Contextual Effects on Student Achievement: School Leadership and Professional Community

This paper contains empirical evidence of a positiverelationship between faculty relations and studentachievement in mathematics in U.S. high schools. Thefindings are based on composite measures ofprofessional community and transformational leadershipwhich were defined and constructed through comparisonsof theoretical models from studies of the socialorganization of schools. I find that the effects oftransformational leadership and professional communityare interdependent. However, these two processes arenot equally dependent on each other. Professionalcommunity only has a positive effect on studentachievement in mathematics in schools whose teachersexperience above average transformational leadership. I also find that these effects are strongest in lowersocioeconomic status (SES) schools. Thus, I confirmfindings from in-depth studies and studies ofpurposeful samples that the social organization ofteachers and administrators within schools can affectstudent achievement.     

Leadership as Accountability for Learning: The Effects of School Poverty, Teacher Experience, Previous Achievement, and Principal Preparation Programs on Student Achievement

In the current era of accountability for achievement, school principals play the pivotal role of instructional leader. In a high-stakes testing environment, leadership preparation programs in universities and school districts need to be positively related to academic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school leadership preparation programs and student achievement in urban settings. Because leadership is contingent on the setting, school contextual factors and their impact on student achievement framed this study. Regression techniques were employed to construct a conceptual model with predictors of criterion and norm-referenced student achievement scores. Confirming previous research findings, student poverty, teacher experience, and previous achievement were the strongest predictors and accounted for a significant amount of variance in student achievement; however, university and district preparation programs were not significant predictors. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.     

Teacher and Classroom Context Effects on Student Achievement: Implications for Teacher Evaluation

The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) has been designed to use statistical mixed-model methodologies to conduct multivariate, longitudinal analyses of student achievement to make estimates of school, class size, teacher, and other effects. This study examined the relative magnitude of teacher effects on student achievement while simultaneously considering the influences of intraclassroom heterogeneity, student achievement level, and class size on academic growth. The results show that teacher effects are dominant factors affecting student academic gain and that the classroom context variables of heterogeneity among students and class sizes have relatively little influence on academic gain. Thus, a major conclusion is that teachers make a difference. Implications of the findings for teacher evaluation and future research are discussed.     

学校改进的路径分析:学校领导的视角

学校改进已经成为我国新时期教育改革发展的一个重要主题.学校改进关注点也从资源投入、课程设计等方面逐渐转向学校领导的过程.尽管已经有研究成果表明学校领导在改进学校以及促进学生学业成绩提高方面具有显著作用,但如何改进以及怎样做的研究还不充分.本文从学校领导视角,通过分析已有的有效学校以及成功领导模型的研究成果,归纳出四个学校领导改进的路径,期冀对我国学校改进的研究与实践有所助益.     

The Role of Collective Efficacy in Closing Student Achievement Gaps: A Mixed Methods Study of School Leadership for Excellence and Equity

Previous research demonstrates that collective efficacy positively predicts students' academic achievement (e.g., Bandura, 1993 Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117–148. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2802_3[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Goddard et al., 2000 Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., &; Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2000). Collective teacher efficacy: Its meaning, measure, and effect on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(2), 479–507. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037002479[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, unaddressed by the current literature is whether collective efficacy also works to reduce inequity by closing achievement gaps. To learn about the operation of collective efficacy, we designed a mixed-methods study, situated in the elementary and middle schools of one large urban district in Texas. Hierarchal linear modeling was employed to model the degree to which collective efficacy explained differences among schools in student mathematics achievement and the Black-White achievement gap. We also drew upon focus group data collected at 6 schools. We found that collective efficacy was associated with an increase in mathematics achievement as well a 50% reduction in the academic disadvantage experienced by Black students. Focus groups revealed the importance of school principals in supporting teacher collaboration and peer observation as well as a sustained focus on instructional improvement.     

校长在学校改进中的领导力

在学校改进中,校长的领导力起着关键作用,其中,浇铸理念、创建愿景、凝练信任、分享权力是学校改进取得成功的重要领导力。这些领导力使校长能倾听自己的声音,给团队成员以动力,促进团队成员精诚合作,为团队成员提供发展的机会。学校改进是内生式的发展,大学研究者是校长及其学校团队的合作伙伴。学校始终处于变革之中,改进没有起点和终点,每一个针对学校问题的思考与行动都是学校改进的生长点。因此,校长的领导力提升是学校改进的重要内容。     

教师参与专业发展活动对学生学业成绩影响的实证研究——基于北京市高中学生的分析

教师专业发展是提高学校教育质量和学生学业成就的关键因素。关于教师专业发展的实证研究主要关注的是专业发展活动对教师本身的影响,较少有研究关注专业发展活动对学生带来的影响。本研究基于2016~2019年北京市高中阶段4万多名学生的标准化考试成绩和近2000名教师的问卷调查数据,采用增值模型分析教师对学生学业成绩的增值影响,并进一步聚焦教师参与区级和校本教研活动对学生学业成绩的影响。分析结果显示,教师参与区级教研活动的程度对学生成绩有显著的正向影响,其中聚焦于学科课程内容的教研活动对学生成绩的增值作用尤其显著。此外,教师参与校本教研活动的程度对学生成绩有显著的正向影响,其中教师之间的非正式交流的积极作用不容忽视。     

School-Wide Educator Evaluation for Improving School Capacity and Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools: Year 1 of the School System Improvement Project

The United States is in an era of high-stakes evaluation of educators (i.e., teachers and principals), the results of which are used to inform human capital decision making (i.e., recruitment, hiring, retention, and dismissal), which in turn impacts school capacity and student learning. The present article describes the School System Improvement (SSI) Project, a school-wide educator evaluation initiative that includes 22 high-poverty schools. The primary goal is to present the Year 1 planning for implementation of educator evaluation, highlighting the use of system consultation for planning. The SSI Project team includes researchers in school psychology and special education, school administrators, and teachers. The project aims to implement a multimethod educator evaluation system that generates scores for informing targeted, evidence-based professional development. Project goals are to increase educator competencies that lead to improved student achievement. Finally, directions for training and recommendations for future school reform are presented.     

初中生成就动机分析及其教育对策

成就动机(Achievement Motivation)指个人追求成就的内在动力。近些年,我国研究者在成就动机的实证与调查研究方面做了一些工作。有关成绩反馈对不同成就动机取向的学生后继成绩的影响研究发现,在我国文化背景下,从总体上,追求成功者的后继成绩高于避免失败者的;成就动机取向与目标类型在学生后继成绩上存在交互作用,这种交互作用只表现在目标差异的成绩反馈条件下,在目标协调的条件下无此现象。[1]陈俊等发现,重点中学学生的成就动机总分及追求成功动机的得分均显著高于普通中学学生,但避免失败的动机分数却明显低于普通中学学生。[2]周爱…     

The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Student Achievement and Motivation in a High School Geometry Class

In this study, the effects of a form of cooperative group instruction (Student Teams Achievement Divisions) on student motivation and achievement in a high school geometry class were examined. Eighty students were randomly assigned to either a control group receiving traditional instruction or one of two treatment groups receiving cooperative learning instruction. Geometry achievement was assessed using scores from the IOWA Test of Basic Skills and teacher-made exams. An 83-item questionnaire was used as a pretest, posttest, and post-posttest assessment of efficacy, intrinsic valuing, goal orientation, and cognitive processing. Students in the cooperative treatment groups exhibited significantly greater gains than the control group in geometry achievement, efficacy, intrinsic valuing of geometry, learning goal orientation, and reported uses of deep processing strategies. The implications for cooperative group structures and motivation theory are discussed.     

The Superintendent's Leadership in School Improvement: A Rural Perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper contains a brief review of the research literature on superintendents’ leadership for school improvement as an introduction. Following that, the patterns of five superintendents’ leadership that evolved in five school improvement sites is reported; the activities in which the superintendents engaged in five quite different organizational settings is the focus. In addition, the strategies and events used by external assisters assigned to the sites to develop and enhance leadership behaviors are shared. The paper concludes with a short discussion of the unique conditions and influences on rural superintendents and their leadership for increasing educational effectiveness.     

Effective Students and Families: The Importance of Individual Characteristics for Achievement in High School

Recent Australian experience of decentralisation in education has many parallels with contemporary movements in a number of other western democratic nations. Within the State of Victoria, Australia, all schools have developed, at local community level, school charters which address the school’s goals, policies, priorities, curriculum, and standards. This article reports an analysis of one component of almost 300 schools’ charters; namely codes of conduct for student behaviour. The results indicate a need for schools to emphasise a closer connection between students’ rights and their responsibilities. Secondly, the many schools intending to implement an assertive or authoritarian approach to discipline are failing to balance their planned use of punishments with corresponding rewards and recognition. Thirdly, the political relevance of the style of discipline develop chosen by local school communities appears incompatible with an education likely to develop democratic citizens.     

Developing Students as Effective Learners: The Student Conditions for School Improvement

This article outlines a Student Conditions instrument which is intended to complement existing IQEA mapping instruments. It briefly conceptualises each condition, using a combination of a review of the literature and findings from empirical research from within IQEA. Data from 6,000 students in 36 schools in various IQEA projects are presented and analysed. It suggests that the findings derived from the conditions survey provide a useful focus for the dialogue between teachers and students which is a critical factor in improving students’ learning.     

学校改进中的校长领导力提升:一种分布式领导的研究视角

学校改进中的校长领导力提升是当前学校变革与发展的诉求。要落实"教育规划纲要"成功实现学校改进,就要在校长领导力开发过程中,主动寻求新的领导理论支撑,架构一种分布式领导模式,将校长培养成一名分布式领导者,这可为解决教育管理实践中存在的问题开拓一个新视角。     

成就目标定向对中学生成就动机的影响

中学生成就目标的确立与否、确立的成就目标的类型以及对所设定目标的评价性反应这三个因素都会对中学生的成就动机产生影响。成就目标定向对教育的启示,主要表现为教师应该帮助学生设定个性化的成就且标,以更好地激发中学生的成就动机。     

The Effects of Student Composition on School Outcomes

This article explores the concept of compositional effects in school effect studies, their generation and some of the difficulties that arise in their interpretation. Some basic issues are addressed using data from a New Zealand study of secondary schools, and further illustration of some of the “pitfalls” is provided from an English study of primary school performance indicators. The importance of model specification, predictor reliability, and cautious interpretation are highlighted.     

Making a Change: The Effects of the Leadership Role on School Climate

School is a very important element of society. Students and teachers learn many lessons, academic and otherwise, that influence their personal well-being and academic success. Often, however, school does not provide the positive learning or working environment that is most beneficial for our students and teachers. As a first year principal, Pepper realized that a more positive school climate was the key to confronting many of the challenges in the school where she worked. Through an autoethnographical approach supported by her personal journals, Pepper's experiences are described as she witnessed the negative effects that an authoritarian leadership style had on school climate and, subsequently, the morale and success of students and teachers within the school setting. As she made the change to a transformational leader, she came to realize that this leadership style had a more positive effect on the learning and working environment. Her change in leadership style and guidance, with input from teachers, staff, students, parents, and community members, resulted in the school becoming a more positive, caring place to learn and work for everyone involved. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Leadership for School Improvement: The Role of the Head of Department in UK Secondary Schools

The study examines the role of the Head of Department in UK secondary schools in terms of its potential for school improvement. Thirty-two heads of department in secondary schools in Birmingham and Manchester were shadowed and interviewed in order to identify: (1) their leadership and management styles; (2) the sense of empowerment felt by each; (3) initiatives for improving teaching, learning and achievement in their departments; and (4) obstacles to improving teaching, learning and achievement. Four deputy head teachers in the sample schools were also interviewed with the purpose of eliciting their views on the role of the head of department in facilitating school improvement. The findings support the prediction that distributed leadership (or shared power) among senior and middle managers in UK schools still remains rhetoric rather than practice and that there is a growing need for current middle management development and training provision to change radically if middle managers are to be supported as curriculum leaders and managers