The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school

Morris, Julia E.; Lummis, Geoffrey W.; Lock, Graeme; Ferguson, Catherine; Hill, Sarah; Nykiel, Annette

doi:10.1177/1741143219864937

Cited by 32 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Research suggests that a more democratic and participative decision-making style may contribute to higher levels of morale (Brown et al, 2002; Jago, 1982; Morris et al, 2019; Wadesango, 2012). In this study, the decision-making style of the leadership was found to be likely impacting morale and burnout.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Morale and burnout in an Australian public school: A socio-technical systems approach

Whiteoak¹

2020

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

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This exploratory case study investigated the link between morale and burnout in an Australian public school. Qualitative data was collected from 8 focus groups involving 47 participants. In analysing the qualitative data, an objective content analysis using the software program Leximancer was conducted. The findings indicated that a lack of support and poor systems (particularly in relation to behavioural management) were central to staff burnout and lower morale. A socio-technical systems framework including people, systems and tools was developed and applied to explain the results. It was argued that the attributional process of blame and a lack of perceived empathy (for poor systems) from leaders in the school was adding to feelings of low morale. The findings suggest that without empathy in leadership, attempts to improve morale in a workplace may actually increase burnout risk. The case study also highlights the buffering effect that ‘pod-synergy’ can have in mitigating burnout risk among teachers when there is a lack of involvement and empathy in the way decisions are made by leaders. Finally, a balance between the people and the systems is recommended so that there is enough autonomy for teachers to make situation-based decisions using their own skills and training without the demands of too much ‘red tape’.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Morris et al (2019) investigated strategies useful to increase morale and staff well-being. They concluded that a change in leadership style is a key factor in increasing school morale.…”

Section: Moralementioning

confidence: 99%

Morale and burnout in an Australian public school: A socio-technical systems approach

Whiteoak¹

2020

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

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“…The way educational services are provided and managed is changing, including the way, teaching practices are managed to solve problems of competitive educational programs. These programs bring innovative components to school life practice [15]. The study results complement the data on the impact of distributed leadership on teacher job satisfaction and self-efficacy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Educational Project Management and Competitive Advantages of Educational Programs

et al. 2020

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The article presents the study results of students’ involvement in the transformation and development of intra-group interaction in the process of mastering an educational program. The key tool is students’ project work aimed at solving significant educational problems. Project management in the educational program is based on distributed leadership. However, based on the results of surveys, interviews, and product analysis of students ’project activities, the problem of students’ unwillingness to interact in the project group is revealed. The study purpose is to identify the impact of student engagement on the development of intra-group interaction in project groups. The correlation analysis has shown that students’ lack of readiness for interaction correlates with a low level of their involvement in project activity, which leads to the process formalisation and project activity results. The solution to this problem gives the educational program competitive advantages due to the formation of students’ competencies of interaction in project groups and distributed leadership.

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“…Second, to ensure that change processes are sustainable, teaching staff need to share a commitment to school improvement: Here, teacher collaboration catalyzes the sharing and processing of information about common visions and goals (Seashore Louis & Lee, 2016). Third, principals and leadership teams need to provide teachers with opportunities for participation in decision making processes so that teachers have a voice and feel empowered (Austin & Harkins, 2008;Morris et al, 2020). Fourth, organizational learning requires knowledge and skills that members of the school community or other individuals (e.g., principals, teachers, or external experts) either bring with them or acquire through training or other learning opportunities.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework Of Organizational Learning and Organiz...mentioning

confidence: 99%

How can principal leadership practices promote teacher collaboration and organizational change? A longitudinal multiple case study of three school improvement initiatives

Meyer

2022

J Educ Change

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Schools must regularly examine and adapt established practices to address students' and teachers' changing needs (academic, social, emotional, and occupational;Askell-Williams & Koh, 2020). Yet many of the innovations developed to meet these needs fail due to a lack of strategies for implementation (e.g., consistent goal setting), structural prerequisites (e.g., time for planning and implementing innovations), and motivation of school staff (e.g., innovativeness; Cheng & Walker, 2008;Palumbo & Manna, 2019). Theories of organizational change in the school context posit that principals and teachers act as change agents, innovating organizational practices, building collective knowledge around change, and supporting a positive climate for innovations. For this reason, we first assume that teacher collaboration is a key element for organizational change. When teachers collaborate to improve their schools, they can collectively identify the school's needs, develop targeted and effective innovations, and, ultimately, implement innovations. Second, we assume principal leadership is a key supporting factor in teacher collaboration, as principals can ensure that teachers have sufficient time and resources, support in the creation of teacher teams, guide these teams on the process level (e.g., goal-setting), and motivate teachers to achieve the desired organizational changes. Empirical evidence supports this assumption and suggests that principals can involve teachers in decision making relating to the planning and implementation of innovations and can create a caring environment for teachers to change their practices (Fix et al., 2020;Seashore Louis & Murphy, 2017). However, there has been little in-depth research to date on the mechanisms that foster teachers' and principals' collaboration to achieve organizational change. In particular, previous empirical research has not fully investigated the process from planning to implementation of improvement initiatives (Palumbo

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The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school

Cited by 32 publications

References 49 publications

Morale and burnout in an Australian public school: A socio-technical systems approach

Morale and burnout in an Australian public school: A socio-technical systems approach

Educational Project Management and Competitive Advantages of Educational Programs

How can principal leadership practices promote teacher collaboration and organizational change? A longitudinal multiple case study of three school improvement initiatives

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