Socially distributed leadership in elementary schools: teacher and staff leadership practice in Denmark and the USA

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marsha E. Modeste ◽  
Chi Nguyen ◽  
Rhoda Nanre Nafziger ◽  
Jonathan Hermansen
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Local Level ◽  
International Study ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the nature of socially distributed leadership in Denmark and the USA, specifically teacher and staff leadership practices distributed in schools.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a confirmatory factor analysis and a second-order factor analysis to examine elementary USA and 0–9 Danish school educators’ responses to the Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning.FindingsFindings from this analysis of leadership practice demonstrate (1) different approaches to teacher and staff leadership in Denmark and the USA; (2) the importance of a collaborative approach to developing and maintaining professional learning communities in schools in both contexts; and (3) different patterns of leadership practice that broadly reflect the local structure and approach to school leadership while responding to external policy demands.Originality/valueDrawing on the globalization scholarship, which acknowledges the connection between global policy development and local spaces of implementation, this comparative international study allowed us to examine how policy ideas are parlayed into practice through the use of a shared assessment of leadership practice. The results of this study suggest that while the work of teacher and staff leadership is important and something that educators in Denmark and the USA are engaging in to advance the overall instructional mission of their schools, the approaches taken in each context are different and reflect a local-level negotiation between contextual cultural norms and policy expectations.

The role of cognitive validity testing in the development of CALL, the comprehensive assessment of leadership for learning

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark H. Blitz ◽  
Jason Salisbury ◽  
Carolyn Kelley
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Department Chairs ◽  
Comprehensive Assessment ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Validity Testing ◽  
Leadership For Learning ◽  
Cognitive Validity ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Purpose – The Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL) is an online task-based assessment of distributed instructional leadership. In developing CALL, researchers faced the challenge of structuring survey items that would measure leadership practice rather than individual traits. Critical in this work was developing items that accurately reflected current leadership practice. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to pilot the CALL instrument and conducted cognitive validity testing on the instrument. Design/methodology/approach – CALL researchers piloted the survey in six schools in Wisconsin in order to test and refine the survey instrument. Researchers conducted cognitive walk-through interviews with five participants from each school: principals, associate principals, teachers, department chairs, guidance counselors, and activities directors. The interviews focussed on specific items in order to observe the users’ thought processes and rationale in choosing a response for each item. The researchers focussed on relevancy, clarity, and accuracy of survey items in collecting and analyzing the resulting data. Findings – Three specific survey items were identified that exemplify these challenges and opportunities such as: accessible language, extended leadership, socially desirable responding, 360-degree perspectives, applying appropriate terminology, and identifying appropriate practices. These findings provided insight into survey development work and implications of distributed leadership. The authors discuss the challenges of creating a task-based leadership assessment. Originality/value – Developing a formative assessment of school leadership is valuable in supporting school leaders’ work. The process of utilizing a qualitative approach to develop a quantitative instrument has proven critical in measuring task-based distributed leadership.

scholarly journals School leadership theories and the Malaysia Education Blueprint

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 1245-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Bush ◽  
Suriani Abdul Hamid ◽  
Ashley Ng ◽  
Maria Kaparou
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Leadership Theories ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Western Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leadership Models

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the Malaysian literature on three prominent leadership models (instructional, distributed and transformational), linked to a major educational reform initiative captured in the Ministry of Education’s Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB). Design/methodology/approach The approach is a systematic review of all relevant Malaysian literature, in English and Bahasa Malaysia, on instructional, distributed and transformational leadership and alternative terms linked to these models. Findings The findings show that there is an emerging literature on these leadership models and their prevalence in Malaysian schools but that they have been interpreted in ways that are distinctive to the highly centralised Malaysian context. For example, instructional leadership is prescribed, so there is some evidence of its practice, notably in respect of monitoring. Similarly, distributed leadership is allocative, rather than emergent, as suggested in western literature. Research limitations/implications The findings show that, while research on these models is emerging, much more research is required to establish whether and how leadership practice in Malaysia differs from that outlined in the normative western literature. Practical implications There is emerging evidence to suggest that instructional and distributed leadership, if enacted carefully, can have a positive impact on student outcomes. Social implications The leadership models were developed in western, mainly decentralised, contexts, and there are clear implications for how such models might apply in highly centralised cultures, such as that prevailing in Malaysia. Originality/value This is believed to be the first systematic review of the Malaysian literature on school leadership models, linked to the MEB. It is also distinctive in including both English language and Bahasa Malaysia sources.

scholarly journals Developing sustainable societies – a dialogical network perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 583-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Are S. Ingulfsvann ◽  
Ove Jakobsen ◽  
Øystein Nystad
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Society Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Northern Norway ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Sustainable Societies ◽  
And Control

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss how and to what extent creative dialogue processes can have an impact on regional political planning processes in Norway. Politicians at Nordland County invited representatives from six different regions in Nordland to participate in café dialogues. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical material is collected from café-dialogues in Northern Norway in which representatives from civil society, business organizations, local government, and NGOs participated. The data processing is based on triangulation of hermeneutic interpretation, frequencies, and factor analysis. Findings – The findings indicate that most people want a “greener” future; this can be described as sustainable societies based on ecological production, distribution, consumption, and redistribution. People take on a more radical position in their ideas about the future than most politicians. The factor analysis grouped the participants into the following categories; “Ecological economics”, “Small is beautiful”, “Entrepreneurs”, and “Growth and control”. A large number of the participants are categorized either as “Circulation economics” or “Small is beautiful”. Practical implications – To solve the challenges of modern society politicians can instigate more radical solutions than they are in the habit of doing. The participants in the café dialogues describe fundamental changes in order to attain viable local societies per 2030. Originality/value – In this paper the authors demonstrate that cultural creatives in the USA give a relevant context for interpreting attitudes to change in small societies in Northern Norway.

Trust-culture leadership in local public administrators’ work

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Fairholm ◽  
Michael K. Dzordzormenyoh ◽  
Godlove A. Binda
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Public Administrators ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Leadership ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Public Leaders

Purpose Trust and culture are common themes in leadership literature and research. The purpose of this paper is it to describe an emergent model of trust-culture leadership from the comments of local government managers in the USA. The environment of local government requires a level of trust between government and citizens. Comments from local government managers suggest trust is also a component of leading public organizations. The elements of the model culled from practical insights serve to both verify and elucidate much of what is found in leadership theory in a local government context. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on qualitative interviews of practicing local government managers coupled with an analysis of essays on leadership also written by local government managers. Findings The research indicates eight elements of a model divided into three categories (descriptions of leadership in practice, tools and behaviors, and approaches to followers) that help to both describe and perhaps prescribe the work of trust-culture leadership in a local government context. Originality/value While some of what is summarized below is found in leadership literature already, the fact that these elements of leadership are intuitive to local government managers and internalized in their practice is significant. Linking both trust and culture in leadership literature is limited, and linking them both to the practical insights of public managers is even more unique. The findings verify that public leaders at the local level actually engage in leadership of a particular sort, that of trust-culture leadership. It highlights the priority of trust in local government administration. The elements of the model serve to offer public managers specific things to focus on to promote trust-culture leadership and suggest to public leadership scholars specific avenues for further investigation.

scholarly journals School performance in three South East Asian countries: lessons in leadership, decision-making and training

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
CM Hugues D. Gill ◽  
Elizaveta Berezina
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Performance ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
And Training

Purpose The three neighbouring nations of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore participated in the 2009, 2012 and 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) cycles. Despite many similarities between the three nations, Singapore has consistently been a top PISA performer, with Malaysia and Indonesia in the bottom third of the international league tables. This paper aims to sketch the comparative Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) context and uses PISA-derived metrics to contrast how differences in decision-making and school leadership, particularly in relation to staff development and training practices, may impact school performance across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Design/methodology/approach Ten scales from the 2015 PISA School Questionnaire for Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia were analysed using ANOVA and t-tests as an aid to exploring the extent to which different approaches to teacher training, school leadership and governance may impact student performance. Findings Although Malaysian and Indonesian school principals report higher levels of autonomy than Singaporean peers, other evidence suggests that schools in Singapore may actually have greater decision latitude. Most significantly, Singaporean teachers take responsibility for key staff development decisions and skills transfer, whereas in Indonesia and Malaysia, teacher training is controlled by government administrators, a factor that may be a critical differentiator between the school systems. Practical implications In Singapore, teacher training is controlled by and for teachers through professional learning teams within schools and professional learning communities across schools; in Malaysia and Indonesia, similar decisions are taken by external administrators. Giving Malaysian and Indonesian teachers control over their own training could be a simple and powerful reform to target skills gaps and to generalise improvements in pedagogy quickly across schools and thus to lift school performance in these countries. Originality/value This paper highlights how differences at systemic and school levels, particularly in approaches to teacher training and leadership and may explain differentials in school performance in three ASEAN education systems.

Mapping four leadership styles in Japan: how has the role of the principal been shaped by policies?

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-207
Author(s):  
Hirokazu Yokota
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Educational Administration ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Western View ◽  
Role Of The Principal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how internationally recognized styles of transactional, instructional, transformational and distributed leadership have emerged in the Japanese education system. Design/methodology/approach National legislation and policy documents in Japan since 1945 were collected by searching for the word “principal” or “head of school.” Then, four types are excluded: those that are unique only to one school type, do not explicitly deal with the role of the principal, are in subordinate laws prescribing contents that essentially overlap with those in superordinate statutes and define procedural roles of the principal. As a result, 17 legal provisions and 35 policy documents remained, each of which was analyzed by using four leadership styles. Findings Despite an increasing focus on instructional, transformational and distributed styles, Japan has not comprehensively articulated attributes and abilities expected of the principal. Additionally, a movement away from instructional leadership in the 2000s contrasts with the recent emphasis on “educational leadership.” Moreover, transformational leadership has centered on the school–family–community collaboration and the expansion of principal autonomy, and distributed leadership has taken the forms of new positions that support the principal, both of which were influenced by the decentralization movement. Research limitations/implications It points to the susceptibility of the role of the principal in Japan and western countries alike to broader structural reforms but with different implications and distinct timing of the advent of leadership styles among them. Additionally, Japan has adopted a modified approach to distributed leadership style, which is somewhat similar to delegation, to make a compromise between the emergent theory and the centrality of the principal in the school hierarchy. Furthermore, instructional leadership seems to be a “late bloomer” in Japan because of its practice-based nature and unsuitability to daily realities of the principal. Originality/value As an arguably unprecedented attempt to apply leadership styles to legislation and policy documents, this study builds a foundation for understanding how school leadership is shaped by education policies. Moreover, while making connections to the western view, it creates a paradigm for future studies of school leadership in Japan and in the field of comparative educational administration.

Exploring the customer experience with Airbnb

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Simon Hudson ◽  
Kevin Kam Fung So
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Multi Phase

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the multi-dimensional structure of the Airbnb customer experience and to examine the influences of this experience on behavioral outcomes. Design/methodology/approach A multi-phase methodology was adopted using a survey questionnaire to explore the dimensions. Data were collected from a sample of 561 Airbnb users in the USA. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmed factor analysis were conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale. Findings First, the results support the hypothesis that the Airbnb customer experience comprises four dimensions: home benefits, personalized services, authenticity and social connection. Second, the study demonstrates that these dimensions significantly influence customers’ behavioral intentions. Research limitations/implications The use of a US Airbnb users sample may affect the generalizability of the results. Practical implications The findings of this study provide insights for Airbnb hosts and hotel managers. More specifically, this study offers suggestions to Airbnb hosts about how to enhance their services to customers based on the four experience dimensions and to hotels about how they can compete with Airbnb on the four experience dimensions. Originality/value This study provides an important theoretical framework for measuring the Airbnb customer experience through an empirical examination.

Humanizing practices in online learning communities during pandemics in the USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 205-212
Author(s):  
Nimo M. Abdi ◽  
Elizabeth Gil ◽  
Stefanie LuVenia Marshall ◽  
Muhammad Khalifa
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Leadership Education ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Learning School ◽  
Reflective Essay

PurposeIn this reflective essay, the authors, four educators of color, explore the relevance of humanizing practices of community in teaching and learning, school leadership and the potential challenges for equity work in education, during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis reflective essay draws on lessons learned from the pedagogical practices of women of color, literature on teachers of color, as well as our experiences as educators of teachers and school leaders, as the authors think about new possibilities and challenges for anti-racist practice and living during the pandemic.FindingsThis essay describes community-oriented practice of women of color educators to be important in orienting teaching and learning toward more humanizing practice. The reflections highlight both possibilities and challenges that can be helpful reimagining the practice in teacher and leadership education, as the authors prepare educators for an uncertain future.Originality/valueThis essay offers valuable lessons from women of color educator practice that can offer humanizing approaches to teaching and learning as well as school leadership education.

Exemplary followership. Part 1: refining an instrument

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim O. Peterson ◽  
Claudette M. Peterson ◽  
Brian W. Rook
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Citizenship Behaviors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The overall purpose of this paper is to determine to what extent organizational citizenship behaviors predict followership behaviors within medical organizations in the USA. This is the first part of a two-part article. Part 1 will refine an existing followership instrument. Part 2 will explore the relationship between followership and organizational citizenship. Design/methodology/approach Part 1 of this survey-based empirical study used confirmatory factor analysis on an existing instrument followed by exploratory factor analysis on the revised instrument. Part 2 used regression analysis to explore to what extent organizational citizenship behaviors predict followership behaviors. Findings The findings of this two-part paper show that organizational citizenship has a significant impact on followership behaviors. Part 1 found that making changes to the followership instrument provides an improved instrument. Research limitations/implications Participants in this study work exclusively in the health-care industry; future research should expand to other large organizations that have many followers with few managerial leaders. Practical implications As organizational citizenship can be developed, if there is a relationship between organizational citizenship and followership, organizations can provide professional development opportunities for individual followers. Managers and other leaders can learn how to develop organizational citizenship behaviors and thus followership in several ways: onboarding, coaching, mentoring and career development. Originality/value In Part 1, the paper contributes an improved measurement for followership. Part 2 demonstrates the impact that organizational citizenship behavior can play in developing high performing followers.

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.

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