Showing papers by "Kenneth Leithwood published in 2002"
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of principals' transformational leadership practices on teachers' commitment to change are examined in Hong Kong primary schools, and the results suggest strong significant effects of transformational leaders on mediating variables and weak but significant effects on teachers’ commitment to changing.
Abstract: The effects of principals’ transformational leadership practices on teachers’ commitment to change are examined in this study in Hong Kong primary schools. Mediating variables in the study included school culture, strategies for change, school structure, and the school environment. Results suggest strong significant effects of transformational leadership on mediating variables and weak but significant effects on teachers’ commitment to change. In comparison with other relevant evidence, it is suggested that the pattern of transformational leadership effects is similar in both North America and Hong Kong, but the magnitude of these effects is far less in Hong Kong.
289 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the responses of teachers and school administrators to government accountability initiatives and the extent to which leadership practices had a bearing on those responses were assessed. And they found that some forms of school leadership may serve as antidotes to negative teacher motivations when such motivations are caused by shortsighted and abrasive government implementation strategies.
Abstract: Guided by a synthesis of theory on human motivation and evidence about teachers'moti- vation to implement school reform, this study aimed to better understand the responses of teachers and school administrators to government accountability initiatives and to assess the extent to which leadership practices had a bearing on those responses. Inter- view data from 48 teachers and 15 administrators in five secondary schools provided evi- dence for the study. Results help explain the largely negative motivations to implement government accountability policies and indicate differences in such motivation between teachers and school-level administrators. These results also imply that some forms of school leadership may serve as antidotes to negative teacher motivations when such motivations are caused by shortsighted and abrasive government implementation strategies.
239 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a framework forexplaining the variation in the success of large-scale reform, as well as assessing progress in that direction, by considering broad international social, economic and political trends bearing on education, characteristics of national educational policies and strategies for their implementation.
Abstract: Variation in the success of large-scale reform is afunction of many factors interacting at many ``levels''.Built on a selective review of the evidence aboutlarge-scale reform, this paper provides a framework forexplaining such variation, as well as assessing progressin that direction. Relevant factors influencing reformsuccess, according to the framework, include broad international social, economic and political trends bearing on education, characteristics of national educationalpolicies and strategies for their implementation, and localconditions conceptualized in terms of a model of workplaceproductivity; this model is defined by local practitioners' motivation, capacity, and the organizationalconditions in which they work. This framework has been usedto guide the external evaluation of the National Literacy andNumeracy Strategies.
87 citations
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: Hanushek et al. as mentioned in this paper argue that the largely uncontested link between a globally competitive national economy and the quality of a nation's schools is one of the primary reasons for this impatience.
Abstract: Reflecting the prevailing sentiment of the public-at-large, governments in many parts of the world show little patience for the usual pace of educational change. One of the primary reasons for this impatience is the largely uncontested link, in the minds of many policy makers, between a globally competitive national economy and the quality of a nation’s schools. As one major consequence of this impatience, governments routinely eschew small scale trials, pilot studies, and research and evaluation of their preferred policy initiatives, choosing instead to move more or less immediately to large-scale implementation (Hanushek, 1996).
29 citations