Session Information
26 SES 02 A, Collaboration Forms and Midlevel Management
Paper Session
Contribution
The implementation of school leadership started in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1997. The development in the state elementary education system is rooted in reforms in the wake of New Public Management (Buschor, 1993; Altrichter & Maag Merki, 2010; Kohlstock, 2013), which eventually led to a new legislation in 2005. Since 2008 all schools are run by a principal. This newly established function encompasses the management of the individual schools in close collaboration with their teachers and the local school board. Due to the fact that Switzerland does not have a test tradition or school rankings, it is difficult to assess whether these newly installed school principals fulfil their tasks successfully and achieve the goals the initial implementation aimed for. Therefore, the term ‘successful principal’ needs to be specified for the Swiss context, even though robust international data exists, showing that successful school leadership „comprises at least four core dimensions of setting direction, developing people, developing the school and managing the instructional program” (Gurr & Day, 2014, p. 1; Leithwood, 1994). While these aspects focus on school leadership, successful principals need to show several personal characteristics. In accordance with Day and Leithwood (2007, p. 171f.), successful school principals share a common set of values and consistently use a range of behaviour that can be seen across cases and contexts:„Successful principalship requires a combination of cognitive and emotional understandings allied to clear sets of standards and values, the differential application of a cluster of key strategies, and the abiding presence of a passion for people and education” (Day & Leithwood, 2007, p. 172).
In our paper, we discuss the international findings on successful school principals within the Swiss context. What stories can be told on the success of Swiss schools and their principals? What do principals perceive as success and how do they understand their own role and contributions? Theoretically, we link international findings with national approaches on leadership in schools (e.g., Fend, 1986; Dubs, 2005; Seitz & Capaul, 2005; Thom, Ritz & Steiner, 2002). We further refer to the ongoing discourse on professionalization of school principals (e.g., Fullan, 2014, Beycioglu & Pashiardis, 2015). In Switzerland, principals can hardly be judged based on high-quality outcomes, such as student achievement because, compared to other countries (Grissom, Kalogrides & Loeb, 2015), no such data is available. Nevertheless, an accountability system in terms of an external school evaluation has been established a few years ago. The external school evaluations, based on common standards on school quality (2011), provide professional and thorough feedback for schools, principals and their staff every five years. We therefore focus, amongst other criteria, on principals’ sense of responsibility, which we adapt from Lauermann’s and Karabenick’s concept of “teachers’ sense of responsibility” (2011, 2013). The concept, linking between contextual and personal influences, has been defined as a person’s commitment to produce or prevent designated outcomes. It encompasses dimensions, such as perception of job autonomy, position in the organizational network, availability of resources and information, role ambiguity, support, acting proactively and trust (Lauermann & Karabenick, 2011, 2013).
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Altrichter, H. & Maag Merki, K. (2010). Steuerung der Entwicklung des Schulwesens. In: Altrichter, H. & Maag Merki, K. (Ed.) Handbuch Neue Steuerung im Schulsystem. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, p.15-39. Beycioglu, K. & Pashiardis, P. (Ed.) (2015). Multidimensional Perspectives on Principal Leadership Effectiveness. Hershey: Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global). Bildungsdirektion Kanton Zürich (2011). Handbuch Schulqualität (Standards on school quality). Qualitätsansprüche an die Volksschulen im Kanton Zürich. 2. Edition, Zürich: Lehrmittelverlag. Buschor, E. (1993). Wirkungsorientierte Verwaltungsführung. Zürich: Zürcher Handelskammer. Day, C. & Leithwood, K. (Ed.) (2007). Successful Principal Leadership in Times of Change. Dordrecht: Springer. Dubs, R. (2005). Die Führung einer Schule. Leadership und Management. 2. Edition, Zürich: Verlag SKV. Fend, H. (1986). Gute Schulen – schlechte Schulen. Die einzelne Schule als pädagogische Einheit. In: Deutsche Schule, 78(3), p. 275-293. Fullan, Michael (2014). The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Grisson, Jason A., Kalogrides, Demetra & Loeb, Susanna (2015). Using Student Test Scores to Measure Principal Performance. In: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 37(1), p. 3-28. Gurr, D. & Day, C. (2014). Leading Schools Successfully. In: Day, C. & Gurr, D. (Ed.) Leading Schools Successfully. London, New York: Routledge, p. 1-5. Kohlstock, B. (2013). Kritische Analyse von Schulprogrammen und der Balanced Scorecard am Beispiel der Steuerungssysteme für die Volksschulen im Kanton Zürich. Zürich. Seitz, H. & Capaul, R. (2005). Schulführung und Schulentwicklung. Bern, Stuttgart, Wien: Haupt. Lauermann, F. & Karabenick, S.A. (2011). Taking teacher responsibility into account(ability): Explicating its multiple components and theoretical status. Educational Psychologist, 46(2), p. 122-140. Lauermann, F. & Karabenick, S.A. (2013). The meaning and measure of teachers‘ sense of responsibility for educational outcomes. Teaching and Teacher Education, 30, p. 13-26. Leithwood, K. (1994). Leadership for School Restructuring. In: Educational Administration Quarterly, 30(4), p. 498-518. Thom, N., Ritz, A. & Steiner, R. (Hrsg.) (2002). Effektive Schulführung: Chancen und Risiken des Public Managements im Bildungswesen. Bern, Stuttgart, Wien: Haupt.
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