F.P. Geijsel

Transformational leadership effects on teachers’ commitment and effort toward school reform

This article examines the effects of transformational school leadership on the commitment of teachers to school reform, and the effort they are willing to devote to such reform. It does so by building on the knowledge from both educational and non‐educational research into such effects. A model of such effects is tested using two approximately comparable sets of data collected from samples of Canadian and Dutch teachers. Structural equation modeling is applied to test the model within each data set. Results of the Canadian and Dutch studies are then compared. The findings show transformational leadership dimensions to affect both teachers’ commitment and extra effort. The effects of the dimensions vision building and intellectual stimulation appear to be significant in particular. Overall, the findings clearly indicate the importance of analyzing dimensions of transformational leadership for their separate effects on teacher commitment and extra effort within the context of educational reform.

How to Improve Teaching Practices The Role of Teacher Motivation, Organizational Factors, and Leadership Practices

Purpose: Although it is expected that building schoolwide capacity for teacher learning will improve teaching practices, there is little systematic evidence to support this claim. This study aimed to examine the relative impact of transformational leadership practices, school organizational conditions, teacher motivational factors, and teacher learning on teaching practices. Research Design: Data were collected from a survey of 502 teachers from 32 elementary schools in the Netherlands. A structural model was tested on the within-school covariance matrix and a chi-square test taking into account nonindependence of observations. Findings: Results suggest that teachers’ engagement in professional learning activities, in particular experimenting and reflection, is a powerful predictor for teaching practices. Teachers’ sense of self-efficacy appeared to be the most important motivational factor for explaining teacher learning and teaching practices. Motivational factors also mediate the effects of school organizational conditions and leadership practices on teacher learning and teaching practices. Finally, transformational leadership practices stimulate teachers’ professional learning and motivation and improve school organizational conditions. Conclusions: For school leaders, to foster teacher learning and improve teaching practices a combination of transformational leadership behaviors is required. Further research is needed to examine the relative effects of transformational leadership dimensions on school organizational conditions, teacher motivation, and professional learning in schools. Finally, conditions for school improvement were examined at one point in time. Longitudinal studies to school improvement are required to model changes in schools’ capacities and growth and their subsequent effects on teaching practices.

Identity learning: the core process of educational change

The aim of this paper is to offer an additional perspective to the understanding of educational change processes by clarifying the significance of identity learning. Today’s innovations require changes in teachers’ professional identity. Identity learning involves a relation between social‐cognitive construction of new meanings and individual, emotional sense‐making of new experiences. This relationship between cognition and emotion asks for a strong learning environment: the question is whether schools provide these strong learning environments. To answer this question, the paper provides an overview of the existing knowledge about schools as contexts for teacher learning and change. It will become clear that the emotional side of the change process has been overlooked. A model for identity learning is presented, involving both meaning‐giving and sense‐making. Building on this model, it is discussed how school leaders can build strategies for the identity learning of teachers.

Conditions Fostering the Implementation of Large-Scale Innovation Programs in Schools: Teachers’ Perspectives:

This research examines the conditions fostering the implementation of large-scale innovation programs through the eyes of teachers. The implementation of two innovation programs by teachers from two sectors of Dutch agricultural education was studied. Structural equation modeling was applied to the survey data of the two groups of teachers. Results show dimensions of transformational leadership and participation in decision making along with teachers’ feelings of uncertainty and professional development activities to influence the extent to which teachers change their practices according to the principles of the current innovation program and also the extent to which teachers agree with the principles. It is argued that school improvement research should pay more attention to the complex relationships between the conditions fostering innovation. The importance of analyzing conditions in the context of different innovation programs and the importance of recognizing feelings of uncertainty for school improvement research are discussed in greater detail.

Transformational Leadership and the Implementation of Large-Scale Innovation Programs.

Examines the nature of transformational leadership and its relation to teachers’ changed practices within the context of Dutch large‐scale innovation. Presents two qualitative studies and a survey. The qualitative studies produced three dimensions of transformational leadership: vision, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation. Within the framework of the survey, these dimensions were further operationalized and exploratively related to teachers’ concerns, teachers’ learning activities, and teachers’ changed practices. The results indicate the significance of the dimensions of transformational leadership in relation to changed teacher practices. The results also suggest the significance of intervening constructs for future research into the impact of leadership on changed teacher practices.

Communities of practice as stimulating forces for collective learning

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to get a clear view on how can we judge groups in relation to the characteristics of a community of practice (CoP), and the presence of collective learning in these groups.Design/methodology/approach – A review of literature on collective learning and CoPs led to the development of a conceptual model, which was tested through case study research against empirical data from three groups in organizations.Findings – The groups differed concerning group characteristics, but also concerning the collective learning processes and learning outcomes present. The group that can be characterized as a CoP learns a lot, but the (learning) processes in the group are not always in favour of the organizational learning process.Research limitations/implications – The conceptual framework was helpful to evaluate the characteristics of CoPs in relation to collective learning. These findings suggest that it will be interesting to expand the model, for example with consideration to th...

Conditions fostering educational change

During the 1990s, large-scale reform efforts intensified as a strategy to implement educational innovations (Fullan, 2000). Evaluations of innovation efforts from past decades have made clear that these reforms have produced unsatisfactory results in many cases. In particular, we can conclude from this literature that changes in teaching practice are extremely difficult to accomplish. Within this context of intensifying educational reforms, it is important to examine the organizational potential for innovation and capacity of schools to realize large- scale innovations.

Leading the process of reculturing: roles and actions of school leaders

In this article, we focus on the role and actions of individual school leaders in initiating and governing the process of reculturing. First, we elaborate on the core elements of the process of reculturing, referring to a complex learning process of finding a new balance between cognitions and emotions both individually and collectively. We then review the literature for issues related to school leaders’ roles and actions during reculturing. We argue that the role of leadership power largely has been left out of the picture so far while at the same time leadership power is so crucial for teachers’ roles and actions in educational innovation processes. To illustrate our line of thinking, we analyse the stories of three school leaders about their roles and actions during successful processes of reculturing and retrospectively analyse the role of leadership power during these processes, building on a framework of Hetebrij (2006) for judging the quality of power use.

Citizenship in young people's daily lives: differences in citizenship competences of adolescents in the Netherlands

The results of a nationwide study of the citizenship competences of adolescents in the Netherlands are presented from the perspective of democratic citizenship in this article. Citizenship competences are defined as the knowledge, skills, attitudes and reflection needed by young people in a democratic and multicultural society to adequately fulfil social tasks that are part of their daily lives. The Citizenship Competences Questionnaire was administered to 16,000 adolescents in either sixth or ninth grade. With the help of analyses of variance and partial correlations, background factors related to the students and the environment were analysed in conjunction with each other. The results showed significant differences in citizenship competences to depend upon the gender, age, cognitive level, socio-economic status and ethnic backgrounds of the adolescents in addition to the degree of urbanisation characteristic of their school environments. The findings are discussed in light of research previously conducted on the citizenship of young people.

School Improvement Within a Knowledge Economy: Fostering Professional Learning from a Multidimensional Perspective

Modern societies are gradually moving towards a knowledge economy in which knowledge productivity will be the dominant factor. The radical increase of information technology has already transformed modes of doing business, the nature of services and products, the meaning of time in work, and the processes of learning. These forces have contributed to a belief that knowledge production and continuous innovation are key to survival (Fenwick, 2001). Knowledge production, in fact, is crucial for the improvement of work processes, products and services, being demanded by our rapidly moving society. This situation stresses the importance of a competent workforce. As work in the new economy increasingly focuses on knowledge production, rethinking traditional ways of organizing work and creating powerful learning environments in organizations is crucial (Kessels, 2001).