Susan Sullivan

The New York City School Reform: Consequences for Supervision of Instruction.

This paper reports on the status of instructional supervision within the current New York City school reform movement. Reports from interviews with New York City public school teachers demonstrate the prevalence of directive, checklist and narrative approaches to supervision, raising serious questions for the future of instructional supervision. Although reform measures address the need for increased supervision and professional development, principals and their assistants report that they perform predominantly non‐instructional duties and evaluative functions. Supervision, as a means to promote instructional dialogue to improve teaching in the classroom, has been the responsibility primarily, although unofficially, of coaches. Based on data collected from this mixed method study, the instructional supervisory function as practiced by New York City administrators has been eclipsed by the enormity of the reform measures.

Managing Change: The Superintendent as Line Director of Instruction.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of a superintendent and his district instructional staff in managing change in a New York City school district. An individual case study was used to examine leadership and instructional improvement in a context with administrative and teaching staff limitations and an unprecedented influx of newly arrived immigrant students. We found a pattern of beliefs, instructional approaches and strategies consistent with district systemic change efforts; however, the superintendent emerged at the centre of all interviews and observations. Transformational and charismatic leadership were used to examine the phenomena.

Good intentions, questionable results: Implications for the professional development of teachers

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of implementation of the innovative 1995-2000 United Federation of Teachers–New York City contract agreement on annual performance reviews of teachers and to identify the factors that impeded or facilitated implementation. Surveys were sent to a stratified sample of faculty members in 7 New York City public elementary, middle, and high schools. Interviews were conducted with self-selected staff members from the 7 schools. Findings indicate that the Teacher Performance Review option is being implemented in few schools. Among the factors identified as impeding the implementation of the performance review initiative is a lack of adequate training at all levels. Despite the contract component and a detailed plan of implementation and support, a lack of investment in performance review on the part of professional staff persists. Administrators and faculty alike view the agreement as an evaluative experience rather than an opportunity for growth.

Here Today Gone Tomorrow: Conceptualizing Instructional Leadership through Case Studies of Unsustained Initiatives.

This study examines two case studies of failed leadership in school-based professional development. We describe the two initiatives and look to current leadership theories to help account for the events that occurred. The sociologist Bourdieu’s concept of habitus offers an approach to understanding the relationship between individual agency and structural determinism. Chaos and complexity theory conceptualize organizations from a systems level where relationships and connections among all constituents—both inside and outside—are the focus. In addition, transformational and charismatic leadership theories allow for a consideration of leadership characteristics. While much can be learned from failed attempts, a comparative analysis of failed and successful strategies may assist leaders in avoiding the pitfalls of these challenging times while simultaneously providing strategies for success.