Showing papers in "School Leadership & Management in 2017"
TL;DR: More than two decades ago, empirical research into middle leadership roles in schools tended to focus largely but not exclusively upon subject leaders and heads of department (Harris, Jamieson, and... as mentioned in this paper ).
Abstract: More than two decades ago, empirical research into middle leadership roles in schools tended to focus largely but not exclusively upon subject leaders and heads of department (Harris, Jamieson, and...
53 citations
TL;DR: As one of the central institutions of society, schooling is subject to significant public interest and scrutiny Fads and fashion successfully developed elsewhere are often rebadged and relaunched as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: As one of the central institutions of society, schooling is subject to significant public interest and scrutiny Fads and fashion successfully developed elsewhere are often rebadged and relaunched
49 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored how principals mediate between the demands of a national reform policy and teachers' attitudes and needs and found that principals used two complementary mediation strategies: mobilizing the teachers towards the reform and mobilising the reform towards the teachers.
Abstract: School principals may be seen as mediating agents, standing at the school doorstep, between the extra-school and intra-school worlds. The principals’ mediating role becomes more crucial during a time of education reform, which involves external demands on the one hand, and teachers’ resistance to these demands on the other. This study explores how principals mediate between the demands of a national reform policy and teachers’ attitudes and needs. In this qualitative study, 59 school principals were interviewed. Findings from the data analysis indicated that principals used two complementary mediation strategies: (1) mobilising the teachers towards the reform and (2) mobilising the reform towards the teachers. The mediating strategies used by principals are discussed, suggesting practical implications and further research avenues.
45 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review of research analyzed topics, conceptual models and research methods employed in 62 EDLM studies from Arab societies published between 2000 and 2016 and characterised these Arab studies as an emerging literature, largely of recent vintage.
Abstract: This review of research analyzed topics, conceptual models and research methods employed in 62 EDLM studies from Arab societies published between 2000 and 2016. Systematic review methods were used to identify relevant studies published in nine core international EDLM journals. Quantitative analyses identified patterns within this set of Arab studies and benchmarked them against trends in the broader EDLM literature. The review characterised these Arab studies as an ‘emerging literature’, largely of recent vintage. Consistent with other literatures from developing societies, topical coverage was diffuse, disconnected and lacking in programmatic inquiry. Recommendations are offered for strengthening future EDLM research in Arab societies.
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the role and responsibilities of the heads of English, Maths, and Science departments in four international secondary schools in Malaysia, focusing on their roles, responsibilities, role relationships, instructional engagement and leadership involvement within the theoretical framework of instructional, distributed and teacher leadership.
Abstract: This paper examines middle leadership of the heads of English, maths and science departments in four international secondary schools in Malaysia. It focuses on their roles, responsibilities, role relationships, instructional engagement and leadership involvement within the theoretical framework of instructional, distributed and teacher leadership. The study is a qualitative multi-method case study, involving observation, documentary analysis, and semi-structured interviews with 12 heads of department, 36 teachers, and four principals. With respect to the middle leaders’ roles and responsibilities, the findings illustrate cross-school and in-school differential developments, with contextual factors contributing to uneasy role relationships. The results also show that, while broad-based leadership opportunities are limited for the middle leaders and teachers, the most powerful and common feature of all these international schools is the centrality of teaching and learning.
34 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the case of the Seminar for Critical Citizenship (SCC) established by teachers of infant, primary, secondary and higher education to experiment with and share innovative practices, and found that while it enables a network for collaboration, egalitarian dialogue and empowerment, certain tensions persist between theory and practice, and in attitudes towards innovation and school culture.
Abstract: Professional development that aims to build school change capacity requires spaces for collaborative action and reflection. These spaces should promote learning and foster skills for distributed leadership in managing school change. The present study analyses the case of the Seminar for Critical Citizenship (SCC) established by teachers of infant, primary, secondary and higher education to experiment with and share innovative practices. A focus group was formed first to identify which factors SCC participants perceived as influencing the development of this leadership for change, and second, to verify whether the SCC offers a space where the development of distributed leadership is promoted. We find that while it enables a network for collaboration, egalitarian dialogue and empowerment, certain tensions persist between theory and practice, and in attitudes towards innovation and school culture.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the problem faced by leaders who want to be evidence informed in their choices of school improvement priorities and the most productive leadership practices to enact in pur...
Abstract: This paper addresses a wicked problem faced by leaders wanting to be evidence informed in their choices of school improvement priorities and the most productive leadership practices to enact in pur...
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used survey data compiled from 176 secondary principals across a state in the Midwest United States, and found four themes of job dissatisfaction are plaguing secondary principals: high job demands with unreasonable expectations, managing difficult stakeholders, problematic work/life balance, and lack of support.
Abstract: Secondary principals serve in important roles that are complex, high-stress, and include demanding job responsibilities. Key stakeholders such as superintendents, school board members, and legislators must understand the challenges facing secondary principals in order to address the current themes of job dissatisfaction. Using new survey data compiled from 176 secondary principals across a state in the Midwest United States, this study shows four themes of job dissatisfaction are plaguing secondary principals: high job demands with unreasonable expectations, managing difficult stakeholders, problematic work/life balance, and lack of support. This study concludes with practical suggestions to address each theme of job dissatisfaction.
21 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined different stages of the women's lives and careers in order to understand what encouraged and influenced them to become educational leaders, and how their experiences shaped their perceptions of headship.
Abstract: This paper presents findings from a study examining the career development experiences of female head-teachers in the south of England. Adapting a three-stage career model, the study examined different stages of the women’s lives and careers in order to understand what encouraged and influenced them to become educational leaders and how their experiences shaped their perceptions of headship. The study used semi-structured life story interviews to generate rich accounts of women’s lives from childhood. Findings suggest that parents exerted significant influence on the participants’ values and ambitions, while teachers influenced their career choices. Their perceptions of headship developed and changed over time, transforming from feelings of shock at the reality and the complexity of headship to control and confidence that increased over first, second and third headships.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an information-based decision-making process for school principals, where teachers have authentic information that they do not transmit in full to the principals, but do not report to them.
Abstract: Purpose: School principals must determine educational policies and make information-based decisions. Teachers have authentic information that they do not transmit in full to the principals....
15 citations
TL;DR: Empirical studies have shown that although leadership shares similar practices across East and West, some practices have inherently distinguished socio cultural characteristics as discussed by the authors. But understanding these practices has not yet been explored.
Abstract: Empirical studies have shown that although leadership shares similar practices across East and West, some practices have inherently distinguished socio cultural characteristics. Understanding these...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore what aspects the principals and the members of the management teams in the primary and upper secondary education schools in Vantaa support distributed leadership in their school and how necessary they see that distributed leadership is extended to the students in matters concerning the curriculum and the development of teaching practices.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to explore what aspects the principals and the members of the management teams in the primary and upper secondary education schools in Vantaa support distributed leadership in their school and how necessary they see that distributed leadership is extended to the students in matters concerning the curriculum and the development of teaching practices. The research method was a survey based on a questionnaire of 48 questions, where the respondents evaluated the preconditions of distributed leadership in their school. The principals and members of the management teams in the primary and upper secondary schools in Vantaa see distributed leadership mostly as delegation of predetermined tasks than the interaction among leaders, followers and situations. The results strengthen the view of distributed leadership as a phenomenon which in its primitive form can be seen in the official structures of the school and as delegation based on a formal position in the more advanced view dist...
TL;DR: In this article, data from an ethnographic study of three secondary school geography departments in England are discussed through a concept of "isomorphism" (homogenising forces), drawn from neo-institutional theory.
Abstract: This paper asks why spatially separated school departments might exhibit, in different ways, very similar practices. Data from an ethnographic study of three secondary school geography departments in England are discussed through a concept of ‘isomorphism’ (homogenising forces), drawn from neo-institutional theory. Similarities across these departments are analysed in terms of coercive isomorphism, including the strong regulatory role played by examination boards and Ofsted; mimetic isomorphism, in which similar approaches are adopted in response to situations of high uncertainty, based on spreading good practice; and normative isomorphism, including the implications of closely guarded educational routes, the professionalisation of teaching, and wider social trends including the increasing use of Google as a source of knowledge for lessons. It is argued that evidence of homogeneity across spatially separated departments raises interesting questions about teachers’ practice, with implications for departmental and school leadership.
TL;DR: For instance, this paper pointed out that it is easier to think of borrowing strategies from some systems, deemed to be performing at a higher level, if you block out their more unpalatable cultural features.
Abstract: Internationally, the pursuit of ever higher system performance remains a prevalent and persistent policy obsession. Fuelled by international assessments, such as PISA, there is a global fixation with the ‘high-performing’ education systems accompanied by a wide range of attributions, descriptions, and analysis. The world-wide interest in international benchmarking has generated a flurry of publications and reports that are centrally concerned with outlining the features of ‘best performing’ education systems (e.g. Barber and Mourshed 2007; Mourshed, Chijioke, and Barber 2010; Goodwin 2014; Jensen et al. 2016). In the past few years, these reports and accounts have been supplemented by indepth, single-country accounts written by scholars from within systems. For example, ‘Finnish Lessons’ (Sahlberg 2015) ‘Learning from Singapore’ (Ng 2017) and ‘Empowered Educators in Canada’ (Campbell et al. 2017) are empirically-based narratives that chart the progress and improvement trajectory of individual education systems. These accounts of single-system success offer important points of comparison for the international community and highlight alternative ways of thinking about improving educational performance at scale. Prior to PISA, comparative education tended to be rarely on the radar of those responsible for policy decisions. Now those charged with improving education systems look eagerly to other countries for guidance, strategies, and inspiration, in the hope that emulating the best systems could be a failsafe strategy of securing better outcomes (Harris and Jones 2017). In the pursuit of educational improvement at scale, the issue of context and culture remain an important consideration (Harris and Jones 2015). In recent years, however, responses to international assessments have tended to marginalise and minimalize cultural considerations (Harris and Jones 2017). Possibly, because it is easier to think of borrowing strategies from some systems, deemed to be performing at a higher level, if you block out their more unpalatable cultural features. Most recently, the idea of using maths textbooks from China in English classrooms has attracted much media attention (New York Times 2017). Little is said, however, about the more negative aspects of the Chinese education system or the pressure exacted on Chinese children to learn (Liu 2016). Also, the more harmful side-effects of policy borrowing, like this, are often conveniently airbrushed out (Zhao 2017). By cherry picking one or two strategies without seeing the whole picture is like driving to a new location without a map or a sat nav and hoping that one or two key landmarks will guide you to your destination. The point here is that understanding exactly how certain approaches or strategies work and exactly why they work in context, requires a more sophisticated analysis of the cultural dynamics that operate within an education system.
TL;DR: The centrality of teachers' professional learning in securing better outcomes for students is widely acknowledged and accepted as mentioned in this paper, and there is evidence about the teacher practices that have the largest e...
Abstract: The centrality of teachers’ professional learning in securing better outcomes for students is widely acknowledged and accepted. There is evidence about the teacher practices that have the largest e...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the perceptions of student-teachers of educational leadership and management with regard to the roles of homeroom teachers and subject teachers in secondary schools, and the most prevailing leadership model that emerged from the findings is transformational with four other models, all of which are congruent with the humanistic approach to teaching.
Abstract: The study explored the perceptions of student-teachers of educational leadership and management with regard to the roles of homeroom teachers and subject teachers in secondary schools. The participants of the study are students in the biggest College of Education in Israel. The analysis was conducted on the students’ posts in an online forum of an academic course using qualitative and quantitative methods. The students’ posts indicated a differentiation between the perceptions of the two roles on the level of ideology as opposed to the practical level. The most prevailing leadership model that emerged from the findings is transformational with four other models, all of which are congruent with the humanistic approach to teaching. Further research should focus on the gaps between school reality and teacher education programmes in order to facilitate the induction phase for novice teachers.
TL;DR: The authors argue for a theoretically robust form of distributed leadership conceptualised as socio-cultural practice and framed as a product of the joint interactions of school leaders, followers and aspects of their situation.
Abstract: Distributed leadership, while an established concept in the international literature on education leadership, is slowly gaining prominence in post-apartheid South Africa. This is primarily due to its normative and representational appeal. However, of concern is that the concept has become a catch-all phrase to describe any form of devolved or shared leadership and is being espoused as ‘the answer’ to the country’s educational leadership woes. Drawing on a South African publications-based doctoral study of distributed teacher leadership (Grant 2010. “Distributed Teacher Leadership: Troubling the Terrain.” Unpublished PhD diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg) for its evidence, this article argues for a theoretically robust form of distributed leadership conceptualised as socio-cultural practice and framed as a product of the joint interactions of school leaders, followers and aspects of their situation (Gronn 2000. “Distributed Properties: A New Architecture for Leadership.” Educatio...
TL;DR: This article explored trust relationships in schools that involve disparities in power and provided general recommendations for all levels of school leadership including but not limited to the instructional coach, the curriculum supervisor, the building principal and the classroom teacher.
Abstract: This article explores trust relationships in schools that involve disparities in power. Trust is a key factor in developing a positive school culture and strong leadership in schools. Even with the flattening of hierarchies through more distributive models of leadership, disparities in power exist and they influence the trust relationships in schools. Through both French and Raven’s and Follett’s conceptualisations of power, five brief autobiographical stories about trust in schools are deconstructed. Lessons for leadership are gleaned from the power relationships in the autobiographical stories of trust shared by public school educators. In addition, general recommendations are offered that are relevant for all levels of school leadership including but not limited to the instructional coach, the curriculum supervisor, the building principal, and the classroom teacher.
TL;DR: Results affirmed the necessity for cultural adaptation of ‘Western’ curricula and tools for use in the Chinese context and the positive response of the Chinese school principals to learning via an online computer simulation suggested future potential for employing technology-facilitated, active learning modes in China.
Abstract: School leader training has become a critical strategy in educational reform. However, in China, there still exists a big gap in terms of how to transfer leadership knowledge into practice. Thus, tools that can integrate formal knowledge into practice are called for urgently in school leader training. This paper presents the results of a research and development (R&D) approach to adapt an existing online computer simulation, Making Change Happen™, for use in Mainland China. The paper describes the process used to inform and assess our cultural adaptation of the simulation, as well as the response of Chinese principals to learning through this innovative method. Results affirmed the necessity for cultural adaptation of ‘Western’ curricula and tools for use in the Chinese context. The positive response of the Chinese school principals to learning via an online computer simulation suggested future potential for employing technology-facilitated, active learning modes in China. Implications are outlined...
TL;DR: An adult ego development (AED) perspective accepts that the way adults interpret and interact in the social world can change during their life-span as discussed by the authors, and the validity and potential of AED for enhancing understandings of educational leadership practice and development.
Abstract: An adult ego development (AED) perspective accepts that the way adults interpret and interact in the social world can change during their life-span This article seeks to analyse the validity and potential of AED for enhancing understandings of educational leadership practice and development We analysed the AED literature and interviewed 16 individuals in senior leadership positions in the English school system The interviews enabled them to explore the notion of AED and to reflect on their own sense-making capability and their experience of school leaders they considered to be in the different stages of AED Educational leaders judged to be in the different AED stages were encountered by respondents to varying extents and were experienced and valued differently Those considered to be in the later AED stages appeared to be more highly valued and their sense-making capabilities may have substantial value in the complex working environment of schools The analyses showed that: AED has a considera
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used an ideological framework based on the common shared understandings across each school pertaining to each ideology and found the tensions, subtleties and nuances of two dominant and competing ideologies: a dominant discourse of individual schooling purpose for student mobility and economic productivity and an emerging public purposes ideology of education for good citizenship, sustainable futures and the public good.
Abstract: Purpose: The research seeks to capture the ‘special character’ of schools as seen through the eyes of the Principal and to introduce alternative understandings of ideological praxis’ to challenge and unsettle the dominant ideology and logics of secondary schooling with consequent school design implications in South Australia.Design/methodology/approach: Using an ideological framework based, the research focussed on the common shared understandings across each school pertaining to each ideology. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed through interpretive and hermeneutic processes.Findings: The findings show the tensions, subtleties and nuances of two dominant and competing ideologies: a dominant discourse of individual schooling purpose for student mobility and economic productivity and an emerging public purposes ideology of education for good citizenship, sustainable futures and the public good. The dominant neoliberal public policy ideology and the associated historic...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored how using collaborative twenty-first century digital tools developed the collective leadership capacity among participants in an educational leadership course and used a qualitative interpretive approach to explore how learning within digital collaborative spaces was multidirectional and enhanced the possibilities of each student's learning and practice.
Abstract: The current research explores how using collaborative twenty-first century digital tools developed the collective leadership capacity among participants in an educational leadership course. A qualitative interpretive approach was used. The data show how learning within the digital collaborative spaces was multidirectional and enhanced the possibilities of each student’s learning and practice. Communicating, curating and sharing knowledge, led to the development of new insights and support of mutual practice. The authors argue that the group’s collaborative endeavours produced substantive collective knowledge that elevated practice, and in so doing created collective leadership capacity within educational institutions and organisations in Trinidad and Tobago.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used a qualitative case study method to understand whether John Dewey's theory of education for peace was able to effect change in Palestinian-Arab and Jewish school education in Israel.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to exemplify a ‘grass-roots’ change based on Dewey's experimental progressive education model employed in the ‘Bridge over the Valley’ bilingual school, a Palestinian-Arab and Jewish school in Israel. In order to identify the progressive ‘approach' underlying this change, the ‘method' that guided the implementation of a bilingual school, it's evaluation and then its dissemination to other schools, we used a qualitative case study method to understand whether John Dewey’s theory of education for peace was able to effect change in Palestinian-Arab and Jewish school education in Israel. The case findings describes the use of the progressive approach of education for peace in the ‘Bridge over the Valley’ bilingual school, as it is expressed in the school’s pedagogy, the implementation of the progressive method and in the accompanying discourse. Reciprocal teacher–child relations are considered an important factor to create fertile conditions for learning. The case findings...
TL;DR: In this paper, the main aim of the research was to secure a better understanding of how local authorities, senior leadership teams and teachers in state schools perceive their responsibilities for t....
Abstract: The main aim of this research was to secure a better understanding of how local authorities (LAs), senior leadership teams (SLTs) and teachers in state schools perceive their responsibilities for t...
TL;DR: This article found that the relational leadership and organisational culture at a public primary school situated in a high poverty location in South Australia was built upon the strength of the inter-relationships between the teachers, teachers and leadership, and between teachers and students.
Abstract: This case study research found that the relational leadership and organisational culture at a public primary school situated in a high poverty location in South Australia was built upon the strength of the inter-relationships between the teachers, teachers and leadership, and between teachers and students. Supported by what we called ‘dynamic inter-relationships’ and a ‘commitment to ongoing growth’ manifesting as key themes across the qualitative survey data generated by the school’s participants, we found the individual strengths of staff served the ‘on-going formation of organisational life’. Cognisant of these disclosed relational underpinnings, the research provided recommendations to the school’s leadership team about how they could best progress their educational reform agenda. The findings affirmed an Appreciative Inquiry inspired approach designed for the research was ‘fit for purpose’ as it generated extensive qualitative data from the teachers and leaders, offering opportunity for deep ...
TL;DR: This article explored the understandings and attitudes in two public primary schools (one in New South Wales (Australia) and one in Slovakia) whilst using qualitative research methods based on semi-structured interviews with staff members.
Abstract: The concept of distributed leadership has been widely accepted and scrutinised in research and practice since the beginning of the new millennium. Nonetheless, there is a lack of academic research on how school staff members perceive the term and to what extent they are willing to employ it as part of their daily practices. This article aims to explore these understandings and attitudes in two public primary schools – one in New South Wales (Australia) and one in Slovakia – whilst using qualitative research methods based on semi-structured interviews with staff members. The findings of this study reveal that participants often present very contradictory attitudes towards employing distributed leadership in practice. On the one hand, they require maximising the processes of distributed leadership and, on the other hand, they welcome various instances of solo/autocratic leadership practices by the principal. They also often conflated the concepts of distributed leadership and democratic leadership. ...
TL;DR: There is a long history about the roles and responsibilities of the public intellectual as mentioned in this paper, and the role and responsibility of public intellectual has been discussed in a wide range of contexts, such as academia.
Abstract: There is a long history about the roles and responsibilities of the ‘public intellectual’ (Hattie 2010). Said (1993), for example, argued that academics need to stand outside society and its instit...
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of meetings held by a working group comprising academics and local authority staff set up to develop masters-level work-based professional learning for teachers is presented.
Abstract: The rhetoric of partnership is ubiquitous in the current policy context. In education, partnerships take a number of forms among which is ‘interorganisational collaboration’ (IOC), defined as a partnership between institutions/organisations aimed at developing synergistic solutions to complex problems. But policy has a tendency to veneer, obscuring its enactment. The purpose of this paper is therefore to examine what such partnerships look like on the ground. Here we present an empirical analysis which aims to produce knowledge about the working of such collaborative groups and to provide insights into leadership within such partnerships. Drawing on communicative constitution of organisations operationalised within a schema for understanding the emergence of collective identity in IOC, we undertake an analysis of meetings held by a working group comprising academics and local authority staff set up to develop masters-level work-based professional learning for teachers. We ask, how do professionals...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse how teachers and government may differ in their views regarding the qualities required to be an effective middle manager with responsibility for Physical Education (PE) with respect to the practices associated with a performative work culture and how this has affected teacher language.
Abstract: The aim of this paper was to analyse how teachers and government may differ in their views regarding the qualities required to be an effective middle manager with responsibility for Physical Education (PE). Lines of inquiry were based upon the practices associated with a performative work culture and how this has affected teacher language. There is a perception that Heads of Physical Education (HoPE) could possibly hold different views to those espoused by government. A content analysis was used to research differences between the language used by HoPE in the form of questionnaire responses and that used by government through OFSTED publications. An analysis of job adverts for middle management positions in PE was also undertaken to provide an extra dimension for comparison. Results showed that OFSTED documents reflecting government ideology used a language of performativity to describe leadership characteristics at a higher rate than that used by HoPE who revealed a preference for more personal, ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the political, social and economic shifts that are occurring globally, and nationally, and the challenges faced in the next few years are discussed. But the authors focus on the challenges facing schools and school systems.
Abstract: Those leading schools and school systems face unprecedented and unpredictable challenges in the next few years. The political, social and economic shifts that are occurring globally, and nationally...