Mahmut Polatcan, Nedim Özdemir, Ali Çağatay Kılınç, Sally J. Zepeda and Salih Çevik
This study tested a moderated mediation model of school leadership effects on teacher instructional practices. Specifically, the authors focused on the mediating effect of teacher…
Abstract
Purpose
This study tested a moderated mediation model of school leadership effects on teacher instructional practices. Specifically, the authors focused on the mediating effect of teacher professional communities and the moderating effect of instructional climate on the relationship between school leadership and teacher instructional practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data from 958 teachers working in 72 middle and high schools in Türkiye and employed multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) with Bayesian estimation to predict structural links between the study variables.
Findings
Results affirmed a full mediation model where school leadership practices exerted indirect effects on teacher instructional practices through promoting teacher professional communities. The authors also found significant moderating role of instructional climate in the effect of school leadership on teacher professional communities and instructional practices.
Originality/value
This study illuminates the contextualized nature of school leadership by concluding that the effect of school leadership on teacher professional communities and instructional practices is closely tied to the extent to which a high-quality instructional climate is established in schools.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to record and summarize the tensions and problems experienced by a high school administrative team as they attempted to change supervision alongside…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to record and summarize the tensions and problems experienced by a high school administrative team as they attempted to change supervision alongside instruction in a transition to a new block schedule.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study method was used. As a case study, the research is contextual in relation to the high school being studied. Data were collected for 14 months using individual interviews with administrators, site observations, and artifact collection.
Findings
Data indicated that, no matter what strategy was discussed, the participants did not want to supervise teachers, and they would only do so under mandate by the principal.
Originality/value
Given the dearth of research examining the work of K‐12 school administrative teams, this research provides entrée to future studies.
Details
Keywords
Sally J. Zepeda, Oksana Parylo and Abdurrahman Ilgan
Peer coaching has been described as an effective form of teacher professional development. Consequently, different aspects of the peer coaching process have been examined…
Abstract
Purpose
Peer coaching has been described as an effective form of teacher professional development. Consequently, different aspects of the peer coaching process have been examined. However, no international comparative studies focusing on the differences between the applicability and adoptability of peer coaching in different educational systems were found. This paper seeks to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative study examined cross‐national differences in educators’ beliefs about peer coaching by comparing survey responses of American and Turkish educators.
Findings
Data analysis showed that both American and Turkish educators found peer coaching adoptable at a high level in their school systems. However, on the applicability level there were statistically significant differences found at all subscales of peer coaching survey showing that American participants believed that peer coaching was much more applicable than did the Turkish participants.
Research limitations/implications
While limited by the small sample size not representative of the overall populations in the USA and Turkey, this study contributes to the international discourse on the different types of teacher professional development by examining cross‐national differences in educators’ beliefs about peer coaching.
Practical implications
The results of this study inform practitioners and researchers about the ways peer coaching is perceived by educators in different countries. Given the findings, school districts can examine more contextually and culturally appropriate ways inherent in the post‐observation conference to increase the effectiveness of the peer coaching process.
Originality/value
The findings of this study enrich the body of research on peer coaching, particularly focusing on the teachers’ and leaders’ beliefs and perceptions about the adoption and applicability of peer coaching as a form of teacher professional development and calls for further empirical research on teacher peer coaching in the national and international contexts.
Details
Keywords
Raymond L. Calabrese and Sally J. Zepeda
The process of training and preparing principals is driven by a characteristics model. Underlying each of the components in the characteristics model is decision making. Decision…
Abstract
The process of training and preparing principals is driven by a characteristics model. Underlying each of the components in the characteristics model is decision making. Decision making defines the work of principals. Those who prepare principals can improve the leadership quality of principals and thereby impact school effectiveness by focusing on decision making. Decision‐making assessment is a critical component to principal preparation and ongoing development. It can be used to assess the quality of decisions made by prospective and acting school administrations. Through decision‐making assessment principals can become aware of their cognitive decision‐making patterns thus allowing them opportunity to replace potentially dysfunctional patterns with patterns that are more effective and efficient.
Details
Keywords
Sally J. Zepeda, Ed Bengtson and Oksana Parylo
The purpose of this study is to examine principal succession planning and management by analyzing current practices of handling school leader succession in four Georgia school…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine principal succession planning and management by analyzing current practices of handling school leader succession in four Georgia school systems.
Design/methodology/approach
Looking through the lens of organizational leadership succession theory, the practices of school systems as they experienced changes in school leadership were examined. Participants included superintendents, assistant superintendents, other central office leaders, and principals. A multiple‐case approach was selected with semi‐structured interviews providing the major source of data.
Findings
Findings suggest the following: there is a difference in the sense of urgency for the planning and management of the succession of principals; the development of aspiring leaders was identified as a critical component of planning and management of succession; mentoring was an essential practice through the succession process; and reliance on collaborative partnerships with outside organizations was highly valued.
Practical implications
The implications of the study include a call for further research to determine the differences in leader succession planning and management needs related to the varying contexts. In addition, the study implies that building collaborative partnerships with university preparation programs and other external professional development organizations may assist systems in the planning and management of principal succession.
Originality/value
The originality of this study stems from the lack of literature that directly examines the experiences and practices of principal succession. The findings can inform school system leaders of succession planning and management issues and practices that exist in the four systems studied. As leadership becomes more recognized for its impact on student achievement and school performance, it is imperative that succession is managed and planned to ensure sustainability and effectiveness.
Details
Keywords
Oksana Parylo, Sally J. Zepeda and Ed Bengtson
The purpose of this paper is to examine principal mentoring, a process that is significant in principal identification, socialization, development, and retention.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine principal mentoring, a process that is significant in principal identification, socialization, development, and retention.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was framed within the social constructivism paradigm and thematically examined individual perspectives to develop the thematic constructs relevant to the participants’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring.
Findings
Thematic analysis of the interview data from 16 principals from the state of Georgia, USA, revealed five major themes related to leaders’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring: mentoring as recruitment; mentoring as socialization; mentoring as support; mentoring as professional development; and mentoring as reciprocal learning.
Research limitations/implications
These findings were limited to the sample of principals used for this analysis. Researchers are encouraged to examine principal mentoring in other contexts.
Practical implications
The results of this inquiry suggest the need for formal and informal mentoring opportunities for new and experienced principals and call for further research on comparing mentoring practices between the large and small schools systems.
Originality/value
The paper identifies mentoring as an important path to principal effectiveness and contributes to the corpus of literature on educational mentoring by examining the perceptions and experiences of new and experienced principals about the mentoring they received and provided.