Purpose: This study attempted to determine the influence of exemplary leadership preparation on what principals learn about leadership, their use of effective leadership practices, and how their practices influence school improvement and the school’s learning climate. The authors also investigated how the frequency of effective leadership practices related to the strength of district support and the extent of school problems and student poverty. Finally, the authors examined the contribution of exemplary leadership preparation to variations in school improvement progress and school effectiveness climate. Research Design: The study, using survey research conducted in 2005, compared 65 principals who had graduated from one of four selected exemplary leadership preparation programs to a national sample of 111 principals. The authors used structural equation modeling to find the best fit. Findings: Participation in an exemplary leadership preparation program was significantly associated with learning about effective leadership and engaging in these practices, particularly where stronger preparation program and internship quality existed. Frequent use of effective leadership practices was positively associated with school improvement progress and school effectiveness climate. Taken together, exemplary leadership preparation had a positive but mediated influence on variations in school improvement progress and school effectiveness climate; the relationship was even stronger when focusing on preparation program and internship quality measures. Conclusions: Faculty investments in preparation program and internship quality will positively contribute to the leadership knowledge of graduates and their leadership practices and school improvement progress. These results yield significant implications for policy makers, universities, and other providers of leadership preparation.
School leadership has been shown to exert a positive but mostly indirect influence on school and student outcomes. Currently, there is great interest in how quality leadership preparation is related to leadership practice and improved teacher outcomes. The purpose of the study was to understand the moderating influence of leadership preparation on leadership practices and teachers’ job collaboration, leadership and satisfaction. The study features a non-experimental design that combined data from a US study of exemplary leadership preparation and a nationally representative sample of elementary school principals. The sample consists of 175 teachers whose principals were prepared in an exemplary leadership program and 589 teachers whose principals were traditionally prepared. Data were analyzed with structural equation techniques and results have shown that innovative leadership preparation exerts a statistically significant direct effect on principalship leadership practices and a significant indirect effect on teacher collaboration and satisfaction. The results provide important policy implications. Investments in leadership preparation influences leadership practices that yield more positive teacher work conditions, which are essential for improve student learning and as a result leadership preparation program design and improvement can play an important role in district reform and school improvement.
Teacher evaluation conducted by school principals is a common worldwide practice. However, there are many reservations about principals' ability to evaluate teachers reliably. Reservations appearing in the literature include inflated ratings, minimal discrimination of teacher quality, and evaluations influenced by factors irrelevant to teacher effectiveness. This article examines whether principals can distinguish effective and ineffective teachers and whether principals can identify the teacher, principal and school characteristics influencing principals' evaluations of teacher effectiveness. The sample consists of 80 school principals; data were collected from principals and teachers, combined with a database of teachers' academic performance as students in a teacher preparation program. Principals rated teachers on a number of dimensions, and data were analyzed with multiple regression techniques. Results suggest that principal ratings contain enough discriminating ability both within teachers and within dimensions of teacher effectiveness. Factors irrelevant to teacher effectiveness do not influence ratings of teachers. Results also demonstrate greater principal involvement in teacher evaluations, especially in educational systems where their role is limited.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.