Effective Instructional Time Use for School Leaders: Longitudinal Evidence From Observations of Principals
01 Nov 2013-Educational Researcher (SAGE PublicationsSage CA: Los Angeles, CA)-Vol. 42, Iss: 8, pp 433-444
TL;DR: This article examined the associations between leadership behaviors and student achievement gains using a unique data source: in-person, full-day observations of approximately 100 urban principals collected over three school years.
Abstract: Scholars have long argued that principals should be instructional leaders, but few studies have empirically linked specific instructional leadership behaviors to school performance. This study examines the associations between leadership behaviors and student achievement gains using a unique data source: in-person, full-day observations of approximately 100 urban principals collected over 3 school years. We find that principals’ time spent broadly on instructional functions does not predict student achievement growth. Aggregating across leadership behaviors, however, masks that some specific instructional investments predict year-to-year gains. In particular, time spent on teacher coaching, evaluation, and developing the school’s educational program predict positive achievement gains. In contrast, time spent on informal classroom walkthroughs negatively predicts student growth, particularly in high schools. Additional survey and interview evidence suggests this negative association may arise because princ...
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: This article found that teachers and schools that engage in better quality collaboration have better achievement gains in math and reading, and teachers improve at greater rates when they work in schools with better collaboration quality.
Abstract: This study draws upon survey and administrative data on over 9,000 teachers in 336 Miami-Dade County public schools over 2 years to investigate the kinds of collaborations that exist in instructional teams across the district and whether these collaborations predict student achievement. While different kinds of teachers and schools report different collaboration quality, we find average collaboration quality is related to student achievement. Teachers and schools that engage in better quality collaboration have better achievement gains in math and reading. Moreover, teachers improve at greater rates when they work in schools with better collaboration quality. These results support policy efforts to improve student achievement by promoting teacher collaboration about instruction in teams.
417 citations
TL;DR: Leithwood, Harris, and Hopkins as mentioned in this paper published an article in this journal entitled Seven Strong Claims about Successful School Leadership, which was based on a major literature re-...
Abstract: In 2008 we published an article in this journal entitled Seven Strong Claims about Successful School Leadership (Leithwood, Harris, and Hopkins 2008). The article was based on a major literature re...
362 citations
Cites background from "Effective Instructional Time Use fo..."
...…evidence available which demonstrates the modest but consistently significant indirect contributions of school leadership to pupil learning, as well as the catalytic effects of such leadership on other consequential features of the school and its community (e.g. Grissom, Loeb, and Master 2013)....
[...]
Posted Content•
TL;DR: This paper identified multiple conceptual approaches for capturing the contributions of principals to student test score growth, developed empirical models to reflect these approaches, examines the properties of these models, and compares the results of the models empirically using data from a large urban school district.
Abstract: Expansion of the use of student test score data to measure teacher performance has fueled recent policy interest in using those data to measure the effects of school administrators as well. However, little research has considered the capacity of student performance data to uncover principal effects. Filling this gap, this article identifies multiple conceptual approaches for capturing the contributions of principals to student test score growth, develops empirical models to reflect these approaches, examines the properties of these models, and compares the results of the models empirically using data from a large urban school district. The paper then assesses the degree to which the estimates from each model are consistent with measures of principal performance that come from sources other than student test scores, such as school district evaluations. The results show that choice of model is substantively important for assessment. While some models identify principal effects as large as 0.15 standard deviations in math and 0.11 in reading, others find effects as low as 0.02 in both subjects for the same principals. We also find that the most conceptually unappealing models, which over-attribute school effects to principals, align more closely with non-test measures than do approaches that more convincingly separate the effect of the principal from the effects of other school inputs.
182 citations
Cites background from "Effective Instructional Time Use fo..."
...Similarly, Grissom, Loeb, and Master (2013), using data from longitudinal observations of principals, show that principal time spent on specific areas of instructional leadership—including coaching and evaluation—is associated with higher math achievement gains....
[...]
14 Nov 2015
TL;DR: The authors found that teachers and schools that engage in better quality collaboration have better achievement gains in math and reading, and teachers improve at greater rates when they work in schools with better collaboration quality.
Abstract: This study draws upon survey and administrative data on over 9,000 teachers in 336 Miami-Dade County public schools over 2 years to investigate the kinds of collaborations that exist in instructional teams across the district and whether these collaborations predict student achievement. While different kinds of teachers and schools report different collaboration quality, we find average collaboration quality is related to student achievement. Teachers and schools that engage in better quality collaboration have better achievement gains in math and reading. Moreover, teachers improve at greater rates when they work in schools with better collaboration quality. These results support policy efforts to improve student achievement by promoting teacher collaboration about instruction in teams.
149 citations
TL;DR: The use of student test score data to measure teacher performance has fueled recent policy interest in using those data for measuring the effects of school administrators as well as discussed by the authors, however, the use of such data has been controversial.
Abstract: Expansion of the use of student test score data to measure teacher performance has fueled recent policy interest in using those data to measure the effects of school administrators as well. However...
144 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a comprehensive survey of the economics of education from an international perspective, which includes new chapters on educational costs and benefits, teacher's salaries and educational finance.
Abstract: The main aim of the book is to present a comprehensive survey of the economics of education from an international perspective. This revised volume includes new chapters on educational costs and benefits, teacher's salaries and educational finance.
2,421 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relative impact of different types of leadership on students' academic and non-academic outcomes and concluded that the average effect of instructional leadership on student outcomes was three to four times that of transformational leadership.
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relative impact of different types of leadership on students' academic and nonacademic outcomes.Research Design:The methodology involved an analysis of findings from 27 published studies of the relationship between leadership and student outcomes. The first meta-analysis, including 22 of the 27 studies, involved a comparison of the effects of transformational and instructional leadership on student outcomes. The second meta-analysis involved a comparison of the effects of five inductively derived sets of leadership practices on student outcomes. Twelve of the studies contributed to this second analysis.Findings: The first meta-analysis indicated that the average effect of instructional leadership on student outcomes was three to four times that of transformational leadership. Inspection of the survey items used to measure school leadership revealed five sets of leadership practices or dimensions: establishing goals and expectations; resourcing strategi...
2,112 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed research from 1980-1995 exploring the relationship between principal leadership and student achievement and found that principals exercise a measurable, though indirect, effect on school effectiveness and student performance, while this indirect effect is relatively small, it is statistically significant and supports the general belief among educators that principals contribute to school effectiveness.
Abstract: This article reviews research from 1980‐1995 exploring the relationship between principal leadership and student achievement. The focuses is on the substantive findings that emerged from the review. Earlier reports focused on conceptual and methodological issues. The general pattern of results drawn from this review supports the belief that principals exercise a measurable, though indirect effect on school effectiveness and student achievement. While this indirect effect is relatively small, it is statistically significant and supports the general belief among educators that principals contribute to school effectiveness and improvement. Moreover, the review suggests that previously described discrepancies in research results may be explained by the conceptual and methodological tools employed by researchers. We also emphasize the limitations of these studies. Even taken as a group they do not resolve the most important theoretical and practical issues concerning the means by which principals achi...
1,636 citations
"Effective Instructional Time Use fo..." refers background in this paper
...…(e.g., curriculum coordination, how students are grouped) and intermediate outcomes, such as high teacher expectations and a school climate focused on instruction (Bossert, Dwyer, Rowan, & Lee, 1982; Hallinger, Bickman, & Davis, 1996; Hallinger & Heck, 1998; Supovitz, Sirinides, & May, 2010)....
[...]
992 citations
"Effective Instructional Time Use fo..." refers background in this paper
...…instruction, evaluating progress, coordinating the curriculum, planning professional development, and protecting instructional time (e.g., Hallinger & Murphy, 1985; Hallinger, 2005)—but a major thrust of this literature is that strong instructional leaders are “hands-on leaders, engaged…...
[...]
...…in importance as a result of state and district policy shifts toward more rigorous evaluation systems (Donaldson, 2009; Ebmeier, 2003); professional development (Blase & Blase, 1999; Youngs & King, 2002); and developing the school’s educational or curricular program (Hallinger & Murphy, 1985)....
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of related literature and research prompted the development of a framework for understanding the role of the principal as an instructional manager, and a number of links between school-level variables and student learning are proposed.
Abstract: This review of related literature and research prompted the development of a framework for understanding the role of the principal as an instructional manager. A number of links between school-level variables and student learning are proposed. The discussion includes consideration of instrictional organization, school climate, influence behavior, and the context of principal management.
932 citations