Perceptions Of School Leaders Research Articles

The Influence of Teachers’ Perceptions of School Leaders’ Empowering Behaviours on the Dimensions of Psychological Empowerment

Abstract Background and Purpose: School leader has an effect on teachers in divergent ways. If school leader wants their teachers to be successful and satisfied, he or she must have the potential to prompt work conditions that build up teachers’ psychological empowerment. Main aim of our research was to empirically test the relations between teachers’ perceptions of school leaders’ empowering behaviours and all dimensions of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination and impact). Design/Methodology/Approach: We tested four hypotheses in one structural model by using structural equation modelling (SEM). The quantitative data was collected through an online survey on a sample of 525 primary school teachers in Slovenia by using two already validated questionnaires, The School Leader Empowering Behaviours (SLEB) and Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (PEQ). Results: Findings show that teachers’ perceptions of school leaders’ empowering behaviours are positively and statistically significantly related to all dimensions of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination and impact). Conclusion: Knowledge of psychological empowerment can be beneficial for school leaders, because with this comprehension they can strengthen apprehension and potential in exercising empowering behaviours towards their teachers to maximize their psychological empowerment.

Adapting narrative methodology to explore emerging fields

ABSTRACTResearch on new literacies and technology can be a challenging prospect for researchers due to the emerging nature of the subject. In this article, we present our experience using an innovative methodological technique that facilitated our narrative inquiry into the attitudes and perceptions of school leaders about media literacy. We provided our theoretical framework to our participants before the interviews to give the participants and researchers a common starting point for discussing the nuanced and evolving concept of media literacy in connection with their personal and professional experiences. We were able to elicit rich narratives from our participants, which was the intent of our study, and we recommend this technique to researchers who are exploring new literacies or other emerging fields.

Teachers’ and school leaders’ perceptions of commercialisation in Australian public schools

This paper explores teachers’ and school leaders’ perceptions of commercialisation in Australian public schools, reporting on findings from an open-ended survey question from an exploratory study that sought to investigate teacher and school leader perceptions and experiences of commercialisation. Commercialisation, for the purposes of this paper, is understood as the creation, marketing and sale of education goods and services to schools by for-profit providers and often includes (but is not limited to) the provision of curriculum content, assessment services, data infrastructures, digital learning, remedial instruction, professional development and school administration support. Our account highlights that commercialisation is prevalent in the day-to-day practice of Australian public schools. The perceptions of teachers and leaders suggest that commercialisation is complex, with both affordances and challenges. Respondents acknowledged that aspects of commercialisation are necessary for successfully running schools and classrooms in the 21st century, but also noted that there is a fine line beyond which these seemingly innocuous services become perilous. Concerns focused on how particular services are leading to the deprofessionalisation of teachers as they have less autonomy over what to teach and how to teach it. Moreover, teachers and school leaders reported being perturbed by the idea that commercial providers and services might work to replace teachers in the future. Drawing on these data we argue that growing commercialisation in Australian public schools clearly requires an ethical debate that schools, education professionals, policy makers and interested publics are yet to have.

Secondary school leader perceptions about the inclusion of queer materials in the school course curricula

AbstractThe US school system is dominated by heteronormativity in the formal curriculum that gives preference to binary conceptions of sexuality. School leaders play a role in supporting or disrupting school policies facilitating or inhibiting curricular inclusion of queer content in course materials and an instructional pedagogy that promotes an equitable and inclusive educational process. Using a qualitative design and phenomenographic data analysis method, the purpose of the study was to use a queer/curriculum theory lens to explore secondary level school leaders’ perceptions about their experiences with the inclusion of queer related content in the course curricula in their schools. The sample included seven secondary level educational leaders from schools in a northeastern state in the USA. Using a qualitative design and phenomenographic data analysis methods of in‐depth interviews, five categories of description of leader perceptions were identified: (1) lack of inclusion of queer content in formal state curricula, (2) recognized need for inclusion of queer content in the formal curricula, (3) informal inclusion of queer content in the course curriculum, (4) teacher reluctance to include queer content in the curriculum, and (5) providing teachers with resources and professional development opportunities related to integrating queer content into their course curriculum.

Perceptions of School Leaders: Exploring School Climate Data Based on Principal Gender and Student Achievement

This project explored the climate data of 33 elementary schools in an urban school system to determine the relationship among perceptions of effective school leadership and student achievement. Data was compiled from teachers (n = 847) at each elementary school in regard to their perceptions of effective leadership of their school principal. Data was compared to student achievement and disaggregated based upon the gender of the principal. In summary, female principals were rated significantly lower on their leadership skills than male principals by their staff. In contrast, when student standardized test data were explored and cross-referenced with the gender of the principal, student achievement at schools with female leadership was comparable with that of elementary sites with male leadership.

Primary physical education (PE): School leader perceptions about classroom teacher quality implementation

Quality physical education (QPE) in primary school optimises children’s well-being. However, international research indicates that the preparation of classroom teachers is impeded by systemic barri...

Managers, Teachers, Students, and Parents' Opinions Concerning Changes on Dress Code Practices as an Educational Policy

Problem Statement: Dressing for school has been intensely disputed and has led to periodic changes in dress codes since the foundation of the Turkish republic. Practioners have tried to put some new practices related to school dress codes into practice for redressing former dress code issues involing mandatory dress standards for both students and teachers but which caused chaos and confusion in schools beacause of lack of legal regulation. Uncertainty in dress codes, of which implications and outcomes are still being discussed in terms of psycholgical, socio economic, and academic, causes issues for teachers, students, and parents and can negatively affect performance. Purpose of Study: The present study is focused on the perceptions of school leaders, teachers, and students in terms of dress codes as an educational policy. Education deeply affects every individual in society; from this point of view any individual in society needs to be involved in new policies in the field of education. For this purpose, this study addressed perceptions of school leaders, teachers, students, and parents in terms of free dress codes in schools. The study also aimed to contribute solutions to the dress code problem. Method: This is a survey method study. The study sample was comprised of 611 participants (100 managers, 111 teachers, 254 students, and 146 parents). Data were collected via a 30-item questionnaire that was developed by a researcher. Frequency, arithmetic mean, independent groups, and one-way variance (ANOVA) techniques were used to analyze data. A Tukey HSD test was used to determine in which groups the sample differed. Significance was set at p <05. Findings and Results: While managers (4, 80–47, 70) and teachers (4, 19-3, and 90) perceived the highest ratio for several parameters: 1) "dresses are perceived as sign of students' socioeconomic level" and 2) "students pattern themselves after other friends". Parents (3, 52) and students (3, 69) perceived the highest ratio in terms of “Students easily and comfortably act." These findings indicate that parents and students have similar opinions. The results do not indicate significant differences among perception of shareholders, managers, teachers, students, and parents about dressing in schools. Conclusion and Recommendations: All new practices should consider every individual in society. Parents, teachers, and managers need to be informed about the effects of dress on students' physiological and psychological development. Legal regulations must be put into practice to let students wear different clothes and have a sense of pluralistic democracy.

Teachers’ perceptions of school leaders’ empowering behaviours and psychological empowerment

Using a convenience sample of 289 teachers in Singapore, this study examined: (1) whether there were significant differences between teachers’ perceptions of principal’s and immediate supervisor’s empowering behaviours; and (2) teachers’ perceptions of principal’s and immediate supervisor’s empowering behaviours in relation to teachers’ psychological empowerment. Results indicated that teachers perceived their principals and immediate supervisors as exercising empowering behaviours in their daily practices, but they also perceived their principal and immediate supervisor differing in magnitude in some specific dimensions of empowering behaviours such as delegation of authority, providing individualised concern and support, articulating a vision and fostering collaborative relationships. Results also indicated that teachers’ perceptions of principal’s and immediate supervisor’s empowering behaviours were positively associated with teachers’ psychological empowerment, and that they added unique variance to each other in predicting teachers’ psychological empowerment. This study suggests the importance of considering teachers’ perceptions of principal’s and immediate supervisor’s empowering behaviours as two distinct constructs in empirical research so that their unique predictive power could be more aptly captured. From a practical standpoint, it suggests the importance for school leadership developers to enhance school leaders’ awareness and capacity in exercising empowering behaviours towards their teachers in their daily practice. Essentially, schools may stand to gain from developing empowering leaders at different levels of management to promote teachers’ psychological empowerment.

Situating Educational Issues in Nunavut: Perceptions of School Leaders and Teachers

The purpose of this article is to describe some educational contexts and challenges experienced by students and educators who live in Nunavut. The data for this qualitative study include twenty-four semi-structured interviews involving fourteen principals, vice-principals, and teachers from Nunavut. Four themes surfaced: student attendance, legacy of residential schools, lack of Inuktitut/Inuinnaqtun resources, and transient teachers. With regard to student attendance, participants viewed this issue as one of the most challenging aspects of their education system. Second, participants emphasized that the Nunavut Department of Education was promoting fluent Inuktitut/Inuinnaqtun and English learners. While participants valued the importance of maintaining the vitality of the Inuit language, they believed resources to promote the Inuit language were limited. Third, many principals indicated that the legacy of residential schools was a reason some school-parent relationships lacked an element of trust. Last, participants explained that the constant teacher turnover caused relational strains between educators, students, parents, and community members. Cultural compatibility theory was employed as the philosophical basis to conceptualize findings. This theory assumes that a student needs an educational experience where that learner can see, feel, hear, taste, and touch his/her cultural values and beliefs. The design of educational programs need to foster the unique identities of Inuit peoples through the implementation of curricula built upon local Inuit culture, language, and knowledge. In doing so, attendance issues within school can be addressed, for example. Also, when parents see their culture within the school curriculum and environment, they will feel more welcomed and at home in this familiar context.

Coaching for professional growth in one Australian school: “oil in water”

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to build knowledge around the use of coaching to develop teachers’ professional practice in schools. It surfaces insider perspectives of teachers and school leaders in one Australian school, during the development of a model for teacher growth, which used a combination of cognitive coaching and the Danielson Framework for Teaching. Design/methodology/approach – A narrative approach to interview data were used to examine the perspectives of 14 educators – teachers and school leaders – involved in the implementation of a school-based cognitive coaching model. Findings – This study found that being a coach is an empowering and identity-shaping experience, that coaching for empowerment and capacity building benefits from a non-hierarchical relationship, and that coaching can be enhanced by the use of additional tools and approaches. Implementing a school-based cognitive coaching model, in conjunction with the Danielson Framework for Teaching, can have unexpected impacts on individuals, relationships, and organizations. As described by a participant, these butterfly effects can be non-linear, like “oil in water.” Originality/value – In examining teacher and school leader perceptions of a coaching model that trusts teachers’ capacity to grow, this paper shows what coaching and being coached can look like in context and in action. It reveals that cognitive coaching and the Danielson Framework for Teaching can be congruent tools for positive teacher and organizational growth, requiring a slow bottom-up approach to change, an organizational culture of trust, and coaching relationships free from judgment or power inequity. It additionally shows that the combination of being a coach, and also being coached, can facilitate empowerment, professional growth, and changes in belief and practice.

Equitable Education for Bangladeshi Indigenous Children: Perceptions of School Leaders and Managers

Equitable Education for Bangladeshi Indigenous Children: Perceptions of School Leaders and Managers

Living and Leading in a Digital Age: A Narrative Study of the Attitudes and Perceptions of School Leaders about Media Literacy

Students graduating from K-12 education need media literacy skills to engage, participate, and learn in a world in which literacy must keep pace with rapidly changing technologies. Given the significant roles school administrators play in providing leadership and vision to their schools, this narrative study addresses the research question: What are school administrators’ perceptions of, and attitudes about, media literacy? Through the stories of six K-12 school administrators, we highlight the connections of their experiences and attitudes to the actions they take to support media literacy learning, and their visions for technology, instruction, and learning in their schools.

Benefits and Challenges of Technology in High Schools: A Voice from Educational Leaders with a Freire Echo

The purpose of this study is to document the perceptions of school leaders pertaining to the benefits and challenges of technology in high schools located on Prince Edward Island (PEI) (Canada). For this qualitative study, we interviewed 11 educational leaders representing the PEI Department of Education, principals, vice-principals, and department heads. Most participants indicated that technology activated reverse mentorship among teachers and students, and technology positively affected student motivation. In contrast, the participants recognized there were challenges regarding the impact of technology at the high school level. The challenges identified were inappropriate texting, decline of literacy skills, policy and lack of policy, and increased workload regarding communication with parents. Herein, we apply Freirean perspectives, which promotes social advocacy, to understand how these benefits and challenges interrelate.

The use of technology in Prince Edward Island (Canada) high schools

The purpose of this paper is to document the perceptions of school leaders regarding the technological use, skills, and attitudes of high school teachers. Using a qualitative research approach, 11 educational leaders from Prince Edward Island (Canada) were individually interviewed. Participants represented the Department of Education, principals, vice-principals, and department heads. Analyzed through the concept of e-leadership, the findings indicated that participants used a growing array of technological tools and activities including Smartboards, flipped classrooms, Prezi, educational apps, YouTube, and teacher blogs. Participants identified lack of time as a possible reason why some teachers were not incorporating technology into student learning. Findings highlight the need for provincial and school district authorities to promote policies aimed at promoting e-leadership among teachers. We insert an appendix to provide descriptions of the technological terms included within the paper.

Understanding the lived experiences of novice out-of-field teachers in relation to school leadership practices

The lived experiences of novice teachers in out-of-field positions influence future career decisions and impact on their journey towards being competent and experienced practitioners, conversely their “life-world” is often misunderstood. The purpose of the study reported in this article is to investigate the lived experiences of these teachers, how principals’ understanding and leadership styles influence the lived experiences of novice out-of-field teachers, and what these lived experiences mean for school leaders. The article highlights perceptions of school leaders and novice out-of-field teachers about out-of-field teaching. It argues that the strategies implemented by school leaders based on their understanding of novice out-of-field teachers’ lived experience greatly influence the development of these teachers. It draws on Gadamer’s theories to investigate the lived experiences and perceptions of four principals and four novice out-of-field teachers through the different lenses of these participants. It concludes with a discussion on the interrelationships between school leaders’ understanding, novice teachers’ lived experience and what it means for the teaching environment. Participants’ interpretation of specific lived experiences connected to out-of-field teaching shapes meaning in their attempt to understand and to “belong,” for example, confidence issues, self-esteem concerns, and disconnectedness. The investigation of these units of meaning provides an in-depth understanding of the interrelationship between leadership and the lived experiences of novice out-of-field teachers.

Perceptions of school leaders in Nairobi about their leadership preparation and development

The paper reports on a study undertaken in Nairobi, Kenya with school leaders. We examined their perceptions of the adequacy of their preparation experiences and what aspects remained problematic. This paper only reports on the survey findings which included rating-type and open-ended responses. Principals conceptualized their apprenticeship/experiential preparation as useful for instructional leadership but reported the desire for formal qualification which would provide them with more credibility for their complex roles. Principals were primarily focused on survival and compliance with ministry expectations related to the managerial aspects of their role. Recommendations include a policy framework for leadership qualifications, competencies, and experience to provide standards and benchmarks designed to increase leader and system credibility.

Modelling the determinants of school leaders' perceptions of beginning teachers' efficacy

The school and especially the school leader's perceptions of a teacher's efficacy have influence on aspects of teaching ratings and performance, and this may facilitate or hinder beginning teacher success. This study examines the school leaders' perceptions of their beginning teachers' efficacy. The study's scope of teacher efficacy is multidimensional to include the beginning teachers' Teaching Competencies, sense of Professionalism, and Professional Identity. Of interest is the interconnectedness of these variables that contribute to the school leaders' perception. A total of 256 school leaders responded to a survey on beginning teachers' efficacy. A hypothesized model was tested. According to the analysis, while Teaching Competencies and Professional Identity did not have a significant direct impact, they each did have a significant indirect effect on perceived efficacy.

Professional development of school leaders in Cyprus: is it working?

School heads and assistant headteachers in Cyprus attend in‐service training programmes as part of their professional development, after they are promoted to their new leadership post. A review of the literature highlights the significance of a needs analysis when designing and/or reforming in‐service training programmes. Nevertheless, there seems to be a lack of studies focusing on the leaders’ views regarding their own professional development and needs. The present study investigates school leaders’ views regarding the in‐service training programmes they formally attend in Cyprus (both with regards to content as well as organizational aspects of the courses), and whether specific personal characteristics of school leaders are associated with their views. The research was based on both interviews with school leaders (assistant heads and school heads) and also a semi‐structured questionnaire. Content and statistical analysis of the participants’ views revealed that they prefer specific training, especially designed for their needs and according to their specific leadership post. The study contributes to the fields of educational leadership and professional development, since it provides insights into the perceptions of school leaders about the continuing professional development they receive and offers useful information for the organization of professional development programmes for school leaders. Finally, some specific suggestions for improvement in the field of training for school leaders are provided.

Schools as organisations: some contemporary issues

Reports a study of the perceptions of school leaders who have engaged in practitioner research, concentrating on perceptions which relate to schools as organisations. The study complements recent theoretical work on the connections between reflective practice, leadership and organisational environment. It illustrates tensions between leaders’ values and national policies, their experience of school autonomy, and approaches to developing the cultural characteristics of learning organisations. The study also illustrates the organisational implications of futures thinking, and changing patterns of surveillance and control in schools. The article concludes that the nature of schools as organisations is contested, with much of the regulatory framework within which schools operate being no longer supportive of the direction for development favoured by school leaders who have thought through their own commitment to learning.

Hong Kong's Change of Sovereignty: School leader perceptions of the effects on educational policy and school administration

ABSTRACT This study captures the thoughts and perceptions of a group of Hong Kong principals on the transfer of sovereignty and its effects on education. The investigation addressed the following guiding research question. What, according to their perceptions, have been and will be the effects on education policy and on school-level management and curriculum, of the transfer of sovereignty? A qualitative approach was adopted, using naturalistic methods of inquiry. Nine principals of aided secondary schools were selected for interview according to procedures of purposive sampling. The findings indicate that, faced with uncertainty arising from the change of sovereignty, principals feel confident of managing and coping with situations at the school level in connection with the curriculum and management. However, they express concern and greater uncertainty about their ability to manage changes emanating in the broader sociopolitical educational environment, particularly with regard to values and norms and access and opportunity, all of which are likely to impact on their schools.