In many developing societies, education systems have not traditionally emphasized the development of leadership capacities among school principals. This is the case in Thailand, where principals have been criticized both for corruption and for being a 'weak link' in education reform. This study examined "authentic leadership" practices…

Purpose: Research on school leadership has confirmed that principals influence teacher and student learning by building an "academic-focused ethos" in their schools. In this study, our objective was to examine if and how the learning-centered leadership of principals influenced academic optimism of teachers and the resulting effects on…

Teacher professional learning plays a critical role in education reform by enabling teachers to refine their professional skills and keep up with changing content knowledge, pedagogy, and trends in schooling. This study examines how and under what conditions principal instructional leadership contributes to teachers' professional learning in…

Background: Empirical evidence increasingly suggests that leadership which motivates, supports, and sustains the professional learning of teachers has a knock-on effect for both student learning and school improvement. The current study was conducted in China, where the workplace learning of teachers is embedded in a strong tradition of…

This research explored the relationship of principal leadership and teacher professional learning in China and Thailand. The authors tested a conceptual model in which teacher trust and agency were proposed as mediators of the effects of the principal's learning-centered leadership on teacher professional learning. Common survey measures had been…

This study examined if and how the learning-centred leadership of rural school principals in China impacted teachers' trust and agency, as well as their engagement in professional learning. In contrast to prior research, however, this mixed methods study sought to illuminate the impact of ineffective leadership on teachers and school improvement.…

Purpose: Over the past decade, studies of school leadership effects have increasingly aimed at identifying and validating the paths through which principal leadership impacts key teaching and learning processes in schools. A recent meta-analysis by Robinson and colleagues identified principal practices that shape teacher professional development…

Purpose: Worldwide interest in principal instructional leadership has led to global dissemination of related research findings despite their concentration in a limited set of western cultural contexts. An urgent challenge in educational leadership and management lies in expanding the range of national settings for investigations of instructional…

An analysis of ratings by 104 teachers of the instructional management behaviors of 10 elementary school principals in a district where the superintendent has implemented policies to promote instructional leadership. (MLF)

The focus of this document is on the reemergence of the principal as the school's instructional leader as attributable to effective schools research. The document presents a framework that conceptualizes instructional leadership as a two-dimensional construct comprised of leadership functions and leadership processes. The leadership functions…

Current reform efforts, focusing on teacher empowerment, are based on the belief that lasting school improvement will occur when teachers become more involved in professional decision-making at the school site. Presented in this document are four conceptually distinct models of teacher involvement in schoolwide decision-making, identified on the…

This paper addresses the role of the school principal in school improvement through secondary analysis of data collected from 98 elementary schools in Tennessee that participated in the School Improvement Incentives Project between 1983 and 1986. The paper explores an instructional leadership model as operationalized in measures of selected school…

Findings from a study that explored teachers' and principals' views on restructuring are presented in this paper. Methodology involved interviews conducted with 14 elementary, middle, and high school teachers and with 15 public school principals in New York, Illinois, and Tennessee. Three issues that will affect the future directions of…

Explores potential changes in the power relationships among teachers and principals. Describes and analyzes the following models of teacher decision-making: (1) Instructional Leadership Teams; (2) Principals' Advisory Councils; (3) School Improvement Teams; and (4) Lead Teacher Committees. (FMW)