Rose M. Ylimaki

Successful Leadership in Challenging US Schools: Enabling Principles, Enabling Schools.

Purpose – This study aims to examine seven challenging schools in the US and the practices their principals employed in leading these schools to a measure of success in terms of student performance.Design/methodology/approach – Uses a case study methodology, a two‐stage framework is used to analyze the data. First, uses Leithwood and Riehls three core leadership practices to determine whether these leaders were demonstrating the necessary practices for success, then develops and describes three principles that enabled these leaders to translate their core practices into school success: accountability, caring and learning.Findings – The principals formed a diverse group, varying in gender, race, experience and education. But they shared some common characteristics, most notably, all seven demonstrated facility with the core leadership practices of direction setting, developing people and redesigning the organization. They were leaders who managed to set and maintain a sense of purpose and direction for th...

Successful Leadership in Three High-Poverty Urban Elementary Schools.

This study examined the beliefs and practices of three principals during whose tenure their high-poverty urban elementary schools experienced improved student achievement. A two-stage, multiple case-study methodology was employed. First, New York State Education Department (NYSED) school report card data were analyzed to identify case-study sites. Three high-need elementary schools whose student achievement scores improved after the arrival of the current principal were selected for study. Next, a multiperspective interview protocol was utilized to triangulate the perceptions of the administrators, teachers, members of support staffs, parents, and students at each of the three sites to understand how their respective principal contributed to the schools success. Findings revealed that all three principals responded to the challenges of their high-poverty communities by establishing safe, nurturing environments for children and adults; setting high expectations for student performance, and holding everyone—students, faculty, staff, parents, and themselves—accountable for meeting those expectations. Although different in personal style, all three set clear directions for the school and then influenced members of the school community to begin moving in that direction, in great measure by modeling the behaviors and practices they desired. The article concludes with recommendations about the preparation and practices of school leaders who serve or aspire to serve in high-need communities.

Making a Difference in Challenging, High-Poverty Schools: Successful Principals in the USA, England, and Australia.

This article draws on findings from a larger international study and the literature to examine successful principals of challenging high-poverty schools in the USA, England, and Australia. Specifically, this article reports case-study findings for 13 challenging schools, 4 each in the USA and Australia and 5 in England. Findings from this study indicate that successful principals used similar leadership practices and traits to make a difference and improve student performance in very challenging schools. These findings extend previous research conducted in single-nation contexts. The presentation of findings also considers differences in the role of the principal, the school context, and larger national policies. The article concludes with implications for leadership training and future research.

Curriculum Leadership in a Conservative Era.

Purpose: The purpose is to examine how recent conservative cultural political shifts have affected the meanings of curriculum leadership in schools. The author examines four principals in the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act and other related policies and trends. Design: This is a critical ethnographic study of principals’ curriculum leadership in four northeastern U.S. elementary schools. All four principals were highly aware of the politics surrounding curriculum decision making, pedagogy, and assessments. The researcher conducted monthly observations and interviews with the four principals, teachers, parents, and students from the fall of 2003 to the spring of 2006. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the superintendent and community members who were involved in curriculum issues. Findings: Drawing on a theoretical framework at the intersection of educational leadership, curriculum theory, and cultural politics, the data revealed two categories of curriculum leadership in a conservative era—namely, new professional curriculum leadership and critical curriculum leadership. These curriculum leadership categories emerged over time and were constructed in relation to “other” curriculum leaders and broader cultural political shifts. Implications and Significance: There is growing interest in curriculum leadership among educational administration and curriculum scholars as well as practitioners. Although instructional or curriculum leadership has been studied extensively in educational administration, these studies do not explicitly consider curriculum theory or the role of politics. In curriculum studies, leadership has received little attention. Findings from this study suggest the need for a new field of curriculum leadership at the intersection of educational administration and curriculum studies.

School leadership practice and preparation: Comparative perspectives on organizational learning (OL), instructional leadership (IL) and culturally responsive practices (CRP)

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to utilize successful leadership practices drawn from seven nations to improve leadership preparation.Design/methodology/approach – This study used a case study approach to gain a contextualized understanding of successful leadership across seven nations. Data sources primarily featured interviews with principals, teachers, staff members, parents, and students. Cases were analyzed within and then across nations with regards to organizational learning (OL), instructional leadership (IL), and culturally responsive practices (CRP).Findings – The cross‐national analysis of successful leaders indicated emerging policy trends, demographic changes, similarities and differences among leaders, and recommendations for leadership preparation.Originality/value – This paper draws from successful practices in OL, IL and CRP in seven nations to make recommendations for improving leadership preparation.

Toward a New Conceptualization of Vision in the Work of Educational Leaders: Cases of the Visionary Archetype

Purpose: Across mainstream educational leadership literature, the term vision has had two primary definitions: (a) a leader’s image of the future and (b) change goals. Translating vision into practice has become increasingly difficult, however, as educators have been bombarded with conflicting images and goals for schools. This article is conceptual in nature, using the findings from a previous empirical study of collaboration and instructional leadership to propose a new way of thinking about vision in terms of the work of educational leaders. Proposed Conceptual Argument: The leaders’ notions of vision suggest principles of the visionary archetype that have not been considered in the extant literature, including four ways of seeing (intuition, perception, insight, and holistic seeing). Thus, literature on the visionary archetype is used as a lens to conceptualize these leaders’ notions of vision. Metaphors are used to present three cases of the visionary archetype and change contexts in which the visionary appears to exist. A discrepant case metaphor is also presented in which a curriculum director defined and used vision more traditionally. Based on these understandings, the author suggests a new conceptualization of vision—namely, that vision is a dynamic interaction among inner human resources (e.g., insight, intuition, and perception), an outward perspective (on larger educational ideals, research, and policies), and the context of a particular visioning situation. Implications: The article concludes with implications for future research on the role of vision in other educator roles and settings as well as recommendations for vision makers of all kinds.

Sustaining Success in an American School: A Case for Governance Change.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to revisit a successful school to see how the principal had sustained success over time.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study research design similar to the 2005 report.Findings – The old findings revealed a principal who had used direction setting, developing people and redesigning the organization, as well as the enabling principles of accountability, caring and learning to turn around a failing, high poverty urban school. The new findings revealed that, while the same core practices and enabling principles were still in place, a significant change in governance structure had been required to sustain the schools success. Specifically, the school converted from a traditional public school to a charter school in order to protect investments made in teacher professional development. The resulting initiatives, introduced to stem teacher turnover, led to the emergence of greater teacher leadership and professional self‐renewal processes that sustain...

Notions of “Success” in Southern Arizona Schools: Principal Leadership in Changing Demographic and Border Contexts

This article examines how Southern Arizona principals conceptualize and enact successful leadership in border schools with shifting demographics and high percentages of colonized populations. Beyond global neoliberal and neoconservative pressures for accountability and standardized curricula, Arizona principals must also navigate immigration and language legislation. Our qualitative study follows the International Study of Successful School Leadership (ISSPP) in case study design and data collection protocols. Findings indicate that, along with Leithwood and Riehls leadership dimensions, all four principals demonstrate a sociocultural affect as part of successful practice in Arizona border contexts.

US and Cross-National Policies, Practices, and Preparation

Comparative Perspectives: An Overview of Seven Educational Contexts, Stephen L. Jacobson and Rose M. Ylimaki.- Converging Policy Trends, Kenneth Leithwood, Stephen L. Jacobson, & Rose M. Ylimaki.- Leading Organisational Learning and Capacity Building, Christopher Day, Stephen L. Jacobson, Olof Johansson.- Democratic Instructional Leadership in Australia, Denmark, and the US, Rose M. Ylimaki, David Gurr, Lejf Moos, Kasper Kofod, & Lawrie Drysdale.- Culturally Responsive Practice, Lauri Johnson, Jorunn Moller, Petros Pashiardis, Gunn Vedoy, and Vassos Savvides.- Preparing School Leaders to Lead Organizational Learning and Capacity Building, Stephen L. Jacobson, Olof Johansson & Christopher Day.- Preparing Instructional Leaders, David Gurr, Lawrie Drysdale, Rose M. Ylimaki & Lejf Moos.- Leadership Preparation for Culturally Diverse Schools, Lauri Johnson, Jorunn Moller, Eli Ottesen, Petros Pashiardis, Vassos Savvides & Gunn Vedoy.- Comparative Perspectives on Organizational Learning, Instructional, Leadership, and Culturally Responsive Practices: Conclusions and Future Directions.

Sustaining the heart of education: finding space for wisdom and compassion

How is it possible for those of us involved in education to bring to life the language and ways of being together in schools that sustain the heart of education, cultivating wisdom and compassion in ourselves and those in our midst, while tending to our educational responsibilities associated with standards and assessment? This inquiry led us to educators, children and classrooms in the UK and US, in urban cities and small towns, where conversation and space is being held for the cultivation of wisdom and compassionate action. Primary data were gathered from interviews employing a semi‐structured interview protocol developed specifically for the wisdom‐and‐compassion research and derived from wisdom teachings as set out in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Through observations and interviews we discovered examples that bring to life the ongoing cultivation of dynamic wisdom, mindful awareness and compassionate action in schools and classrooms today.