Leadership in Professional Development schools

This study aimed to determine the leadership dimensions practiced by the school heads and the school culture behavior of the schools of Dauin and Zamboanguita Districts, Division of Negros Oriental.  Descriptive-correlational method of research was utilized.  The respondents of the study are the school heads and teachers of the aforementioned districts.  School heads were measured in terms of their leadership dimension.  On the part of the teachers, they were assessed through the school culture behavior in terms of professional collaboration, affiliative collegiality and self-efficacy/ self-determination.  To determine the school heads dimension and the school culture behavior, weighted mean (wx̄) was utilized and to measure the degree of relationship between variables chi-square (x²) was used.  Result of the data revealed that majority of the school heads practiced the transformational leadership dimension at a “Very High” extent.  Teachers perceived their schools’ culture behavior in terms of professional collaboration, affiliative collegiality, and self-efficiency to be “High”.  Significant relationship was found between the school heads’ leadership dimension and the school culture behavior.  School heads profile in terms of age, supervisory experience, educational qualification and relevant trainings is significantly related to the leadership dimension practiced, while sex and marital status were found not significant.

In both developed and developing countries poor performance of head teachers is detrimental to school effectiveness, with consequent economic costs amounting to billions of dollars every year. These costs are perhaps particularly keenly felt in developing countries, where demand for a workforce that is proficient in globally relevant competencies is especially acute, but where the effective school leadership that can help to deliver this educated workforce is especially patchy. One of the contributing factors to this poor performance is a lack of structured leadership development programmes.
This study, therefore, explores the factors pertinent to effective school leadership, management and administration development programmes in a resource poor education system, taking Cameroon as its example. The study combines a review of the academic literature with field document analysis evidence, structured interviews with head teachers and teachers, and a Leadership and Management Development Questionnaire (LMDQ) study. The results in particular indicate that the central educational agencies, schools and school leaders recognised the importance of ensuring that central policies and support, schools’ internal policies, and their in-service development opportunities for aspiring head teachers, are closely aligned with international best practice, particularly through the establishment of a structured leadership development programme targeted at aspiring head teachers, and aimed at combining governance skills with a more global outlook.

The crisis of educational leadership has motivated so much debate and re-search in recent times in the field of educational administration. Most school leaders have not been trained in the art of educational management and leadership. It has been presumed that anyone who receives a bachelor’s degree in education or a postgraduate diploma in education through training can automatically become a head teacher or principal. That explains why in developing as well as developed countries, school managers and leaders face a lot of challenges. This article seeks to create a link between the career development of senior leadership and the different models proposed by scholars like Day and Bakioglu, Gronn, Wakins and Robbins. The researchers hope to develop strategies that can groom educational managers to assume senior leadership positions.
The most influential agents of socialization by Lenka and Vandana, Gupta,
Krishnan, Homan & Youngman and Ebot Ashu that enhance educational leadership development have been explored to give this work some serious focus. The primary agent of socialization considered here is the family which is the nucleus of society. The secondary agents of socialization include the schools, peer groups, the churches, work groups, communities, mass medium, social groups and the government. Focusing on Watkins’ seven seismic shifts that transit from specialist to generalist, analyst to the integrator, tactician to strategist, bricklayer to architect, problem solver to agenda setter, warrior to diplomat and supporting cast member to lead role, the researchers argue that school managers can transit to the level of senior leaders and continue to influence school
administration in many positive ways. Educational leaders should take their ongoing career development seriously if they are to become relevant in contemporary society. The methodology used in this work is very apt. Based on the field experiences of school administrators, the researchers are able to arrive at findings that support the literature that has been gathered. They are able to explore the career life of educational leaders and identify factors which influence them to become senior leaders and move on as encompassed in the first three phases of Gronn’s and Ribbins’ models, with exceptional three new sub phases within the accession phase. In all, the study agrees with the general principles of Ribbins’ model rather than the previous work of Day & Bakioglu’s and Gronn’s, who suggest disenchantment and divestiture as inevitable final phases in the career lives of senior leaders. Therefore, Ribbins’ theoretical frame-work of
education leadership can be useful in interpreting the link between the career developments of contemporary senior leaders. This study concludes that socialization occurs throughout our life, but some of the most important socialization that occurs during that phase of our lives is the family, school, peers, church, mass media, community, workplace and social group. Therefore, Watkins’ contributions to administration, management and leadership can be used to educate contemporary educational managers and senior leaders in contemporary society.

We examined how an inquiry group composed of a university professor, three doctoral students, and a grade level team of seventh and eighth grade teachers negotiated their collaborative work.  This effort resulted in the development of a two-week unit that tapped into students’ out-of-school knowledge. Our research question asked how learning occurs within a boundary practice formed by university and middle school participants. We used analytical tools from grounded theory to analyze videos of meetings between university and school personnel, field notes, and meeting artifacts.  Participants engaged in a dance in which boundaries among institutions and professions were sustained and challenged. The inquiry project became an open ended learning zone in which all participants sought and gave support in joint action, expanding the mutual understandings of the object of their work. We recommend developing relational agency (Edwards, 2007) to engage in inquiry projects for inclusive education.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how the use of learning rounds as a collective practice enhanced professional learning at the district and individual school level as perceived by administrators, principals, and teachers in one low-income rural K-12 public school district located in the eastern United States. The overarching research question in this study asked, how do administrators, principals, and teachers perceive the use of the learning rounds model has improved teaching and learning at the district and individual school level in one rural district located in the eastern United States? The use of organizational learning, adult learning, and communities of practice theories were used as the study’s theoretical foundation. The conceptual framework focused on organizational, learning, and culture-building dimensions as supported in the literature. A purposive sampling involved a maximum variation of administrators, principals, and teachers as part of the study’s sample of participants. The main findings were derived from face-to-face semi-structured interviews, obtained direct observations, and archival data. This case study used Yin’s Five Phase Cycle of Analysis as its primary approach for data analysis. The thematic findings in this study supported crossing boundaries, collaboration as a district-level practice, professional collaboration among and across schools, as well as the benefits and challenges associated with learning rounds. The results obtained in this study showed how K-12 educators may implement learning rounds to advance organizational, learning, and culture-building capacities to improve teaching and learning.
Keywords: Adult learning, building trust, boundary spanning, collaborative learning cultures, communities of practice networks, learning rounds, shared and common language, and evidence-based learning.

This article highlights ways in which disability studies in education (dse) and professional development school (pds) partnerships can be used to provide students with disability labels more access to inclusive classrooms. The authors of this qualitative exploratory case study interviewed 16 teacher and administration pds steering committee members to better understand how students with disability labels could be supported through the development and implementation of dse-informed inclusive practices. The findings indicate that instituting proactive communication structures, providing ongoing dse-informed professional development to teachers, administration, and staff, and teachers taking inclusive action increased the number of students with disability labels accessing general education classrooms. These findings, while a work in progress, show how members of one pds steering committee took steps to resist deficit models of disability and questioned traditional segregated approache...

This article highlights ways in which disability studies in education (DSE) and professional development school (PDS) partnerships can be used to provide students with disability labels more access to inclusive classrooms. The authors of this qualitative exploratory case study interviewed 16 teacher and administration PDS steering committee members to better understand how students with disability labels could be supported through the development and implementation of dse-informed
inclusive practices. The findings indicate that instituting proactive communication structures, providing ongoing dse-informed professional development to teachers, administration, and staff, and teachers taking inclusive action increased the number of students with disability labels accessing general education classrooms. These findings, while a work in progress, show how members of one pds steering committee took steps to resist deficit models of disability and questioned traditional segregated approaches to special education at their school.