Managing and Guiding School Reform: Leadership in Success for All Schools

Abstract

This article addresses issues of leadership in school reform with respect to the roles of the principal and the reform facilitator, a teacher who works full-time to support reform activities. The Success for All reform model is used as a case in point because it, like many other reforms, views leadership as critical to reform success. Using qualitative data gathered in six Success for All schools, this article focuses on how principal leadership shaped and was shaped by the reform and on the successes and challenges faced by Success for All facilitators in occupying a position of teacher leadership. This article discusses the roles and relationships, tensions and ambiguities, and power dynamics that evolved among principals, facilitators, and teachers in the implementation of the reform. The findings of this study illuminate the challenges in reconnecting teaching and administration and reveal the importance of changing structures and cultures in this move.

Dialogic leadership in learning communities

“…De este modo, identificamos temáticas sobre los recursos de autoridad para el liderazgo (Sergiovanni, 2003), las estructuras de poder de los centros educativos (Hatcher, 2005) o las dinámicas de poder entre el profesorado y otros agentes (Datnow & Castellano, 2001). La creación de posiciones es una cuestión clave en algunas de las conceptualizaciones que sitúan el liderazgo en los directores y directoras de los centros educativos (Hallinger & Heck, 1996;Blase & Blase, 2004).…”

Classroom Leadership and Creativity: A Study of Social Studies and Islamic Education Teachers in Jordan

“…Based on the review of the literature on educational leadership such as Datnow and Castellano (2001) and Schmiesing (2001), and on consultations with some experts in the field, it was decided to employ ten dimensions. The first five dimensions were added to the five from the original questionnaire that were suitable to be applied in Jordan.…”

“…For Gunter (2001) the effectiveness of teachers' leadership contributes to the success of creativity in the classrooms. For Datnow and Castellano, (2001), the positive impact of teachers' leadership gained validation when researchers found that teacher leadership is the single most powerful determinant of classroom effectiveness. The role of effective classroom leadership, is therefore, a key to nurturing creativity and creative leaders are needed in the educational arena in order to improve classroom productivity (Blumberg & Greenfield, 1986;Ubben & Hughes, 1997).…”

The effect of teacher leader interactions with teachers on student achievement: a predictive study.

“…Moller and Katzenmeyer (1996) In this study, Heller and Firestone (1995) In another school reform study, Datnow and Castellano (2001) conducted a qualitative investigation of leadership in Success for All (SFA) schools. SFA was a research-based whole-school reform model which organized resources to ensure that students succeeded in reading in elementary school.…”

“…Redundant leadership roles for change, involving many individuals with different positions in schools acting as change leaders, provided mutual reinforcement of desired change and assured attention to critical tasks (Heller & Firestone, 1995). Furthermore, some data led researchers to believe that one teacher leader per school was not enough to bring teachers and administrators together in shared leadership (Datnow & Castellano, 2001). …”