Student-Centered Leadership E-Book

Viviane Robinson

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: JB Leadership Library in Education
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Seitenzahl: 258

Beschreibung

Student-Centered Leadership offers a timely and thoughtful resource for school leaders who want to turn their ideals into action. Written by educational leadership expert Viviane Robinson, the book shows leaders how they can make a bigger difference to the quality of teaching and learning in their school and ultimately improve their students' performance. This book is based not on fad or fashion but on the best available evidence about the impact of different types of leadership on student outcomes. The book includes examples of five types of leadership practice as well as rich accounts of the knowledge and skills that leaders need to employ them with confidence. Filled with practical lessons, clear information, and much inspiration, Robinson encourages leaders to experiment with changing how they lead so they can transform their schools for the better. Student-Centered Leadership is part of the Jossey-Bass Leadership Library in Education series. Praise for Student-Centered Leadership "Student-Centered Leadership shines with clarity and practical, powerful ideas. Add this book to your leadership library."--Michael Fullan, author, The Six Secrets of Change and Leading in a Culture of Change "Viviane Robinson's compelling book is both evidence based and profoundly practical."--Steve Munby, chief executive, National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services, England "This book will be an equally important resource for individual school leaders, professional developers, and administrator-preparation programs. There will be two copies on my shelf--one to loan and one for my own reference."--Karen Seashore Louis, Regents Professor, University of Minnesota

Leseprobe

Contents

Figures and Tables

The Author

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 The “What” and the “How” of Student-Centered Leadership

Leadership in Challenging Times

What Is Student-Centered Leadership?

Whose Leadership?

The “What” and the “How” of Student-Centered Leadership

Striking a Balance

Summary

Chapter 2 Three Capabilities for Student-Centered Leadership

Applying Relevant Knowledge

Solving Complex Problems

Building Relational Trust

Summary

Chapter 3 Dimension One: Establishing Goals and Expectations

The Effect of Goal Setting on Student Outcomes

How Goal Setting Works

How Many Goals?

Challenges to Goal Setting

Summary

Chapter 4 Dimension Two: Resourcing Strategically

The Effect of Resourcing Strategically on Student Outcomes

Strategic Decisions About Staffing

Strategic Decisions About Instructional Resources

Strategic Decisions About Instructional Time

Summary

Chapter 5 Dimension Three: Ensuring Quality Teaching

The Effect of Ensuring Quality Teaching on Student Outcomes

Leadership That Develops a Coherent Instructional Program

The Need for a Theory of Quality Teaching

Building a Culture of Evidence-Based Inquiry and Improvement

Summary

Chapter 6 Dimension Four: Leading Teacher Learning and Development

The Effect of the Leadership of Teacher Learning on Student Outcomes

Teacher Learning as a Collective Endeavor

Knowledgeable Leadership of Teacher Learning

Skills for Leading Effective Professional Learning

Summary

Chapter 7 Dimension Five: Ensuring an Orderly and Safe Environment

The Effect of Creating a Safe and Orderly Environment on Student Outcomes

A Student-Centered Perspective on Dimension Five

Increasing Engagement Through a Safe School Environment

Increasing Engagement Through Strong Parent-School Ties

Summary

Chapter 8 Putting Education Back into Educational Leadership

Student-Centered Leadership Requires Educational Expertise

Value and Enjoy Leadership

Leadership or Management?

References

Index

More Praise for Student-Centered Leadership

“No one has conducted a more thorough and deeply insightful examination of the role of school leaders than Viviane Robinson. Student-Centered Leadership shines with clarity and practical, powerful ideas. Three big capabilities and five key dimensions provide a comprehensive and accessible framework for any leader or those working with leaders. Add this book to your leadership library.”

—Michael Fullan, author, The Six Secrets of Change and Leading in a Culture of Change

“Viviane Robinson’s book brings a new level of precision to the whole idea of instructional leadership. Her incisive and tough-minded approach also has many wise and practical ideas for leading schools that truly focus on students’ learning. This is a book all leaders can and should use!”

—Ben Levin, Canada Research Chair, OISE/University of Toronto

“If you’re seeking an up-to-date, solidly researched, practical resource for understanding how leadership makes a difference in schools, look no further.”

—Phil Hallinger, Joseph Lau Chair Professor of Leadership and Change, Institute of Education, Hong Kong

“How refreshing it is to read a book on leadership that moves us away from rhetoric and empty clichés toward the actual behaviors and strategies that can be used to improve outcomes for students. Viviane Robinson’s compelling book is both evidence based and profoundly practical. Student-Centered Leadership is a must-read for school leaders who want to make a greater difference.”

—Steve Munby, chief executive, National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services, England

“Viviane Robinson’s experience in bringing research to bear on problems of school development and leadership is reflected in every chapter of this book. I found her highly readable synthesis a motivating counterpoint both to dense leadership texts and frothy summaries. It will be an equally important resource for individual school leaders, professional developers, and administrator-preparation programs. There will be two copies on my shelf—one to loan and one for my own reference.”

—Karen Seashore Louis, Regents Professor, University of Minnesota

“A must-read for school leaders and those who work with them! Grounded in the best available evidence, this book provides useful and usable knowledge about the practical aspects of school leadership. Avoiding faddism, Robinson defines and develops the five dimensions of school leadership, carefully and cogently making the case for each and its relation to improving student learning.”

—Jim Spillane, Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor in Learning and Organizational Change, Northwestern University

“To read this book is to meet Viviane Robinson, an energetic, passionate practitioner focused on what works. She engages and inspires readers with something for the head—rigorous, evidence-based research, the heart—a focus on the leader’s moral purpose to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of young people, and hands—a call to action and influence in schools that will optimize impact. This text will top the list of my recommendations to leaders both experienced and aspiring.”

—Bruce Armstrong, director, Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, Victoria, Australia

THE JOSSEY-BASS

Leadership Library in Education

Andy Hargreaves

Consulting Editor

THE JOSSEY-BASS LEADERSHIP LIBRARY IN EDUCATION is a distinctive series of original, accessible, and concise books designed to address some of the most important challenges facing educational leaders. Its authors are respected thinkers in the field who bring practical wisdom and fresh insight to emerging and enduring issues in educational leadership. Packed with significant research, rich examples, and cutting-edge ideas, these books will help both novice and veteran leaders understand their practice more deeply and make schools better places to learn and work.

ANDY HARGREAVES is the Thomas More Brennan Chair in Education in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. He is the author of numerous books on culture, change, and leadership in education.

For current and forthcoming titles in the series, please see the last page of this book.

Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Robinson, V. M. J. (Viviane M. J.)

Student-centered leadership / Viviane Robinson.—1st ed.

p. cm.—(Jossey-Bass Leadership library in education)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-87413-4 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-09027-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-09028-2 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-09029-9 (ebk.)

1. Educational leadership. I. Title.

LB2805.R688 2011

371.2—dc22

2011011789

Figures and Tables

Figures

Figure 1.1Five Dimensions of Student-Centered LeadershipFigure 1.2Five Dimensions Supported by Three Leadership CapabilitiesFigure 2.1How Relational Trust Works in SchoolsFigure 2.2Two Ineffective Strategies for Dealing with Performance ProblemsFigure 3.1How Goal Setting WorksFigure 5.1The Ladder of InferenceFigure 5.2Questions for Checking the Validity of InferencesFigure 6.1Two Competing Theories About the Use of Data About Reading AchievementFigure 6.2Two Strategies for Leading Teacher Change

Tables

Table 2.1The Relationship Between Three Principals’ Pedagogical Understandings and Their Conduct of Classroom ObservationsTable 2.2A Problem-Solving Skill: Identifying Solution RequirementsTable 2.3Principals’ Problem Solving: A Comparison of Expert and Typical PrincipalsTable 2.4An Open-to-Learning Approach to Communicating Performance ConcernsTable 2.5Key Components of an Open-to-Learning Conversation About a Performance IssueTable 3.1Goal Setting: Common Challenges and How to Overcome ThemTable 4.1Some Criteria for the Design of Smart ToolsTable 5.1Questions for Inquiry into the Quality of TeachingTable 8.1Ambivalent Leadership of a Team Meeting

The Author

After completing her doctorate at Harvard University, Viviane Robinson returned to her home country of New Zealand to take up a position at the University of Auckland, where she currently holds a personal chair as professor of education. The hallmark of her career has been serving educational practitioners through research and development that is simultaneously rigorous and relevant to the world of practice. She has pursued this passion through her research on leadership, school improvement, and organizational learning. She is the author of five books and numerous chapters and journal articles. Her work has been published in such leading international journals as Educational Researcher, Educational Administration Quarterly, and Review of Educational Research.

Viviane is also the academic director of the Centre for Educational Leadership in the Faculty of Education. The centre delivers the national induction program for new school principals and a comprehensive suite of research-based professional learning opportunities for all types of school leaders.

Viviane has consulted on leadership development and research for governmental and professional bodies in England, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She has received awards for her contribution to educational research, policy, and practice in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. In 2011 she was made a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association.

Acknowledgments

The initial research for this book was completed under a contract with the New Zealand Ministry of Education to write a best evidence synthesis (BES) of research on educational leadership (Robinson, Hohepa, & Lloyd, 2009). I owe a considerable debt of gratitude to Adrienne Alton-Lee, chief education advisor at the Ministry of Education, for initiating and leading the whole BES program and for supporting me throughout the process of completing the leadership BES. The transition from writing the BES to writing this book was made far easier by the feedback I received from hundreds of school and district leaders and graduate students who attended my presentations and workshops and encouraged me to continue this work.

The number of individuals who have shaped my thinking about leadership are far too numerous to name individually. But I would like to acknowledge a huge intellectual debt to Chris Argyris—one of my mentors at Harvard University who encouraged my conviction that the job of educators was to make a better world and taught me how to test the adequacy of my efforts. Everything I have written in this book about relationships is grounded in the values and ethics of his work.

New Zealand and Australian colleagues who contributed directly or indirectly to this book include Margie Hohepa and Claire Lloyd, who worked with me on the original leadership BES, and John Hattie and the late Ken Rowe, who helped with effect size analyses. Discussions over many years with Graeme Aitken about quality teaching helped me enormously with Chapter Five. Claire Sinnema’s brilliance in the design of figures and diagrams was invaluable for sharpening and communicating my ideas.

International colleagues have been generous with their time and have given me thoughtful feedback on this work or related manuscripts. I had wonderful discussions with Ken Leithwood about the place of transformational leadership and with Karen Seashore Louis about instructional leadership in a high-stakes policy environment. Karen also introduced me to Mia Urick, professional development director for the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. Mia’s enthusiastic feedback about an early draft reassured me about the relevance and importance of the work for a U.S. audience. Conversations with Jim Spillane, Peter Gronn, Alma Harris, and Ellen Goldring helped me stay focused on leadership practices and their development. Kathryn Riley gave me some pertinent feedback on draft sections on engaging the community. Without the generous sabbatical provisions of The University of Auckland this book would not have been completed on time and with enjoyment! Thanks to Peter, Alma, and Jim for providing me with a writing base for part of my sabbatical.

I owe a very special thank you to Darleen Opfer, whose detailed feedback on a near-final draft enabled me to see gaps and inconsistencies I would have otherwise missed. The wise words of the series editor, Andy Hargreaves, at the beginning of the project enabled me to write with passion and freedom while still staying true to my research base.

I have dedicated previous books to my husband, David, and do so again because he continues to be the emotional support and anchor that enables me to take on the challenges I have in the last few years. He has read drafts, cooked the dinner, and picked me up when the going got tough. Thank you.

June 2011

Viviane Robinson

Auckland, New Zealand

Chapter 1

The “What” and the “How” of Student-Centered Leadership