No one way: Differentiating school district leadership and support for school improvement

This article examines findings from a qualitative investigation of how school district administrators in four mid to large sized urban school districts (10,000–50,000) identify and address differences in school performance. The analysis explores the interaction between district policies and actions that centralize and standardize expectations for teaching, learning, and leadership, and those that lead to the differentiation of district support to schools depending upon their identified needs. The findings demonstrate variability in district orientation and capacity to understand school needs to improve performance, as well as in district strategies for actually differentiating support to schools. Differentiated assistance can focus both on strengthening implementation of district expectations in order to improve school performance, and on supporting experimentation with non-standard solutions to performance challenges that are not solvable through use of established programs and practices.     

Democratic school leadership reforms in Kenya: cultural and historical challenges

In this article we discuss students’, teachers’ and school principals’ perceptions of democratic school leadership reforms in Kenya. The article is based on a study that was conducted in two phases. In phase one (conducted between September and December 2007), interviews were undertaken with 12 school principals in which understandings of democratic school leadership were explored. These data were then used to develop a rationale for selecting the case schools. The second phase (conducted between January and April 2008) was an in‐depth case study of two schools. The findings reveal that school principals have made efforts to inculcate democratic school leadership by involving teachers in decision making on school matters. The principals also allow students to participate in matters such as election of prefects and holding class and house meetings. However, most teachers and principals do not support what they referred to as ‘full democracy’ for students and instead prefer what they called ‘partial democracy’ based on historical and cultural factors.     

Towards a theory of school leadership practice: a Bourdieusian perspective

Despite the ‘practice’ turn in the broader management literature, very little work in educational administration has engaged in a theoretical discussion about what constitutes leadership practice. Theoretically informed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this paper contributes to the long-established critical tradition in the educational administration literature, to argue that: (i) ‘leadership’ is a label of the managerialist project of the state; (ii) leadership should be thought of as a disruptive practice; and (iii) Bourdieusian theory can enable this thinking, but not as it is frequently mobilised in the educational administration literature. The alternative put forth in this paper is not merely replacing one external narrative (managerialism) with another (Bourdieusian), but rather advancing a theoretical position on what is leadership that paves a way forward for a research programme.     

Examining school leadership effects on student achievement: the role of contextual challenges and constraints

The present study examined indirect effects of principal leadership on the mathematics achievement of 254,475 15-year-old students from 10,313 schools in 32 OECD economies. Results showed that the students could be divided into three categories (Disadvantaged, Average, and Privileged) differing in levels of student SES and prior achievement, parental academic expectations, and access to school resources. Results also showed that principal leadership effects accounted for a greater proportion of between-school achievement variance for Disadvantaged vis-à-vis Privileged or Average students. In particular, instructional leadership had the largest positive effect on Disadvantaged vis-à-vis other students’ achievement via the mediating variables of teacher autonomy and morale. Distributed leadership negatively affected the achievement of Disadvantaged but not other students. The negative effects of principal goal-setting were the largest while those of principal problem-solving were the smallest for Disadvantaged students. The study contributes to the literature by examining contextual influences on the leadership–achievement relationship.     

Organisational learning approaches to school leadership and management: teachers' values and perceptions of practice

In this article, we report results of a survey of 1,397 teachers in 26 primary and 17 secondary schools in England as part of the Learning How to Learn project. We consider how school self-evaluation can be understood within an organisational learning frame. Factor analysis of teachers' responses helped us identify 4 dimensions of organisational learning approaches to school leadership and management. Comparisons were made between teachers' perceptions of school leadership and management practices and the values they placed on those practices. We discuss the usefulness of analysing values-practice gaps for furthering understanding of organisational learning approaches to school leadership and management. Analysis of gaps between teachers' values and practices reveals significant inconsistencies between perceptions of current practices and values across a broad spectrum of school leadership and management practices. Perceptions of practice were significantly behind the values that teachers place on each of the 4 dimensions of practice.     

Do school context,student composition and school leadership affect school practice and outcomes in secondary education?

This study examined effects of school context, student composition and school leadership on school practice and outcomes in secondary education in Flanders. The study reveals that relations between school characteristics do exist and that it is possible to explain an important part of the differences in mean effort and mathematics achievement of schools by means of these school characteristics. Furthermore, it was found that school size positively affects school outcomes and that its effect is mediated by school practice characteristics like the amount of cooperation between teachers, which affects school climate and outcomes. School leadership did not affect the school practice much, perhaps because of a lack of a strong educational leadership in most of the Flemish secondary schools. However, the student composition of schools seemed to be very important for school practice, as well as for school outcomes. Nevertheless, the study revealed that schools can affect the outcomes of their students independently of their student composition and context by means of school practice.     

Lasting leadership: Toward sustainable school improvement

After decades of meager results in school improvement efforts that work and that last, it may seem irrational to hope that this time it could be different—that we could learn and apply approaches to lasting school improvement. Obama (2006, The audacity of hope. New York: Crown publications) might refer to such hope as audacious. What gives us the impulse for hope in the face of continued disappointment? This is not to suggest that all of our efforts have come to naught. Having witnessed and participated in hopeful approaches for more than 40 years, I’ve seen noteworthy programs and heard exceptionally wise ideas. Islands of hope existed in each decade, yet even these remarkable islands drop below sea level when founders, principals or key teachers leave. As long as any one individual is indispensable, sustainability is a distant dream. As I’ve talked with educators, parents, students and community members over these years, I’ve been bombarded with questions. The question I find most compelling is: “We can now understand our schools as they exist. And, we have an improving image of what sustainable schools look like, but how do we get there from here? How do we find our way to the sustainability we yearn for?     

Technology and school leadership

As the demand for schools to become more effective and efficient learning communities increases, the need for principals to cultivate broad‐based, skilful participation in the work of leadership is essential. It is important for educational leaders to recognise the significance of their role in technology implementation and utilisation. They should be proficient in the use of technology and then provide leadership in the use of technology for administrative, instructional, and learning functions. Relatively few studies have empirically examined the level of computer use by principals, their perceived computer competence and their leadership style. This paper will report on these issues from an initial analysis of baseline data gathered from 30 secondary school principals in Tehran, a large province in Iran. Findings indicate that school principals spent a few times a week working on their computers and they had moderate levels of information technology competency. This paper also suggests that transformational leadership can help school leaders increase successful use of technology in schools. Hence, policy makers must design professional development programmes, such as leadership studies, in order to teach the components of transformational leadership: idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration to future administrators.     

Dorothy's Wars: school leadership during the Birmingham Blitz

This essay examines the school leadership experiences of an infant school head teacher in Birmingham, England, during the Second World War. Drawing on the letters of Dorothy Walker, the essay offers insights into school leadership wartime deprivations. The impact of an international war on the home front was not head teacher Dorothy Walker's only challenge. As the youngest and one of the few women head teachers in Birmingham, Dorothy Walker struggled with the traditional masculine hierarchy of the local educational system and with traditional social and familial gender roles. Dorothy Walker also battled with a traditional educational school culture as she promoted progressive educational practices. These three challenges – the war, gender relations, and progressivism – are referred to as ‘Dorothy's Wars’, or the battles that she faced as a woman school leader in Birmingham during the early years of the Second World War.     

Classroom leadership: the effect of a school development programme

Using a cohort longitudinal design, this study examined pupils' perceptions of their teachers' classroom leadership, both before and after implementation of the Respect programme. Pupils in Grades 5–10 (age 11–16) in four Norwegian schools reported their perceptions of their teachers' emotional support, academic support, and monitoring five times over a period of five years. The results revealed increases in the pupils' perceptions of one or more of the three aspects of classroom leadership for all grade levels except Grade 9. Pupils in Grades 5, 7, 8, and 10 reported effect sizes larger than .20 for all three aspects. The largest effect size reported was .80, for increases in Grade 6 pupils' perception of teachers' monitoring. In order to rule out selection bias, which is a major threat to cohort longitudinal designs, pupils' reports of three measures of aggression were used as a control. The results indicated that there were no biases.     

On the study of school leadership: Beyond education management

Abstract

The study of school leadership is in danger of being reduced to a set of technical and management considerations. School leadership is not simply about management. It is about moral values, educational values and professional principles. There is an urgent need to place the study of school leadership in broader social, cultural, political and historical contexts in particular societies. This paper attempts to do this in relation to English schooling.     

Problems facing school superintendents and school board presidents of large school districts

Superintendents and school board presidents from the 100 largest school districts in the nation were surveyed to determine the major problems confronting these education leaders. Both superintendents and school board presidents were in agreement on most concerns, including the top three major problems. They are in complete agreement that finance and related worries are the most important problems they face. The survey identified several critical variables, including the superintendents' age, gender, and experience; the school board presidents' gender and experience; and the school districts' size, geographical region, metropolitan setting, and ethnic student profile.     

School leadership and school improvement: an examination of school readiness factors

ABSTRACT

This article reports on an investigation into the influence stemming from school leadership as an important consideration in relation to school improvement. School readiness, based on [Schiemann, W. A. 2014. “From Talent Management to Talent Optimization.” Journal of World Business 49 (2): 281–288. doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2013.11.012]. Accountability, Capability and Engagement (ACE) leadership model, was assessed through self-reported school leader behaviours, attitudes, perceptions, and school improvement attributes. To clarify, school readiness refers to how a school principal optimises staff and other school resources to best achieve school improvement agendas. School readiness survey results and student achievement outcomes for one entire school district were analysed, indicating that school readiness did indeed impact student achievement. Findings reveal a need for school leaders to focus more clearly on overall school alignment and optimisation behaviours, and these are discussed in relation to specific leadership recommendations and how leadership can better support and encourage school improvement in terms of educational accountability.     

Self-managed leadership: An alternative school governance structure

This paper explores how the current governance structure of American schools detracts from their ability to solve the educational problems that confront them. The paper argues that the current structure restricts the problem-solving capabilities of teachers. Teacher empowerment is a step in the right direction, but is frequently too narrowly defined and thus falls short of maximizing the utilization of potential. An alternative structure, self-managed leadership, is proposed. Implications for principal and teacher roles and behavior are examined. Implementation and potential issues and problems are discussed.     

农村劳动力市场面临机遇和挑战

当前大批农村青壮年外出务工,不仅给城市带来了更多的社会问题,也造成了当地农村劳动力的严重缺乏,影响了社会主义新农村建设工程的进程.为了适应农村劳动力市场这种前所未有的变化,必须提高农民整体素质,采取多予少取政策,选择正确的发展模式,从而有效应对农村劳动力市场的机遇和挑战,推动农村劳动力市场健康发展,促进新农村建设.