Joseph Blase

Principals' Instructional Leadership and Teacher Development: Teachers' Perspectives

In recent years, reflective, collaborative, inquiry-oriented approaches to supervision of teachers and teacher development have been discussed in the professional literature. However, few published studies have directly examined teachers’perspectives on principals’everyday instructional leadership characteristics and the impact of those characteristics on teachers. This article describes the everyday strategies of principals practicing exemplary instructional leadership and how these principals influenced teachers. The data were drawn from a qualitative study of more than 800 teachers in the southeastern, midwestern, and northwestern United States. An open-ended questionnaire was designed to provide teachers with the opportunity to identify and describe in detail the characteristics of principals that enhanced their classroom instruction and what impact those characteristics had on them. Inductive analyses of the data generated two major themes comprising 11 strategies, which were used to construct the Reflection-Growth (RG) model of instructional leadership. This article emphasizes those strategies and the meanings teachers identified with them.

Effective Instructional Leadership: Teachers' Perspectives on How Principals Promote Teaching and Learning in Schools.

Few studies have directly examined teachers’ perspectives on principals’ everyday instructional leadership characteristics and the impacts of those characteristics on teachers. In this study, over 800 American teachers responded to an open‐ended questionnaire by identifying and describing characteristics of principals that enhanced their classroom instruction and what impacts those characteristics had on them. The data revealed two themes (and 11 strategies) of effective instructional leadership: talking with teachers to promote reflection and promoting professional growth.

A Qualitative Analysis of Sources of Teacher Stress: Consequences for Performance

The amount of qualitative research in which teachers subjectively describe the meaning of work stress is limited. This article presents data drawn from a qualitative study of teachers’ perceptions of work stress. Linkages between teacher stress and teacher performance are firmly established. The study data are discussed in terms of the Performance Adaptation Syndrome (PAS), a term developed from the data to describe the deleterious effects of prolonged work stress on the instructional ability of teachers.

Dimensions of Effective School Leadership: The Teacher’s Perspective

The study reported in this paper examines teachers’ perspectives on effective school leadership. Formal interviews, both unstructured and structured, and informal interviews were used to collect data from teachers in one urban high school in the southeastern United States. Data were collected and analyzed according to guidelines for grounded theory research. This article describes factors teachers identified with effective school principals and the impact of these factors on the teachers and their relationships with other faculty, students, and parents. The research data are discussed briefly in terms of their implications for leadership training and research.

The Micropolitics of Instructional Supervision: A Call for Research

This article examines the applicability of the micropolitical perspective to understanding various dimensions of instructional supervision. A brief discussion of the centrality of micropolitics to supervisory structures, processes, and practices is followed by reviews of two emergent streams of research: the micropolitics of teaching and the micropolitics of instructional supervision. Suggestions for further research are discussed in detail. The authors also discuss implications of a micropolitical perspective for preparation programs and administrator practice.

The Micropolitical Orientation of Facilitative School Principals and Its Effects on Teachers' Sense of Empowerment.

Describes the everyday micropolitical facilitative strategies and personal characteristics of exemplary school principals who have influenced and enhanced teachers’ sense of empowerment. The data discussed here were drawn from a qualitative study of teachers in 11 schools affiliated with Glickman’s League of Professional Schools in Georgia. An open‐ended questionnaire designed by the researchers, according to general guidelines for grounded theory inquiry, provided teachers with the opportunity to identify and describe in detail characteristics of principals that enhanced their sense of empowerment. Inductive analyses of the data generated a description of facilitative leadership that includes seven major “facilitative” strategies and one set of facilitative personal characteristics that enhanced teacher empowerment. Focuses on the strategies and characteristics teachers identified as facilitative principal leadership. Discusses findings in terms of the relevant empirical and theoretical literature.

Implementation of shared governance for instructional improvement: principals’ perspectives

Describes the practices, thoughts, and feelings of shared‐governance principals as they confront the challenges of school restructuring. The focus is on the principals’ perspective on shared governance and democratic schooling; the challenges of becoming involved in collaborative decision making with teachers, parents, and students; and the principals’ own professional growth as they strove to become “one among equals” with their colleagues. The data discussed here were drawn from a qualitative study of principals in nine schools affiliated with Glickman’s League of Professional Schools in Georgia. A protocol of open‐ended interview questions designed by the researchers, according to general guidelines for grounded theory inquiry, provided principals with the opportunity to identify and describe in detail their perspective on shared governance leadership in schools. Inductive analysis of the data generated a description of the implementation of shared governance that includes five salient themes: meanings, becoming involved, letting go of power, supportive processes, and supportive structures. Discusses findings in terms of the relevant empirical and theoretical literature.

The Impact of Teachers’ Personal Lives on Professional Role Enactment: A Qualitative Analysis

This article reports data that provide insight into teachers’ perspectives regarding the impact of personal-life factors on their work lives. Open-ended questionnaires were used to collect data from 200 teachers. The data were analyzed according to qualitative methods for grounded theory research. Thirteen categories reflecting positive and negative effects were identified in the data. These categories are discussed in terms of three general classifications: interpersonal personal, and socioeconomic. Finally, conclusions and implications are drawn regarding gender as well as personal and professional development issues.

The Micropolitical Orientation of Teachers toward Closed School Principals

Basically my principal is a fascist. He is impersonal and distant. His attitude is that teachers exist to serve the PR needs of the administration, not necessarily the needs of the students. His goals: grease the squeaky wheels, keep the community off his back. He is receptive to ideas only if they fit into the framework.... Minimize his problems and you will be left alone.... I try to keep him in check.... I do not visit with him. I do not socialize with him. I do not tell him of any school or personal problems.

The Dark Side of School Leadership: Implications for Administrator Preparation

ABSTRACT In this article, we briefly review conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge about a rapidly developing topic of organizational research, workplace mistreatment (e.g., bullying, mobbing, abuse, aggression) as well as our research about principal mistreatment of teachers. Following this, we discuss the importance of preparing prospective and practicing school principals to deal with personal and organizational factors that may interact to produce the kinds of leadership that seriously damage teachers, teaching, and student learning.