This study explores the organizational nature of curricular leadership in middle schools. A conceptual model of the organizational structure and effects of curricular leadership in middle schools is presented. The Organizational Curricular Leadership (OCL) model suggests that the relationship between organizational inputs and effectiveness in middle schools is mediated by a variety of organizational curricular leadership (OCL) variables. Five meaningful dimensions of OCL are empirically derived. The OCL model posits multiple, reciprocal relationships occurring among school inputs, OCL variable dimensions, and school outcomes. OCL variable linkages to various indices of school effectiveness are posited and explored using quantitative methods. The model is operationally defined through the development of a new quantitative measure of overall OCL leadership in middle schools-the Organizational Curricular Leadership Inventory (OCLI). A variety of implications are derived from study findings for: (1) recasting and extending notions of conceptual-based research on middle school organizations; (2) informing curricular leadership in middle schools; and (3) guiding further middle school organizational curricular leadership and effectiveness studies. ________________________________
More and more school leaders around the world are becoming enthusiastic about the potential of creatively applying technology in order to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in elementary and secondary schools. This article therefore reports on the activities of one funded schooluniversity collaborative project in the United States that has been involved in developing and using CD-ROM multimedia resources to transform the career-long, professional supervision and learning opportunities of school leaders (principals, teachers, curriculum specialists, resource personnel, school board and other school community leaders) -and, in so doing, improve the overall quality of teaching and learning in twenty-first century schools for both educators and students.
This article highlights multiple ways in which kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) school leaders can work collaboratively with education stakeholders in elementary and secondary school settings to develop distributed leadership environments in their school communities to address the persistent and often seemingly intractable teaching and learning improvement dilemma challenges that plague many schools today. Insights gleaned from a brief examination of the distributed leadership attributes of one communal cultural tradition are utilized as the basis for generating some creative strategies for nurturing distributed leadership environments in school settings. These strategies may be useful to elementary and secondary school leaders working in a variety of educational environments who are interested in broadening their collaborative teaming and instructional support networks and energizing their school turnaround and improvement efforts.
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