Session Information
26 SES 12 B, Leading Change, Leadership Standards and Educational Leadership and Networking
Paper Session
Contribution
Leading change is considered to be one of the most important tasks in leadership (Yukl 2010), but also a very difficult one (Kotter 1996). For school leaders it is about developing the organization in order to achieve the best learning opportunities for pupils. Previously change was regarded as a temporary, episodic activity (Weick & Quinn 1999), often in the shape of projects within a certain period of time, involving a few individuals in the organization. When a project, i.e. the financing, came to an end it was mostly back to business as usual. In other words, few changes were sustainable. Today change in organizations is rather regarded as a continuous operation that a leader need to relate to on a regular basis (Kotter 2014). This is due to developments in society in general, such as globalization, rapid technological developments and increasing international competition.
School leaders are responsible for quality assurance. In Sweden this is regulated by the Education Act (SFS 2010). This means that, based on the national goals, school leaders continuously and in an integrated way should improve their schools by planning, following up and developing processes (Ärlestig & Törnsén 2014). School improvement should also, according to the Act, be science-based.
In one of the courses in the Swedish National Principal Program, School leadership, the final examination consisted of a written development plan. The aim of the task was to describe and analyze strategies for school improvement within a selected area that is regarded important for the respective schools. By using a specific model the aim was to provide the participants with a tool for working with quality assurance in the future. The course took a year to complete and the work with the plans included seminars and guidance from the course leader.
The instructions stated that the plan should consist of the following:
(1) An analysis of the current state at the school. To demonstrate the presence of a scientific approach participants are advised to use a theoretical model. A theoretical model may help to plan and design school improvement and also to understand what kind of data is necessary in order to further pinpoint the problem. If additional data is collected it should be clear what methods have been used and how the study has been conducted. The selected problem area should relate to policy documents, research and theories.
(2) A presentation of visions and goals in relation to the problem/s identified and based on the results of the analysis. There should be both short-term (one year) and long-term (three years) goals.
(3) A presentation of strategies for improvements.
The stages can roughly be compared to the stages in policy analysis models, i. e. where are we, where do we want to go, what do we want to achieve and how do we reach the goals (see for example Roux 2000).
The aim of this article is to investigate how school leaders go about planning school improvement by using a scientific approach. The research questions are: Which demands (internal or external) and data lie behind the planned changes? How are theoretical models used to identify and analyze the problem/s? Which type of strategies are chosen to achieve the goals?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Bryman, Alan (2011) Social Research Methods. Fourth Edition. New York: Oxford University Press inc. Kotter, John P. (1996) Leading Change. Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Business Press. Kotter, John P. (2012). “The Big Idea. Accelerate!” Harvard Business Review. November 2012. Vol. 29-92:5 (1952-2014). (pp 44-58). Kotter, John P. (2014) Accelerate. Building Strategic Agillity for a Faster-Mowing World. Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard Business Review Press. Lundquist, Lennart (1991). Etik i offentlig verksamhet. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Roux, Nico L. (2000) Policy design. In Fanie Cloete and Henry F. Wissink (Eds.), Improving Public Policy. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. SFS (2010) Education Act (2010:800). Ärlestig, Helene & Törnsén, Monika (2014). Classroom observations and supervision - essential dimensions of pedagogical leadership. International Journal of Educational Management, 28(7), 856-868. Weick, Karl E. and Quinn, Robert, E. (1999). Organizational Change and Development. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 1999. 50:361-86. Yukl, Gary (2010). Leadership in Organizations. Harlow: Pearson Education.
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