Showing papers in "School Leadership & Management in 2008"
TL;DR: An overview of the literature concerning successful school leadership can be found in this article, where the main findings from the wealth of empirical studies undertaken in the leadership field are summarised and discussed.
Abstract: This article provides an overview of the literature concerning successful school leadership. It draws on the international literature and is derived from a more extensive review of the literature completed in the early stage of the authors’ project. The prime purpose of this review is to summarise the main findings from the wealth of empirical studies undertaken in the leadership field.
2,071 citations
TL;DR: The past 15 years have witnessed a remarkably consistent, worldwide effort by educational policy-makers to reform schools by holding them more publicly accountable for improving pupil performance as mentioned in this paper, which is called accountability accountability.
Abstract: The past 15 years have witnessed a remarkably consistent, worldwide effort by educational policy-makers to reform schools by holding them more publicly accountable for improving pupil performance o...
421 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extended the introduction to the authors' study of successful school leadership and how it influences pupil outcomes, and summarised the conceptual and methodological framework that guided the early stage of their research and outlined their mixed-methods research design.
Abstract: This paper extends the introduction to the authors’ study of successful school leadership and how it influences pupil outcomes begun in the Editorial introduction. Critical to an appreciation especially of the external validity of their results is an understanding of the policy context in which the English leaders in their study found themselves; this is a policy context dominated by concerns for external accountability and increases in the academic performance of pupils. In addition to describing this context, the paper summarises the conceptual and methodological framework that guided the early stage of their research and outlines their mixed-methods research design.
110 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on teacher leadership, an important dimension of the work of the Leadership for Learning network which is the focus of this special issue, focusing on the launch of a journal Teacher Leadership as a strategy for promoting key values: shared leadership, teachers’ leadership of development work, teachers' knowledge building and teachers' voice.
Abstract: This article focuses on teacher leadership, an important dimension of the work of the Leadership for Learning network which is the focus of this special issue. More specifically, the article focuses on the launch of a journal – Teacher Leadership – as a strategy for promoting key values: shared leadership, teachers’ leadership of development work, teachers’ knowledge building and teachers’ voice. Material published in the first two issues of this new journal is used to illustrate how these values are realised in action enabling teachers to lead innovation and contribute to the development of professional knowledge. The article begins with an exploration of the place of teacher leadership within the wider context of shared or distributed leadership.
90 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report early case-study data gathered from 20 schools involved in the Impact of School Leadership on Pupil Outcomes (IOPS) project, and discuss the perceptions of headteachers and other school leaders regarding leadership factors that directly and indirectly affect pupil outcomes.
Abstract: This article reports early case-study data gathered from 20 schools involved in the ‘Impact of School Leadership on Pupil Outcomes’ project. We present and discuss the perceptions of headteachers and other school leaders regarding leadership factors that directly and indirectly affect pupil outcomes in these improving schools. Included are issues relating to the pivotal role played by the headteacher in setting and communicating a strategic vision for the school; models of distributed leadership; and the building of leadership capacity so as to build a collective responsibility for the improvement of pupil outcomes.
78 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a synopsis of their results to date by organizing them in response to four questions: leadership actions that account for sustained improvement or effectiveness in their school over at least several years; how the influence of these actions is exercised; differences among heads’ leadership associated with school sector, phase of work and student intake characteristics; patterns of actions taken by heads toward school improvement.
Abstract: In this paper the authors provide a synopsis of their results to date by organising them in response to four questions. These are questions about: leadership actions that account for sustained improvement or effectiveness in their school over at least several years; how the influence of these actions is exercised; differences among heads’ leadership associated with school sector, phase of work and student intake characteristics; patterns of actions taken by heads toward school improvement. For each of these questions they also point to additional research that would be valuable, and their own next steps as well as the research of others.
76 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a study of department networks and distributed leadership in two schools is presented, where attributions of the influence of colleagues on one another's professional development and joint professional practice are investigated.
Abstract: Many schools are organised into departments which function as contexts that frame teachers’ professional experiences in important ways. Some educational systems have adopted distributed forms of leadership within schools that rely strongly on the departmental structure and on the role of the department coordinator as teacher leader. This paper reports a study of department networks and distributed leadership in two schools. The study collected two types of data on teacher networks in the schools: attributions of the influence of colleagues on one another's professional development and joint professional practice. Measures included actor centrality and network density. The study identified distinct leadership configurations in different departments. The implications for the study of distributed leadership and for the distribution of leadership roles in educational organisations are discussed.
70 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a discussion on the state of primary school leadership in Hong Kong since 2000 is presented, which explores some of the major reforms and other contextual factors impacting primary school leaders and comment on the challenges which accompany these.
Abstract: A lack of analysis and research into primary education in general, and primary school leadership in particular, has left primary practitioners exposed like never before to the vagaries of policy-makers and unpredictable contextual pressures. The purpose of this article is to initiate discussion on the state of primary school leadership in Hong Kong since 2000. It attempts to explore some of the major reforms and other contextual factors impacting primary school leaders and comment on the challenges which accompany these. It further proposes that when initiatives confront the existing structural and cultural make up of primary schools they are blocked by what we call the bottleneck effect. The article also attempts to explain and illustrate this effect and what it means for primary school principals. It is hoped that the analysis serves to highlight interest in primary school leadership in Hong Kong and stimulate research in the area locally and internationally.
63 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that critical friendship is a flexible form of assistance for development and research, and one that had a key role in the international Carpe Vitam Leadership for Learning (CVLL) project.
Abstract: Critical friendship is a flexible form of assistance for development and research, and one that had a key role in the international Carpe Vitam Leadership for Learning project. Whilst conforming to common features and engaging in similar activities there were some differences in the way critical friendship was enacted across the eight sites. The work of the critical friends contributed to the development of the leadership for learning principles, which in turn provide a framework for considering critical friendship and deepening our understanding of its nature. Dialogue, a focus on learning, and concern with the conditions for learning are all found to be core features of critical friendship, and were themselves subjects of the critical friends’ work.
51 citations
TL;DR: A cultural gap is widening in English secondary schools: between a twentieth-century ethos of institutional provision and the twenty-first century expectations and digital lifestyles of school students as mentioned in this paper, where many students have turned to social networking through the cluster of computer-based applications known as Web 2.0.
Abstract: A cultural gap is widening in English secondary schools: between a twentieth-century ethos of institutional provision and the twenty-first century expectations and digital lifestyles of school students. Perhaps disaffected by traditional teaching methods and the competitive target culture of schools, many students have turned to social networking through the cluster of computer-based applications known as Web 2.0. Here, they can communicate, share and learn informally using knowledge systems their elders can barely understand. Some of their contemporaries have turned away altogether, rejecting school and contributing to record levels of truancy and exclusion. This paper identifies a set of challenges for school leaders in relation to the growing digital/cultural gap. The government agenda for personalised learning is discussed, alongside strategies which schools might adopt to support this through the use of ICT, and both figure in scenario projections which envision how secondary education could change i...
49 citations
TL;DR: The evidence that some of those politicians consider rigorous and preferable is evidence based on randomised, controlled tests: RCT studies as discussed by the authors, and this kind of knowledge is often thought to be valid all over the world.
Abstract: Many educational systems, like many public sectors, find themselves in the midst of rapid changes. In many cases, decentralisation is the order of the day, often alongside re-centralisation. The new relations between supra-national, national, local and organisational levels create novel conditions for leading schools and for establishing alternative relations within schools between leaders, teachers and students. New leadership and new relations will lead to the education and upbringing of the next generation to a level unanticipated by most policy-makers, practitioners and researchers. In line with some centralisation initiatives there are tendencies in educational policies towards demanding that educational systems as well as educational practice and leadership be based on rigorous evidence. The evidence that some of those politicians consider rigorous and preferable is evidence based on randomised, controlled tests: RCT studies. This kind of knowledge is often thought to be valid all over the world. Th...
TL;DR: The authors provided an overview of the quantitative features of research design adopted in the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF; formerly DfES) funded, longitudinal mixed method study intended to investigate the impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes.
Abstract: This paper provides an overview of the quantitative features of research design adopted in the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF; formerly DfES) funded, longitudinal mixed method study intended to investigate the impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes. It outlines the way quantitative analyses of national assessment and examination datasets have been used to identify a sample of highly effective and improving schools for further investigation. Some examples of the findings from the interim analyses of survey responses by headteachers and key staff are highlighted in relation to patterns of leadership practices of the improvement group of the school. The categorisation of schools into three distinctive improvement and effectiveness groups reveals statistically and educationally significant differences in certain features and practices. There are important relationships between school context and the school improvement group, and between school context and headteachers’ time in post.
TL;DR: This paper conducted interviews with 36 predominantly elementary school principals in an urban setting and found that expert principals relied more on gathering data across all instructional scenarios and spent more time following up on their solutions when solving problems in the mathematics domain.
Abstract: Principals are increasingly expected to be the instructional as well as administrative leaders of their schools. However, little is known about how principals reason through the instructional issues that they face. An analysis of principal reasoning in instructional contexts is critical. The study presented in this article draws on interviews with 36 predominantly elementary school principals in an urban setting. The authors look at principal problem-solving by comparing the cognitive processes that principals of varying degrees of expertise use in solving instructional scenarios. This quantitative approach tests the hypothesis that expert principals use more expert processes and typical principals use more typical processes. The results confirm that expert principals relied more on gathering data across all instructional scenarios and spent more time following up on their solutions when solving problems in the mathematics domain. Typical principals were more likely to share anecdotes that were negative o...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that much is to be gained from sharing insights into leadership across different areas of professional activity and illustrate some of the benefits of such an approach, and argue that there are many benefits to be found in sharing insights across different professional activities.
Abstract: Different approaches to conducting and theorising school leadership have become a major preoccupation within school systems throughout the world. This reflects the importance placed upon school-level education and the belief that leadership issues can play a big part in increasing the effectiveness of pupil’s learning. This paper re-visits some findings from an earlier review and examines them in the light of more recent research both within education and from other fields, where leadership models have come under close scrutiny. The paper will argue that much is to be gained from sharing insights into leadership across different areas of professional activity and illustrate some of the benefits of such an approach.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the future of educational leadership research is related directly to a technical form of knowledge production that produces evidence to support ongoing reform, and they argue for doing intellectual work and being a public intellectual so that what ‘counts’ as leadership and good practice research is challenged and questioned in ways that both counter and provide alternatives to deeply entrenched conservative interests regarding education.
Abstract: There is an emergent field of effective leadership of schools that is the product of recent policy strategies regarding the relationship between the state, public policy and knowledge. It is argued in this paper that this is producing a centralised branded form of effective leadership for the commissioning and delivery of provision that is essential to the further extension of the market into public education. Consequently, the future of leadership research is related directly to a technical form of knowledge production that produces evidence to support ongoing reform. While the situation looks gloomy the authors examine strategies for those who believe in educational leadership research to use to both challenge and to generate alternatives. They argue for doing intellectual work and being a public intellectual so that what ‘counts’ as leadership and good practice research is challenged and questioned in ways that both counter and provide alternatives to deeply entrenched conservative interests regarding ...
TL;DR: The authors examines the inherent tensions between external accountability and internally driven school improvement and uses the example of Hong Kong's new relationship with schools to illustrate how those issues play out in the implementation of large-scale reform, drawing parallels and contrasts with Ofsted's New Relationship with Schools in England.
Abstract: Governments around the world have adopted school self-evaluation as an essential corollary to the local management of schools. Typically this has been accompanied by prescribed frameworks, indicators and scoring systems, tending to promote a form of ritual self-inspection rather than an ongoing and dynamic process of self-evaluation. It is argued that these have derived more from an accountability imperative than an improvement motive and as such have tended to disempower rather than empower schools. This article examines the inherent tensions between external accountability and internally driven school improvement. The example of Hong Kong's new relationship with schools is used to illustrate how those issues play out in the implementation of large-scale reform, drawing parallels and contrasts with Ofsted's New Relationship with Schools in England. The responsiveness of Hong Kong's Education Development Bureau to evidence from independent research carries lessons for other countries in which such evidenc...
TL;DR: This article examined the complex matter of initial principal preparation in a context where traditionally beginning principals have learned their role from experience, on the job, and found that while what was needed in the job was agreed upon, there was little understanding of what would constitute an appropriate or suitable way of learning the skills or mastering the knowledge to be able to meet these challenges as effectively as possible.
Abstract: This paper examines the complex matter of initial principal preparation in a context where traditionally beginning principals have learned their role from experience, on the job. Using data from both novice and experienced primary principals it was found that while what was needed in the job was agreed upon – how to deal with place, with people, with the system and with the sense of self – there was little understanding of what would constitute an appropriate or suitable way of learning the skills or mastering the knowledge to be able to meet these challenges as effectively as possible.
TL;DR: In this article, the changing role of school leaders in primary schools in England is discussed, and the article is divided into three sections of unequal length, in the first part I describe primary school...
Abstract: This article focuses on the changing role of school leaders in primary schools in England. The article is divided into three sections of unequal length. In the first part I describe primary school ...
TL;DR: The HCD Student Partnership as mentioned in this paper is a key way in which the LLL team learns from, explores and extends student leadership and participation within the current educational context, with a view to sharing new practice and collaborating with new partners.
Abstract: The values and principles underpinning the ‘Leadership for Learning: Cambridge Network’ support the distribution of leadership to all members of the school community. This paper introduces the HCD (Highest Common Denominator) Student Partnership as a key way in which the ‘Leadership for Learning’ team learns from, explores and extends student leadership and participation within the current educational context. The paper opens with a consideration of current issues within the field of student voice before locating the contribution of the HCD Student Partnership within this field. Examples from recent projects with primary- and secondary-aged students are used to reflect on and illustrate the work of the Partnership with a view to sharing new practice and collaborating with new partners.
TL;DR: Teacher leadership can be challenging (Smylie and Denny 1990), isolating and fraught with a lack of connectedness with other teacher leader colleagues (Edge 2003) as mentioned in this paper. But it can also be rewarding.
Abstract: Teacher leadership can be challenging (Smylie and Denny 1990), isolating (Datnow 2002) and fraught with a lack of connectedness with other teacher leader colleagues (Edge 2003). Today, many teacher...
TL;DR: This paper argued that school leadership training in England has received unprecedented levels of funding but that until very recently leadership development programmes contained only an implicit, rather than an overt, commitment to the enhancement of social justice.
Abstract: The profile, status and funding of leadership development has risen dramatically both in the UK and internationally over the last decade. This article draws on a decade of study of leadership development programmes in order argue that school leadership training in England has received unprecedented levels of funding but that until very recently leadership development programmes contained only an implicit, rather than an overt, commitment to the enhancement of social justice. The paper concludes that recent government legislation in education has set in train fundamental adjustments to the education system, through the medium of such initiatives as the Every Child Matters agenda, which will require a much more explicit articulation of the role of school leaders in promoting social justice during their training. However, the article goes on to suggest that dangers exist that the increasing challenge of finding sufficient candidates to take up leadership roles in schools will subvert such attempts at societa...
TL;DR: The authors argue that problems deriving from the depletion of global oil supplies are much more central to educational leadership than is normally appreciated, and suggest the need for a global view of educational purposes, and in particular a commitment by educators to an ethic of global sustainability.
Abstract: This paper argues that problems deriving from the depletion of global oil supplies are much more central to educational leadership than is normally appreciated, and suggests the need for a global view of educational purposes, and in particular a commitment by educators to an ethic of global sustainability. The paper describes how vital oil is to current societal functioning, before examining how much has been consumed and how much remains. After looking at the impact of the interaction of its usage with climate change and population growth, the paper then examines what this means for educational activity. It suggests that there are seven possible educational developments, all of which require future educational leadership thinking to embrace more fully an ethic of global sustainability.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present empirical data collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews across two local authorities in the English Midlands and explore the ways in which primary schools have addressed change management as a consequence of the Workforce Remodelling agenda.
Abstract: Reports of a recruitment and retention crisis amongst teachers in England led the government to develop a Workforce Remodelling strategy for schools. This involved change at both a legislative level, removing administrative tasks from teachers and ensuring all teaching staff had 10% off-timetable for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) tasks, and through providing the opportunity for schools to be more creative and reflexive in their approach, determining educational goals which could be tailored to local needs and demands. This apparent move away from a ‘one size fits all’ model of education placed a renewed emphasis upon the ways in which schools approached change management. This article presents empirical data collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews across two local authorities in the English Midlands and explores the ways in which primary schools have addressed change management as a consequence of the Workforce Remodelling agenda. There is an exploration of the tension...
TL;DR: In this paper, the actor-network theory (ANT) is used to investigate how leadership related to changes in teaching practices, curriculum and professional learning is fashioned in two Australian schools.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how leadership can be conceptualised as a social fashioning process performed in everyday practice as a de-centred web of sociomaterial network building activity. Rather than positioning investigations of leadership according to units of analysis or a priori variables of interest, the leadership approach adopted is underpinned by the assumption that leadership is an unbounded practice. Accordingly, it is proposed that complex empirical accounts of actual leadership experiences are those that are positioned to detect signs of fluidity and multiplicity. To develop and demonstrate the use of such an approach, the resources of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) are used to investigate how leadership related to changes in teaching practices, curriculum and professional learning is fashioned in two Australian schools.
TL;DR: In this article, the extent to which primary school headteachers are prepared for the increasing contribution that self-evaluation is now expected to make to raising standards is explored, which raises questions about the structures currently being put into place by the government to support schools in the future.
Abstract: This article explores the extent to which primary school headteachers are prepared for the increasing contribution that self-evaluation is now expected to make to raising standards. Data were collected from headteachers in one local authority in England using a questionnaire and a number of semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that headteachers hold a positive view of how self-evaluation contributes to school improvement and are able to make clear links between the two. However, it is questionable whether or not they are prepared for the increased emphasis on the use of self-evaluation. The research raises questions about the structures currently being put into place by the government to support schools in the future.
TL;DR: Leadership for Learning (LfL) is conceived as a network rather than as a centre within the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education as mentioned in this paper, and the degree to which these activities have contributed to the creation and transfer of new knowledge has been explored.
Abstract: Leadership for learning (LfL) is conceived as a network rather than as a centre within the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. This paper explores what is understood by the term network, both within LfL and in the wider educational and research communities, and how these understandings are reflected in a number of projects carried out under the aegis of LfL over the last three years. The paper draws out the key distinguishing features of these activities and, using the five principles of leadership for learning, explores the degree to which these activities have contributed to the creation and transfer of new knowledge. The paper concludes by proposing a model for knowledge-building which draws on the work of LfL and suggests ways in which this model may be of use to the wider educational community.
TL;DR: A follow-up study of headteachers of very small Scottish primary schools conducted in 2006 is described in this article, where evidence was collected from a postal survey of 100 head teachers and interviews in nine case study schools.
Abstract: This article is based on a follow-up study of headteachers of very small Scottish primary schools conducted in 2006. Evidence was collected from a postal survey of 100 headteachers and interviews in nine case study schools. The aim is twofold: first, to provide a ‘snapshot’ of the headteachers, their qualifications, routes to headship and career aspirations; and second, to highlight the ways in which these have changed in the intervening 10 years since the original research was reported. By way of a conclusion, the article poses the question: Are small-school headteachers still a match for the job?
TL;DR: The Learning Catalysts project as discussed by the authors was a collaboration between the Faculty of Education and the county council in King's Lynn and West Norfolk to address a concern regarding the low aspirations in the community.
Abstract: This article accounts for a project that rests on a collaboration between the leadership for Learning group at the Faculty of Education and the county council in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk to address a concern regarding the low aspirations in the community. At the heart of the project was the development of a cadre of ‘Learning Catalysts’ who work with schools and withparents to raise aspirations. The project pursued questions such as: What do we really understand about the way aspirations are shaped and play out in the interface of school and community? How can we gain a deeper insight into the cultures of families and how aspirations about occupational and social identities affect children’s performance in school? Of central interest too was the way in which people without formal status in their institutions were able to assume leadership roles. The tension between leadership activity in the community setting and leadership within the formal hierarchies of schools was to prove both a source of data and a continuing challenge.