice in Israel and Turkey: meanings,actions and contexts

The research compares principals in Israel (Jewish and Arab) and Turkey and how they perceive and practice their role in promoting social justice (SJ) in their schools in order to bridge socioeconomic and pedagogic gaps. It poses three questions: (1) How do Turkish and Israeli SJ leaders make sense of SJ? (2) What do SJ leaders do in both countries similarly and differently? (3) What factors facilitate or hinder the work of SJ in both countries? The qualitative study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews to collect the narratives of 11 school principals in Turkey and Israel. A comparative, holistic analysis was employed to identify the principals’ perceptions and daily practice of SJ in their schools. The principals reported different sociocultural, national and personal trajectories that shaped their perceptions of SJ, and described strategies used to promote SJ in their daily scholastic policies, processes and practices that meet the school stakeholders’ backgrounds and needs.     

Schooling responses to youth crime: building emotional capital

This paper reports on a study into schooling responses to youth crime in south‐western Sydney, Australia. The project was a partnership between the New South Wales Department of Education and Training and the University of Western Sydney’s School of Education. Specifically, the paper analyses interviews with school leaders who were interested in understanding how to support young people constructed ‘at risk’ of engaging in criminal activity. A content analysis, drawing on the concept of ‘emotional capital’, revealed discourses of safety, hope, engagement, and justice and fairness in the narratives of participants. The various ways in which ‘emotion’ is operationalized in education is explored so that the nature of emotional capital and its class and gendered inflections are made clear. Emotional capital, as a theoretical framework, also provides new insights into the strategies used by school leaders and helps situate the experiences and interests of the participating principals and key staff in the schools in this study.     

A Cross‐Cultural Perspective on Short‐Time Staff Development in Singapore: Principals as Reflective Practitioners

Training packages, based on the ‘Concerns‐Based Adoption Model’ (Hall, Wallace and Dosset, 1973) were used in a one week residential symposium in Singapore for school principals and inspectors. This paper represents the reflections on practice from two change consultants who designed the short‐time ‘training package’ for specific staff development needs. The authors found that cross‐cultural implementation of such packages highlights important differences between consultants and participants about initiating and managing change in schools. Interim evaluation data about the training suggests that school principals who were able to consciously reflect upon their implementation practices and adapt their intervention strategies accordingly were more effective change agents than their less insightful colleagues.     

Identifying and investigating the “best” schools: a network-based analysis

This paper aims to provide a fresh perspective on the predominantly negative discourse on schooling quality in low-income countries by focusing on the research questions: ‘How can one identify great schools and what makes them special?’ Using a network-based perspective, I measure peer evaluations of quality in two districts in Nepal. Specifically, I ask principals to mention three schools they view as the ‘best’ schools in their district and then map the interconnections between schools as a result of this response. I additionally analyse the differentiating characteristics of these schools and qualitatively investigate the most frequently cited ‘best’ school in each district. Public school principals collectively chose a few schools as being among the ‘best’; these chosen schools had relatively higher enrolment and better student performance. The in-depth qualitative analysis highlights less quantifiable measures, such as motivated leaders who were able to help schools succeed despite difficult circumstances.     

The Nature of Teacher Leadership in Schools as Reciprocal Influences Between Teacher Leaders and Principals

As part of a comprehensive qualitative study of 6 schools noted for teacher leadership 28 respondents were interviewed. It was noted that teacher leadership often involved the mutual influence between teacher leaders and principals. These influences are discussed from the perspectives of each of the 6 schools and respondent status as teacher leader, teacher nominator, and administrator. Further to these influences, the data suggest relationships between teachers, teacher leaders, and principals, in these schools, which are reflective of 3 models of “leadership reciprocity” based on unique features found to be typical of these schools.     

Facilitating a culture of relational trust in school-based action research: recognising the role of middle leaders

Abstract

Practices such as formal focused professional dialogue groups, coaching conversations, mentoring conversations and professional learning staff meetings have been taken up in schools and pre-schools as part of long-term action research and development activities to improve the learning and teaching practices. The development of relational trust has long been described in the literature as pivotal for the ongoing ‘success’ of such research and development in sites. In this article, we attempt to re-characterise relational trust as it is accounted for by participants in action research. We present data from a cross-nation study of middle leaders from Australian primary schools and Swedish pre-schools. Middle leaders are those teachers who ‘lead across’; they have both an acknowledged position of leadership or responsibility for the practice development of colleagues and a significant teaching role. The larger study examined the practices of middle leaders; and in this article we draw on interview data from one of the case-study sites that illustrate how colleagues in schools recognise the role middle leaders have for facilitating action research and teaching development. This article specifically presents excerpts from semi-structured interviews with 25 teachers, three principals, three executive teachers and three district consultants. Interviewees described how nourishing a culture of relational trust and mutual respect are critical features in the change endeavour. For them, the practices of the middle leader who facilitated the action research were instrumental in developing trust for teacher development. Analysis of participant accounts revealed five dimensions of trust: interpersonal trust, interactional trust, intersubjective trust, intellectual trust, and pragmatic trust.     

Recognizing and Supporting the Critical Roles of Teachers in Special Education Leadership

Most discussions about special education leadership address the work of principals and district administrators, without reference to the collective and distributed forms of leadership that have taken center stage in contemporary discussions about improving schools. To explore the contributions of and roles for teacher leadership in special education, selected teacher leadership literature in general education is reviewed, including the emergence of new teacher roles in schools, roots and meanings of teacher leadership, and possible benefits of teachers as leaders. Although no studies were found that specifically investigated the work of special education teacher leaders, illustrations of their work are provided as they lead through school-wide collaboration, participate as clinical faculty in Professional Development Schools (PDSs), serve as mentors to new colleagues, and work in district-wide professional development. After a review of several examples of teacher leadership in special education, barriers to teacher leadership and ways of supporting the work of teacher leaders are considered.     

Situating teacher inquiry: a micropolitical perspective

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become a popular strategy in various forms (e.g., data teams, grade-level teams) and with various champions (e.g., district leaders, university researchers, teacher advocates). Although well-implemented PLCs have been shown to distribute leadership, the tension between democratic inquiry processes and the demands of accountability remain understudied. This study asks how teacher inquiry is situated within conflicting school priorities and the impact of competing power structures on PLCs through a case study of a teacher inquiry initiative at 6 urban elementary and middle schools in the US. Data were collected over 3 years of PLC implementation. District officials, principals, reform coaches, and teachers at each setting participated in more than 300 interviews, regular site visits, and annual teacher surveys. The influences of power structures – such as district mandates, accountability pressures, and principal leadership – emerged as strong themes in teacher narratives of what it means to “do” inquiry in their PLCs.     

Why mission matters more for (some) charter principals

Reflecting post-bureaucratic organisation theory, education reformers intended charter schools to empower school-level leaders, most typically principals, with autonomy to pursue clear, student-centred missions. Yet little research explores whether charter school principals have more power than traditional public school counterparts. We summarise the limited literature addressing the issue. Second, we present findings from interviews with nine charter leaders from six US states who have experience in leading both charter and traditional public schools, a unique data set. Both prior research and our findings suggest that generally, leaders feel more likely to be held accountable for results in charter schools than in traditional public schools. Furthermore, without oversight from school boards and central office administrators, charter leaders report having more power over budget and personnel, and more ability to collaborate with teachers. At the same time, standalone charter leaders report needing business support and training, while those from charter management organizations feel free to focus on academic success.     

The teacher leadership process: Attempting change within embedded systems

This embedded case study examines the leadership practices of eleven teacher leaders in three urban schools to identify how these teacher leaders attempt to change the teaching practice of their colleagues while working as professional learning community leaders and as mentors for new teachers. Using a theoretical framework integrating complex systems theory with Kotter’s (Leading change. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1996) eight steps for leading organizational change, we analyze the work and perspectives of individual teacher leaders, and we examine how teams of teacher leaders and principals function collectively in their efforts to lead instructional change. Our findings have implications for schools seeking to utilize teacher leadership as a reform strategy for authentic instructional improvement.     

The appraisal of teachers' performance and its impact on the mutuality of principal-teacher emotions

The current study examines the mutual discrete emotions among superiors and their above- and below-average workers within a hierarchical organisation (school). Using a survey method within a random sample of 40 elementary schools in Northern Israel, each principal and four of his or her teachers (two who had been appraised as excellent and two who had been appraised as poor-performing) completed two questionnaires which addressed the teachers‘ perceived performance and emotions toward the principal/teacher. As expected, the above-average teachers were found to be more favourably professionally evaluated by their superiors than the poor-performing ones. The principals expressed very positive emotions toward them. These highly regarded workers shared mutually positive feelings and similar teacher performance appraisals with their principals. In contrast with the principals’ evaluations, the below-average teachers perceived their own performance as very good. Unlike the teachers' mainly positive feelings, the principals experienced mixed emotions. The lower intensity of emotional ‘tone’ reflects the principals’ hesitation about taking any action which might lead to a deterioration in relationships with these teachers. The discussion proposes the theoretical framework of a vicious circle, in which the principal's undelivered direct feedback does not reach the teacher, who mistakenly believes that if nothing is said everything is all right, and therefore maintains his or her high self-esteem and poor performance.     

Feeling voice: The emotional politics of ‘student voice’ for teachers

In recent years, student voice has become a popular school reform strategy, with the promise of generating relations of trust, respect, belonging and student empowerment. However, when student voice practices are taken up by schools, student voice may also be associated with less affirmative feelings: it is often accounted for in terms of teacher ‘fear’, ‘resistance’ or ‘uncertainty’ about altered power relations. Such explanations risk individualising and pathologising teachers’ responses, rather than recognising the complexities of the institutional conditions of student voice. This article considers the affective politics of student voice: that is, the contestations that attend who gets to name how student voice feels in schools. Working with data from an evaluation study of three Australian primary schools who engage in ‘exemplary’ student voice practices, we listen to school leaders and facilitating teachers’ accounts about the responses of other teachers at their schools to student voice. Parallels are drawn between the construction of some teachers as reluctant, and previous analyses of ‘silenced’ student voices in schools. We argue that, in order to analyse the enactment of student voice in more nuanced tones, it is necessary to consider the profoundly emotional experience of teaching and learning, the ambivalences of teachers’ experiences of student voice and contemporary reconstitutions of teacher subjectivities.     

Positional matters: school leaders engaging with national equity agendas

ABSTRACT

This paper claims a central role for school leaders (principals or head-teachers) in the enactment of social justice policy in schools, who act as key agents or ‘gate keepers’ for what counts as social justice in their contexts of practice. Social justice means different things in different contexts depending on where leaders – who use policy as an opportunity to advance what they think is achievable within the limits of available resources – are positioned in the field and how that defines their stances. Drawing on qualitative data generated through in-depth interviews with ten secondary school principals in two Australian cities, the paper analyses the engagement of school leaders with nationally prescribed equity-related policies. Our analysis shows that, depending on the institutional ethos and resources of schools and their own social justice dispositions, school leaders tend to take different stances towards nationally defined equity agendas. Their responses range from compliance to compromise to contest. The paper suggests that doing social justice in schools can never be unilateral, as policy documents suppose, but is characterised by context-informed policy translation, mediated by a range of interactive forces and interests.