School leadership and the development of a learning climate and professional learning community in primary and upper secondary school

2016 ◽  
pp. 121-144
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Climate ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Upper Secondary

Exploring the relationships among instructional leadership, professional learning communities and teacher self-efficacy in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 843-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zheng ◽  
Hongbiao Yin ◽  
Zhanglin Li
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Collaborative Activity ◽  
Reflective Dialogue ◽  
Teacher Self Efficacy

The study explored the relationships among instructional leadership, professional learning community components, and teacher self-efficacy in the context of mainland China. Study subjects were 1082 elementary school teachers participating in a questionnaire survey. The results showed that instructional leadership had significant effects on the five professional learning community components, four of which, collaborative activity, collective focus on student learning, de-privatized practice, and reflective dialogue, positively predicted teacher self-efficacy. Analysis showed that collaborative activity, de-privatized practice, and reflective dialogue significantly mediated the effects of instructional leadership on teacher self-efficacy. Implications for school leadership and teacher learning are discussed.

scholarly journals Unveiling the Practices and Challenges of Professional Learning Community in a Malaysian Chinese Secondary School

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402092551
Author(s):  
Wei Chuan Chua ◽  
Lei Mee Thien ◽  
Shun Yi Lim ◽  
Chee Seng Tan ◽  
Teik Ee Guan
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
School Level ◽  
Malaysian Chinese ◽  
Middle Leaders

Professional learning community (PLC) studies in the Asian Chinese nations remain scarce despite the emerging interest in the practice of PLC beyond the Western context. This study attempts to provide an understanding of the practices of PLC and challenges in implementing PLC in a Malaysian Chinese culture–dominated secondary school. This qualitative study used a phenomenological constructivist approach as a strategy of inquiry. Semi-structured interview data were collected from six middle leaders and ordinary teachers in a national-type Chinese secondary school in the northern region. Findings informed three existing PLC practices at the school level, namely, (a) peer coaching, (b) sharing of personal practices, and (c) professional development courses. However, the practice of PLC encounters various challenges, including excessive workload, teachers’ passive attitudes, unsupportive conditions in the school, poor execution of PLC by the school community, and a vague understanding of PLC. Interestingly, this study identified two uncovered challenges hindering the development of PLC: misconception about PLC and lack of supervision from the authority. Implications and future studies are presented.

scholarly journals The Influence of Distributed Leadership on Professional Learning Community among Secondary School Leaders in The State of Johore/ Pengaruh Kepimpinan Distributif Terhadap Komuniti Pembelajaran Profesional Dalam Kalangan Pemimpin Sekolah Menengah Di Negeri Johor

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Syahrul Zarizi Syed Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
The Common

Distributed leadership is a leadership theory that emphasis on cooperation among leaders. It is practiced in schools, an institution that not only educates pupils but now serves as a professional learning community for school leaders and teachers. This study aims to investigate the influence of distributed leadership towards a professional learning community among the school leaders in Johor, Malaysia. This study uses quantitative approach and involves 27 secondary schools from six districts in Johor. Sample study is a school leader consisting of principal, senior assistant, senior teachers and head committee subjects. The respondent is a total of 358 people. Data collected using the Perception of Distributed Leadership Practices (PDLP) questionnaire by Hairon and Goh, (2015) and Professional Learning Communities Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R) by Olivier et al., (2010). Data was analyzed using SPSS Amos software version 26. Studies find all the common shared decision making have a significant influence on all the dimensions of professional learning communities. Bounded empowerment practices are found to influence only one of the dimensions of professional learning communities, namely learning and application collectively. It is hoped that this study would enhance the leadership practices of the distributive of the school leaders in the professional learning community.

scholarly journals Leading Ladies:  Portraits of Principals:  The Leadership Styles and Practices of Women Secondary  School Principals Reflected within a Principal Professional  Learning Community

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Erika Helen Snedden
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Secondary School Principals ◽  
Women Principals ◽  
School Contexts

<p>Recent New Zealand Ministry of Education documents highlight the challenge to provide professional learning opportunities for principals and the current initiative to support and strengthen school leadership through the Professional Leadership Strategy. There is a need for professional development strategies and opportunities that help principals more effectively understand their school contexts, responsibilities and their own competencies, leadership styles and practice. To transfer and be sustainable, effective leadership practice requires the building of principal leadership learning communities within individual New Zealand school contexts. This thesis builds on previous studies of New Zealand women principals' experiences of leadership, contributing to a greater insight into the identities, role and practice of women principals while modelling a framework for reflective practice as a tool for professional and educational leadership development. As an iconographic study of three New Zealand women secondary school principals this thesis exhibits the life stories and experiences which have impacted upon their personal theories about leadership styles and practice. Composed through a métissage (merging) of image and dialogue to create portraits of the principal's leadership identities it is set in situ within a principal professional learning community. A qualitative, multiple-case studies methodology was employed. The design was informed by a reflective practitioner approach and action learning orientation underpinned by arts-based inquiry, a methodological and theoretical genre that proposes a reinterpretation of the methods and ethics of human social research. The findings indicate that the personal development, self-awareness and growth of a leader are a catalyst to stimulate collective development and accomplishment.</p>

scholarly journals THE EFFECTS OF DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP ON TEACHERS’ COLLECTIVE EFFICACY AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Mohd Fadzil Jamil ◽  
Mohd Izham Mohd Hamzah
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Secondary School Administrators

Distributed leadership offers a new-thinking in transforming the school's leadership. Teachers' collective efficacy and professional learning community have been identified to have a strong influence on improving the teaching quality of teachers. This article examines the effects of distributed leadership of secondary school administrators on teacher collective efficacy and professional learning community. The literature suggests that distributed leadership perspective is a good alternative strategy to improve the quality of educational institutions, but empirical evidence showing the effects of distributed leadership on teachers’ collective  efficacy and professional learning community that can improve the quality of teacher’s teaching is limited. Data were collected from 592 teachers working in secondary schools in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Distributed leadership of secondary school administrators were determined with Distributed Leadership Inventory developed by Hulpia (2009) while teachers’ collective efficacy was determined using the Collective Efficacy Scales developed by Goddard and Hoy (2003) and professional learning community was determined with the School Professional Staff as Learning Community Questionnaire developed by Hord (1996). Data analysis was done based on Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS software. Regression weight, variance and squared multiple correlations tests were used in data analysis. In conclusion, a strong positive relationship was revealed between distributed leadership of secondary school administrators on teachers’ collective efficacy and professional learning community. Distributed leadership of secondary school administrators was also a significant predictor of teachers’ collective efficacy and professional learning community.

Motivating teachers’ commitment to change through transformational school leadership in Chinese urban upper secondary schools

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 735-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Context ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Commitment To Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers’ commitment to change and the effects of organizational and teachers’ factors on teachers’ perception of transformational school leadership in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper mainly uses quantitative methods to explore the relationships between different constructs. The author asks: to what extent can transformational school leadership practices in the urban upper secondary schools of a particular Chinese city explain the variation in teachers’ commitment to change during curriculum reform? What are the effects of organizational and teachers’ factors on teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership? Findings – The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the effect of transformational school leadership was moderate when transformational school leadership and teachers’ commitment to change were treated as single variables. Four dimensions of transformational leadership practice together explained the moderate effects on four dimensions of teachers’ commitment to change, among which the effect of managing the instructional program was the most prominent. The results of multiple regression analysis also revealed that variables like culture, strategy, environment, and teachers’ age had significant relationships with teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership. Culture, environment, strategy, structure, and teachers’ factors such as age and grade taught had moderate effects on different dimensions of teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to explore the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers’ commitment to change in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context. The findings contribute to educational management in China and similar contexts, and this study advances knowledge and furthers the understandings of the transferability of theories to different contexts.

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