Showing papers in "School Leadership & Management in 2009"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine leadership practices in school systems that are implementing data-driven decision-making employing the theory of distributed leadership, and find that leaders at all levels co-constructed the vision and implementation of productive data driven decision making by creating an ethos of learning and continuous improve.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership practices in school systems that are implementing data-driven decision-making employing the theory of distributed leadership. With the advent of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in the US, educational leaders are now required to analyse, interpret and use data to make informed decisions in all areas of education, ranging from professional development to student learning. The emphasis on data-driven decision-making practices to bring about improved student outcomes is relatively a new feature of the education reform landscape and thus requires educators to learn and develop new competences. Leadership is one crucial bridge that can support and direct these new learning efforts. Using qualitative data from a case study of four urban school systems, the authors’ findings indicate that: (1) leaders at all levels co-constructed the vision and implementation of productive data-driven decision-making by creating an ethos of learning and continuous improve...
178 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of formal leaders in helping distributed leadership take root and flourish in schools is explored, focusing on an urban middle school, one of six cases in a larger three-year investigation of distributed leadership in two mid-Atlantic states.
Abstract: In this article, the role that formal leaders play in helping distributed leadership take root and flourish in schools is explored. The focus of the study is an urban middle school, one of six cases in a larger three-year investigation of distributed leadership in two mid-Atlantic states. Using interview and document-based data, the authors illustrate ways in which the principal of Glencoe Middle School worked to overcome cultural, structural and professional barriers to create a leadership dense organisation.
159 citations
119 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that promoting creativity of staff to enhance twenty-first century learning is a fundamental challenge for school leadership today and explore the nature of creative leadership along with conditions leaders establish to support colleagues' creativity.
Abstract: In times of constant change, teachers need to be flexible, adaptable and creative. This article argues that promoting creativity of staff to enhance twenty-first century learning is a fundamental challenge for school leadership today. Drawing on the findings of a research and development project involving senior leadership teams and a local authority team, the nature of creative leadership is explored along with conditions leaders establish to support colleagues’ creativity. The concept of creative leadership also raises questions about context, levels of creativity, the nature of risk taking, and measuring impact, among others. Such issues require further investigation.
80 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the practical steps school leaders can take to ensure that self-evaluation of school performance led, through the effective staff development, to genuine school improvement and identified what schools did that worked, how people helped each other, how obstacles were overcome, and what was done to ensure even greater improvement.
Abstract: As part of a CfBT Education Trust funded study, we investigated the practical steps school leaders can take to ensure that self-evaluation of school performance led, through the effective staff development, to genuine school improvement. On the journey from self-evaluation to school improvement our research identified what schools did that worked, how people helped each other, how obstacles were overcome, and what was done to ensure even greater improvement. The role of continuing development of staff was crucial in helping to address most of the priorities identified through self-evaluation to bring about improvement, enhance the quality of the learning experience, and generally make things better for pupils. In this article we outline the key factors that need consideration by school staff development leaders to ensure that the journey leads from self-evaluation to school improvement.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an integrated review investigates research on equity issues facing five student outcomes in the context of education, policy, regulation, legislation and democratic discourse to promote equity of outcomes.
Abstract: Principals are required by policy, regulation, legislation and democratic discourse to promote equity of outcomes. This integrated review investigates research on equity issues facing five student ...
48 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the concept of partnership within the learning relationship and develop the argument that leaders' personal experiences of reciprocal learning relationships will influence their leadership practice, and thus ultimately the school culture.
Abstract: This article is focused on the concept of partnership within the learning relationship. It develops the argument that leaders’ personal experiences of reciprocal learning relationships will influence their leadership practice, and thus ultimately the school culture. The examination of values and beliefs is central to this process. The co-creation of new knowledge through a learning partnership challenges each person to examine their previous ways of knowing, and their core values and beliefs. Understanding their own learning processes, through the process of meta-cognition and the resulting experience of responsibility for and ownership of one's own learning, effectively highlights for leaders the culture of dependency that can be created through hierarchical, ‘one-way’ power relationships in education, whether in the classroom or staffroom. If we want to make a difference to these traditional notions of hierarchical leadership and hierarchical teaching and learning relationships, we have to provide adult...
42 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the mutual discrete emotions among superiors and their above-and below-average workers within a hierarchical organization (school) using a survey method within a random sample of 40 elementary schools in Northern Israel, each principal and four of his or her teachers completed two questionnaires which addressed the teachers' perceived performance and emotions toward the principal and teacher.
Abstract: The current study examines the mutual discrete emotions among superiors and their above- and below-average workers within a hierarchical organisation (school). Using a survey method within a random sample of 40 elementary schools in Northern Israel, each principal and four of his or her teachers (two who had been appraised as excellent and two who had been appraised as poor-performing) completed two questionnaires which addressed the teachers‘ perceived performance and emotions toward the principal/teacher. As expected, the above-average teachers were found to be more favourably professionally evaluated by their superiors than the poor-performing ones. The principals expressed very positive emotions toward them. These highly regarded workers shared mutually positive feelings and similar teacher performance appraisals with their principals. In contrast with the principals’ evaluations, the below-average teachers perceived their own performance as very good. Unlike the teachers' mainly positive feelings, th...
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the formulation of competences for school leaders in the Netherlands with the aim of supporting them in their personal and team development, and propose an action plan as a tool for individual school leaders and leadership teams to translate the five core competences into context-specific competences.
Abstract: School leaders have been given an important role in initiating and implementing school improvement, which demands new forms of leadership. This invokes the question of the basic competences for leadership that are presently required. This article focuses on the formulation of competences for school leaders in the Netherlands with the aim of supporting them in their personal and team development. The school leaders’ union for secondary education in the Netherlands set up a working group of academics, consultants and school leaders to define these competences. Taking the research evidence of effective leadership as point of departure, the working group formulated a set of five general basic competences. The competences were placed in a general model of effective leadership. An action plan was developed as a tool for individual school leaders and leadership teams to translate the five core competences into context-specific competences for their own school.
39 citations
TL;DR: Work-shadowing is an under-researched aspect of leadership development as discussed by the authors, and it has been identified as one of the key themes in prospective primary headteachers' experience.
Abstract: Work-shadowing is an under-researched aspect of leadership development. This paper places workshadowing in the broader context of responses to the challenges of managing leadership succession in schools, drawing on an evaluation of a pilot shadowing programme for aspiring primary headteachers. The paper identifies a number of key themes in prospective heads’ experience, namely those of transition, capability and identity. It shows how a shadowing programme can address these if appropriate ‘rules of engagement’ are established and if processes are put in place that enable the shadowees to ‘frame’ their experience in relation to both the rationale for the day-to-day interactions of headship and the broader structural and cultural contexts within which headship takes place.
38 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take a narrative methodological approach and consider the experiences of a small group of relatively new primary school heads in England and in Scotland, finding that preparation for headship helped to develop their professional identity, to broaden their outlook and to develop confidence and self-belief.
Abstract: This article reports on part of the data from the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP) introduced in our previous article in School Leadership and Management. The purpose of the study is to consider the relationship between preparation for headship and the leadership and management practice of novice headteachers. In this article we take a narrative methodological approach and consider the experiences of a small group of relatively new primary school heads in England and in Scotland. The narratives suggest that preparation for headship helped to develop their professional identity, to broaden their outlook and to develop their confidence and self-belief. However, our analysis raises questions about how headship is conceptualised, the purpose of preparation programmes and the extent to which headteachers are free to act in principled and innovative ways, and about who is responsible for the design, development, delivery and accreditation of preparation programmes.
TL;DR: The Investing in Diversity program as discussed by the authors provides an opportunity for Black and global majority aspiring leaders to reflect on who they are and what they bring to leadership, and it is hoped that the presence of a more representative workforce and leadership in schools will make a difference, particularly to those communities that have traditionally been failed by the system.
Abstract: This article is prefaced on the proposition that the call for more leaders from diverse backgrounds should be accompanied by the creation of a professional space for those leaders to lead joyously, be authentic as well as effective and influence leadership practice. The Investing in Diversity programme provides an opportunity for Black and global majority aspiring leaders to reflect on who they are and what they bring to leadership. It is hoped that the presence of a more representative workforce and leadership in schools will make a difference, particularly to those communities that have traditionally been failed by the system. Such aspirations will never be realised unless we have leadership preparation programmes that are focussed on producing leaders who have the pursuit of equity and social justice as a central priority. It argues that changing the face of leadership is not enough.
TL;DR: Teachers in the middle, reclaiming the wasteland of the adolescent years of schooling, by John Smyth and Peter McInerney, New York, Peter Lang, 2007, 247 pp., ISBN 0-8204-7459-2 So much of what com...
Abstract: Teachers in the middle, reclaiming the wasteland of the adolescent years of schooling, by John Smyth and Peter McInerney, New York, Peter Lang, 2007, 247 pp., ISBN 0-8204-7459-2 So much of what com...
TL;DR: In this article, a study aimed at exploring desirable constructions of educational leadership among Israeli schoolteachers at three different career stages, as well as tracing the origins of these constructions was carried out.
Abstract: The current study aimed at exploring desirable constructions of educational leadership among Israeli schoolteachers at three different career stages, as well as tracing the origins of these constructions. Based on semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers at early-career stage, 10 at mid-career stage and 10 at late-career stage, the study first found major commonalities among the interviewees with regard to emotional, moral, participative and structural constructions of educational leadership. But, ‘a second reading’ of the data unearthed subtle distinctions among the interviewees, deriving from the teacher's position in the career cycle. The early-career teachers hold an egocentric view of educational leadership while their late-career counterparts present a more multi-focal outlook. Empirical and practical implications are suggested.
TL;DR: A study of headteachers' views and perceptions of continuing professional development (CPD) provision and their ongoing CPD needs and priorities was carried out in 2007 in Scotland as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: This article reports and interprets the findings of a study of headteachers’ views and perceptions of continuing professional development (CPD) provision and their ongoing CPD needs and priorities, carried out in 2007 in Scotland, involving headteachers from the primary and secondary sectors. Topic areas in which headteachers generally were most likely to perceive a need for professional development included: dispersing leadership (empowerment, coaching and building leadership capacity); management skills concerning underachieving staff and learning and teaching; time for reflection (encompassing holistic needs). A need for more time and opportunities for reflection is a theme that pervaded the responses of headteachers, with reflection including cognitive and technical, as well as affective, ethical and spiritual aspects. New headteachers emphasised the technical challenges of the post, enhancing knowledge and understanding of leadership, sustaining/rebuilding confidence, and improved support and informa...
TL;DR: In this paper, a synthesis study of school leadership development conducted for the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) in England is presented, focusing on the concepts of wisdom, deliberation and higher order capacities.
Abstract: This article is based on a synthesis study of school leadership development conducted for the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) in England. It first outlines a perspective on leadership focusing on the concepts of wisdom, deliberation and higher order capacities. Then it describes and assesses two distinct models of leadership learning, emphasising the importance of ‘basic’ management knowledge, skills and processes. There is a discussion of approaches to the choice of methods for leadership development, taking account of evidence about the preferences of participants. Several developing conditions for which school leaders need to be equipped are identified and discussed. Among the conclusions proposed for policy, practice and research are the need for a closer alignment of leadership development with career development and a better understanding of the attributes and skills that underlie the higher order capacities.
TL;DR: In this paper, a matrix based on three dimensions, namely status, roles and management tasks, is proposed to explain the different combinations of relationship between principals and vice-principals.
Abstract: Vice-principals’ role and their relationship with principals are of paramount importance in shaping the effectiveness of school management, particularly after the implementation of school-based management (SBM) worldwide. This paper reports primarily on prior studies on the vice-principalship and suggests a framework to help explain the different working relationships between principals and vice-principals. The framework is a matrix based on three dimensions, namely status, roles and management tasks. The framework was then examined through an illustrative case study. What emerged was that the framework provides a powerful means to explain the different combinations of relationship between principals and vice-principals.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role and value for learning and professional practice of a year's residency in a host school, working with and for an effective headteacher, with particular reference to what are termed "leadership apprenticeships" or internships.
Abstract: How leaders learn to become leaders has been an area of much research. When asked what were the key experiences in learning leadership, leaders often speak of the importance of ‘on-the-job’ experiences, yet these experiences are rarely fully detailed in the research literature. The importance of ‘apprenticeships’ and being attached to institutions for periods of time for learning and development purposes is well known and occurs in a number of occupations from beginning teachers to trades people. This paper investigates ‘on-the-job’ development experiences with particular reference to what are termed ‘leadership apprenticeships’ or internships. Drawing on a recently completed evaluation of an innovative fast track leadership development programme called ‘Future Leaders’, the role and value for learning and professional practice of a year's residency in a host school, working with and for an effective headteacher, is investigated.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the ordinary heroes and heroines who enact school leadership, and from their practice contribute to contemporary leadership literature, are short changed by a tendency towards collective cultural amnesia that denies them ordinary hero status.
Abstract: In the fast paced, fluid contemporary world, and in a headlong rush to invent the future, there is a tendency to jettison aspects of the past as flotsam and jetsam, unworthy of a place in steerage into the future. This paper argues that is some respects the ordinary heroes and heroines who enact school leaderships, and from their practice contribute to contemporary leadership literature, are short changed by a tendency towards collective cultural amnesia that denies them ordinary hero status; a tendency towards emasculation of ordinary heroes and heroines. While situating more contemporary concepts of leadership within a longer trajectory of leadership archetypes, myths and legends, the paper argues that some valuable aspects of more traditional conceptualisations of leadership have been debased, marginalised by a tendency towards celebrity in academic discourses that values more fashionable notions of teacher and distributed leadership where claims to authenticity outstrip available evidentiary warrants,...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the challenges and issues facing school leaders in the implementation of Every Child Matters and outline the factors that contribute to the effective delivery of every child matters and outlines some of the barriers that make the delivery of this agenda more difficult.
Abstract: This article considers the challenges and issues facing school leaders in the implementation of Every Child Matters. It outlines the factors that contribute to the effective delivery of Every Child Matters and outlines some of the barriers that make the delivery of this agenda more difficult. The article concludes that school leaders play a crucial role in ensuring that Every Child Matters is effectively implemented and that it is integral, rather than peripheral, to school development planning.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the impact of power, authority and influence on the sustainability of networks and suggested a suggested model for productive networking relationships among key stakeholders. But, they did not consider the role of teachers in the process of building the network.
Abstract: Although there is limited research into the success of primary school networking initiatives in the UK, there is a drive at national government level for promoting school collaborative working arrangements as a catalyst for whole-school improvement. This paper discusses the findings from research into two such initiatives: Networked Learning Communities and Primary Strategy Learning Networks. The research focused on a reliance on school networks as power bases for promoting a national standards agenda and explores the impact of power, authority and influence on the sustainability of networks. Various types of power partnerships observed in the research are explored further in this paper. Additionally, a suggested ‘ideal’ model for productive networking relationships among key stakeholders is offered for consideration to ensure a higher degree of success in implementing national models of collaborative working practices for school improvement.
TL;DR: The Future Leaders and other fast track leadership development programmes are, in part, a response to this "crisis" brought about by demographic change and by the unappealing nature of headship as a career option.
Abstract: The recruitment and retention of senior school leaders is high on the UK Government's agenda with much attention currently being given to succession planning. Future Leaders and other fast track leadership development programmes are, in part, a response to this ‘crisis’ brought about by demographic change – many headteachers are due to retire in the next few years – and by the unappealing nature of headship as a career option. This paper considers the origins of the leadership development programme ‘Future Leaders’ against this policy backcloth before discussing the programme itself and its component parts, drawing on data collected for the NCSL-funded two-year evaluation. The experiences of the first two cohorts will be elaborated on with reference to the various components of the programme. Finally, the future of headship will be discussed with reference to issues of sustainability, well-being, recruitment and retention, and whether Future Leaders is the way forward.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors map the key features of the community contexts in which a range of challenging urban schools are located, highlighting the community-related issues facing school leaders and identify steps which they can take to strengthen connections with communities and build trust in ways that will benefit children and young people.
Abstract: This article maps the key features of the community contexts in which a range of challenging urban schools are located, highlighting the community-related issues facing school leaders. Whilst recognising the growing demands on school leaders and the need to reconfigure leadership, the author also identifies steps which they can take to strengthen connections with communities and build trust in ways that will benefit children and young people. The article concludes by offering some of the key features of a community-orientated approach to leadership.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the impact of collaboration across small schools on the development of leadership capacity and explore the role of collaboration among small schools in the early stages of a reform agenda.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to explore the impact of collaboration across small schools on the development of leadership capacity. Despite a growing body of research on school leadership, little is known about its function and development in small schools (defined here as NOR < 120). Small schools, of which there are about 2700 in England, collectively cater for significant numbers of children and whilst Ofsted reports have shown that they managed the early school reform agenda well, concerns continue to be raised about their capacity to manage the new reform agenda, e.g. Extended Schools, Every Child Matters, particularly in a period of falling rolls. Leadership capacity would be a significant factor in this challenge. A sample of 72 headteachers of small, mainly rural, schools was recruited in two local authorities. This constituted almost all the schools with NOR < 120. The headteachers were interviewed in the spring and autumn of 2006. The headteachers were fully conversant with the aims of the study and...
TL;DR: Findings include acknowledgement of the requirement for self-directed career development, paucity of skills in preparation for headship, transformation in leadership models and the changing skills, qualities and qualifications required of contemporary and emergent headteachers.
Abstract: In recent years the UK secondary educational landscape has witnessed significant change, with the introduction of an ever-extending spectrum of competing government initiatives and policies. This has resulted in the steady erosion of the traditionally recognised role of headteacher. This paper presents the results of a practitioner-based study centred on the professional career journeys of a selected group of senior incumbent headteachers from across Liverpool, United Kingdom. The purpose of the research was to consider key features of difference in the headteacher role over a 30-year period. Five heads were interviewed about how they rose to headship and the influences and events that guided their career choices. Findings include acknowledgement of the requirement for self-directed career development, paucity of skills in preparation for headship, transformation in leadership models and the changing skills, qualities and qualifications required of contemporary and emergent headteachers.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an overview of the development of the Fast Track teaching programme and personalised nature of the training and support that has been delivered, and compare teacher promotion rates are compared to national statistics demonstrating significant progression for certain groups, particularly women.
Abstract: This article provides an overview of the development of the Fast Track teaching programme and personalised nature of the training and support that has been delivered. Fast Track teacher promotion rates are compared to national statistics demonstrating significant progression for certain groups, particularly women.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the natural tension between bureaucracy and professionalism in schools and found that it is more reasonable to find hierarchical control within the professional group and examine the interplay between teachers and managers within schools more concretely.
Abstract: This article sheds new light on the so-called ‘natural tension’ between bureaucracy and professionalism in schools As it is quite common in the educational field to appoint teachers, it is debatable whether the assumed tension really exists It seems more reasonable to find hierarchical control within the professional group This notion forces to discuss the professional bureaucracy antagonism and to examine the interplay between teachers and managers within schools more concretely The presented findings are based on a recent empiric study that compared the interplay between teachers and middle managers in publicly and privately funded schools
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a special edition of School Leadership and Management, which provides an opportunity for readers to increase their understanding of the issues associated with leadership development and to engage with the ensuing debate about strategies that work, especially in relation to accelerated leadership development.
Abstract: We are very pleased to have been invited to produce this special edition of School Leadership and Management. It is being published at a time when designing strategies for developing educational leaders for future decades is becoming a major responsibility and concern of policy makers and strategists. Well publicised accounts of national shortages of potential school leaders, together with a developing anxiety shared by some of the growing complexity of the headteacher role, have given rise to an increased interest in the area of leadership development. This has been reflected in the growing amount of research and development and provision of leadership development programmes. The latter have included the introduction of so called ‘fast track’ or accelerated leadership programmes, commonplace in the private sector and parts of the public sector but still relatively scarce in education. The contributions of a range of experienced researchers and practitioners in the field of educational leadership development in this special issue provides an opportunity for readers to increase their understanding of the issues associated with leadership development and to engage with the ensuing debate about strategies that work, especially in relation to accelerated leadership development. The first article is based on a synthesis of several studies of school leadership development conducted by Ron Glatter for the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) in England. It offers a series of perspectives on leadership and sheds light on ways in which a series of models impact on leadership learning. Glatter outlines a perspective on leadership focusing on the concepts of wisdom, deliberation and higher-order capacities. He concludes that there is a need for a closer alignment of leadership development with career development and a better understanding of the attributes and skills that underlie the higher order capacities. The Sheffield Hallam University team of Tim Simkins, Paul Close and Robin Smith describe the potential of work shadowing as a means of developing leadership learning and of confronting the challenges brought about by succession planning. Work shadowing is an under-researched aspect of leadership development and their paper is a very useful addition to the literature. The authors draw upon an evaluation of a pilot shadowing programme for aspiring primary headteachers to identify a number of key themes in trainee heads’ experience, namely those of transition, capability and identity. The article highlights important ground rules for underpinning a shadowing experience in schools. The large-scale study of Scottish headteachers’ views and perceptions by Philip A. Woods, Glenys J. Woods and Michael Cowie identifies areas in which leaders saw a need for leadership development. These included dispersing leadership (empowerment, coaching and building leadership capacity); management skills (especially