This article seeks to explain the ways in which leadership makes a difference to the quality of i... more This article seeks to explain the ways in which leadership makes a difference to the quality of instruction in US schools by reviewing research published since 2000. The review of research is presented in three major sections, organised according to the methodology used in ...
The William J. Davis Award is given annually to the author (s) of the most outstanding article pu... more The William J. Davis Award is given annually to the author (s) of the most outstanding article published in Educational Administration Quarterly (EAQ) during the preceding volume year. The article selection is made by a three-member panel chosen from the EAQ Editorial Board members who have not published in the volume being reviewed.
Educational Administration Quarterly, Dec 26, 2007
Purpose: The study is a two-stage inquiry into the influence of high school principals and depart... more Purpose: The study is a two-stage inquiry into the influence of high school principals and department chairpersons on the nature of science and mathematics teachers' community of practice participation. Of particular interest is the extent to which formal leaders influence the formation of productive communities of practice and the extent to which leaders affect teachers' professional beliefs and their instructional skills. Research Design: Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) Second Follow-up Teacher File, measures for the analysis are constructed with the Rasch model. Analysis proceeds in two stages using hierarchical linear modeling. The first stage investigates the importance of school leaders to mathematics and science teachers' participation in productive communities of practice. The second stage looks at the relationship between school leadership and teachers' competence and pedagogical skills, net of the influence of communities of practice. Findings: Results suggest that both principals and department chairpersons are instrumental in shaping opportunities for teachers to learn in communities of practice. Furthermore, results show that principals are well removed from the instructional concerns of teachers and that department chairpersons might serve to slow down the rate of instructional change. Conclusions: The connections between school-level leadership and teachers' social learning in their communities of practice have drawn the recent attention of those writing about and conducting research on teacher communities. Researchers, practitioners, and policy makers want to know if school leaders can make a difference in how teachers think about their work and the quality of their instruction in classrooms. Findings offer insight into important links in the causal chain between leadership and student achievement.
Transformational leadership by the principal appears to be a precondition of shared instructional... more Transformational leadership by the principal appears to be a precondition of shared instructional leadership in schools, but does not guarantee that principals and teachers will collaborate on curriculum and instruction. The present study, a content analysis of existing case studies, explores the ways in which teachers respond to transformational leadership by the principal, with particular attention to the influence and conditions that activate interdependent relationships and enhance both shared transformational leadership and shared instructional leadership. A contrast school, where shared instructional leadership did not take hold, suggests that structures and processes that organize teachers" work differently do not automatically result in the kinds of interactions associated with quality teaching and learning.
Perhaps you've heard me, or someone else, say that taking courses counts for only half of you... more Perhaps you've heard me, or someone else, say that taking courses counts for only half of your doctoral education. In terms of time and energy required, the dissertation easily equals or exceeds what you put into your coursework. What you take away from completing a dissertation study in terms of knowledge and skills about your topic goes well beyond what you learn from any combination of courses. Thinking about it that way points to the importance of picking your dissertation topic wisely. You will literally live your life around your dissertation for two or three years. Understand that I'm not a person in favor of forcing the dissertation topic selection early in your program. Doing so narrows your opportunities to learn about education broadly, and I believe a wide exposure to theory, policy, and research is a critical aspect of one's doctoral program. Even so, the pressure to choose a dissertation topic is one you will be aware of from the beginning of your program. ...
Focusing on school leadership relations between principals and teachers, this study ex-amines the... more Focusing on school leadership relations between principals and teachers, this study ex-amines the potential of their active collaboration around instructional matters to en-hance the quality of teaching and student performance. The analysis is grounded in two conceptions of leadership—transformational and instructional. The sample comprises 24 nationally selected restructured schools—8 elementary, 8middle, and 8 high schools. In keeping with the multilevel structure of the data, the primary analytic technique is hi-erarchical linear modeling (HLM). The study finds that transformational leadership is a necessary but insufficient condition for instructional leadership.When transformational and shared instructional leadership coexist in an integrated formof leadership, the influ-ence on school performance, measured by the quality of its pedagogy and the achieve-ment of its students, is substantial.
This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of ho... more This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of how principals and teachers share leadership influence in schools, with a particular focus on how that leadership increases the likelihood of teachers making changes or improvements to their instructional practice. Studies are organized into three categories: first, studies that explore the effects shared leadership has on instruction; second, studies that demonstrate how added teacher leader roles influence instructional practice; and third, studies that pursue the benefits and challenges of collaborative inquiry. Key ideas drawn from the research offer insight for high leverage actions principals can take to encourage shared leadership and improved teaching and learning. The chapter concludes with implications for policy and research.
Hiring the right personnel has been shown to be among the best forms of quality control for organ... more Hiring the right personnel has been shown to be among the best forms of quality control for organizations (Collins, 2001). Hiring a superintendent can be a quandary for selection committees, since it is impossible to know how things will work out in the future when decisions are based on each candidate’s past history and the district’s current status. Who will adequately lead the district into the projected future? What are the critical considerations? How do you make decisions? This chapter introduces the quandary of hiring a new superintendent for a small, rural, but rapidly changing school district. In this case, a decision needs to be made about which of two finalists should be offered the superintendency.
ABSTRACT Improving the quality of teachers in schools is a keystone to educational improvement. N... more ABSTRACT Improving the quality of teachers in schools is a keystone to educational improvement. New and veteran teachers alike need to enhance their content knowledge and pedagogical skills, but they must also examine, and often change, their underlying attitudes, beliefs, and values about the nature of knowledge and the abilities of students. Best accomplished collectively rather than individually, the interactions between teachers as they undertake the process of collaborative inquiry create "communities of practice." This dissertation investigates the importance of science and mathematics teachers' participation in communities of practice to their professional capabilities. The study tests the hypothesis that the social learning inherent in community of practice participation encourages teachers to learn from others with expertise, enhances teachers' sense of competence, and increases the likelihood that teachers' will use student-centered, problem-based instructional techniques aligned with national disciplinary standards. The researcher conceptualizes communities of practice along two dimensions that affect social learning: legitimate participation in activities and span of engagement with school members. Differences in teachers' subject area and the curricular track of their teaching assignment contribute to variation in teachers' participation in communities of practice along those dimensions. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, first and second follow-up, the study has two stages of multi-level analysis. The first stage examines factors that contribute to teachers' participation in communities of practice, including teachers' social and professional characteristics and school demographic and organizational characteristics. The second stage investigates the professional impact of such participation on the three outcome variables: teacher learning, teacher competence, and use of standards-based pedagogy. Hierarchical linear models provide evidence that teachers' participation in communities of practice significantly increases teacher learning, competence, and use of student-centered techniques. For two dependent variables, communities of practice and standards-based pedagogy, the analyses include significant interactions for subject and curricular track. Findings from the study suggest that communities of practice serve both an adaptability and a stability function. Even as the social learning inherent in communities of practice enables teachers to gain knowledge, modify beliefs, and change instructional practice, it also results in normative pressure to maintain institutionalized approaches to instruction.
This study explored how the governance leadership of Ohio's urban school districts views and ... more This study explored how the governance leadership of Ohio's urban school districts views and deals with major governance issues related to student achievement. Five sets of issues were chosen as the focus of the research: (1) the recruitment, selection, retention, and evaluation of Ohio urban superintendents of schools and school district treasurers; (2) recruitment, selection, assignment, and evaluation of teachers, principals, and other professionals in urban systems; (3) school board effectiveness; (4) escalating competition for planning time and resources as it drains district capacities for governing and managing urban districts; and (5) technology, egovernment, and institutional oversight. Researchers conducted a set of focus groups in three areas of the state, additional focus groups of administrators, and a conference on governance and student achievement attended by representatives of nine urban school districts. Findings from these focus groups and conferences are grou...
This study investigated differences in patterns of governance policies, practices, and attitudes ... more This study investigated differences in patterns of governance policies, practices, and attitudes between higher and lower performing urban Ohio school districts. Public domain data included official district records, state documents, and newspaper articles. Case studies of four districts found that districts were similar on the DeRolph v. State of Ohio funding lawsuit, levies dominating recent major events, and in handling of IDEA requirements. All districts used a committee structure as an organizing mechanism. There were some differences in contractual issues and level and distribution of human resources for operation, though they were not identifiable on the basis of performance level. The first noticeable difference related to community economics. Lower performing districts had lower median family incomes and more families living in poverty than did higher performing districts. Board members as governance leaders in lower performing districts focused more on personal issues than...
This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of ho... more This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of how principals and teachers share leadership influence in schools, with a particular focus on how that leadership increases the likelihood of teachers making changes or improvements to their instructional practice. Studies are organized into three categories: first, studies that explore the effects shared leadership has on instruction; second, studies that demonstrate how added teacher leader roles influence instructional practice; and third, studies that pursue the benefits and challenges of collaborative inquiry. Key ideas drawn from the research offer insight for high leverage actions principals can take to encourage shared leadership and improved teaching and learning. The chapter concludes with implications for policy and research. Printy Leadership Levers 3 Those who study leadership in schools often set a goal to demonstrate the influence principals have on student learning outcomes...
This article seeks to explain the ways in which leadership makes a difference to the quality of i... more This article seeks to explain the ways in which leadership makes a difference to the quality of instruction in US schools by reviewing research published since 2000. The review of research is presented in three major sections, organised according to the methodology used in ...
The William J. Davis Award is given annually to the author (s) of the most outstanding article pu... more The William J. Davis Award is given annually to the author (s) of the most outstanding article published in Educational Administration Quarterly (EAQ) during the preceding volume year. The article selection is made by a three-member panel chosen from the EAQ Editorial Board members who have not published in the volume being reviewed.
Educational Administration Quarterly, Dec 26, 2007
Purpose: The study is a two-stage inquiry into the influence of high school principals and depart... more Purpose: The study is a two-stage inquiry into the influence of high school principals and department chairpersons on the nature of science and mathematics teachers' community of practice participation. Of particular interest is the extent to which formal leaders influence the formation of productive communities of practice and the extent to which leaders affect teachers' professional beliefs and their instructional skills. Research Design: Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) Second Follow-up Teacher File, measures for the analysis are constructed with the Rasch model. Analysis proceeds in two stages using hierarchical linear modeling. The first stage investigates the importance of school leaders to mathematics and science teachers' participation in productive communities of practice. The second stage looks at the relationship between school leadership and teachers' competence and pedagogical skills, net of the influence of communities of practice. Findings: Results suggest that both principals and department chairpersons are instrumental in shaping opportunities for teachers to learn in communities of practice. Furthermore, results show that principals are well removed from the instructional concerns of teachers and that department chairpersons might serve to slow down the rate of instructional change. Conclusions: The connections between school-level leadership and teachers' social learning in their communities of practice have drawn the recent attention of those writing about and conducting research on teacher communities. Researchers, practitioners, and policy makers want to know if school leaders can make a difference in how teachers think about their work and the quality of their instruction in classrooms. Findings offer insight into important links in the causal chain between leadership and student achievement.
Transformational leadership by the principal appears to be a precondition of shared instructional... more Transformational leadership by the principal appears to be a precondition of shared instructional leadership in schools, but does not guarantee that principals and teachers will collaborate on curriculum and instruction. The present study, a content analysis of existing case studies, explores the ways in which teachers respond to transformational leadership by the principal, with particular attention to the influence and conditions that activate interdependent relationships and enhance both shared transformational leadership and shared instructional leadership. A contrast school, where shared instructional leadership did not take hold, suggests that structures and processes that organize teachers" work differently do not automatically result in the kinds of interactions associated with quality teaching and learning.
Perhaps you've heard me, or someone else, say that taking courses counts for only half of you... more Perhaps you've heard me, or someone else, say that taking courses counts for only half of your doctoral education. In terms of time and energy required, the dissertation easily equals or exceeds what you put into your coursework. What you take away from completing a dissertation study in terms of knowledge and skills about your topic goes well beyond what you learn from any combination of courses. Thinking about it that way points to the importance of picking your dissertation topic wisely. You will literally live your life around your dissertation for two or three years. Understand that I'm not a person in favor of forcing the dissertation topic selection early in your program. Doing so narrows your opportunities to learn about education broadly, and I believe a wide exposure to theory, policy, and research is a critical aspect of one's doctoral program. Even so, the pressure to choose a dissertation topic is one you will be aware of from the beginning of your program. ...
Focusing on school leadership relations between principals and teachers, this study ex-amines the... more Focusing on school leadership relations between principals and teachers, this study ex-amines the potential of their active collaboration around instructional matters to en-hance the quality of teaching and student performance. The analysis is grounded in two conceptions of leadership—transformational and instructional. The sample comprises 24 nationally selected restructured schools—8 elementary, 8middle, and 8 high schools. In keeping with the multilevel structure of the data, the primary analytic technique is hi-erarchical linear modeling (HLM). The study finds that transformational leadership is a necessary but insufficient condition for instructional leadership.When transformational and shared instructional leadership coexist in an integrated formof leadership, the influ-ence on school performance, measured by the quality of its pedagogy and the achieve-ment of its students, is substantial.
This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of ho... more This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of how principals and teachers share leadership influence in schools, with a particular focus on how that leadership increases the likelihood of teachers making changes or improvements to their instructional practice. Studies are organized into three categories: first, studies that explore the effects shared leadership has on instruction; second, studies that demonstrate how added teacher leader roles influence instructional practice; and third, studies that pursue the benefits and challenges of collaborative inquiry. Key ideas drawn from the research offer insight for high leverage actions principals can take to encourage shared leadership and improved teaching and learning. The chapter concludes with implications for policy and research.
Hiring the right personnel has been shown to be among the best forms of quality control for organ... more Hiring the right personnel has been shown to be among the best forms of quality control for organizations (Collins, 2001). Hiring a superintendent can be a quandary for selection committees, since it is impossible to know how things will work out in the future when decisions are based on each candidate’s past history and the district’s current status. Who will adequately lead the district into the projected future? What are the critical considerations? How do you make decisions? This chapter introduces the quandary of hiring a new superintendent for a small, rural, but rapidly changing school district. In this case, a decision needs to be made about which of two finalists should be offered the superintendency.
ABSTRACT Improving the quality of teachers in schools is a keystone to educational improvement. N... more ABSTRACT Improving the quality of teachers in schools is a keystone to educational improvement. New and veteran teachers alike need to enhance their content knowledge and pedagogical skills, but they must also examine, and often change, their underlying attitudes, beliefs, and values about the nature of knowledge and the abilities of students. Best accomplished collectively rather than individually, the interactions between teachers as they undertake the process of collaborative inquiry create "communities of practice." This dissertation investigates the importance of science and mathematics teachers' participation in communities of practice to their professional capabilities. The study tests the hypothesis that the social learning inherent in community of practice participation encourages teachers to learn from others with expertise, enhances teachers' sense of competence, and increases the likelihood that teachers' will use student-centered, problem-based instructional techniques aligned with national disciplinary standards. The researcher conceptualizes communities of practice along two dimensions that affect social learning: legitimate participation in activities and span of engagement with school members. Differences in teachers' subject area and the curricular track of their teaching assignment contribute to variation in teachers' participation in communities of practice along those dimensions. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, first and second follow-up, the study has two stages of multi-level analysis. The first stage examines factors that contribute to teachers' participation in communities of practice, including teachers' social and professional characteristics and school demographic and organizational characteristics. The second stage investigates the professional impact of such participation on the three outcome variables: teacher learning, teacher competence, and use of standards-based pedagogy. Hierarchical linear models provide evidence that teachers' participation in communities of practice significantly increases teacher learning, competence, and use of student-centered techniques. For two dependent variables, communities of practice and standards-based pedagogy, the analyses include significant interactions for subject and curricular track. Findings from the study suggest that communities of practice serve both an adaptability and a stability function. Even as the social learning inherent in communities of practice enables teachers to gain knowledge, modify beliefs, and change instructional practice, it also results in normative pressure to maintain institutionalized approaches to instruction.
This study explored how the governance leadership of Ohio's urban school districts views and ... more This study explored how the governance leadership of Ohio's urban school districts views and deals with major governance issues related to student achievement. Five sets of issues were chosen as the focus of the research: (1) the recruitment, selection, retention, and evaluation of Ohio urban superintendents of schools and school district treasurers; (2) recruitment, selection, assignment, and evaluation of teachers, principals, and other professionals in urban systems; (3) school board effectiveness; (4) escalating competition for planning time and resources as it drains district capacities for governing and managing urban districts; and (5) technology, egovernment, and institutional oversight. Researchers conducted a set of focus groups in three areas of the state, additional focus groups of administrators, and a conference on governance and student achievement attended by representatives of nine urban school districts. Findings from these focus groups and conferences are grou...
This study investigated differences in patterns of governance policies, practices, and attitudes ... more This study investigated differences in patterns of governance policies, practices, and attitudes between higher and lower performing urban Ohio school districts. Public domain data included official district records, state documents, and newspaper articles. Case studies of four districts found that districts were similar on the DeRolph v. State of Ohio funding lawsuit, levies dominating recent major events, and in handling of IDEA requirements. All districts used a committee structure as an organizing mechanism. There were some differences in contractual issues and level and distribution of human resources for operation, though they were not identifiable on the basis of performance level. The first noticeable difference related to community economics. Lower performing districts had lower median family incomes and more families living in poverty than did higher performing districts. Board members as governance leaders in lower performing districts focused more on personal issues than...
This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of ho... more This chapter presents research from the current decade that contributes to an understanding of how principals and teachers share leadership influence in schools, with a particular focus on how that leadership increases the likelihood of teachers making changes or improvements to their instructional practice. Studies are organized into three categories: first, studies that explore the effects shared leadership has on instruction; second, studies that demonstrate how added teacher leader roles influence instructional practice; and third, studies that pursue the benefits and challenges of collaborative inquiry. Key ideas drawn from the research offer insight for high leverage actions principals can take to encourage shared leadership and improved teaching and learning. The chapter concludes with implications for policy and research. Printy Leadership Levers 3 Those who study leadership in schools often set a goal to demonstrate the influence principals have on student learning outcomes...
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