Alan J. Daly

Occupying the principal position: Examining relationships between transformational leadership, social network position, and schools' innovative climate

Throughout the world, educational policy makers, practitioners, and scholars have acknowledged the importance of principal leadership in the generation and implementation of innovations. In many studies, transformational leadership has emerged as a promising approach in response to increasing demands to develop and implement innovations in schools. Although research has suggested that having access to leaders with expertise can significantly stimulate innovation, the link between transformational leadership and principals’ social network position has not yet been extensively studied. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between principals’ positions in their schools’ social networks in combination with transformational leadership and schools’ innovative climate. It was conducted among 702 teachers and 51 principals in 51 elementary schools in a large educational system in the Netherlands. Using social network analysis and multilevel analysis, the authors analyzed a quantitative questionnaire with social network questions on work-related and personal advice and Likert-type scales for transformational leadership and innovative climate. Findings indicated that transformational leadership was positively associated with schools’ innovative climate. Principals’ social network position, in terms of centrality, was also related to schools’ innovative climate. The more principals were sought for professional and personal advice, and the more closely connected they were to their teachers, the more willing teachers were to invest in change and the creation of new knowledge and practices. Moreover, work-related closeness centrality was found to mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative climate. Implications of the study are discussed.

Relationships in reform: The role of teachers' social networks

Purpose: Scholars have focused their attention on systemic reform as a way to support instructional coherence. These efforts are often layered on to existing social relationships between school staff that are rarely taken into account when enacting reform. Social network theory posits that the structure of social relationships may influence the direction, speed, and depth of organizational change and therefore may provide valuable insights in the social forces that may support or constrain reform efforts. This study aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: This mixed‐methods exploratory case study examined five schools within one under‐performing school district as it enacted a system‐wide reform. Quantitative survey data were collected to assess social networks and teacher work perception of five schools enacting the reform. Qualitative data were gathered through individual interviews from educators within representative grade levels as a way to better understand the diffusion and implementation of the reform. Findings: Despite being enacted as a system‐wide reform effort, the results suggest significant variance within and between schools in terms of reform‐related social networks. These networks were significantly related to the uptake, depth, and spread of the change. Densely connected grade levels were also associated with more interactions focused on teaching and learning and an increased sense of grade level efficacy. Practical implications: The findings underline the importance of attending to relational linkages as a complementary strategy to the technical emphasis of reform efforts, as social networks were found to significantly facilitate or constrain reform efforts. Implications and recommendations are offered for leadership, policy and practice that may support the design and implementation of reforms, which may ultimately increase student performance. Originality/value: The study makes a unique contribution to the reform literature by drawing on social network theory as a way to understand efforts at reform. The work suggests that the informal social linkages on which reform is layered may support or constrain the depth of reform.

Rigid response in an age of accountability: The potential of leadership and trust.

Purpose: The No Child Left Behind Act laudably brings social justice and equity issues to the forefront; however, the acts threat- and sanction-driven methods are not only increasing stress levels but potentially causing a rigid response, especially in the growing population of schools labeled program improvement (PI). Specifically, threat—rigid responses tend to limit options and information flow, constrain decision making, and increase stress. The question then becomes, what can mitigate the organizational effects of perceived threat? This study hypothesizes the following: Trust and leadership dimensions that support empowerment and involvement will predict an educational organizations ability to minimize a threat—rigid response and flexibly negotiate new demands. Research Methods: This study utilized original instruments to measure threat—rigidity, trust, and leadership. Specifically, teachers and site administrators were surveyed in four districts representing eight schools in PI and six schools in non-PI, to test the hypothesis that the multifaceted construct of trust and leadership has a predictive relationship with threat—rigid response. Data were also collected from focus groups of teachers and from interviews with principals from two schools in PI. Findings: Findings of multiple linear regression models, focus groups, and interviews indicate that the presence of trust and leadership approaches that are participative and inclusive predicted lower levels of threat—rigid response by teachers and administrators in PI schools. Implications for Research and Practice: Results suggest that when predictive factors such as trust, empowerment, and involvement are present, teachers and administrators perceive a less rigid response in schools under sanction from PI. This finding suggests the expanding role of trust as a resource for schools and districts that are negotiating accountability demands. Policy makers may well consider initiatives that move beyond compliance to the building of organizational capacity.

The Ebb and Flow of Social Network Ties Between District Leaders Under High-Stakes Accountability

Recent scholarship suggests the importance of school district offices in supporting reform. These studies provide strategies for building relations between central offices and sites in order to improve change efforts. However, what is frequently overlooked is that organizational reform efforts are socially constructed. Therefore, examining the underlying reform-related social networks may provide insight into how relational structures support or constrain efforts at reform. This longitudinal case study draws upon social network analysis and interviews to examine the reform-related knowledge, advice, and innovation network structures of central office and site leaders in a district facing sanction for underperformance and engaging a districtwide reform. Findings indicate that over time, the networks increased the number of superficial interactions, and more frequent exchanges remained unchanged, resulting in a centralized network structure.

Mind the Gap: Organizational Learning and Improvement in an Underperforming Urban System.

Drawing on the theoretical lens of organizational learning, and utilizing the methodological approaches of social network and case-study analyses, our exploratory study examines whether schools under sanction exhibit the necessary processes, relationships, and social climates that support organizational learning and improvement. We also investigated the degree to which length of time under sanction affects the processes, relationships, and social climates of schools as well as the extent to which the relationships and climate of the larger district facilitate or hinder improvement in schools under sanction. Results indicate sparse ties within these schools, suggesting limited connectedness of staff with greater connectivity in the school that was newly placed on sanction. We also found school climates that did not support the type of collaboration necessary to bring about organizational learning and improvement. Finally, we found that a negative social climate and weak underlying relationships between district leaders inhibited the flow of ideas and practices district-wide, especially to these low-performing schools. These findings have important implications for school and district improvement under high-stakes accountability policies.

A Question of Trust: Predictive Conditions for Adaptive and Technical Leadership in Educational Contexts.

Recent studies have suggested that educational leaders enacting a balance of technical and adaptive leadership have an effect on increasing student achievement. Technical leadership focuses on problem-solving or first-order changes within existing structures and paradigms. Adaptive leadership involves deep or second-order changes that alter existing values and norms in an organization. Empirical evidence has also shown that several aspects of trust—benevolence, reliability, competence, integrity, openness, and respect—are strongly connected with school performance and student outcomes. However, the connections between trust and leadership are areas that are ripe for deeper study. In this article, we present the hypothesis that the multifaceted construct of trust has a predictive relationship with both adaptive and technical leadership. We tested this hypothesis by using an originally designed instrument that measures each facet of trust and the leadership behaviors of school and district central office administrators. A total of 292 site and district administrators and teachers were surveyed in four school districts in California to learn their perceptions of their site and district leaders. Results of multiple linear regression models indicate that trust, particularly the specific aspects of respect, risk, and competence, are significant predictors of adaptive and technical leadership.

Strategic Framing: How Leaders Craft the Meaning of Data Use for Equity and Learning

Although there is an emerging body of research that examines data-driven decision making (DDDM) in schools, little attention has been paid to how local leaders strategically frame sensemaking around data use. This exploratory case examines how district and school leaders consciously framed the implementation of DDDM in one urban high school. Leaders strategically constructed diagnostic, motivating, and prognostic frames to promote a culture of using data for continuous improvement. Our findings demonstrate that leaders developed (a) diagnostic frames centered on the need to confront student achievement and opportunity gaps; (b) motivating frames concentrated on school improvement as shared collective responsibility; and (c) prognostic frames focused on making incremental change to sustain reform efforts and the creation of common goals to monitor progress. The findings suggest that framing is an important leadership tactic that needs careful consideration when reforms are introduced and implemented.

Systemwide Reform in Districts under Pressure: The Role of Social Networks in Defining, Acquiring, Using, and Diffusing Research Evidence.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the way in which low‐performing schools and their district define, acquire, use, and diffuse research‐based evidence.Design/methodology/approach – The mixed methods case study builds upon the prior research on research evidence and social networks, drawing on social network analyses, survey data and interview data to examine how educators in low‐performing schools and across the district use evidence (including which types and for what purposes), as well as the relationship between network structure and evidence use for school improvement.Findings – Educators had narrow definitions of, and skepticism about, evidence, which limited its acquisition and use for school improvement. The authors found a lack of diffusion of evidence within schools and districtwide as a result of sparse connections among and between educators. Evidence was used in an instrumental, yet superficial, manner leading to weak interpretation of evidence and resulting in limited understa...

Leading under Sanction: Principals' Perceptions of Threat Rigidity, Efficacy, and Leadership in Underperforming Schools.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was passed to ensure that 100 percent of students would be proficient by 2014. Progress toward that goal is measured annually and results suggest that while some schools improve, increasing numbers are identified as in need of improvement (INI) and are subject to sanctions. We examined perceived levels of threat rigidity, efficacy, and leadership in 549 California principals whose schools were INI or not. Results suggest that principals in INI schools identified more threat-rigid response and perceived less self-efficacy than in non-INI setting. Results did not indicate differences between principals in perceived transformational and transactional leadership.

The Rise of Neurotics Social Networks, Leadership, and Efficacy in District Reform

Purpose: Increasing evidence suggests the importance of relationships between district and site leaders. However, there is limited empirical evidence regarding the social infrastructure between and among leaders especially as related to the exchange of advice related to reform. Moreover, we have limited understanding regarding the mechanisms that are associated with how certain leaders occupy influential social positions. Method: Using social network data from district and site leaders, we conducted social network analysis and regression models to examine the relationship between a leader’s network position measured by incoming, outgoing, and close ties; personality traits; and leader self-efficacy controlling for demographics. Findings: Findings indicate that leaders with more incoming advice relationships from other leaders were associated with more years of experience in the district, being self-identified as “neurotic,” reporting higher efficacy in leading reform, and less efficacy in management. Leaders with more outgoing advice ties also self-identified as “neurotic” and reported lower efficacy in management. Leaders who were readily sought in terms of advice were explained by the number of years in the district and the self-reported personality traits of “neurotic,” “extraverted,” and “conscientious.” Leaders who were able to more efficiently connect to other leaders for advice were explained by being “neurotic,” “extraverted,” and “conscientious” as well as reporting low efficacy for management. Implications: Results suggest the importance of considering both personality traits as well as perceptions of efficacy in terms of understanding how leaders come to occupy influential social position in an advice network related to reform.