Evidence suggests that principals' practices influence student achievement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the beliefs elementary school principals in the mid-Atlantic United States had about which leadership practices have been instrumental in reducing the achievement gap between economically-disadvantaged students and all other students at their schools. The leadership model that Kouzes and Posner developed, which identified 5 practices of exemplary leaders, served as the conceptual framework for this study. Eleven principals who were leaders at schools where the achievement gap in reading had been reduced compared with the state average were interviewed. A combination of a priori and open coding was used to support thematic analysis. Six leadership practices, aligned with transformational and instructional leadership practices, were identified as influencing student achievement positively. The participants indicated the importance of leading by example and developing positive relationships with all stakeholders and communicating and inspiring all stakeholders with their vision for their schools, believed in shared decision making and developing teacher leaders, and understood the value of risk-taking and innovation along with a strong instructional focus. The results of this study add to the research supporting the influence that principals have on student achievement by identifying practices principals could implement at their schools to increase student achievement. It is recommended that school division personnel and principal preparation program personnel use these results to inform their training programs and school improvement initiatives. Positive social change may occur when principals implement these 6 practices at their own schools, thereby increasing the reading achievement of economically-disadvantaged students.

The effective use of formative assessment practices has resulted in some of the largest gains in student learning ever documented (Meisels, 2006; Davies 2007; Black & Wiliam 2006, 1998; Marzano 2006). Given this support in the literature for the connection between improving classroom assessment and increasing student learning, the critical question among school leaders no longer seems to be, "what classroom practices best improve student learning?" Instead, leaders interested in student learning through classroom assessment are increasingly driven to inquire into the conditions that will best foster effective assessment practices in the classroom.<p> The purpose of this study was to take cases of schools where changes in classroom assessment practices had increased student learning, and to examine both the practices of leadership that supported the assessment initiatives, and the ways in which these leaders were connected. In recent studies of school improvement efforts focused on classroom assessment, Wiliam (2004, 2007) and Reeves (2007) concluded that teachers required support across the entire school system in order to embed effective formative assessment practices into their instructional repertoire. Hargreaves (1999) and Fullan (2005) defined this type of systemic support as lateral and overall capacity. While Goleman (2006) and Barabasi (2009) pointed to the influence of the social network of learners surrounding an initiative, Fullan (2005) warned that learning networks also require quality and implementation controls in order to sustain changes. Wiliam (2007) defined this tension between educators learning from one another and being openly responsible for sharing new practices as supportive accountability (p. 199).<p> This study sought to inquire into leadership networks and leadership practices that supported schools in which an assessment initiative had resulted in improved student learning. Two elementary schools were selected for study following a nomination process by central-office staff. A chain-sampling methodology was used to identify individuals who were seen to play an important leadership role in initiating and sustaining assessment efforts in each school. In all, qualitative data were generated from interviews with ten participants, eight from within the selected schools, and two central-office support staff.<p> This study revealed several major themes in the leadership practices of leaders inside the schools: engagement in a range of formal and informal professional learning experiences by teachers and school administrators; application of assessment for learning principles to the overall work of the initiative; engagement in a multi-level learning community; and the integration of school and system-level plans. Additionally, participants described a cross-role network of leadership supports that seemed to infuse teachers and staff with the positive energy required to maintain a high level of commitment to the initiative. While all participants described feelings of frustration and discomfort with the elements of accountability to their peers, they also described valuing the high levels of active support they received from other teachers, school administrators, and central-office staff. Leadership practices within the context of a network or pattern of leadership relationships aimed at fostering effective levels of supportive accountability seem to be most effective.

The effective use of formative assessment practices has resulted in some of the largest gains in student learning ever documented (Meisels, 2006; Davies 2007; Black & Wiliam 2006, 1998; Marzano 2006). Given this support in the literature for the connection between improving classroom assessment and increasing student learning, the critical question among school leaders no longer seems to be, "what classroom practices best improve student learning?" Instead, leaders interested in student learning through classroom assessment are increasingly driven to inquire into the conditions that will best foster effective assessment practices in the classroom.<p> The purpose of this study was to take cases of schools where changes in classroom assessment practices had increased student learning, and to examine both the practices of leadership that supported the assessment initiatives, and the ways in which these leaders were connected. In recent studies of school improvement efforts focused on classroom assessment, Wiliam (2004, 2007) and Reeves (2007) concluded that teachers required support across the entire school system in order to embed effective formative assessment practices into their instructional repertoire. Hargreaves (1999) and Fullan (2005) defined this type of systemic support as lateral and overall capacity. While Goleman (2006) and Barabasi (2009) pointed to the influence of the social network of learners surrounding an initiative, Fullan (2005) warned that learning networks also require quality and implementation controls in order to sustain changes. Wiliam (2007) defined this tension between educators learning from one another and being openly responsible for sharing new practices as supportive accountability (p. 199).<p> This study sought to inquire into leadership networks and leadership practices that supported schools in which an assessment initiative had resulted in improved student learning. Two elementary schools were selected for study following a nomination process by central-office staff. A chain-sampling methodology was used to identify individuals who were seen to play an important leadership role in initiating and sustaining assessment efforts in each school. In all, qualitative data were generated from interviews with ten participants, eight from within the selected schools, and two central-office support staff.<p> This study revealed several major themes in the leadership practices of leaders inside the schools: engagement in a range of formal and informal professional learning experiences by teachers and school administrators; application of assessment for learning principles to the overall work of the initiative; engagement in a multi-level learning community; and the integration of school and system-level plans. Additionally, participants described a cross-role network of leadership supports that seemed to infuse teachers and staff with the positive energy required to maintain a high level of commitment to the initiative. While all participants described feelings of frustration and discomfort with the elements of accountability to their peers, they also described valuing the high levels of active support they received from other teachers, school administrators, and central-office staff. Leadership practices within the context of a network or pattern of leadership relationships aimed at fostering effective levels of supportive accountability seem to be most effective.

Some research suggests that development of professional learning communities might be the organizational strategy that could make school reform more successful. While most schools have not institutionalized the essential components of learning organizations, studies have demonstrated that these attributes must be developed if professional staffs are to realize the full benefit of organizational learning and in the process, create a context of improvement. The primary intent of this study was to learn and understand how principal behaviors influenced the development of shared leadership, shared vision, and supportive conditions; three essential dimensions of professional learning communities. Secondly, this study investigated how these conditions differed among schools which have and have not sustained high levels of student learning. Understanding the influence of principal leadership on conditions for organizational learning can be partially understood through either quantitative or qualitative methods. From this perspective, the mixed methods design utilized in this study allowed both qualitative and quantitative data to be analyzed and interpreted as evidence in understanding the study's problem. Principal and teacher focus-group interviews were used to create a deeper understanding of how principals worked to create conditions for organizational learning. Kouzes and Posner's (2002) Leadership Practices Inventory - Self and Observer Forms were utilized to identify, describe, and measure the perceived leadership practices of principals. The findings of this investigation suggest that principal leadership is a key factor in creating conditions for organizational learning and sustaining high levels of student achievement. Principals in this study who effectively identified and modeled espoused values were perceived to be highly visionary and appeared more effective at sharing leadership, inspiring vision, and creating supportive conditions. Principals who were able to develop a shared vision among staff created strong collaborative cultures characterized by an uncompromised focus on student learning. The findings of this study also indicated that principals who effectively Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, and Enable Others to Act, distributed leadership among staff and demonstrated a systems orientation to leading.

Does leadership education matter? The purpose of this study was to examine principals’ perceived understandings of the relationships between their participation in leadership education to improvements in student outcomes as the result of their changes in knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and leadership practices. Ten principals were asked to discuss their leadership education experiences in either a master’s degree of education (MEd) with specialization in educational administration or a nondegree professional development (PD) certification program. Manitoba, a Canadian province, has a school leaders’ certification program that requires candidates to possess teaching certificates, have teaching and leadership experience, and meet certain academic requirements. The latter criterion can be achieved through an MEd, a PhD in educational leadership, a series of PD programs, or a combination approved by the ministry of education. Leithwood and Levin’s (2008) model was used as the conceptual framework and in constructing the interview protocol. The protocol also considered insights from Hoyle and Torres’s (2008) habits of scholarship; Robinson and Timperley’s (2007) and Downey, Steffy, English, Frase, and Poston’s (2004) leadership practices; and Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth’s (2006) student outcomes. Participants were interviewed by telephone for 60 to 90 minutes. Member checking confirmed the accuracy of their transcriptions. The principals, who represented schools that spanned Kindergarten to Grade 12, included five men and five women from different regions, and these principals generally had 10 to 20 years of teaching experience and had served as administrators for 5 to 10 years. The 7 MEd graduates reported 5 to 11 changes to practice, and the 3 nondegree PD graduates reported 8 to 9 changes to practice, with a common practice being the provision of educational direction. Principals also reported a shift from top-down leadership to shared leadership and their need to find a new role within learning communities through leadership education. Generally, principals perceived that their changes in leadership practices had a positive effect on student engagement, participation, and achievement. Leithwood and Levin’s (2008) conceptual framework served as a good model for conducting a study on leadership education. This study confirmed that leadership education matters.

The term professional learning community is generally defined as a group of people sharing and critically interrogating their practice in an “ongoing, reflective, collaborative, inclusive, learning-oriented, growth-promoting way and operating as a collective enterprise” (Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace & Thomas, 2006, p. 223). The professional learning community is increasingly being used as an explicit change strategy for generating, sharing and managing knowledge in educational organizations. Improving the performance of a district requires district supervisory officers to build their capacity for learning how to improve leadership practices. In this retrospective qualitative study, I investigate to what extent leadership practices change for a group of district supervisory officers, that is, the senior leaders responsible for the district leadership functions, while they responded to provincial reform mandates between 2000 and 2006. I also examine whether this group of supervisory officers in one Ontario English Public School District, renamed Green Ridge District School Board (GRDSB) for anonymity, functions as a professional learning community. Data sources used in this investigation were developed through a university partnership between GRDSB and an Ontario Institute for Studies in Education field center known as the Midwestern Centre. Data were gathered from six research reports, written annually between 2001 and 2006; interviews from seven supervisory officers conducted in 2006; and interviews from 12 school administrator interviews held in 2005. One limitation of the study is that participants were selected from school sites that chose to become involved with the district change strategies and therefore tended to take a positive orientation when responding to semi-structured questions. The data gathered did not reflect the views of those who chose not to be actively involved in the district change strategies. This investigation’s findings inform leadership theory and practice with respect to the descriptions of evolving leadership practices of a group of supervisory officers as they worked to re-culture the GRDSB. Findings provide empirical support for the contention that a socially constructed environment, such as a professional learning community, provides a context for supporting changes to leadership practices through collective professional learning, problem solving, knowledge creation and knowledge sharing (Anderson, 2006; Honig, 2008; Louis, 2008).

Part of a larger study of high-performing districts in Ontario, this mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) study identified school district actions perceived by principals to help them make sense of their leadership work and contribute to their sense of efficacy in carrying out that work. Qualitative data included interviews with 23 principals, 10 senior district leaders, and 5 trustees in two high-performing districts in the province. Narrative analysis was used to analyze these data. Quantitative data were provided by the responses of 1,563 principals and 250 senior district leaders to two forms of a survey which included sub-sets of questions about variables of special interest to this study. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the survey results. Interview results showed that in the two study districts, each of 12 district actions framing the study were perceived to influence principals’ efficacy or principals’ sensemaking or both. Of those 12 district actions, principals in one of the two study districts identified 8 of the 12 district actions as especially influential in helping them to make sense of their work and to develop their sense of efficacy for carrying out that work; 10 of the 12 district actions were identified by principals in the second study district. Four of the 12 district actions were common across the responses of principals in both study districts including: networking interactions among principals; job-embedded and regional professional development opportunities; support from superintendents with the writing of school improvement plans; and emphasis and support with data interpretation and use for decision making processes. Except for one of these four district actions (use of evidence for decision making), survey results pointed to the same sets of district actions as particularly influential to both principals’ efficacy and sensemaking. This research adds to the understanding of what districts do that helps their school leaders work more effectively. Implications are identified for the actions of district leaders and for future research.

Does leadership education matter? The purpose of this study was to examine principals’ perceived understandings of the relationships between their participation in leadership education to improvements in student outcomes as the result of their changes in knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and leadership practices. Ten principals were asked to discuss their leadership education experiences in either a master’s degree of education (MEd) with specialization in educational administration or a nondegree professional development (PD) certification program. Manitoba, a Canadian province, has a school leaders’ certification program that requires candidates to possess teaching certificates, have teaching and leadership experience, and meet certain academic requirements. The latter criterion can be achieved through an MEd, a PhD in educational leadership, a series of PD programs, or a combination approved by the ministry of education. Leithwood and Levin’s (2008) model was used as the conceptual framework and in constructing the interview protocol. The protocol also considered insights from Hoyle and Torres’s (2008) habits of scholarship; Robinson and Timperley’s (2007) and Downey, Steffy, English, Frase, and Poston’s (2004) leadership practices; and Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth’s (2006) student outcomes. Participants were interviewed by telephone for 60 to 90 minutes. Member checking confirmed the accuracy of their transcriptions. The principals, who represented schools that spanned Kindergarten to Grade 12, included five men and five women from different regions, and these principals generally had 10 to 20 years of teaching experience and had served as administrators for 5 to 10 years. The 7 MEd graduates reported 5 to 11 changes to practice, and the 3 nondegree PD graduates reported 8 to 9 changes to practice, with a common practice being the provision of educational direction. Principals also reported a shift from top-down leadership to shared leadership and their need to find a new role within learning communities through leadership education. Generally, principals perceived that their changes in leadership practices had a positive effect on student engagement, participation, and achievement. Leithwood and Levin’s (2008) conceptual framework served as a good model for conducting a study on leadership education. This study confirmed that leadership education matters.

Submitted by Anderson do Nascimento Ricci (anderson.ricci@fgv.br) on 2018-08-30T20:05:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis Constança Mendes Final_(FGV)_Review.pdf: 734499 bytes, checksum: 0a485311ae42113502be2debd425ef81 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Almeida (maria.socorro@fgv.br) on 2018-09-11T18:33:20Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis Constança Mendes Final_(FGV)_Review.pdf: 734499 bytes, checksum: 0a485311ae42113502be2debd425ef81 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-11T19:21:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thesis Constança Mendes Final_(FGV)_Review.pdf: 734499 bytes, checksum: 0a485311ae42113502be2debd425ef81 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-21 / Proposta – Este trabalho pretende identificar como diferentes perspetivas de feminismo influenciam as práticas de liderança de uma ONG da América Latina. Durante o desenvolvimento deste trabalho, os determinantes do feminismo foram analisados bem com os seus impactos para a liderança da ONG. Metodologia – A pesquisa é baseada em dados primários através de entrevistas a pessoas com uma relação próxima com a organização. Para obter conclusões validas, a data foi analisada usando uma framework protocolo. Resultados – A presença de diferentes perspetivas de feminismo que coexistem em harmonia podem ser um grande fator para preparar o líder de uma organização para lidar com ambientes complexos. Usando uma estratégia de Ambos/e leva a resultados organizacionais mais efetivos e de maior sucesso. Limitações de Pesquisa – Este trabalho tem o foco numa ONG localizada no Brasil, mais especificamente no Rio de janeiro. ONGs de outras localidades não foram cobertas pela data, o que significa que conclusões gerais sobre a liderança de ONGs de outros locais não podem ser tiradas. Implicações Práticas – Esta pesquisa pode ajudar empresas a perceber a importância de feminismos e como serem capazes de responder a paradoxos pode levar a resultados mais efetivos e de sucesso. Originalidade – Para conhecimento do autor, este é o primeiro estudo que combina tópicos de feminismo e liderança de ONGs, para melhor entender a relação entre eles. / Purpose – This work aims to identify how different perspectives of Feminism influence the leadership practices of an NGO from Latin America. In the course of this work, determinants of feminisms are analyzed and implications for the NGO leadership are drawn. Design/Methodology – The research relies on primary data collected through interviews with three people that have a close relationship with the organization. To draw valid conclusions, the data was analyzed using a protocol framework. Findings – The presence of different perspectives of feminisms that co-exist in harmony can be a main factor to prepare the organization’s leader to deal with complex situations. Using a strategy of both/and leadership leads to effective and successful organizational outcomes. Research limitations – This work focused on an NGO located in Brazil, more specifically inRio de Janeiro. NGOs from other locations were not covered by the data, therefore no general conclusions on the leadership of NGOs from other places can be drawn. Practical implications – This research can help organizations in the business world to understand the importance of feminisms and how being able to respond to paradoxes can lead to effective and successful organizational outcomes. Originality – To the knowledge of the author, this is the first study that combines the topics of Feminism with the leadership of NGOs, to better understand the relationship between them.

Emotional intelligence can be defined as a multifunctional array of interrelated emotional, personal and social abilities which influence one's overall ability to actively and effectively cope with demands and pressures (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). Dulewicz and Higgs (1999) define emotional intelligence as being aware of, and managing one's own feelings and emotions; being sensitive to, and influencing others; sustaining one's motivation; and balancing one's motivation and drive with intuitive, conscientious, and ethical behavior. Successful leadership today is about how well leaders manage themselves and how well they manage others. Successful leadership is not about intellectual ability or technical expertise; it is about personal characteristics and human qualities that include empathy and compassion, flexibility, and influence. Today's leaders must have the ability and flexibility to adapt to an ever-changing workforce, and it's these human abilities that set apart successful leaders. Emotional intelligence has become as important as, if not more important than, intellectual quotient (IQ) and cognitive abilities. This study's hypotheses were tested with multiple regression analysis by regressing the four dimensions of emotional intelligence on LPI, the dependent variable. Only one of the emotional intelligence factors, the appraisal of emotion in self or others, is significantly related to leadership (LPI) (beta coefficient = .520 and p&ndashvalue of .000). In addition, there is one demographic variable that is significantly related to LPI (beta coefficient =.094 and p&ndashvalue of .033). Therefore, years of supervision is positively related to leadership. Today, successful leaders are defined by inspiring and motivating others, promoting a positive work environment, perceiving and understanding emotions, and fostering an organizational climate in which people turn challenging opportunities into successes. This investigation explored the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership practices. This researcher used the Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) (Schutte et al., 1998) to assess emotional intelligence of managers, and Kouzes and Posner's (1995) Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) to measure leadership practices. Emotions play a key role in decision-making. This study supports the position that emotional stability and emotional intelligence are important factors for organizational leadership.