Session Information
26 SES 02 A, Educational Leadership Development
Paper Session
Contribution
General description on research questions, objectives and theoretical framework (600) words
Not least owing to an increase in the empirical evidence base of school leadership actions as a central component of school quality assurance and development (see Huber & Muijs 2010, Robinson, Lloyd & Rowe 2008, Rolff 2007, Marzano, Waters, & Mcnulty 2005, Dubs 2005), many countries in Europe and beyond have developed strategies for the recruitment, selection, preparation, further qualification and support of school leaders for professionally fulfilling this new and central role (for an overview, see Lumby et al. 2008). In particular, initial and further qualification measures targeting the formal professionalization of school leadership actions concern increased demands for entering the profession (cf. Young & Grogan 2008), featuring mostly the establishment of leadership academies (cf. Hean & Tin 2008), agreement on nationwide quality standards for school leadership actions (see Ingvarson et al. 2006, CCSSO 1996), as well as the conceptualisation of competence-based qualification frameworks. Criticism is raised from a scientific perspective claiming that school leaders with “uniform design“ are thus created (cf. Southworth 2002) who are unable to appropriately react to specificities of the individual school contexts (cf. Salazar 2007, Rhodes et al. 2006). Altogether, the majority of the formal opportunities offered for professionalization target context-independent generic skills while professionalization at an informal level is more strongly characterised by its reference to context and problems (cf. Crow 2001). Recently, researchers have indicated that in terms of improving the effectiveness of school leadership actions, these two strands of qualification should functionally be better aligned (Pont et al. 2008, S.211).
Objectives
In other words, the school leaders need to be better prepared for different contextual scenarios, which can be achieved by providing them with contextual mind setting and mind mapping skills. A comparative approach can provide another base of information for pursuing this question as it offers shared knowledge of conditions of school leaders and expectations towards them as well as new insights into ways in which schools leaders are trained all over Europe.
Research questions
The presentation´s main goal is to examine the alignment and relevance of school leaders’ training needs with research evidence defining quality standards for school leadership actions, while affirming both how this alignment occurs in the United States (US) and might occur in Europe. The US has used school leadership standards since 1996 to establish core competencies from which redesigned school leadership preparation programs have developed in the nation’s higher education institutions. Similar adoptions of leadership preparation standards have rarely occurred in Europe because empirically-based research attempts are scarce in authoring these standards. Therefore, the paper aims to form an initial base of evidence that future educational researchers and practitioners in Europe could build upon to devise and espouse a set of relevant school leadership standards. Meaningful types of professional development programs can then be constructed in order to strengthen school leadership preparation throughout the continent. Within this context, the authors will focus on the following guiding questions:
- What needs of a school leader call for relevant professional development?
- How well prepared are school leaders in initial leadership preparation programs in regards to performing their duties effectively?
- Which forms of professional development are preferable?
- How might leadership standards that prescribe effective forms of professional development for practicing school leaders in the US be replicated in a European context?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Brauckmann, S., & Pashiardis, P. (2011). Contextual framing for school leadership training. Empirical findings from the Commonwealth Project on Leadership Assessment- and Development (CO-LEAD). Journal of Management Development, 31 (1), 18–33. CCSSO (2000). Standards-Based Professional Development for School Leaders. Washington, DC: Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium. Crow, G. M. (2001). School Leader Preparation. A Short Review of the Knowledge Base. National College for School Leadership. available at www.ncsl.org.uk/researchpublications. Hean, L., & Tin, G., (2008). Envisioning in School Leadership Preparation and Practice: The Case of Singapore. International Studies in Educational Administration, 36 (1), 72-80. Huber, S.G., & Muijs, D. (2010). School Leadership Effectiveness. The Growing Insight in the Importance of School Leadership for the Quality and Development of Schools and their Pupils. In Huber, S.G. & Muijs, D. (Eds.). School Leadership – International Perspectives. Dordrecht u.a.: Springer. Ingvarson, L., Anderson, M. , Gronn P. & Jackson, A. (2006). Standards for School Leadership: A Critical Review of the Literature. Teaching Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Ltd.. Leithwood, K., & Riehl, C. (2005). “What we know about successful school leadership.” In: W. Firestone & C. Riehl (Eds.), A new agenda: Directions for research on educational leadership. New York: Teacher College Press. Marzano, R.J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B.A. (2005). School Leadership that Works. From Research to Results. USA: ASCD and MCREL. Pont, B., Nusche, D., & Moorman, H. (2008). Improving School Leadership Policy and Practice. Paris: OECD. (Volume1). Policy and Practice. Rhodes, C., & Brundrett, M. (2006). The identification, development, succession and retention of leadership talent in contextually different primary schools: a case study located within the English West Midlands. School Leadership and Management, 26 (3), 269-287. Robinson, V., Lloyd, C. A. & Rowe, K. J. (2008). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(5), 635-674. Salazar, P.S. (2007). The Professional Development Needs of Rural High School Principals: A Seven-state study. The Rural Educator, 28 (3), 20-27. Southworth, G. (2002). Lessons from Successful Leadership in Small Schools. In Leithwood, K., & Hallinger, P. (Ed.). Second International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration (S. 451-484). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Waters, T. Marzano, R.J., & McNulty, B. (2003). Balanced Leadership: What 30 Years of Research Tells Us about the Effect of Leadership on Student Achievement
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