scholarly journals Commentary: Grow Tomorrow’s School Leaders? Plant Some Seeds Today!

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Julian Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Succession Planning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
National Standards ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
The Uk

School leadership development has received significant investment in the UK in recent years. Programmes to support leaders at all levels have focussed on national standards, leadership behaviours and capacity building. England is now facing an increasing shortage of headteachers. This article provides a perspective on this situation and offers some practical ideas to school leaders for building approaches to succession planning in their own schools.

Learning to Transform Through Interplay Between the Confucian and Western Cultural Heritages: A Case Study of School Leadership Development in Beijing, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijun Kang ◽  
Qi Sun ◽  
Lei Lyu
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Local School ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership Practices ◽  
Beijing China

Taking a case study approach and utilizing Hoggan’s transformative learning (TL) typology and criteria as a framework, we examined the self-reported TL experiences of 12 local school leaders in Beijing, China. These local school leaders gained cross-cultural learning from a school leadership development program that was designed to prepare school leaders for education internationalization. Our data analysis indicated that these 12 local school leaders had experienced significant changes in their educational epistemology, self-identity, and school leadership practices. Further examining these changes at the intersection of the Confucian and Western cultural heritages, we discovered that these school leaders had developed an integrated approach to education, started to consciously reflect on what their social- and self-identities entail, and began the process of transitioning from conservative to appreciative school leadership practices.

scholarly journals Kvalifisering som skoleleder i en norsk kontekst: Et historisk tilbakeblikk og perspektiver på utdanning av skoleledere

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorunn Møller
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Educational Policy ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
School Effectiveness ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
Leadership Research

Denne artikkelen har en dobbel målsetting. For det første er målet å gi et kort historisk tilbakeblikk over hva som har vært gjennomført av skoleleder-opplæring i norsk regi i løpet av de siste 50 årene, da det gir en mulighet til å vise endringer som har skjedd over tid. For det andre er målet å drøfte dagens krav til kvalifisering av skoleledere i et internasjonalt perspektiv. Analysen av det historiske tilbakeblikket i en norsk kontekst bygger på dokumentanalyser og programevalueringer som har vært gjennomført av de ulike programmene siden 1960-tallet. Drøftingen av forholdet mellom utdanningspolitikk og kunnskapsgrunnlag har fokus på hva slags kunnskap som er i bruk og hvorfor, og er inspirert av Gunters kategorisering av skoleledelse som forskningsfelt. I tillegg er internasjonale “handbooks” om utvikling av skoleledere viktige referanser. Den historiske oversikten basert på erfaringer i Norge, gir et bilde av hva slags kompetanse man har hatt som intensjon å utvikle, og hvilke innholds-elementer som har vært vurdert som viktige til ulike tider. Analysen viser at utdanningsprogrammene i hovedsak henter teorigrunnlaget fra generell ledelsesteori og effektstudier, og i økende grad er den nasjonalt baserte utdanningspolitikken blitt påvirket av en internasjonal diskurs om kvalitet i skolen hvor OECD i stor grad setter agendaen og legger premissene for utvikling av skoleledelse og praksis i skolen.Nøkkelord: skolelederutdanning, utdanningspolitiske endringer, internasjonal kvalitetsdiskurs, skoleledelse som forskningsfeltAbstractThis article has a double objective. Firstly, it aims to give a brief historical review of how school leadership development has been enacted in a Norwegian context during the last 50 years. Secondly, it aims to examine and discuss today’s requirements of qualifications for school leadership in an international perspective. Policy documents focusing on school leadership development and external evaluations of the different development programs which have been offered to Norwegian school leaders since the 1960s serve as a departure for the analysis. The discussion of the relationship between educational policy and its knowledge base has a specific focus on what type of knowledge is used and why, and is inspired by Gunter’s conceptual framework of an intellectual history of school leadership research. In addition, international handbooks on the preparation and development of school leaders are key references. By applying a historical lens the analysis provides an image of the kinds of competencies that have been considered important over time. The findings show that the national programs for developing school leaders mainly draw upon general leadership theory and school effectiveness research, and increasingly they have become influenced by the international educational discourse about quality in school in which OECD has become a prominent agent in setting the agenda for improving school leadership and school practices.Keywords: school leadership development, changes in educational policy, international quality discourse, theory traditions within leadership research

Facilitating Leadership Coach Capacity for School Leadership Development: The Intersection of Structured Community and Experiential Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 0013161X2091594
Author(s):  
Kristin Shawn Huggins ◽  
Hans W. Klar ◽  
Parker M. Andreoli
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Leadership Coaching ◽  
School Leadership Development

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine how the leadership coaching capacities of experienced school leaders can be developed to support less-experienced school leaders to lead continuous improvement efforts. In this article, we report the findings of a 2-year study of experienced school leaders who developed their leadership coaching knowledge, skills, and dispositions to enhance the capacities of less-experienced school leaders in a research–practice partnership called the Leadership Learning Community. Research Methods: We drew on qualitative research methodology to answer the study’s research question. To collect our data, we utilized participant observations of 12 professional development days and 70 job-embedded coaching sessions over a 2-year period, yearly semistructured interviews with the eight leadership coach participants, and other artifacts related to the Leadership Learning Community. We analyzed our data using multiple rounds of coding to arrive at the themes. Findings: The findings highlight the possibilities of developing leadership coaching capacity through a combination of community-based structured and facilitated learning opportunities and experiential learning. The findings also add to the limited research regarding leadership coaching as a strategy for enhancing school leadership development. Conclusion and Implications: The results of the study provide assistance to national and state administrator organizations, educational service districts, and school district administrators endeavoring to meet the learning needs of school leaders through leadership coaching. Further research should be conducted to understand how the leadership coaching capacities of leadership supervisors and developers can be facilitated.

scholarly journals Exploring causal relationships qualitatively: An empirical illustration of how causal relationships become visible across episodes and contexts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Causal Relationships ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity ◽  
Empirical Illustration

AbstractCausal relationships are traditionally examined in quantitative research. However, this article informs the discussion surrounding the potential use of qualitative data to explore causal relationships qualitatively through an empirical illustration of a school leadership development team. As school leadership development is supposed to offer continuing development to practicing school leaders, it brings into question the issue of causal relationships. This study analyzes audio and video recordings from 10 workshops involving a team of principals, municipality leaders, and researchers who met over two years to support the principals in leading a local school improvement program. The process data are organized into episodes and analyzed in three layers of causation an interpretative layer, a contradictory layer, and an agentive layer grounded in cultural-historical activity theory. When tracing a problem statement across episodes and relating the processes to events in a principal’s practice, causal relationships became visible across the episodes and contexts. The argument, then, is that the results are achieved in the processes. As such, process data can reveal causal relationships that quantitative data cannot.

School leadership preparation and development in Kenya

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gladys Asuga ◽  
Scott Eacott ◽  
Jill Scevak
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Trends ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Current Provision

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the current provision for school leadership in Kenya, the extent to which they have an impact on student outcomes and the return on school leadership preparation and development investment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from educational leadership, management and administration courses delivered by universities and other institutions to aspiring and practising educational leaders in Kenya. It employs a method for evaluating return on leadership development investment first articulated by Eacott (2013). Findings – While there is growth in provision, consistent with international trends, this provision is more recognised for its standardisation than points of distinction; there is minimal attention to identified dimensions of leadership leading to higher student outcomes which raises questions regarding the universality of school leadership preparation and development curriculum; and the high course costs of current provision is an inhibiting factor in assessing the return on investment in school leadership preparation and development. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to publicly available documents from a limited sample of institutions. There is a need for more studies in the area. Practical implications – Institutions seeking to offer school leadership development have grounds on which to make decision about what programs their school leaders should undertake in terms of cost and quality. The study provides institution offering school leadership development courses evidence on which to base future policy direction. Social implications – The findings provide a case for investing in school leadership development given the impact courses may have on student outcomes. Originality/value – The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current provision on school leadership preparation and development in Kenya. It contributes to its understanding in Africa in terms of quality, performance impact and return on investment.

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.

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