Browsing by Subject "Principal leadership"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    A formative evaluation of a Midwest District's integrated services pilot
    (2014-06) Resch, Laurie J.
    The purpose of the Integrated Services pilot was to develop models for the delivery of special education, supplemental programs, and English as a second language services that were based on a philosophy of inclusion. The intent was to provide all students with learning experiences in which they could be successful both academically and socially in the most inclusive environment. The pilot was conducted at four elementary schools in a large Midwestern public school district. The pilot schools served students with diverse needs and were situated in divergent communities, which provided four unique contexts for the pilot. Teacher collaboration and co-teaching were utilized at each pilot school to achieve pilot goals. The purpose of this formative evaluation was to inform pilot development and to determine if the Integrated Services Pilot should be expanded to other elementary schools in the district. To inform these decisions, qualitative and quantitative data were collected in five areas: (1) professional development and support; (2) collaboration and professional learning communities; (3) impact on teacher knowledge and practice; (4) impact on student engagement and achievement; and (5) overall perceptions of the pilot. Surveys, individual and group interviews, and student achievement data provided the data for analysis and evaluation of pilot results. Teachers, instructional coaches, and principals reported that the pilot positively impacted both student engagement and student achievement. Additionally, the Integrated Services Pilot had a positive impact on teacher practice and on the relationships between support service and classroom co-teaching partners. Participants indicated that they were eager to continue with the Integrated Services model and had no desire to return to past practice.
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    Impact of Minnesota Principals Academy on Principal Self Efficacy
    (2020-08) Mau, Peter
    This study investigated the impact of principal professional development on leaders’ self-efficacy in four domains of school leadership: Setting Directions, Developing People, Redesigning the Organization, and Managing the Instructional Program. Subjects in this study had participated in an 18-month principal leadership academy, with some of them also receiving coaching. In addition, this study sought to understand the relationships among principal self-efficacy, principal collective efficacy, and the possible effect of having fellow principals in a district previously participate in the principal leadership development academy. Evidence of impact was collected via a post hoc survey of principals who were past participants in Minnesota Principals Academy (MPA). The survey assessed their efficacy before and after the academy experience. In addition, individual interviews were conducted with a small purposive sample of academy participants. Respondents reported statistically significant higher levels of self-efficacy related to all four domains of school leadership after participating in MPA. Additionally, the effect size for the growth in principal self-efficacy was very large. Further, design elements such as a cohort-model and having a high-quality, research-based curriculum were critical components in supporting their growth. Findings from this study also show that critical colleagues (both within the cohort and from outside the cohort) supported growth in principal self-efficacy. Finally, this study also revealed a weak relationship between principal self-efficacy and principal collective efficacy, even when more than half the principals in a district had previously participated in MPA.
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    Sustainability of professional development in a post-reform context: a qualitative study of shared leadership.
    (2011-07) Hur, Ju
    Relatively little is known about the sustainability of educational reforms after the removal external support (Hargreaves & Goodson, 2006). Studies to date have emphasized the significance of leadership continuity to bolster continuation of school improvement (Fink & Brayman, 2006). The purpose of this study was to determine whether and how the learning culture and professional development practices that were initiated during an intensive literacy reform sustained in the post-reform period. Of specific interest was the ways by which principal and teacher leadership influenced sustainability of reform professional learning. A single elementary school in a rural area of a Midwest state was the context for this qualitative study. The school was identified from among those that participated in the Sustainability Study (York-Barr & Hur, in progress). Interview data were collected over a three year, post-reform period. Interviewees included the principal, the formal teacher leader, and selected primary, intermediate, and special services teachers. Data were analyzed by means of content analysis, involving deductive approach and supported by the qualitative research software, NVivo. Findings emphasized and illuminated the value of shared and complementary leadership practices between the principal and formal teacher leader at the school. The principal fostered the continuous learning culture by securing resources to support professional learning, by being visible and encouraging with classroom teachers, by conferring regularly with the formal teacher leader, and by including members of the school leadership team in making decisions and monitoring progress. The formal teacher leader fostered a continuous learning culture, largely by working with individual teachers and providing personalized, positive support. Clearly, the principal and teacher leader shared leadership responsibilities in a complementary way, grounded in strong commitments to continuous school improvement and to each other in this work. Together, they were the driving force in sustaining a productive learning culture in the post reform period at their school. Questions remain, however, about the extent to which such intensive leadership practices can sustain over longer periods of time, as well as about ways to continually expand the leadership capacity among teachers throughout the school.