Stephen L. Jacobson

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...

The Inclusive School: Integrating Diversity and Solidarity through Community-Based Management.

Confronts possibilities and problems associated with creating diverse, multicultural “inclusive” schools. Describes the inclusive school as being less hierarchical, embracing community, and celebrating diversity. Suggests that the inclusive school is supported by Sergiovanni’s (1993) concept of community and Maxwell’s (1994) concept of contiguity‐based solidarity. Demonstrates through working examples of inclusive approaches how schools can better serve their students by fostering a sense of community and promotes ways of advancing solidarity and diversity simultaneously. To further the argument, presents a general historic evolutionary overview to illustrate the theoretical underpinnings of the model along with a case example and discussion of key features of inclusive schools.

Leadership effects on student achievement and sustained school success

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of leadership on student achievement and sustained school success, especially in challenging, high‐poverty schools.Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines a review of the leadership literature with findings drawn from longitudinal studies of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP).Findings – Direction setting, developing people and redesigning the organization were practices common to successful principals in all contexts, including those in challenging, high‐poverty schools. How these practices manifested varied in relation to national context and tradition. Distributed teacher leadership and professional self‐renewal emerged as processes central to sustaining success, and, in at least one US case, a change in organizational governance was necessary to allow these processes to continue over time.Originality/value – The paper adds to the literature on leadership effects on student achievement and sustaining sc...

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.

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.

Cross-national Comparisons in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP): The USA, Norway and China

This article provides a cross‐national perspective on successful school principalship in three countries derived from an analysis of case studies in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP). The ISSPP aims to investigate the characteristics, processes and effects of successful school leadership across eight countries (i.e. Australia, Canada, England, the United States, China, Denmark, Sweden and Norway). Examples from the USA, Norway and China (Shanghai) were selected to illustrate cross‐national differences related to the societal purposes of education, the structure and funding of different national educational systems and the influence of particular governmental educational policies (i.e. accountability‐oriented policies) on the leadership practices of individual school principals. Variations in selection criteria and research procedures were also noted. Recommendations for further research using a cultural framework include analysing multiethnic schools to identify culturally specific leadership practices as well as developing further ISSPP case studies in non‐Western contexts.

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...

The Recruitment and Retention of School Leaders: Understanding Administrator Supply and Demand

A growing body of empirical research indicates that through vision, mission and goals, school leaders, particularly principals, can exert a measurable, though indirect, influence on student achievement and school effectiveness. Hallinger and Heck (1996), for example, in their review of research on leadership effects on student achievement found that successful school leaders account for as much as 5–7% of the variation in student achievement scores. While this may seem low in absolute terms, it accounts for almost 25% of all in-school variables over which school officials have some control (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003).

Important Shifts in Curriculum of Educational Leadership Preparation.

This article looks at shifts in pedagogy used to prepare school leaders. Leaders for America’s Schools is the focus around which the authors build their case, beginning with a recap of the early phases of administrator training. Next, the authors examine A Nation at Risk and the impact the educational reform movement had on administration preparation. This section examines Leaders for America’s Schools, the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium standards, and the impacts of neoliberalism, globalization, and social justice on preparation. The authors conclude by describing current pedagogy used in an exemplary leadership preparation program.