Educational Leadership Research Research Articles

The Current State of Leadership Research: Identifying Key Trends through Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning Analysis

The impact of leadership on organizational performance and success is a well-established theme, leading to a significant expansion in related scientific studies. This has made identifying and understanding the current state of literature challenging. Most studies focus on specific aspects of leadership, offering a fragmented view of the field. This study employs Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and a machine learning approach to analyze 19,429 research papers from Web of Science and Scopus. We aimed to identify and interpret current trends in leadership research, providing a comprehensive overview of the leadership domain, highlighting five key research trends: (1) Leadership and Digital Transformation Research (LDTR); (2) Leadership and Organizational Performance Research (LOPR); (3) Educational Leadership Research (ELR); (4) Leadership Practices and Development Research (LPDR); and (5) Gender and Diversity Leadership Research (GDLR). This overview not only delineates current trends but also aids researchers in identifying significant gaps in existing literature, thereby facilitating the development of innovative research projects and initiatives.

The odyssey of Turkish school leaders in Africa: An expedition into professional identity, challenges, and cultural adaptations

This phenomenological study explores the experiences of Turkish school leaders in international schools across 20 African countries, offering a novel perspective on educational leadership beyond the Anglo-Saxon context. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 leaders selected through maximum variation sampling. The analysis revealed four themes: (i) factors that lead to working abroad, (ii) challenges of working abroad, (iii) perceived cultural similarities and differences, and (iv) reflections on international experiences. Findings illuminate a complex interplay of personal, altruistic, and professional factors driving these leaders’ decisions to work abroad. Participants reported navigating significant challenges at individual, professional, and environmental levels, necessitating the development of cultural intelligence, adaptive leadership styles, and crisis management skills. The study highlights a profound transformation in leaders’ professional identities from “outsiders” to “cultural mediators,” underscoring the critical role of culturally responsive leadership in diverse educational contexts. Results reveal how African sociocultural settings shape expatriate leaders’ mindsets, fostering more collaborative approaches and deeper cross-cultural appreciation. This highlights the evolution of leaders’ cultural understanding and effective communication skills, emphasizing the need for targeted support and professional development in cultural sensitivity and adaptive leadership. This research enhances the understanding of leadership complexities in multicultural settings, providing insights for global educational leadership and future research in cross-cultural management.

A Comparative Analysis of Educational Leadership Research: Insights from U.S. and China based on CiteSpace

Research on educational leadership in the United States began in the early 1980s, originating from principles of industrial and business management, with leadership theories and practices from business being adapted for educational settings. Over time, educational leadership theories have evolved through various interdisciplinary perspectives. The United States has produced extensive research on educational leadership, providing valuable insights for Chinese scholars. Most Chinese research is based on American experiences, with little comparative analysis between Chinese and American studies, and often relies on subjective content interpretation with limited use of scientific tools. This study uses CiteSpace, a scientific measurement software, to visually analyze Chinese and American research literature. It aims to objectively compare educational leadership research between the two countries, offering new ideas and perspectives for Chinese researchers.

Exploring Knowledge Development for Sustaining the Intellectual Capital of Technical and Vocational Education and Training leadership Research: A qualitaive study at a Global South university

A Caribbean University in the Global South is committed to sustaining Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) "Leadership" research as it remains a crucial driver for leading social and economic transformation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This exploratory study aims to examine the extent to which a“TVET Leadership'' focus exists in research titles of final projects/theses from this University’s Leadership in TVET and Workforce Development graduate programs and explore directions for future knowledge development. Using content analysis, these final research projects/theses’ titles were thematically categorized that revealed a lot more emphasis on such themes as TVET stakeholder perceptions, pedagogy, and youth participation than “Leadership.” These findings will resonate with local “TVET” research supervisors and supervisees in the Global South at a premiere Caribbean university in knowing what research has been done in their chosen field in avoiding duplication of efforts and knowing what remains to be researched. The study findings will also contribute to the limited scholarly literature from the Caribbean in the Global South on knowledge development in TVET “Leadership” research.

Toward Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership from Structured Critical Self-Reflection (CRILS)

ABSTRACT This study analyzes a principal preparation course structured by Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) and critical educational leadership research. Introducing CRILS (Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership Structured by critical self-reflection), the methodology aims to humanize school experiences for Black and racially minoritized students. Through qualitative inquiry, including interviews and analysis of racial autobiographies, the study found that critical self-reflection helped participants recognize biases and confront negative emotional responses. CRILS extends CRSL by incorporating lessons from pre-Brown practices and emphasizes reflective practices among all school-affiliated adults to foster student learning and guidance opportunities.

The Paucity of Female Educational Leadership in Politically Volatile Context of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is one country that experienced deep political turmoil soon after attaining independence in 1980. This study explored the intertwining of violent politics, the politics of fieldwork and the paucity of female educational leadership research by examining the volatile contexts within which the process of knowledge construction takes place. The researcher reviewed related literature to gain insights into the impact of volatile context on research. The study provides a review of literature on issues and concepts related to the studies put forward by other scholars within which the study was discussed and analysed. The review of related literature was conducted mainly to analyse three interweaving factors: the visibility of studies on educational leadership and management publications in 2008, migration and political violence in Zimbabwe. The study established that the terror operation (Gukurahundi) waged in Midlands, Matebeleland South and Matebeleland North provinces from 1982 to 1987, the formation of the political opposition party - Movement for Democratic (MDC) and commercial farm invasions in 1999, operation Murambatsvina in 2005 and elections in 2008 are enough evidence that the Mugabe regime developed a tradition of using violence and intolerance as a tool of consolidating political power. These events formed a complex multi-layered volatility that silenced not only academic research but other forms of documentation.

A Genealogy toward Methodic Doubts in Educational Leadership Research

A Genealogy toward Methodic Doubts in Educational Leadership Research

Exploring the link between principal instructional leadership and differentiated instruction in an understudied context: the role of teacher collaboration and self-efficacy

PurposeResearch has provided powerful evidence that what teachers do in the classroom matters most for the learning of students. Evidence also suggests that school leaders can make a significant difference to student learning via their influence on teachers' attitudes, beliefs and classroom practices. The purpose of this study was to examine if/how principal instructional leadership practices affect differentiated instruction in Omani schools, and understand the role that teacher collaboration and self-efficacy play in this dynamic.Design/methodology/approachThe study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data collected from a sample of 496 teachers working in public schools in Muscat, Oman.FindingsThe findings revealed no direct association between principal instructional leadership and differentiated instruction. Instead, the effects of principal instructional leadership on differentiated instruction were achieved indirectly through the mediation of teacher collaboration and teacher self-efficacy. Collaboration was also found to have a positive influence on the teachers' self-efficacy beliefs.Originality/valueThe significance of this study stems from its relevance to the educational developments unfolding not only in Oman, but in the Gulf region at large. Recent reviews of educational administration and leadership research in the Gulf states indicate the scarcity of empirical research investigating the relationship between principal leadership and teacher practices. This is problematic as it creates a gap in our knowledge of the factors that can support ongoing school improvement initiatives in the region. More specifically, we expect our findings to guide current educational reforms aimed at raising education quality via promoting effective teaching and learning in Omani schools.

The Intellectual Evolution of Educational Leadership Research: A Combined Bibliometric and Thematic Analysis Using SciMAT

This study aims to describe the century-long trajectory of educational leadership research (ELR), including changes over time in its main and subsidiary themes, as well as its most influential authors, papers, and journals. The study combines the bibliometric performance and science mapping analysis of 7282 articles retrieved from the Scopus and WoS databases. SciMAT software (version 1.1.04) was used to analyze changes over four sequential time periods and to exhibit the thematic evolution of the field—Period 1 (1907 to 2004), Period 2 (2005 to 2012), Period 3 (2013 to 2019), and Period 4 (2020–2023). Research during Period 1 focused on principals and included efforts to distinguish between their administrative functions and forms of ‘strong’ leadership contributing to school improvement. Period 2 included research aimed at understanding what strong principal leadership entailed, including the development and testing of more coherent models of such leadership. While instructional and transformational leadership models were prominent during Periods 1 and 2, Period 3 research invested heavily in conceptions of leadership distribution. Early research about ‘social justice leadership’ appeared during this period and eventually flourished during Period 4. While principals were an active focus through all Periods, the leadership of others gradually dominated ELR and accounted for the broader leadership theme found in all four periods. The results point to the evolutionary nature of ELR development, which eventually produced a relatively robust knowledge base. Experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that crises such as this might prompt more revolutionary orientations in the ELR field.

Shadowing School Principals – What Do We Learn (Anew)?

ABSTRACT Shadowing has been used for decades in educational leadership and management research. Yet, there appears to be little academic discussion of shadowing and its related forms or anal-yses of the method itself. This contribution attempts to further a reflection on shadowing by providing insights into its use as well as its pitfalls and merits. For this purpose, relevant stud-ies from 2017 until 2023 making use of shadowing were analyzed. The results indicate that although the use of shadowing in educational leadership research has increased, methodolog-ical discussion and reflection of the method has been only limited.

Call for Papers: A Paradigm Shift to Estimation Thinking in Quantitative Research in Educational Leadership

Call for Papers: A Paradigm Shift to Estimation Thinking in Quantitative Research in Educational Leadership

Mapping doctoral dissertations in an educational leadership programme: A longitudinal examination of knowledge construction in the last two decades

AbstractThis paper offers a meta‐analysis scoping study of doctoral dissertations completed in the last 20 years in one doctoral programme of Educational Leadership (EL) at a higher education institution in Texas, aiming at identifying topical foci, epistemology, methodology and main themes. Therefore, we systematically collected, documented, securitised and analysed completed dissertations following the steps identified by PRISMA guidelines. The review aimed to answer the following four questions: (1) What are the general trends of doctoral dissertations in the studied programme? (2) What is the topical foci of these dissertations? (3) What are the prevailing epistemological constructs and genres informing this work? (4) What are the gaps in this research focus within the scope of educational leadership and policy? Based on our analysis, four main key themes were identified: educational leadership and policy, public education, equity and social justice, and race and ethnicity. Further implications, utility of research and future dissertations in educational leadership in this programme and other similar programmes are fully discussed.

The Mediating Role of Motivation on the Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Work Performance of Teachers from Sta. Josefa District

This study investigated the mediating role of motivation in the relationship between transformational leadership and work performance among secondary school teachers in Sta. Josefa District, Agusan del Sur, Philippines. Using a quantitative non-experimental research design, data were collected from 131 teachers across seven secondary schools. The study employed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Form 5X, Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ), and a motivation scale adapted from previous research. Results revealed very high levels of transformational leadership (M = 4.37, SD = 0.76) and motivation (M = 4.42, SD = 0.64), with high overall work performance (M = 3.53, SD = 0.95). Significant positive correlations were found between transformational leadership and motivation (r = 0.63, p < 0.001), motivation and work performance (r = 0.391, p < 0.001), and transformational leadership and work performance (r = 0.435, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis using the Sobel test (z = 3.19, p = 0.001) indicated that motivation partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and work performance, accounting for 39.4% of the total effect. These findings contribute to the understanding of leadership dynamics in educational settings and suggest the importance of fostering both transformational leadership practices and teacher motivation to enhance work performance. Implications for educational leadership, policy, and future research are discussed.

Dueling Roles in Dual Language Education: Exploring Leader Identity Development in Dual Language Strands

Purpose: Building on research in educational leadership, dual language leadership, and leader identity development, this study examines how principals of schools with dual language immersion (DLI) strands perceive and enact their leadership roles and identities. As DLI strands proliferate in schools and districts, this research contributes to understandings of principals’ leader identities as they implement these programs. Research Methods/Approach: We used an embedded single case study design, with the phenomenon of Indiana school leadership in DLI strands as the case and principals as the embedded units of analysis, and we conducted semistructured interviews with over 80% of Indiana DLI strand principals ( n = 26). We conceptualized this as a single case, due to the common policy context of state legislation related to DLI and school choice. Findings: The DLI strand principals described their leadership work through primarily instructional and distributed leadership dimensions, drawing upon their historic, epistemic, and political understandings of their roles. Principals draw less upon the emotional and narrative dimensions of their leader identities, which are more apparent in teacher identity literatures. Implications for Research and Practice: Principals of new DLI strands often have limited expertise related to DLI models and have not considered how their roles should accommodate leading “two schools in one.” We provide recommendations for both practitioners and researchers in leadership preparation to encourage school leaders’ deeper engagement in reflective work across the dimensions of leader identity development. We furnish a matrix of questions to guide this work.

Evolution of the Scholarly Landscape in Teacher Leadership Research: A Bibliometric Examination of Literature from 2014 To 2023

Over the past decade, there has been a notable surge in the attention directed toward teacher leadership, where it has assumed a pivotal role in initiatives aimed at reforming and enhancing the realm of education. This bibliometrics analysis delves into the scholarly terrain of teacher leadership research available within the Scopus database, spanning the years 2014 to 2023. The primary objective of this study is to discern emerging trends, identify existing research lacunae, and outline potential implications for future inquiry and educational practice in this dynamic field. This comprehensive review consolidates insights derived from a diverse array of studies that scrutinize multiple facets of teacher leadership. It investigates the impact of various leadership styles on teacher morale, student achievement, and overall school improvement. Moreover, this analysis probes into the role of educators in nurturing positive school climates, orchestrating change, and fostering collaborative relationships within the educational community. The data collection process commenced by retrieving 1048 articles using the keyword "teacher leadership." To rigorously analyze this wealth of information, a variety of tools were employed, including Microsoft Excel for frequency analysis, data visualization, and Harzing's Publish or Perish for citation metrics and in-depth analysis. By dissecting the existing body of literature, this paper seeks to enhance our comprehension of the multifaceted dimensions of teacher leadership, offering valuable insights to both researchers and practitioners. The study encompasses an array of bibliometric indicators, encompassing language, subject area, publication year-based research trends, prominent countries of contribution, influential institutions, active source titles, citation patterns, authorship characteristics, and keyword distributions. The results underscore a significant upswing in teacher leadership literature from 2014 to 2023, with the United States emerging as the primary contributor to educational leadership research, closely followed by Turkey. In conclusion, this bibliometrics analysis provides a comprehensive panorama of teacher leadership research spanning the years 2014 to 2023. The discerned trends and identified research gaps present valuable insights for researchers, educators, and policymakers, offering a platform for the continued advancement of teacher leadership as a potent instrument for enhancing educational outcomes and nurturing professional development in the 21st century.

Culturally Intelligent Educational Leaders: Effectiveness of Preparation Programs in Developing Educational Leaders Cultural Intelligence

The burgeoning cultural diversity in public schools calls for culturally competent educational leaders. Drawing on the theoretical framework of cultural intelligence (CQ), this quantitative, causal–comparative study examines the relationship between educational leadership preparation programs and participants’ cultural competence development. Data collected from 546 graduate students at 54 U.S. universities and analyzed using an independent samples t-test revealed no statistically significant difference between program starters’ and program completers’ aggregate CQ, cognitive CQ, and metacognitive CQ. Program completers had significantly lower levels of motivational CQ and behavioral CQ than program starters . Findings yield implications for educational leadership research and preparation programs.

EFFECTIVENESS OF STORYTELLING IN TEACHING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS IN ZOOM MEETINGS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

The current study investigated how the teacher’s use of storytelling, among other strategies, for teaching qualitative research affected the learning experiences of research students in the Zoom classroom. This study assumes that the ability to learn through dialogic interactions between people, materials, and objects is crucial to the success of the process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection from ten MPhil (Educational Leadership and Management) research scholars at a private university. The results found storytelling to be a highly effective tool in producing reflective learning outcomes in the research class. In addition, storytelling prevented research students from being distracted in class. Moreover, digital storytelling helped research scholars build in-depth knowledge and skills of various aspects of qualitative research methods. Keywords: Reflective learning, Qualitative research, Storytelling methodology, engagement and motivation, Higher education.

Extending the scope of leadership identity development.

This article addresses the limitations of the existing leadership identity development literature and offers suggestions for extending the scope of knowledge and understanding of the topic to evolve leadership education research and practice. Authors suggest utilizing multi-level, complexity, and systems views in the study of leadership identity development as a way to explore beyond constructivist, individual-focused conventions that undergird the extant literature. It concludes with considerations for leadership educators to explore in efforts to expand and evolve their teaching, research, and practice related to leadership identity development.

Interplay between leadership and school-level conditions: A review of literature on the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)

We combined network analysis and meta-analysis to systematically review the literature on the Teaching and Learning International Survey, focusing on the interplay between leadership practices and school-level conditions. Our initial network analysis utilized 83 nodes (variables in the reviewed studies) and 214 ties (variable associations), whereas our subsequent meta-analysis employed 21 selected variable associations. Results suggested that leadership practices interplayed with school-level conditions through multiple, interconnected variable associations with a range of effect sizes. First, variables concerning teacher working conditions and teacher qualifications indicated relatively smaller effects than teacher self-efficacy. Second, the association between teacher self-efficacy and teacher collaboration indicated the strongest effect among other variable associations, followed by the relationship between collective teacher perceptions of distributed leadership and teacher job satisfaction. Third, variables regarding teacher perceptions of the principal's leadership effectiveness had larger effect sizes than the principal's self-assessment of their leadership practices. Results further suggested teacher self-efficacy and teacher collaboration as the two most prominent variables that would potentially play a bridging role between leadership practices and school-level conditions. We provide implications for educational leadership practices and research.

The Case Study of Islamic-Education Leadership Model: What We Can Learn from the Dynamics of Principals’ Leadership in Indonesian Excellence Islamic Boarding-Schools

Educational leadership research has been more oriented toward western theories and contexts, ignoring the contextual conditions that shape leadership styles and characteristics. Whereas some ideas analyze that leadership is inseparable from context and is more appropriate according to the setting of a particular society. This study aims to avoid bias when interpreting leadership patterns by finding a concept of Islamic leadership in the field of Education. This research was conducted using qualitative research methods with a case study approach. The participants of the study were two principals and five academic staff in two well-known excellent Islamic senior high schools which become school models pointed out by MORA Indonesia. The data validity checking technique was done by credibility test including method triangulation namely using direct interviews, observations, online surveys, and data sources triangulation using participative observations, school archives, field notes, photos, and video documentation while the researchers were at the location. Triangulation is used to check data from various sources in various ways. Study results showed that the principal's leadership pattern implemented Islamic religious values and the context of the society. Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, where Islamic-based education has been facilitated by the state and included in the policy system, so the findings can be considered when carrying out educational management based on Islamic values.