Investigating School Principals’ Learning Leadership Practices in Three Indonesian Excellent Schools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership in the Chinese educational context and explore the ways in which Chinese school principals locate their instructional-leadership practices in response to traditional expectations and the requirements of recent reforms. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 selected primary school principals in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. A qualitative analysis was conducted to categorize the major leadership practices enacted by these principals. Findings An initial model of instructional leadership in China with six major dimensions is constructed. The paper also illustrates and elaborates on three dimensions with the greatest context-specific meanings for Chinese principals. Originality/value The paper explores the ways in which Chinese principals enact their instructional leadership in a context in which “the west wind meets the east wind”; that is, when they are required to accommodate both imported reform initiatives and traditional expectations. The paper contributes to the sparse existing research on principals’ instructional leadership in non-western cultural and social contexts.

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Green School Leadership

Advances in Educational Marketing, Administration, and Leadership - Predictive Models for School Leadership and Practices ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-5858-3.ch016 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 328-341

Author(s):

Cornelia Ndahambelela Shimwooshili Shaimemanya ◽

Sadrag Panduleni Shihomeka

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

School Leadership ◽

Leadership Practices ◽

School Principals ◽

School Management ◽

Environmental Knowledge ◽

Future Generations ◽

Sustainable Living ◽

School Project ◽

Green School

The purpose of the chapter was to examine the leadership practices of school principals whose agenda is to green the schools in an effort to achieve sustainability in Namibia and build environmental knowledge of the Namibian secondary school learners. The study was qualitative and used a purposive sampling of eight teachers and environmental clubs at three selected schools in the Khomas education region. The results revealed that these teachers hold a non-remunerative position of coordinating for the Environmental Club as an extra-mural responsibility and they were doing it because of their natural love for the environment and interest in educating the young and future generations about sustainability/sustainable living. The chapter recommends that the school management should provide maximum support to the practicing and responsible green school project coordinators at various schools to motivate and guide them when necessary.

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Expanding Educational Leadership Theories through Qualitative Relational Methodologies

Magis Revista Internacional de Investigación en Educación ◽

10.11144/javeriana.m11-22.eelt ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (22) ◽

pp. 75-86

Author(s):

Brigitte Smit

Keyword(s):

Educational Leadership ◽

Narrative Inquiry ◽

Leadership Styles ◽

Empirical Data ◽

Leadership Practices ◽

School Principals ◽

Relational Ethics ◽

Relational Leadership ◽

Leadership Theories ◽

Relational Framework

Educational leadership is conceptualised through a relational framework and empirically understood through qualitative relational methodologies such as relational ethics, ethics of care and narrative inquiry. Empirical data from narrative interviews revealed that in many cases where the school principals honed values such as care and relational attributes in their daily leadership practices, learners were more likely to respond to such relational and caring practices, which they witnessed and experienced. It appears that relational methodologies can elicit relational leadership styles, which set caring and supportive examples for both teachers and learners, adding much worth to a favourable educational landscape.

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Leadership practices of successful middle school principals

Journal of Educational Administration ◽

10.1108/09578231111102045 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 31-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Karen Leigh Sanzo ◽

Whitney H. Sherman ◽

Jennifer Clayton

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Principals ◽

Leadership Practices ◽

School Principals

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Assessing and strengthening instructional leadership among primary school principals in Vietnam

International Journal of Educational Management ◽

10.1108/ijem-02-2017-0046 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 396-415 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hảo Thi Nguyễn ◽

Philip Hallinger ◽

Chia Wen Chen

Keyword(s):

Educational Leadership ◽

Instructional Leadership ◽

Primary School ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Leadership Practices ◽

School Principals ◽

Leadership And Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Primary School Principals ◽

Principal Instructional Leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to add to an emerging literature on educational leadership and management in Vietnam by addressing several goals. First, the study sought to translate, adapt, and validate an existing measurement instrument, the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) Teacher Form, for use in Vietnam. Next, it aimed to describe patterns of instructional leadership evidenced among a sample of urban and rural primary school principals. Then, the researchers examined if these patterns of principal instructional leadership could be linked to one or more “antecedent variables”: school size, school location (urban/rural), principal’s gender and prior teaching experience. Finally, the paper sought insights from principals and teachers on how instructional leadership could be strengthened in the Vietnamese education context. Design/methodology/approach Both quantitative survey and qualitative methods were used in this study. The sample consisted of 569 teachers and 117 principals working in 117 primary schools located in Ho Chi Minh province of Vietnam. Data collection employed a translated and adapted Vietnamese language form of the PIMRS Teacher Form. An open-ended question posed to both teachers and principals was included in the survey instrument to gather recommendations for strengthening instructional leadership in Vietnam. The research used Rasch analysis, Cronbach’s test of internal consistency, confirmatory factor analysis, t-tests, and analysis of variance in data analysis. Findings The research achieved a preliminary validation of a Vietnamese language Teacher Form of the PIMRS. The analysis of PIMRS data gathered from teachers found that the primary school principals were perceived to be exercising instructional leadership at a surprisingly high level. Consistent with international research findings, selected evidence indicated stronger instructional leadership from the female principals, though the pattern was not strong. None of the other antecedents evidenced a significant relationship with patterns of principal instructional leadership. A number of overlapping recommendations were made by teachers and principals for strengthening instructional leadership in Vietnam. Research limitations/implications Although a Teacher Form of the PIMRS Vietnam was successfully validated, follow-up studies should be conducted with both the Teacher Form and Principal Form of this instrument. More broadly, the high scores on the PIMRS accorded to the principals in this study were deemed “surprising” in light of the lack of prior policy focus and training on this role of the principal in Vietnam. Thus, the authors recommend that this research be extended to a larger cross-level study of schools from different parts of Vietnam in order to provide additional confirmation of these preliminary findings. Practical implications Feedback from principals and teachers indicated a need for system leaders to articulate instructional leadership more explicitly as part of the principal’s role set in Vietnam. Only then will it become part of the formal expectations that shape principals’ practice and the preparation and professional development programs in which they participate. The principals also suggested that instructional leadership could be strengthened by enabling model principals to share instructional leadership practices with colleagues. Finally, teachers and principals highlighted the need to broaden, legitimate, and strengthen sources of instructional leadership within the school beyond the principal. These suggestions are not only consistent with policy actions taken in other societies, but are also grounded in the context of education in Vietnam. Originality/value The first internationally published study of educational leadership and management in Vietnam only appeared in 2012. In the succeeding years, several qualitative studies have emerged describing principal leadership practices in a handful of schools. The current study represents the first published quantitative study of school leadership from Vietnam. Although the results are preliminary in nature, the study provides both baseline data on principal instructional leadership and a validated instrument that can be used in future research.

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Leadership Practices and Managerial Accountability in Italy

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.597 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Angelo Paletta ◽

Christopher Bezzina ◽

Genc Alimehmeti

Keyword(s):

School Improvement ◽

Leadership Practices ◽

School Principals ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

School Level ◽

Management Approach ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Accountability Systems ◽

The Impact ◽

The Way

The changes that are affecting public education imply the need to incorporate into principal’s leadership practices two opposing forces: on the one hand, the accountability systems, which require responsibility for centrally managed achievement testing, compliance with standard procedures of self-evaluation, planning teaching improvement, and reporting of the results; and on the other hand, the expectations that come from within the school, namely those of teachers, students, families, and other stakeholders. This presents the challenge of coproducing authentic learning (problem solving, soft skills, civic knowledge, and citizenship) that is not easily measurable and therefore difficult to bring to light, rationalize, systematize, and report. Principals react differently to the demands of centralized policy-making initiatives. Some see them as opportunities for growth and only formally adopt them, whereas others entrench themselves into particular practices aimed at focusing on the immediate, on being conservative and minimizing risk taking and setting less ambitious goals that can take their schools forward. Managerial accountability can end up “colonizing” the organizations (and those who lead them), with the consequence that time and attention is devoted to what is being measured or observed by the central administrative systems. The “colonized” leaders develop or bend their managerial practices primarily in response to the expectations of accountability systems. On the opposite side, accountability systems can produce the effect of “decoupling”: the actual activities are separated from the rituals of accountability requested by the central or local government. In this case, school principals conform only formally to the demands of accountability systems. Other school leaders can capture opportunities from an accountability system, integrating it into a comprehensive management approach that balances opposing requests and organizational principles into a “systemic” model. Thus, the accountability practices in the field of education introduced in Italy can leave both a positive or negative impact on the way school principals lead their organizations. Studying the impact that the introduction of such policies can have on individuals as a result of the way leaders execute such directives are deemed important as they shed light on the link between policy and practice, and help us gain deeper insights into the so-called theory and practice divide. The move toward greater forms of accountability presents an ideal opportunity for policy makers and educational leaders working at different levels to appreciate the importance of systemic leadership and engage in a discourse that enlightens its value to school improvement initiatives. Rather than focusing on the self, on merely following directives and working independently, the school principal that is able to understand how things and people are connected and can come together to transform their schools can make a difference to school development and school improvement. Bringing policy makers and implementers together can help in understanding the realities faced by educators at the school level, the former often oblivious to the challenges educators face on a day-to-day basis.

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Leadership Practices in Effective Schools in Disadvantaged Areas of Canada

Education Research International ◽

10.1155/2012/712149 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yamina Bouchamma

Keyword(s):

New Brunswick ◽

Effective Schools ◽

School Board ◽

Leadership Practices ◽

Mission Statement ◽

School Principals ◽

Curriculum Planning ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

School Counsellors ◽

Standardized Exams

Purpose.The purpose of this paper was to examine leadership practices in effective schools located in economically disadvantaged areas of three Canadian provinces: Ontario, Québec, and New Brunswick.Research Design.Our study was conducted in five successful schools selected on the basis of student outcomes on province-wide standardized exams, as well as on some risk factors such as rural area, low socioeconomic level, and proportion of Francophones (Ontario and New Brunswick). To increase the study’s validity, we used triangulation and various data sources: (1) individual interviews; (2) observation of school principals; (3) field documentation; (4) student essays; (5) internal school documents such as mission statement, rules, and directives.Participants.Participants included Department of Education heads and school board administrators, school principals and vice principals, teachers, school counsellors, educational psychologists, parent school board members, and students.Findings.Results show that leadership practices in effective schools can be grouped together around five dimensions: establishing goals and expectations; strategic resourcing; curriculum planning, coordination, and evaluation; promoting and participating in teacher supervision and development; ensuring order and support.

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