The purpose of this paper is to understand what the principal and principal supervisor each bring and contribute to their collaborative work that is consequential for the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand what the principal and principal supervisor each bring and contribute to their collaborative work that is consequential for the principal’s learning and development as an instructional leader.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple case study methodology is used to gather data from 12 principal supervisor/principal partnerships over a 16 month period in one Mid-Atlantic school district. Data sources included interviews, observational data and documents provided by participants in the study.
Findings
In productive principal supervisor/principal partnerships, findings demonstrated that the principal supervisor and the principal each brought specific antecedent characteristics to their partnership and each made contributions to the development of a productive partnership during their collaborative work. When these partnership qualities were present, principal supervisors and principals engaged in joint work, leading to robust changes in principals’ instructional leadership practice.
Research limitations/implications
This study examined the work of principals and principal supervisors in one large Mid-Atlantic school district.
Practical implications
Findings from this study have implications for districts’ assignments of principal supervisors, principal supervisor/principal selection and professional development of principal supervisors. Further, districts should create the conditions for principal supervisors and principals to establish learning-focused professional partnerships in three stages, culminating in the engagement of joint work for improvement to facilitate principals’ changes in instructional leadership practice.
Originality/value
Findings from this study illustrate the value of establishing a learning-focused partnership between principal supervisors and principals in three stages to facilitate robust stages in principals’ instructional leadership practice. A new conceptual framework displays the stages of partnership development that occur in productive principal/principal supervisor partnerships.
Details
Keywords
Rebecca Small, Rebecca A. Thessin and William R. Dardick
The purpose of this study was to explore how the Advanced Placement Summer Institute (APSI) supported Advanced Placement (AP) teacher's instructional needs considering the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore how the Advanced Placement Summer Institute (APSI) supported Advanced Placement (AP) teacher's instructional needs considering the expansion of the AP program in recent decades.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey including Likert-style and open-ended questions was distributed to participants at one East Coast APSI to gather data, which were analyzed quantitatively. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on the Likert items to identify latent constructs, and two logistic regression (LR) models were run to predict what features of the professional development (PD) improved teacher perception of APSI. Open-ended constructs were analyzed by identifying and describing common themes.
Findings
The findings indicated that APSI improved teachers' perceived content knowledge and pedagogy and improved teachers' perceptions of their ability to better support student achievement, but that more focused professional learning was needed in working with academically diverse student learners in AP courses.
Research limitations/implications
This study was limited to analysis of perception of teachers who attended one APSI training site, making it difficult to generalize without repeated measures.
Originality/value
This is the only multidisciplinary study connecting literature on effective PD to an analysis of the effectiveness of APSI for AP teachers.
Details
Keywords
Rebecca A. Thessin and Jennifer Clayton
The purpose of this study was to identify how current K-12 district and school leaders who are alumni of an educational administration program describe how they acquired the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to identify how current K-12 district and school leaders who are alumni of an educational administration program describe how they acquired the essential skills and experiences needed to be effective in the leadership positions.
Design/methodology/approach
For this qualitative study, the authors interviewed program alumni of one university leadership preparation program regarding the experiences and training they identified as having prepared them with the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes to be successful in their positions, as well as which components of their administrative internship experiences, if any, they identified as having most prepared them for their positions.
Findings
School and district administrators indicated they acquired the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to become successful leaders through specific preparation experiences and opportunities. Key experiences cited by alumni included gaining some leadership responsibilities while they were teachers and further opportunities to lead in the administrative internship; engaging in practical, hands-on assignments in their graduate degree program courses; learning from other administrators with unique areas of work responsibilities, as well as from other schools and districts; and receiving guidance from a dedicated mentor.
Originality/value
The findings from this study contribute to research in the area of administrator preparation by guiding preparation programs in prioritizing the types of training and practicum experiences that aspiring K-12 educational leaders receive as a component of their preparation programs.
Details
Keywords
Fernando Almeida and Zoltan Buzady
This study aims to present a practical approach to recognizing leadership styles by adopting a serious game in the context of an entrepreneurship course in higher education.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a practical approach to recognizing leadership styles by adopting a serious game in the context of an entrepreneurship course in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
The action-research methodology is adopted to explore how the various leadership styles are perceived and assimilated by students. Furthermore, students are organized into eight groups to explore this phenomenon through a thematic analysis.
Findings
The findings reveal that transformational and transactional leadership can coexist and be applied in organizational management. The results also indicate that students with relevant professional experience have a greater ability to identify the benefits and challenges associated with each leadership style as they recognize these styles throughout their professional careers.
Originality/value
This paper mainly offers practical implications by presenting an alternative and complementary approach to exploring leadership styles. Through this approach, students can recognize the various leadership styles in the game personas and realize their impact on the dynamics of an organization.