DOCSLIB.ORG

Distributed School Leadership and Teaching Capacity

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Distributed School Leadership and Teaching Capacity Running Head: DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY Distributed School Leadership and Its Influence on Teaching Capacity: A Case Study from Teachers’ Perspective Cecilia I. Crespo A Dissertation Submitted to: Graduate School of Education Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctorate in Education Graduate Program in Educational Leadership Written under the direction of Dr. Bruce D. Baker Approved By: _______________________________________ Bruce D. Baker, Ed. D. _______________________________________ William Firestone, Ph. D. _______________________________________ Melinda Mangin, Ed. D. New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2016 DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY © 2016 Cecilia I. Crespo ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY ABSTRACT Distributed School Leadership and Its Influence on Teaching Capacity: A Case Study from Teachers’ Perspective By Cecilia I. Crespo Dissertation Director: Dr. Bruce Baker Current educational reforms call for higher student leaning standards. The result is greater accountability for teaching and learning than ever before. School leadership mediates reform implementation so that the intent of the policy is transferred into teaching practice. I suggest that how teachers make sense of leadership reform activities affects their ability to modify teaching and learning in their classroom. Yet, management and accountability tasks consume the school administrators’ time. A distribution of leadership is necessary to ensure that instructional reforms affect teaching practices in the classroom. The distribution of leadership varies from school to school. Thus, little is known about how leadership is distributed. Even less is known about how school leadership affects teachers and their teaching practice. Through this investigation I examine school leadership’s effect on dimension of teaching capacity during instructional reform. I use a mixed–method case study of one urban Middle school to understand how teachers experience, both, distributed leadership and activities related to their practice during instructional reforms. I examined: 1) what school leadership for instructional improvement looks like, 2) sources of leadership teachers look to for support, and 3) the connectivity between distributed leadership and three dimensions of teaching capacity. iii DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY This study highlights three major findings. First, leadership is distributed formally and informally, among people and tasks. Second, teachers seek administrators and other positional leaders for communicating expectations and providing resources. They look to informal teacher leaders within their peer groups for encouragement, practical support, and resources in areas that are more closely relate to classroom instruction. A third major finding is that dimensions of teaching capacity could be identified in three dimensions (human capital, social capital and decision capital). The enactment of distributed leadership has indirect, yet significant, effects on teachers. Dimension of teaching capacity can be manipulated by leadership to provide instructional support and increase teaching capacity during reform implementation. This suggests that school leadership could identify and refine reform activities to affect teaching and learning in the classroom. iv DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY DEDICATION To Paulino, Liduvina and Lourdes Who taught me to love and live for God, family, and service to others. v DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No one has witnessed the incredible ride I have been on more than God. His blessings were my strength through the successes and challenges of this trip. I continue to be strengthened and humbled as I ride on with God beside me. I am Blessed. My family has given me unconditional support. My husband, Frankie, your comfort, care and love freed my time and apprehensions so that I might continue moving forward; My daughter, Monica, your smile and spirit inspired support that gave me reason to achieve more than I thought I could. Nelson, Artilia, Arnold and Javier, MY SIBS, thank you for helping me to keep that Crespo perspective that says “This is important, but it isn’t everything.” Papi, Mami and Lourdes, I know I am never alone because you have been with me every step of the way. To the rest of my family, I am extremely grateful for your love and support. Dr. Bruce Baker, Dr. William Firestone, and Dr. Melinda Mangin your insightful voices, feedback and encouragement moved me and helped me to push beyond my bounds. I am enormously honored and grateful to have had their high caliber guidance and support to mold my thoughts. Moreover, the wider faculty and staff at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education inspired various aspects of this study. The wonderful, yet anonymous, administrative and teaching staff of one Middle School opened their lives and souls so that I might peek in for the sake of understanding and improving education everywhere. Without you, this truly would not be possible. vi DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY Table of Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ...........................................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: Introduction to the Study ..................................................................................... 1 Background to the Problem ............................................................................................................ 1 The Problem........................................................................................................................................... 3 Conceptual Framework: Connecting Distributed Leadership to Teaching Capacity ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Theoretical Underpinnings ............................................................................................................. 7 Study Purpose and Questions ...................................................................................................... 12 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................ 14 Definition of Terms ........................................................................................................................... 15 Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review ................................................................................................... 17 Educational Leadership: Theory to Practice .................................................................... 17 Capacity Building: Theory and Research ........................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3: The Methodology .................................................................................................... 34 Population and Sampling .......................................................................................................... 36 Data Collection ............................................................................................................................... 37 Data Processing and Analysis .................................................................................................. 41 Limitations of the Research Design ...................................................................................... 46 Confidentiality ................................................................................................................................ 47 CHAPTER 4: Analysis and Findings ........................................................................................... 48 Birds-Eye View: Overview of Distributed Leadership at the School ...................... 50 Teacher Perceptions of Leadership: A Lens on Instructional Management ....... 53 vii DISTRIBUTED SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHING CAPACITY Teacher Perceptions of Support from Leadership Sources ....................................... 84 Teacher Perceptions of Instructional Leadership and Teaching ............................. 87 CHAPTER 5: Interpretation of Findings .................................................................................. 96 Discussion of Findings ................................................................................................................ 97 Implications ................................................................................................................................. 110 Summary ......................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Management [Oupm016]
    Open University of Mauritius Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Management [OUpm016] 1. Rationale and Objectives of the Programme The Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Management at the Open University of Mauritius is a programme intended for anyone with a strong interest in educational leadership and management. People need to master the 21st Century leadership skills to ensure sustainable leadership in their educational institutions and to lead their organisation effectively. Indeed, the changing demands of the changing school characteristics require that those involved in it be well prepared to manage the learners, educators, parents and even work towards community outreach. Else, modern leaders, be they educator leaders, school leaders, community leaders or group leaders may destroy the functioning of the organisation. This programme further develops the leadership skills of people who are engaged in the management of institutions at the micro, macro and meso levels. The educators, the school heads, the superintendents, the directors of institutions, the administrators among all those involved in educational institutions are agents of change towards school effectiveness and improvement. It aims to assist graduates of different disciplines to pursue a career in education, with a leadership and management focus. All those who are in management positions but without relevant qualifications in educational leadership and management and who aspire to occupy such positions are provided with the vast knowledge in the field to expand their knowledge and bring into their learning their professional experience to have a deeper understanding into the practices of leadership and management. More specifically, the programme aims at: Improving understanding of leadership practices in social, cultural, political and policy contexts Utilising existing and emerging international research-informed knowledge of educational leadership and management 1 Enabling a deeper understanding of the learner’s organisation and the educational environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Distributed Leadership Practice: the Subject Matters1
    Distributed Leadership Practice: The Subject Matters1 Jennifer Z. Sherer Northwestern University Preliminary draft prepared for the symposium Recent Research in Distributed Leadership at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA, April 15, 2004. Please do not distribute. 1 Work on this paper was supported by the Distributed Leadership Project which is funded by research grants from the National Science Foundation (REC-9873583) and the Spencer Foundation. Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy and Institute for Policy Research also supported work on this paper. All opinions and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funding agency. Please send all correspondence to the author at Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy, 2115 North Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60201 or to [email protected]. Case study chapter jz 4/28/04 Page 1 of 52 Introduction The distributed leadership perspective suggests that one way to examine leadership practice is to focus on how the situation of practice shapes the activity of instructional leadership. In schools, the situation of instruction is shaped in part by the subject-matter organization of the curriculum (Stodolsky, 1988; McLaughlin and Talbert, 1993). This paper investigates how this subject-matter organization of instruction constitutes a key aspect of the situation of school leadership practice. Elementary school leaders often talk about their leadership in general terms, but I claim that there are differences between subject matter leadership practice. My argument centers on the question of how leadership practice in literacy is similar to and/or different from leadership practice in mathematics.
    [Show full text]
  • Strength Found Through Distributed Leadership by Theodore J
    Strength Found Through Distributed Leadership By Theodore J. Peters, Principal; Richard Carr, Instructional Supervisor; and Jaime Doldan, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, Township of Franklin School District The Changing Demands legislation has focused both on advanc- lenges. In 2010, the district had to cre- ing America’s international competitive- ate and implement improvement action of School Leaders ness and closing the achievement gap plans in an effort to increase student Today’s principals and supervisors among students, making “accountability performance on state standardized are faced with increasing demands, the centerpiece of the education agen- assessments. Initial efforts included prompting their responsibilities to da” (Linn, Baker, & Betebenner, 2002, the implementation of common plan- evolve dramatically over the past few p. 3) in the United States. The need for ning time and professional learning decades. In addition to holding the schools to meet academic performance communities (PLCs), understanding largely managerial roles of the past, requirements has further solidified the that teachers needed opportunities to modern school leaders are expected need for principals and supervisors to work, plan, and learn together. How- to facilitate efficient operations, pro- embrace collective efforts to meet such ever, there was a disconnect, as many vide the instructional guidance to help high demands. of the meetings were administratively teachers develop professionally, and The Township of Franklin Public driven, and genuine collaborative maintain the primary importance of School District has faced similar mod- efforts focused on student learning furthering student learning. Ongoing ern educational demands and chal- were lacking. The district realized that Educational Viewpoints -32- Spring 2018 it needed to empower its teachers Putting Distributed by developing methods of increased Leadership in Action The culture necessary leadership opportunities.
    [Show full text]
  • ESSS Outline Distributed Leadership in Early Years and Childcare
    ESSS Outline Distributed leadership in early years and childcare Dr Lauren Smith 19 December, 2017 Introduction This Outline seeks to address the following question relating to approaches to self directed support: How is leadership relevant to people working at ​ different levels in childcare organisations? It explores examples of frameworks of leadership at all levels, and identifies examples of leadership at all levels specifically within a childcare context. The purpose of this enquiry was to feed into the development of induction and professional development resources for an early learning and childcare organisation in Scotland, to help employees within the organisation to develop an understanding of how leadership is relevant and applicable to their roles and to participate in service development and provision. Final resources may be shared in the future by the organisation to support workforce development across the sector. The information need for this enquiry was understood as being within the area of distributed leadership/leadership at all levels/situational approaches to leadership within the fields of education/early years/childcare. The aim of this Outline is to provide information about what leadership qualities may be relevant to early years and childcare practitioners, identify examples of what these may look like in practice, and highlight training and development resources that may support practitioners. This information and evidence is intended to be restructured by the original enquirer within their own conceptual framework that best suits their own contextual needs. About the evidence presented below Although we identified some evidence around distributed leadership in relevant fields, leadership research in early childhood education and care “is a relatively new undertaking” (Hujala et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Distributed Leadership in Organizations a Review of Theory
    International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 13, 251–269 (2011) DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00306.x Distributed Leadership in Organizations: A Review of Theory and Researchijmr_306 251..269 Richard Bolden Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter Business School, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4ST, UK Corresponding author email: [email protected] The aim of this paper is to review conceptual and empirical literature on the concept of distributed leadership (DL) in order to identify its origins, key arguments and areas for further work. Consideration is given to the similarities and differences between DL and related concepts, including ‘shared’, ‘collective’, ‘collaborative’, ‘emergent’, ‘co-’ and ‘democratic’ leadership. Findings indicate that, while there are some common theo- retical bases, the relative usage of these concepts varies over time, between countries and between sectors. In particular, DL is a notion that has seen a rapid growth in interest since the year 2000, but research remains largely restricted to the field of school education and of proportionally more interest to UK than US-based academics. Several scholars are increasingly going to great lengths to indicate that, in order to be ‘distrib- uted’, leadership need not necessarily be widely ‘shared’ or ‘democratic’ and, in order to be effective, there is a need to balance different ‘hybrid configurations’ of practice. The paper highlights a number of areas for further attention, including three factors relating to the context of much work on DL (power and influence; organizational boundaries and context; and ethics and diversity), and three methodological and developmental challenges (ontology; research methods; and leadership development, reward and recognition).
    [Show full text]
  • An Interactive Planning Guide for Distributed Leadership
    An Interactive Planning Guide for Distributed Leadership Introduction and connection to the MA Educator Evaluation Framework The goal of the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework is to support student learning by providing educators with enhanced opportunities for professional growth and feedback for improvement. Distributing leadership is a key strategy to ensure the provision of high quality feedback. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE), a set of eight partner districts, and the Education Delivery Institute developed this interactive guide to support districts in designing systems of distributed leadership. What is distributed leadership and how can it help my district? In a distributed leadership model, responsibilities for providing feedback and support to teachers are shared by the principal and other school and/or district staff. This feedback may be given by a wide variety of educators—from peers to coaches to administrators—and be used formatively for self-reflection, collaborative planning, and/or formally used in evaluation. Implementing a distributed leadership approach creates an opportunity for districts to ensure all educators are receiving high quality feedback to improve their practice. Additionally, distributing leadership: 1. Builds a culture of trust, collegiality, and shared responsibility for all students; 2. Provides leadership opportunities for effective educators; and 3. Reduces evaluator workload. Approaches to Distributing Leadership Approaches to distributed leadership There are four broad approaches to distributing leadership, described in the chart to the right. These approaches range from formal, evaluative approaches to less Peer Assistance Secondary Instructional Collaborative formal, collaborative approaches. Deciding which kind of approach your district is and Review Evaluators Coaches Learning most ready for is important when considering how to set yourself up for success.
    [Show full text]
  • A Phenomenological Study. Mahend Gungapersad
    Educators’ constructions of informal teacher leadership in three Mauritian secondary schools: a phenomenological study. Mahend Gungapersad A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Brighton for the degree of Doctor of Education. November 2018. Dedication Saraswati namastubhyam varadé kāmarūpiṇi | vidyārambham kariṣhyāmi, siddhirbhavatu mé sadā || O Mother Saraswati, my humble prostrations to Thee who art the fulfiller of all my wishes. I start my studies with the request that Thou wilt bestow Thy blessings on me. This work is dedicated to: Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge in Hinduism. My parents who blessed me enough for me to reach this stage in my academic career. My lovely and caring wife, Sarita, who asked me to embark in this EdD journey and unconditionally supported and motivated me all the way through it. My two smart and handsome sons, Saahil and Sheel, for realising that ‗papa is busy with his studies‘ when they needed me at times and for being my driving force. a Abstract This phenomenological study seeks to gain an informed understanding of informal teacher leadership in selected Mauritian secondary schools. Understanding how informal teacher leaders describe themselves, the duties they generally assume, and the way rectors and informal teacher leaders interact mutually provide insights in their contribution to school improvement. Eighteen educators from three secondary schools teaching in the north of the island participated in the research. In order to understand the phenomenon under investigation, a constructivist approach was adopted to gather the lived experiences of the participants concerning different aspects of informal teacher leadership.
    [Show full text]
  • Leadership to Improve Mathematics Outcomes in Low SES Schools and School Networks
    Mathematics Teacher Education and Development 2010, Vol. 12.2, 47–71 Leadership to Improve Mathematics Outcomes in Low SES Schools and School Networks Colleen Vale, Anne Davies, Mary Weaven, Neil Hooley, Kristy Davidson and Daniel Loton Victoria University Instructional and transformational leadership is reportedly required to improve the mathematics outcomes of students in low socio-economic status school communities. This study of 43 schools in two networks of schools in rural Victoria explored leadership practices and found evidence to support both these leadership approaches along with distributed leadership practice. School leaders established network and school structures and relationships at various levels of the network and school organisation to enable and support ongoing improvement in teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and teaching practice and to build the leadership capacity of teachers within their schools. The leaders’ knowledge of effective mathematics teaching practice enabled them to mentor teachers in their school or team and to support the practices of professional learning teams within their school. In this article leadership practices and approaches to developing leadership capacity to improve mathematics outcomes for students in low socio-economic status (SES) schools and networks of schools are described and theorised. Previous studies, for example Cobb, McClain, de Silva Lamberg and Dean (2003) and Quiroz and Secada (2003) have shown that attempts to upscale district reforms to improve outcomes for disadvantaged students have stalled because of the complexity of educational disadvantage and an absence of instructional leadership. The quality of teaching is recognised as the most powerful factor for student learning but effective school leadership is needed to support the transformation of teaching practice and school culture in underperforming schools (Leithwood, Mascall, Strauss, Sacks, Memon, & Yashkina, 2006; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2008; Sammons, Hillman, & Mortimore, 1995).
    [Show full text]
  • The Principal's Role; Distributed Leadership
    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations Educational Foundations & Leadership Spring 2016 The Principal's Role; Distributed Leadership Kathryn R. Hermann Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/efl_etds Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Hermann, Kathryn R.. "The Principal's Role; Distributed Leadership" (2016). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, Educational Foundations & Leadership, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/a1s9-1z37 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/efl_etds/8 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Educational Foundations & Leadership at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Running Head: THE PRINCIPAL‟S ROLE; DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP KATHRYN R. HERMANN B.A. May 1994, Randolph-Macon Woman‟s College M.A. August 2001, The George Washington University A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AND FOUNDATIONS OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY APRIL 2016 APPROVED BY: ___________________________________________ DR. KAREN L. SANZO, DISSERTATION CHAIR ___________________________________________ DR. JAY SCRIBNER, COMMITTEE MEMBER ___________________________________________ DR. JOY HOWARD, COMMITTEE MEMBER THE PRINCIPAL‟S ROLE; DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP 2 ABSTRACT The role of the principal role has become very complex with the increased focus on accountability and student achievement. Principals can no longer do their jobs alone. Distributed leadership has been the subject of considerable educational research and discourse in recent years. This study explores how principals employ or do not employ distributed leadership with their staffs.
    [Show full text]
  • Distributed Leadership for Equity and Excellence in Mathematics: an Elementary School Case Study Comfort Enono Akwaji-Anderson Iowa State University
    Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2017 Distributed leadership for equity and excellence in mathematics: An elementary school case study Comfort Enono Akwaji-Anderson Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, and the Science and Mathematics Education Commons Recommended Citation Akwaji-Anderson, Comfort Enono, "Distributed leadership for equity and excellence in mathematics: An elementary school case study" (2017). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 16304. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/16304 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Distributed leadership for equity and excellence in mathematics: An elementary school case study by Comfort Akwaji-Anderson A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Education Program of Study Committee: Linda Hagedorn, Major Professor Corey Drake, Major Professor Daniel Spikes Lorenzo Baber Alejandro Andreotti The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the program of study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this dissertation. The Graduate College will ensure this dissertation is globally accessible and will not permit alterations after a degree is conferred. Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2017 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES v LIST OF TABLES vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii ABSTRACT x CHAPTER 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Effective Leadership Practices Leading to Distributed Leadership
    33 Effective leadership practices leading to distributed leadership Rachel Denee and Kate Thornton Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Abstract Leadership within the early childhood education (ECE) sector in New Zealand is both positionally assigned and a required practice of all teachers. Within this context, distributed leadership – where all team members have the opportunity to lead – is increasingly seen as an effective leadership model. This article reports on a study whose aim was to discover practices of effective positional leaders in facilitating distributed leadership. A nationwide survey was carried out in Aotearoa New Zealand to capture a picture of current perceptions of ECE teachers and positional leaders about distributed leadership for professional learning. Subsequently, leadership practices for distributed leadership in three previously-identified high quality ECE services were investigated through individual and group interviews. The analysis of literature, survey and interview findings from this study led to a framework of effective leadership practice, consisting of: mentoring and coaching; fostering relational trust; and creating vision and designing supportive structures. Keywords: Distributed leadership; early childhood education; professional learning communities; coaching and mentoring; relational trust; professional learning Leadership within the New Zealand ECE context Leadership within the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) context has both positional and distributed elements.
    [Show full text]
  • Improving Teaching and Learning in Selected Mauritian Secondary Schools: an Exploration of the Instructional Leadership Narratives of Principals
    Improving teaching and learning in selected Mauritian secondary schools: an exploration of the instructional leadership narratives of principals A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Professional Doctorate in Education University of Brighton, England Submitted by Guy Jean-Noël Geneviève July 2020 Abstract The study explores issues of the quality of teaching and learning and instructional leadership, as experienced by principals in selected state secondary schools in Mauritius. Five principals were purposively chosen, representing a range of variations that can be found in the population of principals of state secondary schools. The narratives collected were analysed in three ways. A narrative portrayal of each participant was first produced. The narratives were also analysed collectively to evidence common structures and themes. Finally, the narratives were analysed using theoretical frameworks describing various dimensions of quality teaching and instructional leadership. The principals tended to focus on short-term, high-visibility objectives, usually unrelated to academic performance. They appeared to be strongly guided by considerations of risk minimisation, avoidance of conflict and loss of reputation, all of which need to be understood in the context of their professional experiences. They are very careful to avoid situations that they felt could escape their control. Despite this inhibiting factor, they showed concern for quality by using a combination of approaches to improve on academic achievement and various aspects of school life. Direct intervention on teaching is, more often than not, enacted when quality of teaching falls below a threshold. The key indicator is constructed within a quantitative frame, determined by the number of complaints received.
    [Show full text]