Secondary School Leaders Research Articles

Supporting the transition to secondary school: The voices of lower secondary leaders and teachers

ABSTRACTBackground: The primary-secondary transition is recognised as a challenging time for students, and poor transition processes can negatively affect the students’ development. School professionals play an important role in enhancing the students’ transition experience, but international literature calls for more research concerning their perspective on this transition.Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate what lower secondary school leaders and teachers in Norway emphasise when supporting the primary to lower secondary school transition.Methods: A qualitative single case study approach was used. The participants were ten form teachers, their team leader and the principal (n = 12) within one lower secondary school. These were the individuals overseeing the transition process on behalf of a cohort of students who transferred to their school in August 2017. Data were collected through observations and focus group interviews. The data were transcribed and analysed qualitatively, inspired by the constant comparative method of analysis.Findings and conclusion: Framed by their own experiences, the leaders and teachers emphasised ensuring predictability, establishing a safe psychosocial learning environment, giving the students time to learn to be lower secondary school students, and collaboration at the school level and with the families. These efforts are largely in line with what the research recommends. The findings indicate, however, that the teachers need more support during this process. The article concludes that a closer dialogical interaction with colleagues at the primary and secondary levels, parents and students could support the leaders and teachers to promote an even better transition.

EKPLORASI KEPIMPINAN INSTRUKSIONAL MAYA PEMIMPIN SEKOLAH

The educational advancement in Malaysia has always been the main agenda of the government to make this country education equal to the other developed countries in this world. School leaders must have a futuristic mind and would be able to think beyond the ordinary to make this aspiration become a reality. They must be bold enough to make changes in line with the rapid development of mobile technology, internet, wireless connectivity, and the new medium of virtual communication. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to verify the model on instructional leadership behaviors of virtual school leaders in secondary schools in Malaysia. The results of an interview by two expert lecturers in the educational leadership field found that most principals practiced the virtual instructional leadership behaviors by integrating mobile device technology and new mediums of virtual communication in their instructional leadership practices. The interview also validated the virtual instructional leadership model. However, further studies need to carry out to strengthen this model. The validation of this virtual instructional leadership model will serve as guidance for the authorities in designing the curriculum for principals’ courses in Malaysia, as well as guidance for principals to practice virtual instructional leadership.

Factors Affecting Instructional Leadership in Secondary Schools to Meet Vietnam’s General Education Innovation

Currently, there is a huge demand for secondary school education worldwide especially in the developing countries such as Vietnam. School leadership is occupying a central position in educational reform. In order to meet this for the secondary school education, the Vietnamese government tries to develop effective school leadership in its education policy agenda. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of factors on instructional leadership of principals in lower secondary education. The study was completed with 97 secondary public schools teachers and principals in the North of Vietnam. A quantitative research design was used to conduct this study. The data was analyzed through factors such as internal and external from the role of principal in instructional leadership. Research findings underline that instructional leadership is had directly by external such as “The degree of autonomy of the school for instructional activities”, “Awareness of the managers and teachers about leading teaching activities” and “education innovation” more internal such as “System of guiding documents of management levels on teaching activities”; “Conditions of facilities and finance for school teaching activities” and “Principal’s training level” Principals should recognize the change of the context and enhance the improvement of teachers’ shared responsibility and partnership in school decision making. Therefore, the Vietnamese government should make sure to have many positive issues that may have effective instructional leadership capacity in order to improve the culture of teaching and learning in Vietnames secondary schools.

استراتیجیة مقترحة لتطبیق قادة المدارس الثانویة للبنات بمنطقة عسیر لأبعاد المنظمة المتعلمة AProposed Strategy for Applying the Dimensions of Learning Organization by the Secondary School Leaders for Females

سعى البحث إلى وضع استراتيجية مقترحة لتطبيق قادة المدراس الثانوية للبنات بمنطقة عسير لأبعاد المنظمة المتعلمة، وذلک من خلال: تعرف مفهوم المنظمة المتعلمة وأبعادها،، واعتمد البحث على المنهج الوصفي، تم أداة البحث عينة بلغت عددهم (371) عضوا، بواقع (119) قائدة، و(252) معلمة، وأسفر البحث عن موافقة أفراد عينة البحث بدرجة متوسطة حول تطبيق بعد القيادة الاستراتيجية الداعمة للتعلم، وبعد الحوار والمناقشة؛ وتوصل البحث إلى وضع استراتيجية مقترحة لتطبيق قادة المدراس الثانوية للبنات بمنطقة عسير لأبعاد المنظمة المتعلمة، وتکونت من أهداف الاستراتيجية المقترحة، ومرتکزاتها وأسسها، وآليات تطبيقها، والجهات المسؤولة عن تنفيذها؛ وأوصي البحث بتکوين فرق عمل تعمل على دراسة وتحليل البيئة الداخلية والخارجية بالمدارس الثانوية للبنات من أجل تعرف درجة التأثر بها والتخطيط المستقبلي للتعامل معها، وتشکيل فرق عمل على مستوى الإدارة تعمل على مساعدة قائدات المدارس الثانوية في إنجاز المهام التقليدية والکتابية لتفريغ القائدة للعمل على تطوير المدرسة في أبعاد المنظمة المتعلمة. The research sought to develop a proposed strategy for the role of school leaders in applying the dimensions of the educated organization in secondary schools for girls in Asir region، through: Know the importance of school leaders and their roles، the concept of the educated organization and its dimensions، and the research relied on the descriptive method، a tool was applied The search sample reached 371 members، with 119 directors and 252 teachers.The search resulted in the approval of the search sample by Medium on the application After the strategic leadership in support of learning، after dialogue and discussion ; The research led to the development of the proposed strategy for the role of secondary school leaders in a difficult area in applying the dimensions of the educated organization. It formed the objectives، pillars and foundations of the proposed strategy، the mechanisms for its implementation and the bodies responsible for implementing it; The research recommended the formation of task forces to study and analyze the internal and external environment in secondary schools for girls in order to know the degree of vulnerability and future planning for dealing With her، the formation of departmental task forces to help school principals accomplish the traditional and clerical tasks of discharging the Director to work on the development of the school.

Promoting collaboration in a competitive context: school improvement networks in Chile

PurposeChile has developed the school improvement networks (SINs) strategy to support the work of school leaders. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the functioning and effect of the SINs strategy as perceived by principals and curriculum coordinators across the country.Design/methodology/approachAn adapted version of the Educational Collaborative Network Questionnaire was applied to a sample of 1,723 participants from 1,375 schools distributed in 398 networks. Descriptive, factor and sub-group statistical analyses by school performance categories and by different roles within these schools and networks are presented.FindingsResults indicate that school leaders perceive SINs as an opportunity to work effectively in shared projects that can later be implemented in their own schools. Participants indicate that they can share knowledge in their networks and use it to solve problems in their own schools, which is especially relevant for secondary school leaders who work in difficult circumstances. Results suggest that it is important to facilitate greater autonomy for school leaders in their networks, especially regarding decision making about network goals and activities that are more significant to their contexts.Originality/valueThis is a national study of a recent school improvement strategy, which provides evidence, from the perspective of school leaders, of its strengths and improvement areas. This study shows that despite being in a competitive context, principals and curriculum coordinators value the opportunities to learn from and with others. These results can be of value for other contexts attempting to promote school networks as a means for school and system improvement.

Distributive Leadership and Work Commitment among Secondary School Leaders: Initial Evidence from Malaysia

Ministry of Education Malaysia is improving the quality of education by emphasising on quality of teacher’s leadership and their commitment. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between distributive leadership practices and work commitments among the school leaders in Malaysia. In addition, the levels of distributive leadership practices and the level of work commitment among the school leaders was also studied. This study was carried out using a quantitative cross-sectional survey method using questionnaire as a research instrument of data collection. A total of 120 school leaders comprising principals, senior assistant teachers, assistant teachers and committee leaders were involved as respondents of this study. Two types of measuring tools used in this study were the Distributed Leadership Inventory (DLI) and the Teachers' Organizational Commitment Scale. The findings showed that there is a strong positive relationship between distributive leadership practice and work commitment. The findings also showed that the level of leadership of distributive leadership and work commitment are at high level. The findings also showed that there is no significant difference in distributive leadership practices and the level of commitment of school leaders based on gender factors. However there is a significant difference based on age and teaching experience. Thus, distributive leadership is critical to school leadership towards achieving the objectives of the Malaysian education as outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2013-2025).

Ethical dilemmas in education: a case study of challenges faced by secondary school leaders in Kenya

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to question the usefulness of Euro-Western concepts of principled ethical behaviour for school leaders in non-Euro-Western countries by examining the dilemmas faced by Kenyan educational leaders. Design/methodology/approach A single, multi-site case study methodological approach was used, and data gathered by means of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders: school principals, boards of governors, heads of department, school bursars and parents. Findings Findings highlighted the importance of contextual variables in influencing leaders’ decisions, indicative of the tension between liberal and communitarian ethical approaches. Although similar dilemmas were encountered to those working in euro-western contexts, Kenyan educational leaders faced the additional challenge of working with cultural values of Ubuntu: care for the whole community, harmonious working relationships, loyalty to one’s kin and respect of seniority. Furthermore, the problems they encountered were often life-threatening resulting from poverty, and HIV/Aids. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on ethics in educational leadership by proposing that the adoption of euro-western ethical standards and perspectives in non-Euro-Western countries is problematic, unless mitigated by a dialogic approach.

Anticipating a Second Wave of Standards-Based Grading Implementation and Understanding the Potential Barriers: Perceptions of High School Principals

As secondary school leaders consider a shift toward standards-based grading (SBG) practices, they are no doubt weighing the odds of a successful implementation process. This research followed up on a study from 2014 to identify the challenges secondary school leaders experience when changing the currency of the classroom from points to learning. The results indicated that the game is changing and a new wave of SBG implementation is on the horizon.

درجة ممارسة إدارة التغيير وعلاقتها بمستوى الإبداع الإدارى لدى قادة مدارس المرحلة الثانوية بمحافظة المخواة من وجهة نظر المعلمين

درجة ممارسة إدارة التغيير وعلاقتها بمستوى الإبداع الإدارى لدى قادة مدارس المرحلة الثانوية بمحافظة المخواة من وجهة نظر المعلمين

Considering Standards-based Grading


 
 
 
 Rather than awarding points for a combination of worksheet completion, quiz performance, in-class participation, and essay writing, standards-based grading separates academics from non-academic factors and communicates students' progress towards mastery of course or grade-level standards. Some secondary schools are moving towards standards-based grading (SBG) in an attempt to produce more consistent grading practices, however the empirical evidence resulting from this change is mixed. The purpose of this article is to describe principles of standards-based grading, empirical support of SBG, and several common challenges secondary school leaders may face when considering this philosophical shift. Future research recommendations include exploring the perspectives of college students who graduate from high schools using SBG to understand the longer-term successes and shortcomings of the grading system.
 
 
 

Insider perspectives on catalysing the development and use of individualised education plans

ABSTRACT Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are ever-present in inclusive education and frequently used in settings where students with disabilities are included. This phenomenological qualitative study investigated the IEP development and implementation process in two independent schools in the South-Eastern metropolitan region of Victoria, Australia. Primary and secondary school leaders and teachers shared their professional experiences with respect to IEPs by emphasising that collaboration, parental involvement and strong leadership through effective communication supported the development and implementation of IEPs that meet individual student’s learning needs. The authors suggest that research in Australia should continue to provide a distinct understanding of the voices of parents and students with special education needs and/or disabilities in the IEP process, as well as their preferences for culturally sensitive support within schools.

Careers leadership in practice: a study of 27 careers leaders in English secondary schools

ABSTRACTHistorically, responsibility for career education and guidance in English schools was shared between the school and an external careers service. The Education Act 2011 transferred responsibility for career guidance to schools and has created a need for the new role of a ‘careers leader’. In this article, we report on research in 27 English state schools and multi-academy trusts where careers leadership currently exists. This research provides empirical support for a typology of careers leadership tasks and shows that the way in which these tasks are organised varies, with five models of careers leadership evident. The advantages and potential challenges of each model are outlined and implications for the training and professional development of careers leaders are discussed.

Analysis of States' Barriers to and Progress Toward Implementation of Health and Safety Policies for Secondary School Athletics.

Implementation of health and safety best practices for the leading causes of sudden death and catastrophic injury has been shown to mitigate risk. However, to our knowledge, no authors have examined progress toward health and safety policy implementation at the state level. To investigate the progress made by state secondary school leaders in developing and implementing health and safety policies (ie, exertional heat stroke, sudden cardiac arrest, concussion, emergency action plans) and to explore perceived barriers to and strategies for implementation. Mixed-methods study. State high school athletics associations and sports medicine advisory committees. Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport meeting attendees participated in this study. Thirty-five state leaders (current role experience = 8 ± 6 years) completed the survey. Ten of the 35 participated in follow-up interviews. A survey assessing progress on health and safety policy implementation was administered. Respondents indicated whether their state had implemented a policy, made progress without implementation, or made no progress. We conducted follow-up telephone interviews so they could expand on the survey responses. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the general inductive approach. A total of 89% of respondents reported their states made progress on or implemented health and safety policies during the 2015-2016 academic year. Barriers to policy implementation included cost, a lack of understanding regarding policies versus recommendations, the content and value of policy change, and a false sense of security. Strategies for implementation included varying approaches to change, education of all constituents, and collaborative relationships among key stakeholders. Although a majority of respondents reported progress in implementing health and safety policies in their states, perceived barriers pointed to the need for the continued education of state leaders in charge of developing and implementing health and safety policies. Despite these barriers, collaboration among key stakeholders is crucial to successful implementation of best-practice policies in secondary school athletics.

Secondary School Leaders Role in Improving National Security.

Education being the major tool for human security and it is through education that the improvement of quality of life is achieved. It is pertinent that education leaders work towards achieving this national security. This paper therefore, investigate the role of secondary school leaders in achieving national security. This can be improved in the school through these specific core values like good health, economic and socio-political values. Three research questions and null hypotheses were formulated. The study was a description survey research in which the quantitative data were collected through 24-item questionnaire title: Secondary School Leaders Role in Improving National Security Questionnaire (SSLRINSQ). This was administered on 260 respondents made up of principals and teachers in Enugu Education Zone. Data were analyzed using mean with standard deviation, on a modified 4 point rating scale for the 3 research questions and t-test statistics for the 3 hypotheses. Findings of the study revealed among others that principals do not play their role in improving national security through maintaining the core values like supervising good health security, supervising and encouraging the teaching of subjects that make student to be self reliant, initiating and creating awareness on national cohesion. Based on the above, some recommendations were made

درجة ممارسة قادة المدارس الثانویة بمحافظة القطیف للقیادة التحویلیة وعلاقتها بمستوى الولاء التنظیمی لدى المعلمین

المستخلص: هدفت الدراسة التعرف على درجة ممارسة قادة المدارس الثانوية بمحافظة القطيف للقيادة التحويلية من وجهة نظر المعلمين، والتعرف على مستوى الولاء التنظيمي لدى المعلمين، والکشف عن العلاقة بين القيادة التحويلية والولاء التنظيمي، ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة، استخدم الباحث المنهج الوصفي التحليلي من خلال الاستبانة التي تم تطبيقها على عينة عشوائية بسيطة، بلغ عددها (487) معلم، تمثل نسبة 55 % من معلمي المدارس الحکومية الثانوية بمکتب تعليم القطيف والبالغ عددهم (881) معلم، وقد تم معالجة بيانات الدراسة باستخدام البرنامج الإحصائي (SPSS)، وتوصلت الدراسة إلى النتائج التالية: أن درجة ممارسة قادة المدارس الثانوية بمحافظة القطيف للقيادة التحويلية من وجهة نظر المعلمين، کان بدرجة کبيرة بمتوسط حسابي قدره (3.900)، أن مستوى الولاء التنظيمي لدى المعلمين کان بدرجة کبيرة، بمتوسط حسابي قدره (4.340)، کما کشفت الدراسة عن وجود علاقة ارتباطية طردية ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى الدلالة (α≤0.01)، بين درجات تقدير أفراد عينة الدراسة لممارسة قادة المدارس الثانوية بمحافظة القطيف للقيادة التحويلية، ودرجات تقدير أفراد عينة الدراسة لمستويات الولاء التنظيمي لدى المعلمين، حيث بلغ معامل ارتباط بيرسون بينهما (0.571). Abstract: The study aimed to know the degree of practicing transformational leadership by the Secondary School Leaders in Qatif governorate from the point of view of teachers, to know the level of the organizational loyalty among teachers, and to reveal the relationship between the transformational leadership and the organizational loyalty. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used the descriptive analytical method through the questionnaire which was applied to a random simple sample of (487) teachers, representing 55% of the teachers of the governmental secondary schools in the Office of Education in Qatif of the total (881) teacher, and the data were processed by using the statistical program (SPSS). The study found the following results: The degree of practicing transformational leadership by the Secondary School Leaders in Qatif governorate from the point of view of teachers was significant with an arithmetic mean of (3.900). The level of teachers’ organizational loyalty was significant with an arithmetic mean of (4.340). The study also revealed the existence of a statistically significance positive correlation relationship of at a significance level of (α ≤ 0.01), Between the average estimate of the sample members of the study to practicing transformational leadership by the Secondary School Leaders in Qatif governorate and the average estimate of the sample members of the study to the organizational loyalty among teachers, where Pearson's correlation coefficient between them was (0.571).

The context of second foreign languages in Swedish secondary schools

This article reports the results of a survey focusing on the educational context of second foreign languages (SFL) to which 147 Swedish secondary school leaders responded. The study aims to provide a picture of how SFLs like German, French and Spanish are organised in a representative selection of Swedish schools across the country. The results of the survey show that there are major differences between languages when it comes to the language offer and the number of pupils and teachers in the respective languages. Moreover, there are also important differences between schools, some of which can be related to educational, socio-economic and regional aspects of the responding schools. A general conclusion of the survey is that conditions for SFLs currently vary across languages and across the country. One of the main challenges for the future seems to be to maintain a varying offer of languages in a majority of schools.

Identify and Critically Examine Some of the Main Contemporary Issues and Challenges Facing Secondary School Leaders in China

This study is about issues and challenges of secondary school leaders are facing in China. It is seen as presenting the following features: lack of efficient funds in a secondary education which has become the sector of rapid growth with a decentralization of the Ministry of Education administration; run-off of high quality teachers in a competitive market economy; lower quality of teaching and learning between dilemmas of the traditional exam--oriented education and the new quality-oriented education that is being implemented as the Programme on Quality Education in the New Century which aims at developing quality of education. It is also seen as presenting the strategies in educational managements for principals as means to alleviate the problems in Chinese secondary schools.

Aspiration and formation: a pilot study into the perception of headship among middle and senior leaders in Catholic secondary schools in England

Research by Grace, G. R. (2002. Catholic Schools: Mission, Markets, and Morality. London: Routledge/Falmer) and Wilkin, R. 2014. (“‘Interpreting the Tradition’: A Research Report.” International Studies in Catholic Education 6 (2): 164–177) has drawn attention to the importance of spiritual capital amongst Catholic school head teachers and the possibility of its generational decline. This small-scale study seeks to understand the aspiration and formation of the next generation of Catholic school leaders. It found that there is a need for positive models of headship and a desire for leadership formation that is practical, relevant and yet equips future leaders with knowledge of the Catholic tradition, knowledge that they may lack in comparison with earlier generations of head teachers brought up in a more influential Catholic culture. The findings point to a need for well-resourced, school-based formation in which head teachers play an important role and which allows time for prayerful contemplation, in addition to sufficient theoretical content to allow future leaders to look outside their immediate school context to the wider mission of Catholic education.

The ‘Prevent Duty’ (Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015) and its Impact on English Secondary Schools: A View from Leadership

The paper considers ‘dialogue’ and seeks to begin to consider what has been succeeded and what has not yet been succeeded with the ‘Prevent duty’ in English secondary schools. In July 2015, a legal duty came into force requiring that ‘specified authorities’ in England, which included schools, show ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’. This is popularly referred to as the ‘Prevent duty’. Prevent, developed by the Home Office in 2003 out of full public scrutiny, and only fully operationalised following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, has consistently been the most contentious element of the UK Government Counter- Terrorist Strategy (CONTEST). Four years on, my research aim is to find out how the ‘Prevent duty’ has been enacted by school and college leaders in secondary schools and colleges in England and additionally, to discover to what extent, if any, the ‘Prevent duty’ has ‘securitised’ education and what effect, if any, it has had on free speech in schools. I have rich data from school leaders and schools in various geographical locations. My key findings use the work of Stephen. J. Ball on policy enactment, explore different policy actor positions and consider how Prevent is impacting on schools, on the professionalism of school leaders and on concepts such as ‘free speech’ and ‘securitisation’. Using Michel Foucault to think differently, I place my work in the global context of ‘An Age of Anger’. Can Foucault’s method be helpful in analysing education policy and practice or does such a lens blur our understanding? Is it possible to evaluate the ‘Prevent duty’ in terms of success and failure? How important is dialogue in this field?

Relationship between Entrepreneurial Leadership and School Effectiveness among Secondary Schools

There is a general consensus among stakeholders in education that a strong positive educational leadership is a determining factor of school effectiveness. However, many questions were raised as regards to the applicability of entrepreneurial leadership in the context of education. The main purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and school effectiveness, and also to identify the dimension of entrepreneurial leadership that contributes more to school effectiveness. The research adopted a survey design and a total sample of 358 secondary school teachers in Zamfara State, Nigeria were selected through simple random sampling from a total population of 4996 as a sample for the study, using Cochran’s sample size determination formula. Data were collected through survey method and were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential (Pearson correlation and multiple regression) statistical analyses. The findings of the study indicated the existence of significant and strong relationship between entrepreneurial leadership practice and school effectiveness (p < 0.05), also accelerator behavior appeared to be the highest predictor of school effectiveness among secondary schools in Zamfara State (?= .335, t = 6.265, p< .01). This implies that entrepreneurial leadership dimension (accelerator behavior) facilitates school effectiveness of secondary school leaders in the study area and efforts should be made towards increasing its level through motivating the teachers.