How Principals Learn to Lead
The comparative influence of on-the-job
experiences, administrator credential
programs, and the ISLLC standards in the
development of leadership expertise among
urban public school principals
Stephen H. Davis
Ronald J. Leon
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
The Great Leaders for Great Schools Institute
Purposes of the Study
Focus: Urban Public School Principals
1.
How do urban principals develop leadership expertise?
2.
How important (comparatively) are on-the-job
experiences and EADM credential programs in the
development of leadership expertise?
3.
How do the 1996 ISLLC standards influence the
development of leadership expertise?
Rationale
1. Growing body of criticism
2. Critical need for competent principals
3. Leadership reform agenda
4. Need to understand the venues where leadership
is developed
5. Potency of national EADM standards
Conceptual Framework
• Experiential Learning (Rogers)
• Situated Cognition (Lave)
• Transformative Learning (Mezirow)
• Adult Learning: Androgogy (Knowles)
Methods
Research Design
• Ex-post facto, exploratory
• Online survey & follow-up interviews
• Quantitative & qualitative analyses
Sample: Survey
• 200 urban k-12 principals (25 largest metro districts)
• Stratified random sample (proportional to E, MS, HS)
Sample: Interviews
• 20 randomly selected survey participants
• 16 female, 4 male; 14 elementary, 6 secondary
Responses
• 101 (52%)
• Elem (64%), Middle (13%), HS (23%)
Survey Instrumentation
1. 41 learning tasks (1996 ISLLC based)
2. 12 demographic questions
3. Subgroups
•
•
•
Years of experience (1-5; 6+)
Gender
Type of school (elementary; middle; HS)
4. Response options
•
•
On-the-job experiences vs credential program
Importance of each learning task
DATA ANALYSES
Factor 1: CREDENTIAL PROGRAMS VS ON THE JOB
Factor 2: TASK IMPORTANCE
DESCRIPTIVE (frequencies, totals, means---whole group & sub groups)
WHOLE GROUP
1. Principal Component Factor Analysis (data reduction, thematic clustering)
2. Pearson r Correlation (CP vs OTJ--distinctiveness)
3. One Way ANOVA (mean differences)
4. Significance of the Difference Between Two Independent Proportions
(individual task proportionality)
WITHIN GROUP
1. Chi Square (goodness of fit)—single task variable discrepancy
2. One Way ANOVA (CP vs OTJ)
Interview Protocol
Seven prompts
1. Your most important on-the-job experiences
2. Missing experiences early on
3. Most important experiences for first year
principals
4. Veteran principals renewal
5. Types of district office support
6. Most helpful credential program activities
7. Suggestions for credential program
improvement
Interview Analysis
1. Search for key themes and patterns
(e.g., sensitizing concepts, recurring regularities-Patton)
2. Illuminate both the emotional and conceptual
3. Three organizing categories (Yukl)
•
•
•
Relations
Tasks
Change
Survey Results
Demographics
Years of Experience
More than 5 (52%)
Less than 6 (48%)
Age Group
25-45 (13%)
Over 45 (87%)
Gender
Male (25%)
Female (75%)
School Type
Elementary (68%)
Secondary (32%)
Survey Results
Demographics, continued
Age Groups
25-35 (4.9%)
36-45 (13.7%)
46-55 (34.3%)
55+ (46.1%)
Type of Credential Program
Public university (52.9%)
Private university (30.4%)
District sponsored (2.9%)
Other (13.8%)
Survey Results
Demographics, continued
Year of Credential Issue
Pre-ISSLC (62.1%)
Post-ISSLC (37.9%)
Since NCLB (8.4%)
School Free & Reduced Lunch
Mean (69.8%)
Median (76.0%)
School Enrollment
2000+ (6.9%
1000-2000 (11.9%)
Under 1000 (80.2%)
CP vs OTJ: Correlations
TASKS WITH R VALUES OF .50 OR GREATER (highly correlated)
Note: Low CP vs OTJ distinction
(.632) Task 35: Code of ethics
(.608) Task 17: Formative evaluation
(.602) Task 38: School governance (models)
(.582) Task 29: Collective bargaining
(.571) Task 37: Professional dispositions
(.531) Task 26: Facilities and grounds
(.520) Task 34: Teacher collaboration
(.517) Task 40: Political advocacy (for schools)
(.506) Task 21: Professional growth (for teachers)
(.500) Task 13: Motivational strategies
CP vs OTJ: Correlations
TASKS WITH VERY LOW R VALUES (low correlation)
Note: High CP vs OTJ distinction
(.113) Task 1: Strategic plan
(.113) Task 2: Using data
(.152) Task 5: Dealing with competing interests
(.165) Task 4: Communications
(.186) Task 3: Self-reflection
(.192) Task 6: Facilitate group consensus
FACTOR ANALYSIS (data reduction and clustering)
ON THE JOB EXPERIENCES
Cluster 1: Teaching and Learning
(.792) Task 15: Coaching and supporting
(.760) Task 34: Teacher collaboration
(.722) Task 23: School improvement (org. beh.)
(.650) Task 21: Professional growth (teachers)
(.628) Task 17: Formative evaluation
(.592) Task 39: Equity and diversity
FACTOR ANALYSIS
ON THE JOB EXPERIENCE, continued
Cluster 2: Operations and Resources
(.734) Task 27: Legal requirements
(.715) Task 25: Fiscal resources
(.664) Task 24: Systems and safety
(.644) Task 28: Administrative technologies
(.641) Task 12: Program development
FACTOR ANALYSIS
ON THE JOB EXPERIENCES, continued
Cluster 3: Relations
(.716) Self reflection
(.689) Communications
(.584) Community trends, issues, needs
(.524) Community relations
FACTOR ANALYSIS
CREDENTIAL PROGRAMS
Cluster 1: Teaching and Learning
(.752) Task 17: Formative evaluation
(.723) Task 13: Motivational strategies
(.701) Task 34: Teacher collaboration
(.626) Task 15: Coaching and supporting
(.592) Task 21: Professional growth (teachers)
FACTOR ANALYSIS
CREDENTIAL PROGRAMS
Cluster 2: Operations and Resources
(.756) Task 25: Fiscal resources
(.730) Task 29: Collective bargaining
(.670) Task 26: School facilities
(.633) Task 27: Legal requirements
(.616) Task 33: Media relationships
(.615) Task 31: Community resources
FACTOR ANALYSIS
CREDENTIAL PROGRAMS, continued
Cluster 3: Decision-making
(.676) Task 5: Dealing with competing interests
(.748) Task 6: Group consensus
(.560) Task 11: Participatory decision-making
Key Findings
1. OTJ experiences are significantly more important
than credential programs for 37 of 41 tasks (4.38 vs
3.66)
2. Subgroups that were significantly more likely to
attribute importance to OTJ experiences:
 More Experienced vs. Less Experienced (93% vs. 81%)
 Females vs. Males (93% vs. 73%)
 Elementary vs. Secondary (93% vs. 66%)
How Important Are the 41 ISLLC Tasks?
OVERALL
32 (78%) tasks rated .80 or higher
TOP 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Establishing a shared vision
Coaching and supporting teachers
Facilitating professional collaborations
Using data to advance teaching & learning
Establishing an instructionally focused school culture
How Important Are the 41 ISLLC Tasks?
BOTTOM 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Using symbolic leadership
Working with collective bargaining agreements
Establishing positive media relations
Advocating for schools via political arenas
Currency with state, national, global trends
Where Does Task Learning Occur?
On-the-Job Experiences: Highest Rated Tasks
1. Establishing an instructionally focused school
culture
2. Negotiating with people who have competing
interests
3. (tie)
a) Developing a long term strategic plan
b) Using data to advance teaching and learning
4. Coaching and supporting teachers
Where Does Task Learning Occur?
Credential Programs: Highest Rated Tasks
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Using a code of ethics to guide leadership behavior
Promoting principles of equity and diversity
Coaching and supporting teachers
Evaluating teacher performance
Establishing an instructionally focused school
culture
Interview Results
Most Important On-the-Job Experiences
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Building positive relationships
Managing the school budget
Supervision & evaluation
Learning about the school culture
Learning how to deal with difficult staff members
How Can Districts Best Support Leadership Development?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Trainings, seminars, institutes
Conference attendance
Facilitate/support PLCs
Coaching support
Regular and focused principals’ meetings
Aligning principal evaluation with professional
development
How Can Credential Programs Best Promote Leadership
Development?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Observing and shadowing principals
Fieldwork (structured, problem-based)
Hands-on budgeting and operations management
Activities that combine “research and reality”
Learning in a cohort setting
Team-based learning activities
On-the-job projects that involve interacting with the
district office
8. Community engagement (learning activities)
Important Conclusions
•
•
•
•
•
Credential programs matter a lot (this is reassuring)
On-the-job experiences matter more (this is not
surprising)
1996 ISLLC Standards remain vital and important to
the field (this is reaffirming)
OTJ experiences matter most to female and
elementary principals (this is curious)
Learning tasks linked to instruction matter most (this
is good)
Important Conclusions
•
•
•
•
•
Politics, policy, media, symbolic--matter least (this is
understandable, but concerning)
Budget, budget, budget! (this is essential and
concerning)
Learning to lead requires interactive, relational, and
problem-based activities (this is essential)
Link credential programs and theories of adult
learning (this is essential)
Districts have great potential to develop principal
leadership (this is essential)