School Improvement Research Articles

A Generational Perspective of the Determinants of Work-Life Balance of Secondary School Teachers in Gingoog City Division: Basis for a Teacher Wellness Initiative

The education sector is increasingly recognizing the significance of teachers' well-being and the impact of a healthy work-life balance on organizational success. This study focused on identifying factors influencing the quality of Work-Life Balance (WLB) among secondary school teachers in 14 schools in Gingoog City Division. The research employed a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach, gathering both numerical and qualitative data from 283 teachers. The results indicated that millennial educators reported the highest satisfaction, tested at 0.05 level, with their WLB, followed by Generation X, Gen Z, and Boomer teachers. The study identified six key factors influencing WLB, with career progression emerging as a common predictor across all generations. Additionally, financial condition was a significant factor for boomers, autonomy and financial condition for Generation X teachers, financial condition and technological literacy for millennial teachers, and technological literacy, social support, and autonomy for Gen Z teachers. The research also unveiled facilitating factors such as work-life balance principles, workload management strategies, preferences for school support systems, and self-care practices. Conversely, hindering factors included workload pressures and time management challenges, difficulties in the work environment, and frustrations related to DepEd policies. Based on these findings, a Teachers Wellness Program is proposed to be incorporated in the Enhanced School Improvement Plan (ESIP) to promote the WLB of teachers across different generational cohorts.

IMPACT OF IN-SERVICE TRAINING ON DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP SKILLS AMONG EDUCATIONAL MANAGERS IN PUNJAB

The current quantitative study aimed to determine the impact of Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED) in-service training on the distributed leadership skills of educational managers from Punjab province. The study sample was 463 school heads and managers across the province of Punjab through a random sampling technique from the Punjab province. Data were collected over adopted questionnaires from indicators of QAED used during in-service training sessions. Google form was designed based on a five-point Likert scale to get online data from participants. The study's findings revealed that most participants showed significant progress in result-driven about various skills & leadership capabilities about setting academic goals, monitoring instructional performance & making decisions after in-service training. Positive response also explored the impact of in-service training in developing competencies such as vision, communication, objective oversight procedures, and evidence-based action that allow one to be transformed. The development of such directive leadership is essential for school improvements. In same way, short workshops demonstrate initial capacity developments.

Principal Work Stress and its Relationship with Mental Health, Sleep Quality, and Leadership Self-Efficacy: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Approach

ABSTRACT Principals are critical for school improvement, but work-related stress threatens leadership sustainability. While stress is increasingly examined among principals, the impacts on indicators of health such as anxiety, depression, and sleep are under-explored. In other fields, these factors are implicated in long-term health effects and negative occupational outcomes. This mixed-methods study explores principals’ overall health, sleep quality using actigraphy watches, and perceptions of leadership self-efficacy in eight principals. Findings show principals struggled with health issues and disrupted sleep patterns which affected their leadership self-efficacy and intentions to stay in their professions. Recommendations for practice, policy, and future directions are included.

Professional Learning Communities of Student Teachers in Internship

Since the early 1990s, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been widely recognized as an effective, extensively researched approach to professional development, school improvement, and student learning enhancement as well as leadership development within educational settings. Nevertheless, there remains a scarcity of research concerning the impact of this approach to professional development within the context of initial teacher education. The present study is one of the first to systematically examine the possibilities and potential of PLCs for student teachers in their practical pedagogical studies (internship). In particular, the study examines whether Student-Teacher PLCs (ST-PLCs) can be implemented in pre-teacher education and the perceptions of student teachers concerning their participation and professional learning within an ST-PLC. A total of 56 students from the University of Education Vorarlberg (Austria), the University of Málaga (Spain), and the European University Cyprus participated in the study, responding to an online questionnaire and engaging in focus-group interviews. The data collected indicated that ST-PLCs serve as a robust strategy for collaborative learning and the development of professional competencies. An analysis of the qualitative data showed that ST-PLCs are spaces where the reflection and analysis of teaching-related topics are stimulated, supported, shared, encouraged, and enhanced.

Inclusive Principal Leadership and Family Engagement: Strengthening Parent Participation in IEP Meetings and Beyond

Principals play a critical role in creating inclusive schools for students with disabilities, but few studies focus on how principals foster meaningful engagement for parents of children with disabilities, especially within Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings where important education decisions are made. Research focused on principal preparation further highlights the lack of preparation in special education which has likely led many principals to delegate special education duties and responsibilities. Consequently, many families feel silenced and disengaged in IEP meetings - which can lead to serious academic, legal, and financial consequences for both districts and families. In this article, we review literature on inclusive principal leadership and parent engagement to provide a set of evidenced-based recommendations to strengthen family participation in IEP meetings. In part, our recommendations are derived from our recent study of parents navigating the special education process and their experiences with principals. We conclude with final thoughts about how these recommendations can be woven into principal preparation programs, school improvement plans, and district efforts to implement IDEA.

Teachers can differentiate between standards-based leadership skills in principal evaluation surveys: a multilevel analysis

ABSTRACT Teacher surveys of principal leadership are a common component of school improvement efforts. The usefulness of teacher feedback surveys is dependent on teachers’ interpretation of survey items. The current study explores evidence regarding the validity and reliability of teacher surveys for evaluating principals and explores their alignment to nationally recognized standards. We examine the responses of 6,965 teachers who took the Network for Educator Effectiveness Teacher Survey to evaluate 652 elementary, middle, and high school principals and assistant principals in Missouri. We explore how teacher perceptions aligned with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. Results of a multilevel exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis suggest that teacher perceptions aligned well with the standards, both at the teacher and principal levels. Responses showed good internal consistency. These results support the use of standards-based teacher surveys when evaluating principals, and suggest that teachers can effectively distinguish different domains of principal leadership.

Information and Communications Technology Retooling Program: Optimizing Teachers’ Competency

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the ICT retooling program for teachers and its influence on their competency and performance. A research-made questionnaire was distributed to 260 Junior High School teachers in Bulacan District II, including Baliwag, Bustos, and Plaridel. Additionally, School Principals, Master Teachers, Head Teachers, and Education Program Supervisors in Bulacan were evaluated using a modified research questionnaire. The findings revealed that teachers viewed the ICT Retooling Program positively, noting its encouragement of participation and diverse perspectives rather than a sole focus on technical skills. However, this led to relatively low post-program enthusiasm for educational innovation. Teachers rated themselves competent in ICT, excelling in knowledge creation, deepening, and acquisition dimensions, and demonstrated proficiency in utilizing ICT for teaching and learning, particularly in positive ICT use criteria. The study concluded that a balance between soft skills development (confidence, assertiveness, networking) and technical skills is necessary to foster innovation in education. Continuous professional development in ICT is crucial for translating policy directives into classroom actions and creating inclusive learning environments. Recommendations include conducting a needs assessment to identify areas for improvement in teachers' ICT skills and aligning ICT retooling programs with broader school improvement goals. These recommendations should be integrated into the school improvement plan for increased effectiveness. A long-term sustainability plan, including continuous professional development and technology integration, is essential. Financial aid for graduate degree programs should be provided to sustain teacher competency. Lastly, the Sobel Test is recommended to measure the significance of the teachers' ICT Competency Framework (CFT) and PPST results in the ICT retooling program.

Enhancing the agency of senior school leaders through professional learning: a qualitative study of Into Headship, the national headteacher preparation programme in Scotland

ABSTRACT This article presents the original and significant findings of a research project which used an ecological model of agency to explore the lived experiences of aspiring headteachers (school principals), undertaking masters level professional learning through the Into Headship programme in Scotland. Headteacher recruitment and retention problems exist internationally therefore understanding factors which can enhance or impinge on the agency of potential school leaders can help ensure that educational systems foster leadership aspirations in teachers and prepare and support them adequately in senior leadership roles. A qualitative approach was adopted which involved one national cohort of Into Headship participants from three different Scottish universities who undertook their studies during the COVID-19 crisis. The findings highlight a number of key themes in terms of developing professional identity and the effect of professional learning on the agency of school leaders in relation to their ability to lead school improvements. It is concluded that Into Headship impacted positively on the agency of participants in a range of ways and that these findings will be useful to those involved in school leadership preparation and educational system level strategic planning.

Assessment of the School Improvement Plan in Relation to School Performance: Basis For a Strategic Planning

Assessment of the School Improvement Plan in Relation to School Performance: Basis For a Strategic Planning

სკოლის მართვის პოლიტიკა: ლიდერის როლი სკოლის მართვაში

The article aims to establish the factors that have an influence on the transition of school management reform and to outline some of the common trends causing the policy change in this area. The analysis shows that there is a various set of studies covering different aspects of school management. Each of them responds to the issue of adopting school management reform from different angles. The policy perspective relates to school management reforms such as decentralization, autonomy, accountability or contextual changes. An increased focus (on learning outcomes and school improvement perspectives) recognizes the key role of leadership in education reform. The research among principals contributed the adoption of school management reforms. The school management policy perspective shows that countries have implemented reforms, with practices that vary across countries and contexts. Some reforms include a new public management agenda or the globalization of education policy. This review shows that there is a considerable amount of research on school leadership, but relatively less attention has been paid to policy research on effective school management. The paper first provides an overview of the role of school leaders and how has it evolved over the last decade, which serves to clarify the main reasons for the reforms. After the methodology are discussed the factors influencing the adoption of school leadership reforms. Specifically, how different fields of education research influence the development of the school leadership role. The article ends with a conclusion that discusses the factors that influence the implementation of school management reforms. It also provides important perspectives on the development of the role of principals: (1) school management reforms respond to the changing context of education and public school governance in terms of greater decentralization, accountability, and school outcomes; (2) School leadership has an indirect influence on education and schooling, which is considered for the implementation of various reforms and aimed at improving teaching, but does not seem to be itself considered a policy priority. In general, research of school management reforms was conducted in selected countries according to their educational opportunities.

School Heads Instructional Leadership Style to the School-Based Management and Performance: Basis for School Improvement Plan

School Heads Instructional Leadership Style to the School-Based Management and Performance: Basis for School Improvement Plan

Generating Innovative Ideas for School Improvement: An Examination of School Principals

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine school principals’ tendencies and practices that bring forth innovative ideas for school improvement. School principals (N = 124) responded to a survey, which included an open-ended question, on their innovative practices toward school improvement. With the Innovator’s DNA framework as a basis for generating innovation for school improvement, path analysis was used to assess how well school principals’ thinking and practices aligned with the framework. School principals believed it was important to help generate innovation through idea networking, being open-minded, and challenging the status quo. However, through path analysis, school principals’ improvement areas associated with the Innovator’s DNA framework were identified. School systems should help principals develop innovative problem-solving skills for school improvement by applying the Innovator’s DNA framework in their professional development opportunities. More research is needed that examines if and how school systems foster school innovation leadership for principals.

Teacher professional development and school improvement in Chinese secondary schools

Teacher professional development and school improvement in Chinese secondary schools

Large-scale school improvement: results of and conditions for systemic changes within coupled school systems

The aim of this study was to explore the results of and conditions for systemic large-scale school improvement. Through a multi-level analysis and a theoretical framework inspired by organization- and sensemaking-oriented theories, the study examines how a Swedish large-scale school improvement program, “Collaboration for the Best School Possible,” played out in two Swedish municipalities. School actors at four organizational levels (at the National Education Agency, Local Education Authority, school leader, and teacher levels) in the two municipalities were interviewed. Because these school actors’ sensemaking is linked to different aspects of the national largescale improvement program, the analysis shows a variation in the strengthening of the couplings between these organizational levels. The different nature of the couplings affected the implementation process and the results of the program. While the national large-scale program seemed to have contributed to an improvement in the schools’ quality assurance systems and leadership practices, there were difficulties in maintaining general and sustainable changes in schools’ instructional practices. The conclusion of the study was that, even if a national large-scale school improvement program is well designed and backed up with many resources, it must be perceived as legitimate among the local school actors at the different organizational levels. This points to the importance of managing the balance between top-down efforts and visions and local professional knowledge and experience.

Examining a district-union-university partnership for professionalizing teachers to lead school improvement efforts

Examining a district-union-university partnership for professionalizing teachers to lead school improvement efforts

From crisis to opportunity: The role of inclusive coaching in struggling schools

This paper sheds light on the substantial challenges faced by schools today in the UK, especially in the aftermath of a negative school inspection report. Stigmatised and labelled as ‘faliing’ and with limited support, staff within these schools are often emotionally exhausted and professionally traumatised (Jeffrey & Woods, 1996), when they begin the arduous journey towards school improvement. A longitudinal study, implemented within a secondary school located in an economically and socially disadvantaged region of Wales, focuses on the outcomes of a school-wide talent development program, with a strong emphasis on coaching, made available to staff in all roles, from caretaking to leadership. Through the adoption of a data-driven, strategy-aligned, professional development programme, this paper describes how the internal talent of the whole school was harnessed and directed towards a transformative shift: one that took the school from an initial inspection assessment of ‘in significant need of improvement’ to a more favourable ‘satisfactory’ rating and beyond. Central to this programme was a coaching initiative aimed at bolstering staff self-efficacy, which over time resulted in significant improvements in staff wellbeing, team resilience and overall performance, benefiting both staff and students across the school. This study highlights the efficacy of an inclusive, school-wide approach to staff development, with coaching playing a pivotal role in driving positive change.

From Boardrooms to Classrooms: How Interorganizational Networks Influence Education Policy Adoption

This paper examines how relationships among government and “outside” organizations influenced policy implementation of new dropout prediction data systems. Using comparative historical and network analyses of three cities, I suggest the concept of interorganizational coupling—highlighting how the dependence and (in)formal collaborations among local school improvement organizations affected implementation speed, variation, and constraint. In Chicago, the loosely coupled system influenced slow and varied implementation, sustained by interpersonal relations and challenged by unclear division of labor. In Philadelphia, the tightly coupled system shaped swift and uniform changes, constrained by questions of sustainability. In New York, the tightening system led to fast yet variable transformations, limited by competition among organizations. Broadly, the article contributes to studies of education policies, interorganizational networks, and school improvement.

Effects of the “High Impact Leadership for School Renewal” Project on Principal Leadership, School Leadership, and Student Achievement

In this study, we designed an educational experiment to evaluate the High Impact Leadership for School Renewal project’s impact on principal leadership, school leadership, and student achievement. Principals in the experimental group reported statistically significantly greater improvement in principal leadership than their counterparts in the control group (Hedge’s g of 0.73), but teachers in the experimental and control groups showed no difference in their ratings of principal leadership. Teachers in the experimental group reported statistically significantly more improvement in school leadership than their counterparts in the control group (Hedge’s g of 0.53 on the scale of Orientation to School Renewal and 0.58 on the scale of Learning-Centered School Leadership), but principals in the two groups reported no difference in the growth in school leadership. Schools in the experimental group showed statistically significantly larger annual growth in English language arts proficiency rate (2.05 percentage points more annually). The implications of the findings were discussed in the context of leadership development programs for school improvement.

Evolution of Educational Leadership: A Bibliometric Analysis of International Publications

Abstract Research on educational leadership has received significant scholarly attention for over half a century, resulting in a vast body of literature on the subject. Numerous studies and inquiries have highlighted that educational leadership is an exceedingly complex and vital phenomenon. However, a gap persists in scholarly discourse concerning the presentation of this knowledge base through bibliometric analysis. This study seeks to provide an overview of the evolution of this concept by identifying articles published in journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) database between 1993 and 2024. The search employed terms such as "educational leadership", „educational management” "leadership in education," "school leadership”, „teacher leadership”, „style leadership in education” and „school improvement”yielding an initial total of 3089 articles. Subsequently, following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1583 studies were retained for analysis. The research encompasses the general profile of articles, the annual distribution of article frequency, the most prolific researchers, journals, and countries by article count, the most influential articles based on citation count, the most frequently recurring author keywords, and the year of publication of these articles. The contribution of this study lies primarily in highlighting the systematic methodologies employed in research analyses in educational leadership and management. Additionally, collaborative patterns among authors, universities, and countries are presented and analyzed. The conclusions provide valuable insights for researchers into the detailed evolution of educational leadership through the structuring of existing literature in the field. Furthermore, based on these findings, some suggestions have been made for identifying new research themes in this field, both conceptually and empirically.

What Matters in Choosing School for Children’s Education? Experiences from Kottayam, Kerala

While the role of education in fostering social stability and increasing a country’s human capital is well recognised, there are debates on policies and institutional arrangements in this regard. In particular, parents’ choice of schools appears to be a critical issue as it can influence both educational outcomes and inclusiveness. Given that there is a broader homogeneity in infrastructure facilities available at both household and school levels, one would expect that household-related factors will influence the choice of schooling of children. This article examines such household-level factors that influence households’ choice of schools for children in selected areas of Kottayam District, Kerala. A primary survey was conducted in December 2021 comprising 300 households. Based on the results of the estimated binary logit and probit models, this article reports that the choice of school for children is significantly influenced by households’ ethnic background and economic status, and sex, education, and primary occupation of the family head. There is a higher likelihood of choosing public schools by households from the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe category, those living below the poverty line, or those with agriculture as the primary occupation. On the contrary, this likelihood is less for households with educated and male heads. However, the choice of school for children does not differ significantly between rural and urban households. Further, there is no gender inequality in choosing schools. The findings suggest that future government policies should emphasise infrastructure development and quality improvement in government schools to promote socio-economic inclusion in education.