Instructional Leadership in Charter Schools: Is There an Organizational Effect or Are Leadership Practices the Result of Faculty Characteristics and Preferences?

Sociology and School Choice: What We Know After Two Decades of Charter Schools

“…Researchers have also shown that school mission and goals are important for guiding school activities (Bryk et al 2010, Renzulli et al 2014. Education research has well recognized the significance of principal leadership for school reform and improvement, with several studies showing the value of leadership in establishing effective school improvement efforts, in terms of both setting the school's vision and mission and providing instructional direction (Berends et al 2002, Bryk et al 2010, Cravens et al 2012, Goff et al 2012.…”

“…To better understand the conditions under which schools of choice have (or do not have) positive effects on achievement, many researchers and policy makers advocate looking inside schools, pointing to the importance of detailed information about curriculum, instruction, organizational conditions that promote achievement, and teacher characteristics and qualifications (Berends et al 2008a(Berends et al ,b, 2010Betts & Loveless 2005;Cannata & Engel 2012;Cannata & Peñaloza 2012;Cravens et al 2012;Gill et al 2007;Goff et al 2012;Zimmer & Buddin 2007Zimmer et al 2003). To date, however, these calls to examine the organization of schooling within the charter sector by and large have not been heeded.…”

Who Are Charter School Teachers? Comparing Teacher Characteristics, Job Choices, and Job Preferences

“…The purpose of the larger project from which our data are drawn was to understand achievement differences, as well as the other differences among charter and traditional public schools that may explain differences in student outcomes (see Berends et al, 2011;Cannata, 2011b;Goff, Mavrogordato, & Goldring, 2012 for other papers from this study). Making such comparisons is challenging, particularly if researchers want to examine schools across a variety of contexts in a cost-effective manner.…”

Circuit managers as agents of school development and support: A conceptual analysis

“…It rose to prominence again in the United States in the 1970s when the instruction dimension of the role of the principal was emphasized (Townsend et al, 2013;Cheng-Yong, 2012;Neumerski, 2013;Purinton 2013, Lai & Cheung, 2013Townsend et al, 2013;Cheng-Yong, 2012;Sofo et al, 2012;Çalik et al, 2012;Ylimaki & Jacobson, 2012Goff et al, 2012Klar, 2012Hallinger & Lee, 2012). From the 1960s onwards, the definitions of this concept ranged from any activity in which the principal engaged in order to improve instruction, to certain types of activities or actions such as classroom observation (Gorton as cited by Gurr et.al, 2006).…”

“…It is important to understand that instructional leaders focus on school goals, the curriculum, instruction, and the school environment (Stewart, 2006:4). This construct emerged during the 1980s as a branch of the effective schools research (Xie & Shen, 2013;Neumerski, 2013;Purinton 2013, Lai & Cheung, 2013Townsend et al, 2013;Cheng-Yong, 2012;Sofo et al, 2012;Çalik et al, 2012;Ylimaki & Jacobson, 2012Hallinger & Lee 2012; Goff et al, 2012Klar, 2012. It focused on the manner in which leadership improved educational outcomes and also on the role of the principal to influence teachers on their teaching and learning practices as the teachers engaged in helping learners to learn.…”