Carol Cardno

Leadership and professional development: the quiet revolution

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for holistic professional development as an alternative to practices that have been piecemeal and curriculum focused ignoring, in particular, the critical dimension of management development.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework for considering professional development needs is provided in the form of an holistic model. The model, with its meshed infrastructure of appropriate educational leadership, performance management and strategic management suggests that four essential dimensions – curriculum, management, school and personal development – can be adapted as a basis for planning and evaluating a schools professional development programme.Findings – Leaders at both system and school level should be interested in the insights provided and challenged to think differently about current practice and the implications for strategic management when the active management of professional development is made a priority.Originality/value – ...

Incorporating action research in school senior management training

Outlines how an action research approach can be used for management training and education. The emphasis on developing competence in problem‐solving processes, using action research, is supported by the literature and this is illustrated by several examples of institutional projects and award‐bearing programmes. Details how the authors’ interpretation of action research, in the school management training context, can both challenge and develop educational leaders.

Leadership learning: a development initiative for experienced New Zealand principals

Purpose – During the 2000‐2004 period, one New Zealand tertiary institution provided a management development programme for experienced secondary school principals. Aims to determine the extent to which the learning had been sustained beyond the formal programme Design/methodology/approach – A postal questionnaire was administered to 80 participants seeking responses to questions concerning the programme and whether the learning had been transferred to their organisations. Findings – Empirical data suggested that while the programme was highly valued and there was a high degree of willingness to sustain the learning, this is only possible if school boards actively support principals to engage in critical reflection by providing time and opportunity. This research project provides evidence of the need for principals to participate in advanced management development in order to stimulate their own leadership learning. Originality/value – Findings from this research will be of benefit to policy makers, employing authorities and principals.

Team Learning: Opportunities and challenges for school leaders

This article explores the potency of teamwork as a vehicle for organisational learning. The nature of teamwork presents possibilities for team learning to shape cultures that value and act on feedback to improve quality. However, a baseline survey of team incidence and practice in New Zealand schools highlights a tension between a high demand for accountability and a low emphasis on team review and development, the very conditions needed for team learning. Review of one large secondary school Senior Management Team revealed that whilst the team was generally performing well, there were gaps between expectations and actions in several skill areas critical to team learning. It is contended that defensiveness creates a tendency to bypass learning opportunities and that teams can learn the skills of productive dialogue to engage in effective communication and consequently in organisational learning. Leaders themselves should be challenged to learn and model productive dialogue in the context of team action. Unless leaders are motivated to make this kind of team development a priority, the potential of teams to contribute to organisational learning will not be realised.

Appraisal policy and implementation issues for New Zealand schools

The failure of schools between 1990 and 1995, to respond to the imperative to establish systems for staff appraisal resulted in the Ministry of Education in New Zealand prescribing guidelines for schools to follow from 1996 onwards. This paper explores forces which shaped national policy in the framework of the reform movement, describes the policy development process and a national training programme for its introduction and examines challenges presented for principals who are expected to be accountable for policy implementation. National policy (which frames problems and solutions in structural terms) is analysed to show how it can fail to address dilemmas at the heart of staff appraisal activity. Problems inherent in attempting to mesh dual purposes of appraisal are identified, and the requirements of a “dilemma management” approach are explained in relation to the role of the principal.

Leading change from within: action research to strengthen curriculum leadership in a primary school

Practitioner research lends itself to situations in which a school wishes to examine and improve practice. This is an account of one middle-sized primary schools attempt to understand the nature of and need for a variety of forms of curriculum leadership by engaging in a facilitated action research project. Both theory and current school practice in New Zealand related to school structure and distribution of curriculum leadership were investigated. The senior management team, acting as an action research group, set out to analyse an ill-defined problem and then designed and implemented change strategies that incrementally involved all staff. The outcomes of the project for the school were context specific and immediate and are made public with the intention of offering insights into the research process and results to a wider audience who can consider the transferability of ideas in this account to their own settings. Leading change from within by embarking on action research is a challenge and a commitment for practitioners. Whilst the demands of this project are acknowledged by the practitioners themselves, they also confirm the benefits of a systematic, considered process and the opportunities for team learning implicit in this critical, constructive and collaborative approach to improving management practice.

Leadership Development for Experienced New Zealand Principals Perceptions of Effectiveness

This article presents the perceptions of approximately 300 experienced New Zealand principals who participated in a pilot leadership development initiative funded by the Ministry of Education. The Experienced Principals Development Programme (EPDP) underwent a rigorous evaluation that included formative (mid-point) and summative (end-point) feedback to participants and providers over an 18-month period. As the literature on leadership development indicates, particular issues arise for those who are experienced in their leadership roles and have progressed beyond early career challenges. To sustain and develop experienced principals, leadership development programmes need to be relevant, personalized and unique. The evaluation methodology used in this study employed a mixed methods approach comprising quantitative and qualitative analysis of two major participant surveys and data collected for three case studies via observation of delivery events and focus group interviews with participants. The findings confirm that the programme was highly relevant for the participants because it was responsive to individual needs and learning styles. A highly effective component was the school-based inquiry project which was viewed as a conduit for personal development and school improvement. Overall, the programme provided opportunities for both personal and professional learning.

Images of Academic Leadership in Large New Zealand Polytechnics.

As accountability stakes continue to be raised in all education sectors, leadership as a factor that can have an impact on improved student outcomes is being studied with heightened interest. This study was conducted from 2011 to 2012 in New Zealands large urban polytechnics with the aim of investigating the nature and expectations of academic leadership. The conceptualisation of academic leadership in the theory base is fraught with both complexity and paradox and is often presented in contradictory terms. The study identifies images of academic leadership practised by directors of an academic front line, by actors in the front line and supporters on the side line. In relation to polytechnic settings it is concluded that new and varied forms of academic leadership are provided by spreading the role that encompasses both leadership and management.

Resolving leadership dilemmas in New Zealand kindergartens: an action research study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine dilemmas encountered by kindergarten head teachers with the further aim of developing their capability to recognise and resolve “leadership dilemmas”.Design/methodology/approach – Action research was used to conduct a three‐phase study involving 16 kindergarten head teachers and six system managers (within the Auckland region). A reconnaissance phase investigated the nature of perceived dilemmas and typical responses. In the second phase, an intervention that provided participants with both the theory and practice skills was implemented. A third phase of research evaluated the extent to which change had occurred.Findings – The reconnaissance phase findings (pre‐learning questionnaire) confirm the incidence of dilemmas in kindergarten settings. The data show that, while leaders could identify issues that signalled the presence of dilemmas, they were unable to articulate leadership dilemmas clearly or confront them successfully. A professional development in...

Diversity, Dilemmas and Defensiveness: leadership challenges in staff appraisal contexts

ABSTRACT This paper describes an action research approach to investigating the diverse goals and dilemmas that characterise staff appraisal activity. An intervention takes place to counter ineffective, defensive reasoning and teach the principals of two schools how to think and act in productive ways in order to manage dilemmas. The challenges of the complex theoretical and practical curriculum that underpins problem‐based methodology are discussed, and implications of the research for training that enables leaders to manage quality and diversity are examined.