The Moderation Role of Transformational Leadership in the Effect of Instructional Leadership on Teacher Professional Learning and Instructional Practice: An Integrated Leadership Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 0013161X2110350
Author(s):  
Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş ◽  
Ali Çağatay Kılınç ◽  
Mahmut Polatcan
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Practices ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Integrated Leadership ◽  
The Relationship

Aim: While integrated leadership has received significant scholarly attention in the past decade, most existing research in this vein has focused on its impact on student achievement and often dismissed how it might be related to instructional practices, which are at the center of many school reforms. In this research, we examined the relationship between integrated leadership and teacher professional learning and teacher practices in Turkey, where educational policy makers have recently introduced several school reform initiatives. More specifically, we aimed to examine the moderating function of transformational leadership in the relationship between instructional leadership and teacher practices, with an emphasis on the mediating role of teacher professional learning. Research Design: We conducted this study with a cross-sectional design and moderated mediation model. Data collected from 616 teachers working in a mix of primary and secondary schools in Turkey were analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping tests. Findings: We found evidence that transformational leadership acted as a moderator of the indirect effect of principal instructional leadership on teachers' instructional practices through teacher professional learning. Implications: This study adds to the accumulated body of knowledge on the effects of school leadership by concluding that the effect of instructional leadership on teacher learning and practice is contingent upon the extent to which principals enact transformational leadership. School principals who adopt a more comprehensive leadership approach that combines instructional leadership and transformational leadership practices can maximize their effects on student achievement through teacher learning, and better address the ever-growing demands of educational reforms.

Leadership that matters: creating cultures of academic optimism that support teacher learning in Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 605-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhirapat Kulophas ◽  
Philip Hallinger
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Learning ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Academic Optimism ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Centered ◽  
Teacher Professional

PurposeResearch on school leadership has confirmed that principals influence teacher and student learning by building an “academic-focused ethos” in their schools. In this study, our objective was to examine if and how the learning-centered leadership of principals influenced academic optimism of teachers and the resulting effects on their engagement in professional learning. More specifically, we examined this hypothesized set of leadership effects among teachers and principals in high schools located in Thailand.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted with 1,763 teachers and 152 principals from 159 randomly selected, medium size secondary schools located in Thailand. The research employed multi-level structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analyses in order to test and explore these relationships in a mediation model of school leadership effects on teacher professional learning through academic optimism.FindingsResults of this study reinforce prior research which has found that principal leadership can have significant direct and indirect effects on the professional learning of teachers. This finding is important because, as elaborated earlier, scholars believe that teacher professional learning is a key to sustainable improvement in schools. More specifically, our results extend prior research in two ways. First, as the first study to link Learning-Centered Leadership with Academic Optimism, this study extends findings that point to the role of school leadership in sustaining a culture of academic optimism in schools. Second, this study also established Academic Optimism as a mediator through which school leadership supports Teacher Professional Learning.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough our results support a positive conclusion concerning the effects of school leadership and academic optimism on teacher learning, this was a cross-sectional study. Therefore, caution must be exercised before drawing causal attributions. For example, research has also found that teachers who work in schools that evidence features of a professional learning community are more likely to have a greater sense of collective teacher efficacy, a variable that is also associated with Academic Optimism. Therefore, although our study proposed Academic Optimism as the mediator and teacher professional learning as the dependent variable, it is also possible that this relationship could be reversed or reciprocal (i.e. mutually reinforcing). Future research should continue to examine these possibilities using longitudinal and/or experimental research designs that enable clearer delineation of causal relationships. We also suggest the utility of qualitative and mixed methods studies capable of exploring in greater depth the mechanisms through which school leadership contributes to productive teacher learning.Practical implicationsThere is a need in Thailand, and elsewhere, to redefine the formal roles and professional standards of school leaders to include learning-centered practices. These standards should be embedded into the redesign of pre-service and in-service education programs for teachers and principals. We believe that, at present, relatively few school leaders in Thailand genuinely understand the meaningful impact they can have on teacher learning, and by extension, on student learning. Thus, there is a need for systemic change that recasts the nature of leadership expected from principals as well as the level of lifelong learning expected of teachers.Originality/valueThe findings from this research contribute to an evolving knowledge base on how school leaders influence teacher learning in different national contexts. The research also extends prior research by exploring the role of academic optimism as a mediator of school leadership effects on teacher learning.

Modeling the relationship between principal leadership and teacher professional learning in Kuwait: The mediating effects of Trust and Teacher Agency

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110380
Author(s):  
Ayeshah A Alazmi ◽  
Waheed Hammad
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Learning ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Principal Leadership ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Centered ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teacher Trust ◽  
The Relationship

Research has revealed that appropriate school leadership practices can positively support and promote teacher learning. This study examines the influences of Learning-Centered Leadership upon Teacher Agency, Trust and professional learning in a Kuwaiti context. Following results from recent empirical research, this study tested a model of principal leadership effects upon teacher learning via the mediators of Teacher Trust and Agency. The researchers collected data from 1060 teachers working at 64 Kuwaiti public schools and analyzed this data using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results validated this model, showing that Learning-Centered Leadership affects teacher professional development via Teacher Trust and Agency. This improves our understanding of the relationship between school leadership and teacher professional learning both in Kuwait and internationally; relevant recommendations are listed.

Principal Instructional Leadership, Teacher Self-Efficacy, and Teacher Professional Learning in China: Testing a Mediated-Effects Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengnan Liu ◽  
Philip Hallinger
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Mediated Effects ◽  
Principal Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teacher Self Efficacy

Background: Empirical evidence increasingly suggests that leadership which motivates, supports, and sustains the professional learning of teachers has a knock-on effect for both student learning and school improvement. The current study was conducted in China, where the workplace learning of teachers is embedded in a strong tradition of school-based, teacher learning practices such as the Master Teacher–Apprentice Bond and Teacher Research Groups. Purpose: The study investigated a mediated-effects model of principal instructional leadership and teacher learning. The model proposed principal time management skills and self-efficacy as antecedents of instructional leadership and teacher self-efficacy as a mediator of principal instructional leadership effects on the professional learning of teachers. Method: Survey data were collected from 3,414 teachers and 186 principals in 186 middle schools in Qingdao, China. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping were used to analyze the multisource data. Results: The research confirmed a partial mediation model whereby principal instructional leadership evidenced moderate direct and indirect effects on teacher professional learning. Principal time management and self-efficacy exercised small effects on principal instructional leadership. Implications: The research adds to a growing body of research that affirms a positive relationship between principal leadership and teacher professional learning and emphasizes the importance of self-efficacy in shaping educator practice. The authors suggest the timeliness for scholars to undertake systematic reviews of this literature on leadership and teacher professional learning, and offer recommendations for school leadership practice.

Teacher Education and Lesson Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Dudley
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Complex Environment ◽  
Global Spread ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
System Improvement ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Learning Factors

Lesson Study is a form of collaborative, classroom-based teacher professional development, and also a form of institutional and local educational system improvement. It originated in Japan and experienced rapid global spread in the 21st century. The deliberate processes of Lesson Study can help overcome specific factors that can form barriers to teacher professional learning—factors such as the complex environment of the classroom and the role of tacit knowledge.

Examining principal leadership effects on teacher professional learning in China: A multilevel analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110416
Author(s):  
Liang Huang ◽  
Yating Huang ◽  
Shike Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Principal Leadership ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Teacher Professional

While principal leadership has been exercised in day-to-day practices to address the needs of teachers as professional learners, empirical studies regarding its effects on teacher professional learning have not increased proportionally. Using a sample of 255 secondary school principals and 2756 teachers from four provinces of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong in China (B-S-J-G-China) who participated in the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA 2015), this study employed a two-level hierarchical linear modeling to examine principal leadership effects on teacher professional learning. Results showed that principal leadership practices explained a large proportion of between-school variance in teacher learning. Principals’ developing people had positive effects on both personal and collaborative learning. Principals’ instructional improvement had a positive effect on collaborative learning, while principals’ facilitating teacher participation had a negative effect on collaborative learning. The implications for improving principals’ role in promoting teacher learning are also discussed.

Unpacking the effects of culture on school leadership and teacher learning in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 174114321989604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Shengnan ◽  
Philip Hallinger
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Power Distance Orientation ◽  
Principal Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teacher Professional

Teacher professional learning plays a critical role in education reform by enabling teachers to refine their professional skills and keep up with changing content knowledge, pedagogy, and trends in schooling. This study examines how and under what conditions principal instructional leadership contributes to teachers’ professional learning in mainland China. Data collected from 1194 teachers in 64 primary and middle schools in mainland China were analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping tests. The research tested a moderated mediation model of instructional leadership effects on teacher professional learning in which teacher self-efficacy was included as the mediator and power distance orientation of teachers as the moderator. The results reaffirmed the partial mediation model, finding significant direct and indirect effects of principal instructional leadership on teacher professional learning. Further model testing found that the individual power distance orientation of teachers acted as a significant moderator of principal instructional leadership effects on both teacher self-efficacy and professional learning. When teachers perceived lower power distance in relations with their principals, the effects of principal instructional leadership were stronger than for counterparts who perceived high power distance. Implications for understanding the contextualized nature of school leadership during an era of cultural change are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document