Conference Agenda

Schools are increasingly complex organisations and research on leadership in schools is capturing this complexity (Harris & Jones, 2017; 2022; Ziebell et al., 2020). Whilst leadership from principals remains important and continues to be studied (Louis, et al., 2010; Grissom, et al. 2021), there is now significant research that explores middle and teacher leadership (Bryant et al., 2020; Harris, 2021; Harris & Jones, 2022; Lipscombe et al., 2021; Tian et al., 2016). There is also an expectation that teachers have an organisational leadership role, and there is a burgeoning research focus on teacher leaders (Wenner & Campbell, 2017; York-Barr & Duke, 2004) to the point that this has surpassed research on middle leaders (Harris & Jones, 2017). At the initial teacher education (ITE) level, teacher preparation programs are now beginning to include leadership subjects to better prepare new teachers for these increased leadership expectations (Acquaro, 2019). It is, therefore, timely to consider the leadership work and the leadership demands on new teachers in their first years of teaching.

This study sought to understand the leadership demands beginning teachers face through their first years of work through exploring what new teachers are asked to do, and actually do, in terms of leadership practices, and any influence this may have on their career aspirations. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews of 20 recent graduates of teacher education programs from one Australian university who were in their first to fourth year of teaching. Interviews were conducted online and later transcribed and then coded to build thematic understandings.

Early findings from the study highlight early-career pressure from schools for beginning teachers to take-on leadership responsibilities in addition to developing their teacher expertise. Findings revealed that by the time early-career teachers (ECTs) were in their third or fourth year, they had been asked to apply for a formal leadership role, or were already acting in one. As a result of fragile work security in the sector, those ECTs who had been or were on contracts described how they accepted leadership roles in the hope that this would lead to more secure and permanent work. The study has also captured the leadership work that ECTs self-initiated as part of their desire to support students and their schools.

The scope and significance of this study fits within the Educational Leadership Network and is closely linked with the following conference sub-themes:

• Exploring the evolving research and evidence base for leadership education and capacity building;

• Policy and practice learning to support teacher and school leader development.

Several Western countries are facing a shortage of school leaders, in some cases coupled with high turnover rates. Increasing job satisfaction and professional success could help mitigate this situation as there is evidence that individuals who are objectively successful (criteria like salary) and feel subjectively successful (criteria like personal career satisfaction) are more likely to stay in office (Stumpf, 2014). Furthermore, international findings point to the relevance of qualification and mentoring measures for the success and satisfaction of school leaders (Yirci et al., 2023).

Using the jobs demands-resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) as orientation, this study sought to assess the impact of various factors on the career success of school principals in Germany and to contrast the findings with evidence from the international context. The following research questions and hypotheses guided our research:

1. What relationships can be identified between qualification measures and mentoring and objective career success?

2. What correlations can be identified between qualification measures and mentoring and subjective career success?

H1: Qualification measures show a connection with objective and subjective career success.

H2: Mentoring correlates with objective and subjective career success.

H3: Professional experience correlates with subjective and objective career success.

H4: Career success is different for different groups of people.

The population for the survey comprised all school principals at general education schools in Germany. In this group, a randomly selected sample of N=405 school principals, representative of Germany, was surveyed using a standardized online questionnaire. Scales were derived mainly from international instruments like PISA (OECD, 2013), TALIS (OECD, 2018) and PIRMS (Hallinger & Wang, 2015). Data was analyzed using MPlus 8.3 (Muthén & Muthén, 2019). Both latent correlation and latent regression analyses were used for the dependent variable objective as well as subjective career success. Sequential modeling was chosen for this purpose: The basic model 1 examined the influence of (organizational) support measures on the professional success of school principals; model 2 additionally took factors of (objectified) human capital into account, while model 3 also took various socio-demographic factors into account. To test the stability of the model parameters, a fourth model was calculated in each case, in which various context variables were also taken into account that could have an influence on the dependent variables. Missing data was imputed for all variables in the data set and then used to estimate the final correlation and regression models.

The results point to a small link between perceived (subjective) success, mandatory in-service training and additional university qualifications. However, no statistically significant correlation could be found between income and qualification measures and mentoring. Female principals appear to have a lower income than male principals, even after controlling for a sizeable number of possible covariates. Compared to international contexts (OECD, 2018), the connection between professional development measures and (subjective or objective) career success seems to be underdeveloped. Further analysis and contrasting with the international evidence will allow us to provide hypotheses of effective measures that increase the chances of objective and subjective success (and relevant contextual elements).

Purpose

This year’s congress explores how teaching and learning are supported in ways that “respect and promote” teacher professionalism. Evidence-informed instructional initiatives can fail to support teacher professionalism if teachers are asked to implement practices that they perceive as a mismatch for their contexts, particularly as a characteristic of effective teachers is their ability to tailor instruction to the needs of their students (Parsons et al, 2018). Attending to the relational capacity of actors in the culture and climate in which they do their work is of primary importance to understand instructional transformation amidst sometimes conflicting organizational goals (Author, 2019a).

Focus

This study is rooted in a research-practice partnership (e.g., Penuel & Gallagher, 2017) between a university and school district in the United States aimed at supporting the district’s goals of fostering a collaborative professional culture and increasing student-centered instructional practices. After observing evidence of sustained progress toward both these goals over four years (Authors, in preparation), this study asks: What aspects of a collaborative culture support instructional transformation?

Methods

Data for this mixed-methods study are drawn from yearly (2019-2022) semi-structured interviews with all eleven principals in the district and ten teachers and instructional coaches, as well as from yearly surveys of all teachers, principals, and district leaders. Interviews were coded using both a priori and inductive codes (e.g. Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006) to understand the collaborative and innovative culture of the schools and district and the experiences of educators in transforming instruction. Findings were triangulated using multilevel analysis of survey scales measuring collective involvement and distributed leadership (Author, 2019b) and beliefs and experiences with student-centered instructional practices (Author, 2021).

Findings

Instructional change efforts did not unfold as anticipated by district leaders, but a shift toward student-centered instruction did occur. Participants faced challenges in their efforts toward instructional transformation, requiring a high degree of innovation on their part. Rather than pushing for change to unfold in planned ways, the collaborative culture of collective involvement in the district provided space for educators to adapt the district’s plans in ways that met the goal of student-centered instruction in novel ways. Quantitative analysis supports the finding that leadership structures supported these efforts, showing growth over time in student-centered instructional practices correlated with collective involvement. Taken as a whole, the study demonstrates how educators, supported by a district orientation toward distributed leadership, could adapt instructional initiatives for their contexts in unanticipated ways that met the goal of increasing student-centered instruction.

Implications

These findings outline the supportive role collaborative innovation structures can play in fostering instructional change through teacher professionalism, and the power of research-practice partnerships in helping education systems move toward these goals. Asking educators to “buy into” or “implement” instructional change efforts ignores the crucial innovations that educators undertake to adapt resources to their contexts. This study demonstrates how concerted efforts to promote a culture of educator collaboration via collective leadership support the unexpected ways instructional improvement unfolds in context.

Providing quality staff development in a centralized education system: teachers' perspectives regarding school principals' role

Amal Alsaleh and Munirah Alajmi

Objectives

It is the purpose of this paper to describe how principals support quality staff development for teachers in a centralized Kuwait public school system, and the challenges confronted influence decision-making about staff development.

Research questions:

• How does the principal support quality staff development in Kuwait's centralized sytem?

• What challenges do school principals face when making decisions about teacher staff development?

Study context

Kuwait has implemented a number of educational changes to improve school quality and meet 21st century needs. The new comprehensive school reform program updates curricula, improves teacher training programs, promotes e-learning and digital resources, and emphasizes critical thinking and creativity. Education in Kuwait is highly centralized and supervised by the Ministry of Education, which establishes curricular standards, develops educational policy, and ensures quality throughout the system.

The Kuwaiti educational system has encountered quality issues based on international assessments such as TIMSS and PISA. Teachers' performance is one of Kuwait's main concerns. There have been studies that question the quality of teacher training and professional development programs. Teachers lacking adequate training and development may be unable to engage students effectively and promote deep learning due to a lack of pedagogical skills and strategies. By examining the role of school principals in enhancing effective professional development in schools , this study may shed light on the barriers and challenges facing school principals and teachers in creating positive learning environments and ultimately support the government's efforts to improve educational quality.

Methods:

A qualitative open-ended interview was conducted with 16 public school teachers. Inductive analysis was followed to generate themes and sub-themes. Findings indicate that all school principals support staff development in various ways. The results also indicated fragmented and unsustainable teacher staff development programs. The participants clarified several forms of staff development that are related to departmental leadership practices at school, such as teachers' visits, department meetings, and subject-based discussions. Participants also clarified that principals still face challenges such as lack of autonomy, inadequate educational resources, fragmented policies, and high workloads

Data sources/evidence

Semis structural interviews were conducted to 16 teachers working in public schools in Kuwait.

Educational importance of this research or inquiry for theory, practice, and/or policy

There was an in-depth examination of how staff development practices are implemented in Kuwaiti centralized schools, and what role the principals play in providing quality staff development to the teachers. The results may be useful for improving practices in other international centralized systems.

Connection to the conference theme

The topic of the conference focuses on the importance of quality professional education in the context of schools, so it is highly relevant to the conference theme.