There is no “T” in school improvement: the missing team perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 922-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Benoliel ◽  
Izhak Berkovich
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Change ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Coupling Mechanism ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Central Function ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Teams

Purpose The concept of teams tends to be marginalized in the scholarly discussion of school improvement. The purpose of this paper is to argue that teams play a crucial role in promoting an holistic integration of school operation necessary to support school change. Specifically, the paper outlines the dynamic of effective teams at times of school improvement. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the concept of teams, elaborates on their central function as a “coupling mechanism,” and describes the reciprocal relations between teams and school change. Findings The paper emphasizes the reciprocal effects of teams and change, suggesting that teams can serve as key change agents in school restructuring processes, specifically when balancing between “coping” and “pushing” forces. Based on the model, effective team leadership and effective school leadership at times of school change are introduced. Practical implications are discussed for school leaders. Originality/value The integration of the concept of teams into the school improvement discourse might assist school leaders to develop processes and procedures that will enable both school teams and schools to react more effectively in times of change and restructuring.

Perspectives of teachers’ on the selection and the development of the school leaders in the United Arab Emirates

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-69
Author(s):  
Solomon Arulraj David ◽  
Abdulai Abukari
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Development Training ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine teachers’ perspectives on school leaders’ selection and development strategies in order to propose/recommend strategies that are relevant to the context of the United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach The study gathered data through group discussion of school teachers who attended the module “leadership for school improvement” taught by the researchers. The teachers who participated in this study include local and expat teachers who are currently working in both public and private schools in the UAE. The reports of the group discussion were used as transcripts and thematic analysis was used to analyse the results. Findings The results indicate that there is a strong aspiration for setting better standards for the selection of the school leaders. There is great interest in engaging experts and instrumenting accredited continued professional development training on developing school leaders. The respondents emphasised on the required qualifications, experiences and knowledge, and the need for mentorship approach. Research limitations/implications The key limitation of the study is the smaller sample size. Practical implications The outcome of the study offers necessary insight to the decision makers on the selection and development of school leaders in the UAE. Social implications The study insists that the social and cultural values of the UAE to be considered in the selection and development of school leaders in the UAE. Originality/value The study offers potential gap and scope for further research on school leadership in the UAE that could be further explored with many samples and cases for broader understanding.

Leadership practices of school principal through a distributed leadership lens: a case study of a secondary school in urban Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-422
Author(s):  
Ali Nawab ◽  
Muhammad Mujtaba Asad
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Original Data ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Content Type

PurposeUnless the expertise of multiple teachers is availed, it is very unlikely for an individual leader to bring improvement especially at classroom level. This realization had led to the emergence of distributed leadership which is about engaging multiple individuals in leadership roles. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of school leadership in distributing leadership to teachers in a private secondary school in an urban context of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachUsing qualitative approach and case study method, the research collects data from school leaders and teachers involved in leadership roles through interviews.FindingsIt was found that leadership facilitates distributed leadership through formulating a vision to develop teachers, enhancing the capacity of individuals involved in leadership roles, establishing a culture of trust, and creating opportunities for interaction and collaboration among teachers.Practical implicationsSchool leadership should distribute leadership to teachers in order to utilize the potential of multiple individuals which will ultimately lead to school improvement through initiatives from within. Educational reformers should incorporate the concept of distributed leadership in the professional development programmes designed for school leaders and teachers.Originality/valueThe study is first of its nature which reports on distributed leadership from a private sector school of Pakistan based on original data.

Conceptualization and challenges: examining district and school leadership and schools as learning organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Welsh ◽  
Sheneka Williams ◽  
Karen Bryant ◽  
Jami Berry
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Learning Organization ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Learning Organizations ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Conceptualizing schools as learning organizations provides a potential avenue to meet the pressing challenges of school improvement in the USA. District and school leaders play an important role in creating and sustaining the conditions for a learning organization, yet little is known about how leadership responds to learning-resistant contexts in their mission to improve schools. This study aims to examine the relationship between the district and school leadership and schools as learning organizations. The focus is on the conceptualization of schools as learning organizations and the challenges involved in creating and sustaining conditions and processes in which to improve schools. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses semi-structured interviews with district and school leaders in the state of Georgia and data from completed dimensions of a learning organization questionnaire (DLOQ) study to analyze how district and school leaders conceptualize or make sense of schools as learning organizations and overcome challenges associated with creating and sustaining a learning organization in learning resistant contexts. Findings The analyzes find that participants perceive their school or district as a learning organization when the structure allows others to work together to learn and grow for the benefit of students. Originality/value This study is unique in that it adds to a growing number of studies that examine schools as learning organizations using the DLOQ and sheds light on the nature of learning resistant contexts.

Work environment characteristics that satisfy principals in China, Germany and the USA

2021 ◽  
pp. 174549992110185
Author(s):  
Chuang Wang ◽  
Dawson R Hancock ◽  
Ulrich Müller
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Formidable Challenge ◽  
Effective School Leadership ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Survey Responses

Effective school leadership is crucial to a school’s success. Yet throughout the world, attracting and retaining qualified school leaders is often a formidable challenge. To discern ways in which we may recruit and retain competent school leaders, this study compares the extent to which principals in three industrialized countries, China, Germany and the USA, value the characteristics of their positions as principals. Survey responses of principals in these three countries reveal many factors that gratify and some factors that disappoint principals about their work environments. Comparing the similarities and differences of the principals’ responses in these countries provides insights into ways in which we may learn from each other about the factors that influence the recruitment and retention of qualified principals.

How school leadership development evolves: crossing timescales and settings

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 338-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Jensen ◽  
Kirsten Foshaug Vennebo
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
Video And Audio ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity

Purpose This paper aims to address workplace learning in terms of investigating school leadership development in an inter-professional team (the team) in which principals, administrators and researchers work together on a local school improvement project. The purpose is to provide an enriched understanding of how school leadership development evolves in a team during two years as the team works on different problem-spaces and the implications for leadership in schools. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a larger study with a qualitative research design with longitudinal, interventional, interactional and multiple-time level approaches. Empirically, the paper draws on tools, video and audio data from the teams’ work. By using cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT), school leadership development is examined as an object-oriented and tool-mediated activity. CHAT allows analyses of activities across timescales and workplaces. It examines leadership development by tracing objects in tool-mediated work and the ways in which they evolved. The object refers to what motivates and directs activity. Findings The findings suggest that the objects evolved both within and across episodes and the two-year trajectory of the team. Longitudinal trajectories of tools, schools and universities seem to intersect with episodes of leadership development. Some episodes seem to be conducive for changes in the principals’ schools during the collaboration. Research limitations/implications There is a need for a broader study that includes more cases in other contexts, thus expanding the existing knowledge. Originality/value By switching lenses of zooming, it has been possible to examine leadership development in a way that is not possible through surveys and interviews.

School leaders' adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Mark Tyson ◽  
Nicholas J. Sauers
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
The Body ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adoption And Implementation

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine school leaders' experiences with adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence systems in their schools. It examined the factors that led educational administrators to adopt one artificial intelligence program (ALEKS) and their perceptions around the implementation process.Design/methodology/approachThis was a qualitative case study that included structured interviews with seven individuals who have adopted artificial intelligence programs in their schools. Participants were identified through purposive and snowball sampling. Interview transcripts were analyzed and put through a two-step coding process involving in vivo coding as well as pattern coding.FindingsTwo major themes emerged from this study pertaining to the state of the diffusion of artificial intelligence through the adoption and implementation process. The findings indicated that school leaders were actively engaged in conversations related to AI adoption and implementation. They also created structures (organizational) to ensure the successful adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence.Originality/valueThis is an original study that examined the experiences of school leaders who have adopted and implemented artificial intelligence in their schools. The body of literature related to artificial intelligence and school leadership is extremely limited.

Leading school change and improvement

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 635-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasna Kovačević ◽  
Philip Hallinger
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Educational Administration ◽  
School Change ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Basic Features

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively document and synthesize the knowledge base on leading school change and improvement (LSCI). Design/methodology/approach The authors employed bibliometric analysis to evaluate 1,613 SCOPUS-indexed documents on LSCI published between 1960 and the end of 2017. In addition to descriptive analysis of basic features of the knowledge base, the review also employed citation and co-citation analyses of authors, journals and documents. Author co-citation analysis (ACA) was used reveal the intellectual structure of the LSCI literature. Findings The growth trajectory of LSCI research began with low levels of publication during the 1960s and 1970s, followed by steady and then accelerating growth in subsequent decades. Citation analyses highlighted key journals, authors and documents in this field, while ACA identified four research streams or Schools of Thought that comprise the LSCI knowledge base: transformational leadership for school improvement, instructional leadership for school improvement, shared leadership for change and school improvement, school improvement. Originality/value The review offers empirical documentation of the changing intellectual structure of the one of the key lines of inquiry that emerged in the field of educational administration over the past six decades. More broadly, the review illustrates the benefits of bibliometric analysis as a tool capable of illuminating critical features that bear upon knowledge accumulation in a line of inquiry, or a broader discipline.

COVID-19 – school leadership in crisis?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 321-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alma Harris
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Changing Role

PurposeThis article explores how school leaders are responding during COVID-19 and what forms of leadership practice are emerging.Design/methodology/approachThis article draws upon the contemporary leadership literature and scholarly work.FindingsThis article proposes that the current crisis has shifted school leadership dramatically towards distributed, collaborative and network practices.Originality/valueThis article offers a commentary about the changing role of school leaders and their changing leadership practice during this pandemic.

scholarly journals Promoting collaboration in a competitive context: school improvement networks in Chile

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-226
Author(s):  
Mauricio Pino-Yancovic ◽  
Constanza Gonzalez Parrao ◽  
Luis Ahumada ◽  
Alvaro Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
School Performance ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
National Study ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Improvement Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Networks ◽  
System Improvement

Purpose Chile has developed the school improvement networks (SINs) strategy to support the work of school leaders. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the functioning and effect of the SINs strategy as perceived by principals and curriculum coordinators across the country. Design/methodology/approach An adapted version of the Educational Collaborative Network Questionnaire was applied to a sample of 1,723 participants from 1,375 schools distributed in 398 networks. Descriptive, factor and sub-group statistical analyses by school performance categories and by different roles within these schools and networks are presented. Findings Results indicate that school leaders perceive SINs as an opportunity to work effectively in shared projects that can later be implemented in their own schools. Participants indicate that they can share knowledge in their networks and use it to solve problems in their own schools, which is especially relevant for secondary school leaders who work in difficult circumstances. Results suggest that it is important to facilitate greater autonomy for school leaders in their networks, especially regarding decision making about network goals and activities that are more significant to their contexts. Originality/value This is a national study of a recent school improvement strategy, which provides evidence, from the perspective of school leaders, of its strengths and improvement areas. This study shows that despite being in a competitive context, principals and curriculum coordinators value the opportunities to learn from and with others. These results can be of value for other contexts attempting to promote school networks as a means for school and system improvement.

The ASCD Healthy School Communities project: formative evaluation results

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 269-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Valois ◽  
Theresa C. Lewallen ◽  
Sean Slade ◽  
Adriane N. Tasco
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
School Health ◽  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
School Site ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Evaluation Question ◽  
Continuous School Improvement

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the formative evaluation results from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Healthy School Communities (HSC) pilot project. Design/methodology/approach – This study utilized 11 HSC pilot sites in the USA (eight sites) and Canada (three sites). The evaluation question was “What are the levers of change in a school community that allow for the initiation and implementation of best practice and policy for improving school health?” Pre- and post-site visits along with in-depth interviews with school teams, teachers, students, administrators, community stakeholders and other involved individuals, school site report reviews, Healthy School Report Card results and school improvement plans were used for evaluation purposes. Findings – This study identified nine levers of change: principal as leader of the HSC efforts; active and engaged leadership; distributive team leadership; effective use of data for continuous school improvement; integration of the HSC process with the school improvement process; ongoing and embedded professional development; authentic and mutually beneficial community collaborations; stakeholder support of the local HSC effort; and creation or modification of school policy related to HSC that increased the likelihood that school improvement via health promotion would be pursued and sustained. Research limitations/implications – Owing to the qualitative methods used in this study and the number of schools in the pilot project, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed evaluation question further. Practical implications – This study has implications for schools seeking to create sustainable, systemic integration of health and education for effective health-promoting schools and continuous school improvement. Originality/value – This study provides evidence that integration of health and education can become a sustainable and integral part of a school’s culture.

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