The school as a learning organisation: The concept and its measurement

A growing body of scholars, educators and policy makers has argued for reconceptualising schools as “learning organisations” in the last 25 years as. However, a lack of clarity on the concept has hindered its advance in theory and practice. This study responds to this problem by developing a schools as learning organisations scale that expands and clarifies the concept on several points. Drawing on survey data (nschool staff = 1,703) from Wales (UK), it examines the key characteristics of a school as a learning organisation through a principal component analysis and reliability analysis. The results showed that such a school is associated with eight dimensions: (a) a shared vision centred on the learning of all students, (b) partners contributing to school vision, (c) continuous learning opportunities, (d) team learning and collaboration, (e) a culture of enquiry, innovation and exploration, (f) systems for collecting and exchanging knowledge and learning, (g) learning with and from the external environment, and (h) modelling learning leadership. The resulting 65-item scale demonstrated good psychometric qualities. A reliable and valid schools as learning organisations scale can help enhance our understanding of the concept. The scale can also be used by school leaders, teachers and all others wanting to develop a thriving learning culture in their schools.     

Appraising the work of a college

In this article, we show that school leaders find themselves increasingly tom between pressures for conformity and diversity. We argue that pressures toward conformity undermine the ability of schools to respond effectively to diversity in their local communities. This, in turn, threatens the capacity to learn. If schools are to become learning organizations, then school leaders must recognize and challenge the confines of sameness while exploring a conception of leadership that values difference. Finally, four strategies are suggested by which leaders assist their schools in valuing and learning from difference.     

Weaving Curriculum Connections in International Baccalaureate (IB) Schools

In this article we discuss how school leaders address challenges when implementing innovative international education curricula, namely International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. Specifically, we frame challenges in curriculum implementation of and transition between IB programs from a “disconnection” perspective. We have often noticed when innovative programs are parceled together without preparation and thrust at great speed at schools, they become disconnected. The hasty implementation of multiple IB programs simultaneously at a school also causes disconnection. Drawing on extensive interview data from principals, mid-level leaders, and teachers in five IB schools adopting multiple IB programs in Asia, we detail curriculum disconnection facing IB schools and how school leaders, including teacher leaders, address such challenges by weaving various disconnected points, namely instrumental, intellectual, cultural, professional, and communicative disconnections. Based on findings from the multisite case study, we argue that school leaders in the case of IB schools adopt a range of leadership strategies to weave disconnection points. We reframe the leadership strategies as two aspects of distributed leadership: distributed instructional leadership and teacher leadership. In conclusion, we suggest that a central facet for successful leadership of IB schools that adopt multiple IB programs is about finding, focusing, and facilitating ways to address disconnections in curriculum implementation of and transition between different IB programs.     

Fostering collaborative teacher learning: A typology of school leadership

Previous research indicates that supportive school leadership is a key condition of collaborative teacher learning. The purpose of this study was to develop a typology of how school leaders foster collaborative teacher learning. We adopted an integrative perspective on leadership by examining both learning-centred leadership and distributed leadership practices that are supportive of collaborative teacher learning. Data were gathered by means of interviews with ten school leaders and a questionnaire that was completed by 39 teachers from six secondary schools in the Netherlands. The aim of the interviews was to identify to what extent school leaders applied learning-centred leadership and distributed leadership practices. The questionnaire measured teachers' perceptions of the role of school leaders in teacher learning. As an outcome of this study, we constructed a typology that provides insights into how school leaders foster collaborative teacher learning. Four types of school leaders were distinguished: (a) integrators of teacher learning, (b) facilitators of teacher learning, (c) managers of teacher learning, and (d) managers of daily school practice. Our findings suggest that integration of learning-centred leadership and distributed leadership practices can help school leaders to support collaborative teacher learning.     

Professional Development Perspectives of Principals in Australia and Japan

Irrespective of how the roles, tasks, and responsibilities of principals have evolved due to educational change and reform, the school principal still holds the key to achieving school effectiveness. Over the last few decades, extensive studies have been conducted on the role of the school principal. Most scholars, researchers, and school reformers have discussed the role of the school principal as the school leader, school manager, key decision maker, facilitator, problem solver, chief executive officer, chief learner, marketer, team leader, and agent of change (Edmonds 1979; Clark, Lotto, and Astuto 1984; Smith and Purkey 1983; Gamage 1990, 1996a, and 1996b; Barth 1991; Sergiovanni 1987; Thomson 1993; Caldwell 1994; and Cranston 1996). These studies, however, provided only limited information about the profiles and professional development of school leaders who are meeting the new challenges in 21st-century schools.

In recent years, as a result of increased collaboration and communication among educational institutions in various nations, a series of research projects to examine and compare aspects of school leadership, including professional education and experiences of school leaders, have been conducted. This paper presents the profiles and entry perspectives of Australian and Japanese school principals, and information on preservice and in–service training programs related to professional development. Implications for changes in university-level professional development programs, and selection and training of school principals in both Australia and Japan are examined.     

School Leaders as Learners: what attitudes and preferences do they have?

Leadership development is a key issue for success in leading educational reform and school improvement. Demands for more flexible, responsive, and enterprise‐driven schooling require that school leaders can create the kind of conditions which sustain vigorous processes of continuous school improvement. To meet this requirement, school leaders must be in command of a broader range of leadership and management expertise than was traditionally required of them. The changing environments make it essential for school leaders to have a high level of awareness of their preferences for leadership development and a commitment to improve their professional performance. This paper discusses findings of a survey‐based study of school leaders’ attitudes and preferences for professional development in Western Australia. Surveys conducted among principals and deputy principals of primary (n = 233) and secondary (n = 180) schools reveal some important similarities, as well as differences, in the extent to which primary and secondary school leaders have recognized the potential for work‐based and peer‐assisted learning.     

Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) building relationships: one school’s quest to raise Indigenous learners’ literacy

In 2011 to 2012, 48 schools in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland participated in the Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) project. Central to this project was the establishment of positive working relationships between school principals and Indigenous community leaders in order to improve Indigenous literacy rates. Professional development in leadership skills and effective literacy instruction was provided through five professional learning modules. Participants worked together to create an action plan to support the literacy achievement of Indigenous students in their schools and communities. This article presents a case study of one participating school in Northern Queensland that successfully utilised the PALLIC framework to facilitate leadership actions and activities between Indigenous community and school leaders in order to form productive partnerships for the teaching of reading. In particular, the case study highlights the way that school leaders and Indigenous leaders established shared leadership and shared ways of learning in the school for reading outcomes of Indigenous students.     

School leadership and educational change: Tools and practices in shared school leadership development

This study examines the features of school leadership as it evolved in an upper secondary school attempting to enhance school improvement through a dedicated team of developmental leaders. We study the team leadership’s tools and design over one school year and report on the evolution of a collective approach to leadership for school improvement. Researchers in a formative intervention research project supported the change process. Cultural-historical activity theory and a set of new technologies inspired the intervention design. The study describes how conceptions and practices of leadership gradually emerged as a collective and distributed approach to leading educational change and school improvement. In particular, new tools and designs for school team leadership were explored and implemented. The study addresses the need to develop shared and collaborative conceptions of leadership in schools. The study concludes that careful planning and skilful orchestration of human, cultural and technological resources are needed in order to make sustainable improvements in schools.     

From school leader to educational leader

ABSTRACT

This study builds on research which contends that just as effective principals must lead across a broad purview of responsibilities in order to build successful schools, so too must middle leaders. Decentralisation of school management has resulted in an expansion of school principals’ responsibilities, contributing to a further distribution of leadership responsibility to middle leaders. This conception of middle leadership requires a shift in understanding of the nature of middle leaders’ work. There is vast potential for middle leaders to contribute to their schools beyond subject administration, yet the research base yields limited insight on such work and on how middle leaders can be supported to accomplish it. This research finds that middle leaders who expand their leadership responsibilities do so in contexts that utilise school mission, policy enactment and organisational design as platforms for enhanced middle leadership.     

Enabling teachers to become pedagogical leaders: case studies of two IDEAS schools in Singapore and Australia

This research paper is about the role of the principal in enabling teacher leadership for pedagogical innovations and school improvement studied in two Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievements in Schools (IDEAS) schools in Singapore and Australia over a 3-year period from 2005 to 2007. The research reported is based on the developing relationship between principals and teacher leaders as they collaboratively engage in a process of whole school improvement. Both case study schools used the IDEAS school improvement program which originates from the Leadership Research Institute, University of Southern Queensland. The cases trace the facilitation of the IDEAS process in each school and highlights the centrality of teacher leadership in bringing about change in school-wide pedagogy and a process of school re-culturing. It underlines the fact that principals need to support the enabling of leadership among teachers by giving them the space, time and responsibility to make decisions about curriculum work and ensuring that these are aligned with new organizational structures and processes. The paper discusses how the schools were different and yet similar in many ways between the two countries, Singapore and Australia, with regard to the nature of the enabling processes for organizational revitalization and school capacity building. It draws out some implications for school leadership and school improvement.     

The impact of leadership training: stories from a small school

The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) was launched in 2000 with a remit to supervise and further enhance educational leadership development initiatives in England and Wales and now supervises the delivery of a wide range of programmes for school leadership development for teachers at various stages in their career development. Small primary schools set particular challenges for their leaders but NCSL programmes are not targeted on teachers from specific age phases or sizes of school. This article uses narrative analysis of the stories of two leaders from a small school in north-west England to try to discover if NCSL programmes are assisting them in their professional development. Although not necessarily generalisable, findings suggest that NCSL programmes are helping to improve leadership in small schools.     

University‐school collaboration and needs assessment in the training of student leadership and peer support in Hong Kong

One hundred seventy secondary schools in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire designed to assess their needs for leadership training of students in different domains of school activities and their endorsement of university‐school collaboration in these activities. The questionnaire also assessed the extent and degree of support and involvement that schools intended to provide in training programs and in organized school activities for students to assume leadership roles in schools. Findings indicated that schools were in need of student leaders in different student activities, especially in those less related to academic concerns. It was stressed that in providing opportunities for student leaders to continue practicing their skills in school activities, other students might eventually benefit through participation in school activities and peer support programs organized by student leaders.     

Redesigning the role of deputy heads in Norwegian schools – tensions between control and autonomy?

A substantial body of research emphasises school leadership as a major influence on quality improvement in schools. Although numerous studies have identified the importance of the principal, fewer studies have examined the middle management level within schools, the deputy heads and assistant principals. Influenced by international trends, local education authorities in Norway have reorganised a traditional administrative deputy head role into a new role with expanded leadership responsibility for teacher staff and for performing instructional leadership. The primary objective of the present qualitative study is to provide additional insight into how deputy heads make sense of increased responsibility and power distribution as members of the leadership team and as leaders of the teachers in lower secondary schools. Drawing on focus group interviews and observations, the findings show that the reorganisation may open for a change from traditional administrative roles towards becoming learning-focused leaders. However, the findings also indicate that the shift can produce tensions between autonomy and control for the new leader role in the middle.     

The complex task of leading educational change in schools

The leadership of educational change in schools is a complex task, particularly at a time when schools are being granted greater autonomy but are also under greater scrutiny through the publication of high stakes test results. This paper examines the complexity of the task of changing a school culture and the challenges faced by leaders engaged in this task. It is informed by case studies of two principals involved in a project designed to bring long-term change. The study provides insight into the qualities which make change leaders effective, and the different ways that leaders manage the task. The paper concludes with implications for the management and sustainability of change in schools.     

学校道德领导研究综述

在大力倡导以德治国的今天,以德治校已成为教育管理领域中倍受关注的话题。本文从领导者自身修养和领导权威两个角度对学校道德领导这一理念进行阐述,并探寻适合中国学校文化发展的学校道德领导模式。     

An Australian perspective on school leadership preparation and development: credentials or self-management?

This paper provides a review of school leadership preparation and development in Australia through considering the requirements for becoming a principal, how leadership preparation and development occurs, and consideration of recent developments to provide an Australian standard for school leaders. Australian educators have relied mostly on a self-identification and self-managed system in which individuals decide that they want to pursue leadership opportunities and then seek out the support and experiences to help them. Support is available and provided through system, university, and service organization programmes, and the support of colleagues and senior leaders in schools. Whilst there is an extensive range of support provided by systems, universities and service organizations, there is little evidence of their impact on schools. At the school level there needs to be far greater support in identifying and developing leaders. Developments in creating a national leadership standard might lead to some type of credentialing programme that could allow individuals to benchmark their development, and ensure that preparation and support programmes are of the highest quality. An alternative view is to reinforce greater individual responsibility for leadership development and career progress, encourage schools and systems to focus less on individual leadership and more on collective leadership, and consider more innovative ways of providing leadership development.     

Professional norms in school leadership: Change efforts in implementation of education for sustainable development

This study identifies and analyses professional norms as a means of illuminating school cultures and how norms are distributed in the system. Of special interest is the role of school leaders and how they lead, organize and realise school development. The study research question is: What professional norms do school leaders highlight in change efforts? We are also interested in identifying the support mechanisms and obstacles to implementation and norm setting exhibited by school organisations. The case we used explores change processes in the implementation of education for sustainable development at three upper secondary schools in Sweden. It was conducted in three phases, starting with a questionnaire for all teachers and principals. In the second phase, each of the principals was interviewed individually. The third phase used focus groups consisting of the principals that made up the leadership groups. Our results indicate that professional norms are set when principals and teachers experience expectations from each other, from students and from policy documents. There is also a need for well-functioning communication in the organisation to set and disseminate norms. The school principal plays a crucial role in these norm setting processes. By becoming more aware of existing norms in the organisations, and how norms can be changed, this knowledge can support principals in change efforts.     

A school wide approach to leading pedagogical enhancement: An Australian perspective

This paper presents how some Australian schools are changing their approaches to leading the teaching and learning in their diverse and multi-characteristic contexts. Experiences of these schools shows that the development of a school wide approach to pedagogy and its implementation needs to be firmly embedded in the leadership of learning. Drawing on recent research conducted in the Sydney Catholic Education Office system in Australia (Crowther et al. in Leading and Managing 18(2):1–33, 2012) there is evidence of relationship between the development and implementation of a school wide approach to pedagogy and student achievement. There is also evidence to support leadership that is based on a mutualistic relationship between teacher leaders and the principal. This paper focuses on the way schools have used their visions and pedagogical frameworks to enhance whole of school quality outcomes. It highlights the power of teacher leaders taking responsibility for pedagogical development and implementation. In addition, it illustrates the power of mutualistic relationships (parallel leadership) when the principal takes responsibility for unleashing and trusting the creative expertise of teacher leaders in line with the role of strategic leadership and management.     

Changing roles in sustaining successful charter school leadership in high poverty schools: Voices from the field

Effective educational leadership is essential for the success of schools and ultimately student achievement. The impact of school leadership may be even more pronounced in charter schools. Due to current and unprecedented growth, unique design, and complexities of political, financial, and governance issues they face, there is a need for more highly qualified charter school leaders and perhaps even “differently” prepared leaders. In this qualitative study, the authors documented the characteristics and skills of two successful, sustained charter school leaders who retrospectively described their evolved and evolving roles over twenty five years. Each transformed high-poverty, low-performing schools with at-risk populations and led with vision, passion, and a relentless desire to positively influence their organizations and ultimately improve student success in their communities. Although many of their skills and characteristics fall within existing theories, such as situational leadership, transformational leadership, and distributive leadership, they embodied a level of dedication and commitment to the original communities in which they founded charters lasting over a quarter of a century. The findings suggest that founding a charter school and seeing it through to success over time may more closely resemble missionary work than traditional school leadership.