A comparison of structure and effectiveness of principal leadership between elementary and secondary schools in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT Elementary and secondary schools call for different leadership due to their different organizational features. To explore the difference between the principal leadership of elementary and secondary schools with respect to structure and effectiveness, this paper analysed data from 1,313 elementary and 613 secondary schools in China. Based on the factors analysis, this paper uncovered two different leadership structures, i.e. Instruction and Curriculum, Organization and Participation, and External Relations for elementary schools, and Instruction and Curriculum, Visibility and Direct Participation, and Organization and Management for secondary schools. It showed that Instruction and Curriculum is the basic leadership component at both school levels. However, the difference in structure lies in the routine administrative tasks, i.e. elementary school teachers can distinguish between principals’ tasks inside and outside school, but secondary school teachers can tell principals’ direct connection from other tasks. To further explore the effectiveness of principal leadership, we used a hierarchical linear model to examine the relationship between principal leadership and five school outcomes. We found that Instruction and Curriculum is more closely connected to school outcomes than other factors. Moreover, the other four factors all have significant impacts on teachers, but significant impacts on students only appear in elementary schools.