Shadowing As A Method To Study Educational Leadership - An Overview
Author(s):
Pierre Tulowitzki (presenting / submitting)
Conference:
ECER 2014
Network:
26. Educational Leadership
Format:
Paper

Session Information

26 SES 06 A, Engagement, Shadowing and Action Research

Paper Session

Time:
2014-09-03
15:30-17:00
Room:
B029 Anfiteatro
Chair:
Pierre Tulowitzki

Contribution

While self-report studies have been used and discussed quite frequently in the domain of educational leadership research, there is a method that has been employed yet rarely discussed: shadowing. Although there are contributions related to shadowing as a method (for example Czarniawska, 2007; Martinko & Gardner, 1985; Meunier & Vasquez, 2008), these contributions have for the most part been focused on (business) management research, not educational research or educational leadership research. Additionally, little emphasis has so far been placed on the methodical parameters of shadowing studies, in other words how these studies were conducted. This contribution aims at tackling these issues. First, it attempts to offer an overview of the use of shadowing as a research method when studying school leaders. This is done via a thorough literature review of school leadership studies employing shadowing from the last two decades. The criteria for the review are listed below, the literature review encompasses studies from European countries as well as from the United States; it is hoped that the ECER will provide opportunities to learn about other European studies eligible for inclusion in this analysis. Next, a critique of the shadowing method is undertaken based on the findings from the review. Finally, a definition is proposed. This definition includes an attempt to position shadowing on the spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research.

This contribution aims to clarify what can be understood by shadowing, how shadowing can be used to research school leaders and how this method can be refined and adapted to better suit the needs of educational leadership research.

Method

For the literature review presented in this contribution, school leadership studies from Europe and around the globe from roughly the past 20 years were considered. Numerous sources were used to find eligible studies. Major scientific databases from digital libraries like JSTOR as well as databases from publishers such as Springerlink or Emerald were searched. In addition, online programmes from major conference like the ECER and AERA were analyzed. Selected monographs and chapters focused on shadowing (like for example Czarniawska, 2007) were searched for references to eligible studies. Finally, studies meeting the criteria for inclusion (listed below) were also searched for references to other eligible studies. When it came to determining what studies to include, several selection criteria were applied: 1. The study needed to be from the field of educational leadership research 2. The study needed to be published in 1990 or later. 3. The study needed to be written in English, French or German. 4. The study needed to make use of shadowing as a research method. Over the course of the research, it became evident that various authors employed what could be understood as shadowing using a different terminology. As a consequence, the criteria pertaining to this were expanded in a way as to also include terms like “Mintzberg-type study” and “structured observation”. Eligible studies were reviewed and compared, a process which was guided by the following research questions: 1. What is the aim of the study? 2. How is shadowing defined by the author(s)? 3. What are the parameters of the shadowing (duration, participants, observers)? 4. In conjunction with what other – if any – methods is shadowing used? At the time of writing, thirteen studies that meet the criteria mentioned above have been analyzed (with eight further studies scheduled to be analyzed).

Expected Outcomes

In the studies analyzed shadowing was rarely defined in detail. If it was defined, then as non-participant observation. In some cases (e.g. Horng et al., 2010) a reference to Mintzberg's studies was given in lieu of an explicit definition. Many factors hint at a rather undefined state of shadowing: Some studies were strongly pre-structured, others had an open design. Some observations were carried out by one observer, others by several observers. The duration of observation and the sample size also varied greatly, the same was true for the implicit research paradigm: While some used shadowing exclusively to collect quantitative data, others (e.g. Martinko & Gardner, 1990) collected quantitative as well as qualitative data. As a consequence of the identified lack of description or definition the following working definition for shadowing has been developed: Shadowing is a semi-structured, undisguised, passive participant observation occurring in the field. This means that the observer does not try to hide or disguise the fact that she/he is an observer, that research does not take place in a laboratory context but in the field, that she/he follows the subject with minimal interaction (i.e. like a shadow) and that she/he observes according to predefined categories and guidelines. Those categories and guidelines, however, can be altered and/or expanded over the course of the study. Shadowing and structured observation (as originally defined by Mintzberg) share many similarities (see Arman et al., 2012). It is the author's contention that shadowing can be used to include the gathering of qualitative as well as quantitative data; the gathering of what Thomas (1998) calls “basic” data (e.g. time and duration of activities) being considered quantitative, the usage of said data and the gathering of additional data (whether activities were planned or unplanned, the context) tending towards the qualitative.

References

Arman, R., Vie, O. E., & Âsvoll, H. (2012). Refining shadowing methods for studying managerial work. In S. Tengblad (Ed.), The Work of Managers: Towards a Practice Theory of Management (S. 301–317). New York: Oxford University Press. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods (2. Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Czarniawska, B. (2007). Shadowing: And Other Techniques for Doing Fieldwork in Modern Societies. Herndon, VA: Copenhagen Business School Press. Horng, E. L., Klasik, D., & Loeb, S. (2010). Principal’s time use and school effectiveness. American Journal of Education, 116(4), 491–523. Martinko, M. J., & Gardner, W. L. (1985). Beyond Structured Observation: Methodological Issues and New Directions. The Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 676–695. Martinko, M. J., & Gardner, W. L. (1990). Structured Observation of Managerial work - A Replication and Synthesis. Journal of Management Studies, 27(3), 329–357. Meunier, D., & Vasquez, C. (2008). On Shadowing the Hybrid Character of Actions: A Communicational Approach. Communication Methods and Measures, 2(3), 167–192. Mintzberg, H. (1970). Structured observation as a method to study managerial work. Journal of Management Studies, 7(1), 87–104. Polite, V. C., Mcclure, R., & Rollie, D. L. (1997). The Emerging Reflective Urban Principal: The Role of Shadowing Encounters. Urban Education, 31(5), 466–489. Spillane, J. P., & Hunt, B. (2010). Days of their lives: a mixed-methods, descriptive analysis of the men and women at work in the principal’s office. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 42(3), 293–331. Thomas, A. R. (1998). Knowing principals through observation: What has the method taught us. Conference paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Adelaide, Australia. Thomas, A. R., & Ayres, J. (1998). A principal’s interruptions: time lost or time gained? International Journal of Educational Management, 12(6), 244–249. doi:10.1108/09513549810237922 Thornton, P. J., Thomas, A. R., & Vine, K. W. (1996). The physiological, psychological and work stress of primary school principals. International Journal of Educational Management, 10(6), 42–55. doi:10.1108/09513549610151695 Tulowitzki, P. (2013). Leadership & School Improvement in France. Journal of Educational Administration, 51(6). Whan, L. D., & Thomas, A. R. (1996). The Principalship and Stress in the Workplace: An Observational and Physiological Study. Journal of School Leadership, 6(4), 444–65.

Author Information

Pierre Tulowitzki (presenting / submitting)
University of Teacher Education Zug
Institute for the Management and Economics of Education
Zug

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