MCREL's 21 Leadership Responsibilities

The Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (MCREL) is a private, nonprofit organization located in Denver, Colorado. Over the course of a 30 year period, they examined the effects that leadership practices have on student achievement. After analyzing their findings, they identified 21 leadership responsibilities that directly associate with student achievement. Given the number of different frameworks that exist about educational leadership, MCREL provides 2 reasons that their framework is unique. The first reason is because the MCREL framework is based on a comprehensive analysis of research on school leadership and student achievement. The second reason MCREL believes their theory is different is because it is grounded in evidence. The 21 leadership responsibilities go beyond the abstract and focus on specific, concrete responsibilities. Basically, MCREL has taken the theory out of leadership frameworks and has identified a scientific, researched-based model.
To develop a scientific model, MCREL had to first gather extensive data. They accomplished this by conducting more than 5,000 studies over the course of 30 years. Of the 5,000 studies only 70 met the criteria for design, controls, data analysis, and rigor. These 70 studies involved 2,894 schools, approximately 1.1 million students, and 14,000 teachers. After all of the years of research and the overwhelming data, MCREL narrowed their findings down to 21 specific and separate leadership responsibilities. Of these 21 leadership responsibilities MCREL was able to scientifically rank them based on their average effect size for impact on student achievement. The 21 leadership responsibilities are listed below ranked in order from the ones that greatly affect student achievement to the responsibilities that least affect student achievement.

1. Situational Awareness (.33): aware of the details and undercurrents in the running of the school and uses this information to address current and potential problems.
2. Intellectual Stimulation (.32): ensures that faculty and staff are aware of the most current theories and practices and makes the discussion of these a regular aspect of the school’s culture.
3. Change Agent (.30): is willing to and actively challenges the status quo
4. Input (.30): involves teachers in the design and implementation of important decisions and policies
5. Culture (.29): fosters shared beliefs and a sense of community and cooperation
6. Monitors/Evaluates (.28): monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their impact on student learning
7. Outreach (.28): is an advocate and spokesperson for the school to all stakeholders
8. Resources (.26) provides teachers with materials and professional development necessary for the successful execution of their jobs
9. Order (.26) establishes a set of standard operating procedures and routines
10. Ideals/Beliefs (.25) communicates and operated from strong ideals and beliefs about schooling
11. Affirmation (.25) recognizes and celebrates school accomplishments and acknowledges failures
12. Focus (.24): establishes clear goals and keeps those goals in the forefront of the school’s attention
13. Discipline (.24): protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from their teaching time or focus
14. Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (.24): is knowledgeable about current curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
15. Communication (.23): establishes strong lines of communication with teachers and among students
16. Flexibility (.22): adapts his or her leadership behavior to the needs of the current situation and is comfortable with dissent
17. Optimizer (.20): inspires and leads new and challenging innovations
18. Relationships (.19): demonstrates an awareness of the personal aspects of teachers and staff
19. Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment (.16): is directly involved in the design and implementation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
20. Visibility (.16): has quality contact and interactions with teachers and students
21. Contingent Rewards (.15): recognizes and rewards individual accomplishments

This ranking identifies “situational awareness” as the leadership responsibility that has the greatest impact on student achievement. A principal who demonstrates situational awareness has the ability to identify issues in the school that have not surfaced but could create discord. Therefore, MCREL is proving the direct correlation between school safety and student achievement. The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) also understands the need for a safe, efficient learning environment. Standard 3 states “An education leader promotes the success of every student by ensuring management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.”
MCREL states that all of the 21 leadership responsibilities are important and have a direct correlation with student achievement. However, it is interesting to examine the two responsibilities that have less of an effect on achievement. “Visibility” and “contingent rewards” fall at the bottom of the list. This is surprising because many people frequently discuss the visibility of the administration in their building. However, according to MCREL there are 19 responsibilities that have more of an effect on student achievement than something that is so widely discussed. In addition, contingent rewards falling at the bottom of the list go against many educators belief of positive reinforcement being an important aspect of student achievement.
MCREL states “that as important as these findings are there is another finding that is equally important. That is, just as leaders can have a positive impact on achievement, they can also have a marginal, or worse, a negative impact on achievement.” The difference between an administrator that creates the positive impact and one that can have a negative impact is the application of this research. An effective leader goes beyond knowing what to do; it is knowing when, how, and why to do it.