In
the last 15 years, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
has studied “the effects of classroom, school, and leadership practices on
student achievement” (Balanced Framework p.1).
Their research built the foundation for a meta-analysis on school-level
leadership. Sixty-nine studies were
examined from a pool of 5,000. The
selected 69 shared four characteristics:
“the dependent variable in each study was student achievement; the
independent variable in each study was leadership; student achievement measures
were all quantitative and standardized; and measures of school-level leadership
were all quantitative and standardized” (Balanced Framework p.2). McREL’s research produced three main
findings; (1) there is a statistically significant correlation between
school-level leadership and student achievement, (2) twenty-one leadership
responsibilities were identified as statistically significant, and (3) not all
strong leaders have a positive impact on student achievement. As a result of their research, McREL
developed the Balanced Leadership Framework.
The goal of this framework was for leaders to know what to do, why to do
it, and how to do it. McREL provided 21
Leadership Responsibilities, which included the extent to which the principal
could implement them:
1.
Culture-
fosters shared beliefs and a sense of community and cooperation
2.
Order-
establishes a set of standard operating procedures and routines
3.
Discipline-
protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from their
teaching time or focus
4.
Resources-
provides teachers with materials and professional development necessary for the
successful execution of their jobs
5.
Involvement
in curriculum, instruction, and assessment- is directly involved in the design
and implementation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
6.
Focus-
establishes clear goals and keeps those foals in the forefront of the school’s
attention
7.
Knowledge
of curriculum, instruction, and assessment- is knowledgeable about current
curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
8.
Visibility-
has quality contact and interactions with teachers and students
9.
Contingent
rewards- recognizes and rewards individual accomplishments
10. Communication-
establishes strong lines of communication with teachers and among students
11. Outreach- is an
advocate and spokesperson for the school to all stakeholders
12. Input- involves
teachers in the design and implementation of important decisions and policies
13. Affirmation-
recognizes and celebrates school accomplishments and acknowledges failures
14. Relationship-
demonstrates an awareness of the personal aspects of teachers and staff
15. Change agent- is
willing to and actively challenges the status quo
16. Optimize-
inspires and leads new and challenging innovations
17. Ideals/beliefs- communicates
and operates from strong ideals and beliefs about schooling
18. Monitor/evaluates-
monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their impact on student
learning
19. Flexibility-
adapts his or her leadership behavior to the needs of the current situation and
is comfortable with dissent
20. Situational
awareness- is aware of the details and undercurrents in the running of the
school and uses this information to address current and potential problems
21. Intellectual
stimulation- ensures faculty and staff are aware of the most current theories
and practices and makes the discussions of these a regular aspect of the
school’s culture
McREL
called their third finding “the differential impact of leadership”, which they
explained could be impacted by the focus
of the leader (i.e. not focusing on the 21 practices) and/or the “order of
magnitude of change” (i.e. if you implement the 21 practices, you have to
understand the implications of change on others). McREL indicated that there
are two types of change, first-order and second-order. The type of change can be perceived
differently by those affected by it.
First-order changed can be perceived as an extension of the past while a
second-order change would be viewed as a break with the past. All 21 responsibilities were positively
correlated with first-order change.
However, second-order change yielded seven positive and four negative
correlations. This suggests that leaders
struggle to address culture, communication, input, and order during a
second-order change.
McREL’s
Balanced Framework is an exhaustive compilation that provides much more than 21
leadership responsibilities. They
visually present how the practices are interrelated across the three domains of
the framework (purposeful community, focus, and magnitude) in addition to the
respective correlations to student achievement.
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