A Comparative Study of Principal Leadership Development: Australian and Russian Cases
Author(s):
Helen Wildy (presenting / submitting) Katsiryna Kukso (presenting) Ashlee Jenkins Elaine Chapman
Conference:
ECER 2016
Network:
26. Educational Leadership
Format:
Paper

Session Information

26 SES 02 B, Professional Development

Paper Session

Time:
2016-08-23
15:15-16:45
Room:
OB-E1.19
Chair:
Helen Wildy

Contribution

This is our third research paper addressing the question: How does postgraduate study shape participants’ attitudes and perceptions of practice as leaders? The first paper which was presented at ECER in 2012 drew on initial data of one cohort of participants in a bespoke postgraduate degree, the Master’s of School Leadership, offered by the University of Western Australia. The second paper presented at the 2015 ECER follows that cohort over three years of their degree, and compares their emerging understanding of leadership with subsequent cohorts in the same course. This paper picks up the 2015 cohort of participants and compares their understanding of their leadership development with a contemporaneous cohort of Masters level school leaders from the Russian Federation.

Our study emerged from the International Study of Preparation of Principals (ISPP) which began more than ten years ago.  The design of the ISPP has three phases. First, we mapped the provision of principal preparation in each jurisdiction (for example, Karstanje & Webber, 2008; Webber, Mentz,  Scott, Okoko, & Scott, 2014). Secondly, we conducted qualitative case studies of principals of elementary schools in their first three years to find out the challenges they face and the extent to which they felt prepared for the challenges (Cowie & Crawford, 2008; Sherman, 2008; Wildy & Clarke, 2008, 2009a; Wildy, Clarke & Slater, 2007). Our research drew international comparisons of principals’ experiences (Mentz, Webber & van der Walt, 2010; Onguko, Abdalla & Webber, 2008, 2012; Wildy, Clarke & Cardno, 2009). The main outcome of this phase was the conceptualization of the challenges into a framework, or heuristic based on four key constructs: Place; People; System; and Self (Clarke & Wildy, 2011). Using this framework we articulated the epistemological assumptions for both research about, and programs for, principal preparation programs (Clarke & Wildy, 2010, 2012). Thirdly, with ISPP colleagues, we constructed a survey instrument to investigate the extent to which the challenges were faced by novice principals and their perspectives on their preparation to face these challenges (Clarke, Wildy & Styles, 2011; Okoko, Scott & Scott, 2014; Wildy & Clarke, 2009b; Wildy, Clarke, Styles & Beycioglu, 2010).

The ISPP includes researchers from many countries: Australia, South Africa, Canada, China, England, Germany, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland, Tanzania, Turkey, USA. However, this is the first time that a researcher from the Russian Federation has participated in the ISPP. The contribution of our Russian colleague expands our international network and enhances our understanding of the challenges faced by school leaders in their first years of appointment, and their perspectives of their leadership development trajectories. Importantly, the inclusion of our new research partner builds our appreciation of the similarities and differences between our respective school contexts. Both the experiences of novice principals and the contexts in which they work will form part of the paper proposed here. A particular focus of this research is the extent to which the shadow of dependency on a former highly centralised educational authority lingers. We investigate the extent to which that influence impedes the capacity of school leaders to build their relationships with school communities and to shape and share visions to meet the needs of those communities.

Method

Approach Studies of the impact of principal preparation programs have used a correlational design linking knowledge of instructional leadership with school level student achievement (Hallinger, 2006). Although our study generates quantitative data, we adopt an interpretive approach based on Greenfield’s (1988) ‘existential realities characterised by complexity, uncertainty and willfulness’ and a social constructivist philosophy. We seek participants’ views about their understanding and their practice as they reflect on their learning during their postgraduate study. Sample The 50 participants in the 2015 Master of School Leadership in Western Australia and 100 participants in the Management in Education degree in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod completed a customised survey which was translated by the Russian partner. All participants belong to their relevant educational authority, either as principals or deputies or regional leaders. The Australian participants are students of The University of Western Australia; their Russian counterparts are students of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow or its branch in Nizhny Novgorod. Instrument This instrument incorporates the 21 items of the ISPP survey which sought the extent to which participants felt challenged by, and prepared to face, issues of Place, People, Self and System. The design of the survey requires responses for item according to a four point Likert scale (strongly agree; agree; disagree; strongly disagree). Respondents are also asked to rate their global leadership skill, on an 11-point scale. Finally, respondents are provided with four short vignettes, each depicting a school level incident relating to one of the themes Place; People; System; and Self. They are asked to generate the questions they would ask and identify to whom these questions would be directed. The written responses are judged by external expert raters and the scores correlated with scores on each of the measures (survey and global self-ratings).

Expected Outcomes

Using Rasch analysis we will locate ISPP survey item responses of each cohort on a scale showing the extent to which each challenge was easy/difficult, and on a second scale showing the preparedness of participants to face these challenges. We compare the Australian and Russian responses. We will also compare these responses with earlier data from both Australia and Turkey (Wildy, Clarke, Styles & Beycioglu, 2010). We will compare each cohorts' responses to the four sections (Place, People, Self and System) of the ISPP survey and the 11-point Global Leadership scale. We will code the qualitative data from the four vignettes, examining the level of detail, the richness and variety of the questions posed by each respondent. We examine the learning of the two cohorts of participants in terms of its complexity, and its richly and sensitively appreciated understanding of their external environment (Place); their role in developing capacity among their staff and community (People); their nuanced reactions to centrally mandated priorities (System); and more confident, articulate and resilient engagement in their work in bringing their school’s goals to reality (Self).

References

Clarke, S. & Wildy, H. (2010). Preparing for principalship from the crucible of experience: Reflecting on theory, practice and research. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 42(1), 1-16. Clarke, S. & Wildy, H. (2012). Researching principal preparation, local and international perspectives. In Tony Normore (Ed.). Understanding the Principalship: An International Guide to Principal Preparation. Emerald Group Publishing. Clarke, S., Wildy, H. & Styles, I. (2011). Fit for purpose? Western Australian insights into the efficacy of principal preparation. Journal of Educational Administration, 49(2), 166-178. Cowie, M., & Crawford, M. (2008). Being a new principal in Scotland. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(6), 676-689. Greenfield, T. B. (1984). Leaders and schools: Willfulness and nonnatural order in organizations. In T. J. Sergiovanni & J. E. Corbally (Eds.), Leadership and organizational culture: New perspectives on administrative theory and practice (pp. 142-169). Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press. Hallinger, P. (2006). Scholarship in school leadership preparation: The unaccepted challenge. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 1(1), 1-4. Karstanje, P., & Webber, C.F. (2008). Programs for school principal preparation in East Europe. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(6), 739-751. Mentz, K., Webber, C.F., & van der Walt, J. (2010). Novice principals from Canada and South Africa share their experiences. Education as Change, 14(2), 155-157. Okoko, J.M., Scott, S., & Scott, D.E. (2014). Perceptions of school leaders in Nairobi about their leadership preparation and development. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1-26. Onguko, B.B., Abdalla, M., & Webber, C.F. (2008). Mapping principal preparation in Kenya and Tanzania. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(6), 715-726. Webber, C.F., Mentz, K., Scott, S., Okoko, J.M., & Scott, D.E. (2014). Principal preparation in Kenya, South Africa, and Canada. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 27(3), 499-519. Wildy, H. & Clarke, S. (2009b). Using cognitive interviews to pilot an international survey of principal preparation: A Western Australian perspective. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 21(2), 105-117. Wildy, H., Clarke, S. & Cardno, C. (2009). Antipodean perspectives on enhancing school leadership: Views from Australia and New Zealand. In A.W. Wiseman & I. Silova (Eds.). Educational Leadership: Global contexts and international comparisons (pp. 153-190). Volume 11 in the International Perspectives on Education and Society. Emerald Publishing. Wildy, H., Clarke, S., Styles, I. & Beycioglu, K. (2010). Preparing novice principals in Australia and Turkey: How similar are their needs? Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 20(4), 307.

Author Information

Helen Wildy (presenting / submitting)
The University of Western Australia, Australia
Katsiryna Kukso (presenting)
Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
Ashlee Jenkins
The University of Western Australia, Australia
Elaine Chapman
The University of Western Australia, Australia

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