School Leadership for Learning

Abstract

Instructional and distributed leadership are regarded as important for creating and sustaining professional learning communities and for creating a climate conducive to student learning. Instructional leadership comprises leadership practices that involve the planning, evaluation, co-ordination and improvement of teaching and learning. Distributed leadership in schools is not only a reflection of leadership being shown by the principal, but also of others acting as leaders in school. Four types of leaders and leadership are identified in this study, based on their instructional and distributed leadership, as well as their involvement in educational activities with their school. The first type – “integrated leadership” – refers to principals who are attentive to both instructional and distributed leadership in their schools and spend considerable time on curriculum and teachingrelated tasks in their school. “Inclusive leaders” engage staff, students and their parents or guardians in the decisions at school, but relatively less often take up a role as instructional leaders and spend less time on curriculum and teaching-related tasks in school. “Educational leaders” are strongly engaged in instructional leadership, but much less in involving stakeholders in the decisions at school. “Administrative leadership” refers to principals who spend a large portion of their time on school management and administrative issues and are, as a result, less engaged in distributed and instructional leadership activities than integrated leaders. Further on, this study examines how these leadership types relate to the establishment of professional learning communities and a learning climate in schools. At the core of the emphasis on professional learning communities is the idea that knowledge is situated in the day-to-day experiences of teachers and is best understood through critical reflection with others who share the same experience. Moreover, teachers who actively engage in professional learning communities will be able to increase their professional knowledge, which might lead to the enhancement of student learning. In this study, professional learning communities are characterised by a reflective dialogue among staff, deprivatisation of practice, a collective focus on student learning, collaboration and a shared sense of purpose. “Learning climate” refers to the establishment of an orderly climate for learning and positive teacher-student relationships within the school. The findings in this report are based on the data of the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013.