Moosung Lee, Jin Won Kim, Youngmin Mo and Allan David Walker
Despite the continuous growth of empirical studies exploring professional learning communities (PLCs) across different education systems, little is known about PLC instruments…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the continuous growth of empirical studies exploring professional learning communities (PLCs) across different education systems, little is known about PLC instruments developed and used in existing research. This article aims to capture a full picture of existing PLC instruments developed since 1990. In so doing, the authors also pay attention to the seminal work of Karen Seashore Louis in alignment with the theme of the special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the authors’ searching databases, the authors identified eleven PLC instruments and 26 applied studies using the PLC instruments since 1990. Following this, the authors closely reviewed the identified studies and their relationships (i.e. which one influences which).
Findings
The authors’ review illuminates the measurement domains, conceptual origins and methodological soundness of the existing instruments and captures the impact of Louis's work on the applied studies using PLC instruments.
Originality/value
Given that PLCs are seen as a policy measure to sustain and scale up school improvement internationally, the authors’ review provides a better understanding of what and how researchers have measured the effect of PLCs on school improvement. As the first of its kind, the authors believe that their findings can give researchers valuable ideas about how to develop and use a PLC instrument.
Details
Keywords
Warangkana Lin and Moosung Lee
The purpose of this paper is to explore a concept that has been less examined in empirical research on school organization, namely Network Learning Capacity (NLC). It is proposed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore a concept that has been less examined in empirical research on school organization, namely Network Learning Capacity (NLC). It is proposed that teachers’ professional networks enhance teachers’ individual NLC. This process leads to a formation of professional community (PC) and therefore affects the level of organizational learning (OL).
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative study with multiple methods comprising social network analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was conducted. Data were collected from a school implementing the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in Taiwan.
Findings
Findings suggest that certain network positions were crucial in forming NLC on instruction. In addition, reflective dialogue, shaped by NLC, is the key component in establishing learning in this case school.
Originality/value
As the first of its kind in an educational context, the study highlights the linkages between network position and the development of professional learning community, which is mediated through NLC. This study contributes to illuminating the process of how PC practices and OL can be promoted in schools.
Details
Keywords
Moosung Lee, Jenny Dean and Yeonjeong Kim
Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, this study examines the structural relationships between negative school social relationships, school safety…
Abstract
Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, this study examines the structural relationships between negative school social relationships, school safety, educational expectation, and academic achievement of Latino immigrant students. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling show that discrimination, unhelpful school social relationships, and experiences of unsafe school environments influence Latino immigrant adolescents’ academic achievement indirectly and directly through their educational expectations. Specifically, this study explores how noncognitive and contextual factors embedded in different structural layers of school organization influence Latino immigrant adolescents’ academic achievement. It draws attention to the impact of negative school factors such as discriminatory and unsupportive school social relationships, and negative and unsafe school structures that undermine school life. Based on our findings, we argue that as Latino immigrant students internalize negative experiences from their school experiences during the critical period of adolescence, such accumulated negative internalization may reinforce negative self-perceptions and inaccurate stereotypes. Not only discrimination but also other negative school features such as the absence of academic supporters, nonacademically oriented friends, and unsafe learning environments inhibit them from navigating positive school opportunities and ultimately, successful school achievement. Implications for the social organization of U.S. public secondary schools with a focus on Latino immigrant adolescents’ academic achievement are discussed.
Details
Keywords
Shazia K. Jan, Moosung Lee and Keri Chui
In this chapter we explore gender and regional disparities in leadership positions in major international organizations. To this end, we conducted data mining of the Yearbook of…
Abstract
In this chapter we explore gender and regional disparities in leadership positions in major international organizations. To this end, we conducted data mining of the Yearbook of International Organizations 2007–2008, the largest database of profiles of high-ranking officials in international organizations ranging from intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations. Findings indicate that significant gender and regional disparities exist in leadership positions; the vast majority of global leaders in the organizations were males, mostly educated in Western-based universities. Given the increasing influence of international organizations on various global issues, our findings enable us to question whether key international organizations equitably represent all people by developing and implementing the best policies for all people. Our findings also suggest that these organizations’ hiring and promotion practices need to be better understood, given that certain types of human resources (males educated in top Western-based universities) appear to be selectively appreciated, preferred, and accepted as leaders.
Details
Keywords
Moosung Lee, Allan Walker and Yuk Ling Chui
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning in Hong Kong secondary schools, whose broader…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning in Hong Kong secondary schools, whose broader institutional contexts are critically characterized by high accountability policy environments.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes standardized test scores collected from (n=2,037) students in 42 secondary schools and data collected from key staff's perceptions of leadership practices, to investigate two dimensions of instructional leadership, which are conceptually interdependent but distinctive – i.e. instructional management and direct supervision of instruction. A cross‐level interaction analysis of hierarchical linear modeling was employed to investigate the effects of the two dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning.
Findings
Leadership practices focused on instructional management were found to enhance student learning by boosting the positive effect of students’ attachment to their school on academic achievement. In contrast, leadership practices related to direct supervision of instruction were found to undermine student learning by weakening the positive effect of student perceptions of school attachment on academic performance when other school‐ and student‐level characteristics are held constant.
Originality/value
The paper reveals the contrasting effects of instructional leadership as a multi‐dimensional construct which is central in the current education reform agenda, rooted in accountability‐oriented policy of Hong Kong. It draws a number of implications for principal instructional leadership in Hong Kong Schools as they deal with demands for external accountability.