“Culture” – Findings from the
International Project
Rose M. Ylimaki, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Arizona
Successful School Leadership &
Culture
• Single Nation Studies Identify Culture Building
as an essential part of Successful Leadership
Seminal Studies
– “Effective Schools Research in USA” – correlates
feature safe school environments; norms of learning
and continuous improvement; ethos of high
expectations; role of principal as instructional leader
(Purkey & Smith, 1983; Louis & Miles, 1990; Lezotte,
1997)
– British Head Teachers in High-Poverty Schools in
England – leaders take a directive approach to school
safety and improvement of academics and gradually
release leadership responsibility as safety improves
(Harris, 2002)
Aera Task Force Report:
Leadership requires…
• Setting Directions;
• Developing People;
• Redesigning the Organization –
professional learning structures and norms;
• Managing the Instructional Program
These concepts are necessary but not
sufficient for successful leadership in any
context
School Culture
• Ethos – feeling; how we do things around
here
• Safety
• Norms
• Beliefs
• High Expectations for Learning
• Rituals
International Successful School
Principalship Study (ISSP)
• Eight Countries (USA, England, Denmark, Norway,
Sweden, Canada, Hong Kong & Australia)
• 86 cases to date
• Focus on Challenging School Contexts – US, England,
and Australia
Challenges Changing Demographics
• Immigration accounts for population increases
(increased cultural diversity)
• High-poverty schools serve a minority majority
population
– USA (64% of foreign born residents arrived since
1980, most coming from non-English speaking
nations; 30% of schoolage children live in poverty)
– Britain (Half of population growth between 1991 2001 due to immigration
– Australia (41% of population growth in 1991 due to
immigration
Increased Accountability
• England (1988 Education Reform Act)
– National School Inspections and Standardized Tests of
Academic Performance - Student Outcomes
• Australia (1990s)
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–
–
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State and Territory Levels
Self-Evaluation and External Review Combination
Differentiated Reviews based on Past Performance
Multiple Data Sources and Foci on Participation as
well as Authentic Pedagogy and Student Performance
• USA
– No Child Left Behind Act (2002)
– State Testing Mandates
Organizational Reforms
• England (Local Management of Schools)
– Decentralization - head teachers are accountable
– National Mandate
• Australia
– Decentralization and Self-Management
– Variation by Region (initiated in Victoria, spread
throughout the Australia during the 1990s)
– Accountability for Participatory Leadership
• USA
– State and District Mandates for Site-Based
Management
– No Accountability for Participatory Leadership
Research Phases
• Phases
– Development of Common Interview Protocols,
using single nation literature on successful
school leadership
– Development and Analysis of Case Studies
(86 to date; 13 high-poverty)
– Survey
– Digital Videos and Modules for Leadership
Preparation
Case Study Phase
• Sampling - Reputation and Outcomes (13
culturally diverse, high-poverty schools in NE)
• Data Sources and Collection
– Document Analysis
– Participant Observations
– Semi-Structured Interviews - common protocol
• Principals (two interviews); random selection of 20%
teachers; parent focus groups; student focus groups
• Data Analysis
– National Case Study Development; Identification of
Themes and Categories - Leadership Practices
– Cross-National Analysis
US Case Descriptions
• Seven Northeast US Elementary, Middle,
High Schools
• Four women (three African American and
one Caucasian); three men (all Caucasian)
• Range of Experience (3 years to 22 years)
• Three Masters and Four Doctorates
• Range of School Size and Location (urban,
suburban, rural)
Findings
(Outer) Core Practices
• Multi-focal Direction Setting – Beauty, Safety,
Learning
• Developing People - Unlearning and Learning
• Organizational Redesign - Physical and Learning
• Managing the Instructional Program (Direct and
Indirect)
(Inner) Qualities of Leadership - persistence,
empathy, passion, respect for multi-culturalism,
flexible thinking
Multi-Focal Setting Directions
• Two Simultaneous Intentions
– Secure the building
– Beautify the Physical Setting (with respect to
school culture)
– Refocus on teaching and learning
• Principals / Headteachers “Close the Doors
in Order to Open Them”
Setting Direction - Security,
Beauty, Learning
USA Costello Principal - “I knew the first thing I
had to do was clean the school up…literally. We
locked all doors but one and got parents to help
us secure that one…Parents and the teachers
needed to see the school as a safe, beautiful place
where children could and would learn.”
Australian Billabong Principal - “I would have to
stand outside and stop transients from coming in
school. I had to also teach people that this
building was for education and giving children a
chance. That means we plant flowers and
learning.”
Setting Direction cont.
• Respect for Multi-Culturalism
“I started working with a community
organization to beautify the surrounding
neighborhood and to create a mural in the
school entranceway that respected the
school culture.” – US Fraser principal
Setting Directions cont.
• “Part of making a school beautiful is
showing respect for the community culture.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (our
kids) and part of that requires respecting
and learning from the community culture.”
– US Hamilton principal
Setting Directions cont.
• “I really had to develop relationships with
the growing Muslim population and help
create positive learning relationships,
giving respect for their beliefs and
educating all of us (including me) about
what that meant.” Australian principal
Developing People - Unlearning
and Learning
• Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions to Improve
Teaching and Learning
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–
–
–
–
Creativity with Resources
Direct Modeling and Support in Classrooms
Unlearning and Learning
Intellectual Stimulation and Emotional Support
Empathy for Poverty Barriers but “No Excuses”
Developing People Quotes
England (Shale) Head Teacher - “You have to make
sure the kids get to do the real reading and
writing, to be actively involved in learning, and I
really had to help teachers unlearn old practices
and learn new ones, even teaching in their
classrooms.”
Australian (Appler) Principal - “Our kids have a
lower tolerance for didactic teaching…they have
to have constructivist learning, which means
some teachers need to unlearn more didactic
practices. We spend time every day sharing
strategies to do that.”
Developing People cont.
USA Teacher quote about Fraser Principal - “She
knows so much about literacy. She sent us to
Teachers College for training in authentic literacy
and she came with their coaches into our
classrooms.”
Costello Principal - “I found America’s Choice and
it included literacy coaches, which really helped
teachers learn how to teach reading skills and
raise their expectations about what kids can do
when they get good instruction.”
Organizational Redesign Physical and Learning
• Redesigns focused on Safety and Learning
– Decision Making Teams included
“beautification” or “physical” school
development
– Variation in Transition Toward Teacher and
Parent Leadership and Participation (from
early stages/intentions to sophisticated
(horizontal and vertical) teams
– Using Accountability for Leverage
Redesigning Organization
Quotes
Influence of Accountability
England (Birch) Head Teacher - “When local
school management is working well, it provides a
principal with opportunities for democratic
curriculum development.”
Birch Teacher “We have a clear view of where
curriculum should be headed. Our meetings are
open and we communicate about students daily.
We make decisions together.”
Redesigning Organization
• Australia (Billabong Principal) - “We are
accountable for values of participation,
particularly following the riots…we are
conscious of including diverse participants in
decisions about the school.”
• Billabong (Muslim) Parent - “I attend school
meetings, and we look at what our kids are
learning and make decisions with the teachers
about how curriculum needs to be for our
children.”
Redesigning the Organization
• USA (Fraser Principal) - “We have layers
of decision-making teams at grade levels,
cross-grade level and stakeholder groups,
school governance, and specific projects.
We started with a beautification group,
which was improving the look and safety
of the building, then we gradually added
curriculum issues. Parents and students sit
on the teams as well.”
Managing the Instructional
Program (direct and indirect)
•
•
•
•
Teaching and Modeling in Classrooms
Monitoring Classroom Activity
Buffering Staff from Distractions
Hiring (and Removing) Staff According to
School Priorities
• Variation in Philosophy, Pedagogy, and Use of
Externally Developed Programs
• Using Accountability to Leverage Improvement
Managing Instruction Quotes
England Head Teacher - “I teach and spend a lot of
time in other classrooms. I help teachers do what
needs to be done..It’s unlearning in some ways. ”
Australian Teacher about Tasmanian principal “His real credibility is in the fact that he practices
what he preaches. He runs our staff meetings like
a teacher who believes in immersion and
engagement.”
USA Hamilton teacher - “She rolled up her sleeves
and taught eighth grade…She stands out in the
rain with us to get kids on the buses safely. Then
teachers started to take on a new belief.”
Managing Instruction
USA Fraser Teacher Quote about Principal - “She
constantly reminds everyone that this school is a
place for learning. There’s no time to waste.”
Fraser Principal - “I literally had to get kids to sit so
teachers could teach. In some ways,
accountability helps create pressure to change.”
USA Hamilton Teacher Quote about Principal “We listen because she doesn’t ask people to do
anything she doesn’t do herself. She actually
taught eighth grade when there wasn’t a qualified
teacher available. When we looked at data, it was
her own teaching data, too.”
Inner Leadership Qualities
• Persistence (England Head Teacher) - “You just
need to persevere. This job is not for the faint of
heart.”
• Empathy (Costello, USA) - “She seems to have
more empathy for the neighborhood children than
teachers who she thinks are not able to handle
them.”
• Passion - (Australian Principal) - “She’s
passionate about making a difference.”
• Flexible Thinking (Hamilton Principal, USA) “We tapped Fraser teachers trained in literacy to
be coaches and give workshops at our school.”
Discussion – Connection to
Culture
• Principals exhibit common practices to improve
school safety (direct as well as indirect)
• Each principal initiated change in physical and
learning environment
• Professional development required creativity and
flexible thinking, using whatever fiscal or
material resources were available.
• Whenever possible, they redesigned school
structures, policies, and practices to facilitate
collaboration and improve school performance.
Discussion cont.
• Self-management was at various levels of
maturity, but there was tighter coupling.
• Differences in policy shape leadership beliefs and
practice (i.e. accountability for participation as
well as student outcomes)
• This job is not for the faint of heart. It takes
courage and persistence as well as leadership
knowledge and skills to be successful in highpoverty, challenging schools.
Discussion - Differences
• Schools differed both within and across countries
in size, diversity, stage of development,
leadership structure, school-wide pedagogy, and
resources.
• School leaders differed in their philosophies of
learning and pedagogy, and these differences
were shaped by national / regional context.
• Schools were in different “stages” of
development toward distributed leadership or
participatory governance, which may be due, in
part, previous principal experience and
district/state/national expectations.
Culture
• Ethos – how we do things around here
(school & culture are the same)
• Safety and Beauty – Multi-Cultural Beauty
• Norms of Cultural Respect and Rigorous
Academics
• Beliefs – “making our cultures into better
places to live”
• Rituals – respect multi-cultural, diverse
population
Conclusions and Implications
• Findings Extend Single Nation Studies of
Successful School Principals
• Direct as well as Indirect Leadership Processes
• Context is Critically Important, but there are
Marked Similarities Across these Countries
• Limitations of Case Study Research and Sample
of 13 (cannot be generalized to All High Poverty
Schools)
Conclusions cont.
• Evidence Suggests that Creating a Safe,
Nurturing Child-Centered Environment
may be a Necessary First Step in Schools
Confronting Conditions at 13 Sites
• Emphasis on Beauty and Safety
• Respect for Multi-Cultural
• Emphasis on Western Perspectives
• Need for Longitudinal Component and
more Ethnographic Methods