Examining US principal perception of multiple leadership styles used to practice shared instructional leadership

Abstract

Purpose – Decades of research on different leadership styles shows that effective school leadership is the degree of influence or synergy between teachers and principals around the core business of schools, instruction. While various styles, such as transformational, instructional, shared instructional, point to the similar measures of high organizational quality, the inconsistency in how these styles are defined and relate make it unclear how principals systematically improve schools. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study used the 1999-2000 schools and staffing survey, n=8,524 of US principals, since it includes a nationally representative sample of administrators who responded to a comprehensive set of leadership measures around a time of school restructuring reforms. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify different styles, and to measure the extent of their relationship. These factors were used to test a theory about why principals practice each of these styles to a different degree based on levels of shared instructional leadership. Findings – Based on the theoretical framework, principals should have a similar high influence over resources, safety and facilities regardless of degree of shared instructional leadership since these tasks address foundational school needs. However, principal and teacher influence over these resources differed across levels of shared instructional leadership more than principal-directed tasks of facilitating a mission, supervising instruction and building community. Originality/value – Differences in the practice of styles by shared instructional leadership did not fit changing, higher ordered needs as theorized instead seemed to vary by a hierarchy of control, the way in which principals shared influence with teachers.

Inclusive school leaders – their role in raising the achievement of all learners

“…The SISL project identified three main theories of school leadership linked to successful inclusive practices: transformational leadership, distributed leadership and instructional leadership. These theories share a common focus on developing a shared vision, shared ownership and decision-making (Kershner and McQuillan, 2016;Urick, 2016).…”

“…School leaders aiming to reform organizational structures to develop a more inclusive school may take up transformational leadership to establish and communicate a vision, create opportunities for professional development, to build capacity and encourage professional learning and innovation (Urick, 2016). According to transformational leadership theory, given adequate support, school leaders can influence school staff to become highly engaged and motivated by setting inspirational goals that are associated with values in which the staff believes, or are persuaded to believe (Leithwood and Sun, 2012).…”

Tips for Principal in Managing One Roof School (SATAP) in Underdeveloped Area

“…The principal tips in Satap disadvantaged when done with the right strategy can bring good results to the principal. Through a variety of approaches and ideas done by the school principal problems in the lagging areas can be solved [7], [18], [19]. The result is in the middle of the limitation, Satap in the lagging area can still compete with public schools located in the city centre.…”

Examining the relationship of teacher perception of accountability and assessment policies on teacher turnover during NCLB

“…This administrator support and inclusion of teachers in decisions is important to help reduce external pressures and other job burdens that teachers might face. Principals, through increasing teacher autonomy as well as their communication of a vision, teacher support and management, influence teacher satisfaction and their decisions to stay (Grissom, 2011Urick, 2016. Principal effectiveness in these areas helps to moderate negative job pressures for teachers.…”