Session Information
26 SES 13 A, Links Between Educational Leadership and Teachership
Paper Session
Contribution
Given the pivotal role played by the school principal in conducting the school’s educational task (SAMMONS, 2008; LEITHWOOD, 2009, ALVES & FRANCO, 2008, among others), this study aimed at broadening the discussion on the relationships that can be established between the principals’ activity and both the teachers’ work and the students’ achievement.
School leadership has been raising increasing interest in the academic studies of the educational field and has gained prominence in the current educational policies. Leithwood (2009) underscores the attention paid to the topic:
School leadership is currently receiving unprecedented attention. The agenda of educational reform, in its ongoing evolution, seems to have grasped that the role of leadership is in itself an important goal for reform and, at the same time, a vehicle for other things to happen (ob. cit., p. 17).
Although the author highlights the influence of practice in the classroom as being the most relevant school factor that can influence students’ academic results, he states that "school leaders also influence student learning, but it is more indirect" (ob. cit., p. 20). Leithwood stresses that even though school leadership only accounts for between 3% and 5% of learning variance between students from different schools, it accounts for a quarter of total variance when variables such as students’ social origins are controlled and only intra-school factors are analyzed (2009, p. 23).
One of these indirect effects of school leadership on students` achievement can be associated to the relationships constructed among school team. Seeking the role of school principals in school environment, the study developed by Shapira-Lishinsky and Tsemach (2014, p.676-677) found the association of an authentic leadership with organizational factors, among them, teachers’ satisfaction on their work.
As Dhuey and Smith (2014) pointed out “as school leaders, principals can influence student achievement in a number of ways, such as hiring and firing of teachers, monitoring instruction and maintaining student discipline, among many others”. The study conducted by the Canadian professors highlighted the importance of identify the most effective characteristics of the principals` tasks and the best path to allocate them.
But, exactly how school principals can make a difference inside their schools? Can their actions, decisions, relationships impact school teachers’ job quality and their students’ learning? How it happens in Brazilian public schools? The study here presented tries to answer those questions since its focus was to deepen the understanding about if and how school leadership could affect two important school factors: teachers’ job satisfaction and students’ learning. This paper highlights the results of a large research, conducted as a doctoral project concluded in 2015, which received an Honor Mention between all educational thesis defended in Brazil in that year.
The role of the school principal was analyzed from the perspective of his/her political role and his/her legal duties, having as analytical reference the concepts of school management, leadership, and school climate. Therefore, a wide literature review on the topic, considering national and international journals, was conducted.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
ALVES, M. T. G. & FRANCO, C. A pesquisa em eficácia escolar no Brasil: evidências sobre o efeito das escolas e fatores associados à eficácia escolar. In: BROOKE, Nigel; SOARES, José Francisco. (Orgs.) Pesquisa em eficácia escolar: origem e trajetórias. Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG, 2008. DHUEY, E.; SMITH, J. (2011). How Important Are School Principals in the Production of Student Achievement?. Toronto, Canad.: University of Toronto (Working Paper). Disponível em http://www.sole jole.org/11034.pdf Acesso em 10/01/2017. FULLER, E.; YOUNG, M. & BAKER, B. Do Principal Preparation Programs Influence Student Achievement Through the Building of Teacher-Team Qualifications by the Principal? An Exploratory Analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, v. 47, n.1, p. 173-216, fev. 2011. HASENBALG, C.; SILVA, N. V. Tendências de desigualdades educacional no Brasil. Dados, Revista de Ciências Sociais, v .43, n. 3, p. 423-445, 2000. LEITHWOOD, K. ¿ Cómo liderar nuestras escuelas? Aportes desde la investigación. Santiago: Salesianos Impresores, 2009. PRICE, H. Principal-Teacher Interactions: How Affective Relationships Shape Principal and Teacher Attitudes. Educational Administration Quarterly, v. 48 n.1, p. 39-85, 2012. SAMMONS, P. As características-chave das escolas eficazes. In: BROOKE, Nigel; SOARES, José Francisco. (Orgs.) Pesquisa em eficácia escolar: origem e trajetórias. Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG, 2008. SEBASTIAN, J. & ALLENSWORTH, E. - The Influence of Principal Leadership on Classroom Instruction and Student Learning: A Study of Mediated Pathways to Learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, v. 48, n.4, p. 626-663, out.2012. SHAPIRA-LISHCHINSKI, O. & TSEMACH, S. Psychological Empowerment as a Mediator Between Teachers’ Perceptions of Authentic Leadership and Their Withdrawal and Citizenship Behaviors. Educational Administration Quarterly, v. 50, n.4, p. 675-712, out. 2014. SILVA, N. V.; BARBOSA, M.L.O. Desempenho individual e Organização escolar na realização educacional. Sociologia & Antropologia, v.02.04: p. 159 –184, 2012. SPILLANE, J.; PARISE, L. & SHERER, J. Organizational Routines as Coupling Mechanisms: Policy, School Administration, and the Technical Core. American Educational Research Journal, v. 49, n. 2, p. 200-230, 2012. American Educational Research Journal, v. 48, n. 3, p. 586-619, 2011. SOARES, J. F. Melhora do desempenho cognitivo dos alunos do ensino fundamental. Cadernos de Pesquisa, v. 37, n. 130, p. 135-160, jan./abr. 2007. THOONEN, E.; SLEEGERS, P.; OORT, F.; PEETSMA, T.; GEIJSEL, F. How to Improve Teaching Practices: The Role of Teacher Motivation, Organizational Factors, and Leadership Practices. Educational Administration Quarterly, v. 47, n.3, p. 496-536, 2011.
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