This thesis examines the relationship between organizations structure, culture and leadership. The specific organization that has been studied is Swedish secondary schools. The Swedish schools have a divided task, first to develop the students academic skills and secondly to develop the students socially and civically. This thesis has its interest on the schools social environment with special interest focused on questions regarding bullying and insulting behaviour. The data that has been used consists of interviews and questionnaires with students, teachers and principals in 24 Swedish schools that have been studied in a larger study. This work is a part of a project called Structure, Culture and Leadership – prerequisites for successful schools?.  The 24 schools that took part in the SCL study were divided in to four different groups depending on how well they are succeeding in reaching the social and academic objectives formulated in the steering documents. The main result show that principals that succeed to align structure and culture in relation to both the social and academic objectives are the ones that can be perceived as successful. It is these schools that have the lowest level of bullying and the highest grades. The principal takes social responsibility and takes questions in relation to bullying and insulting behaviour seriously. By doing that the principal can communicate the seriousness of the topic in order to develop awareness within the organization and a preventive work can therefore be possible. In schools that work with the students’ ability to be participative seems to develop the students both socially and academically. / Structure, Culture and Leadership - Prerequisites for Successful Schools?

21st century schools have great expectations of generating individuals with refined knowledge, skills and values to make a positive impact on human existence. Paradoxically, the report of the Annual National Assessments paints a bleak picture of the quality of learner attainment in South African primary schools where basic skills in communication, problem solving and analytical thinking should take root. Fortunately, however, sporadic pockets of successful schools do exist. There appears to be an inextricable link between leadership and learner outputs, and learner attainment seems to fall squarely on the shoulders of the school principal. The purpose of this study was to investigate and unravel the leadership practices of principals of successful public primary school as they led in accountability- and standards-driven environments. The framework that guided this study was the four core leadership practices: setting direction; developing people; aligning the organisation for success; and leading and managing the instructional programme. Valuable insights and a rich understanding of how successful primary school principals create, nurture and sustain the conditions and processes necessary for high levels of learner attainment and instructional improvement were generated via an inductive, qualitative study. Three successful schools in the Uthukela district of KwaZulu-Natal formed the purposive sample and data was gathered from each principal via direct interviews. Two focus group interviews and participant observation triangulated the data. The findings revealed that in setting the direction for their school, principals focused on aligning and motivating their people towards a common vision that strongly correlated to personal aspirations. Principals engaged their staff in continuous professional development and were particular about the working milieus of teachers. They ensured that relationships were characterised by open communication, collaboration, democratic decision making and trust. Leadership was distributed and instruction was effectively led by principals working in close consultation with their management team. Due to extensive monitoring and evaluation, the status quo was often challenged and the curriculum adapted. The successful school principals adopted an inside-out approach to their leadership practices, and they resorted to match-fit and hierarchical breakdown. The study recommends that all principals should align their personal vision with the organisational vision, teach human resource management to all line managers, and establish and foster professional learning communities. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

<p><p>Aim<p> </p><p>The aim of the study is to, from a comparative perspective, examine principals’ view of leadership in successful schools. Questions:<p> </p><ol><li>How do the principals describe their own leadership? </li><li>What subject positions do the principals take? </li></ol><p>Method<p> </p><p>Three principals were interviewed in the study. The interviews lasted for about 60 minutes. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The interviews were analyzed according to the theories of transformative and instructional leadership and also which of the three subject positions <em>supporter, pedagogical leader and chief</em> the principals enabled.<em> </em><p> </p><p>Results<p> </p><p>The principals had not an entirely consistent approach to school leadership. Two of the principals spoke of leadership in accordance to the transformative theory with a focus on development and change. The third principal described his leadership in a manner more similar to the instructional theory with clear top-down approach and focus on school to be a safe place for students in a troubled area. All headmasters enabled in some degree all three subject positions however, they had one position each as they foremost enabled.<p> </p><p>Conclusions<p> </p><p>The headmasters’ view of leadership differs on some points which could indicate that the leadership needs to be adapted to the specific school in order to make the school and the headmaster successful. Common to all headmasters was that they had a strong commitment to the mission and students. The headmasters are taking different positions when they talk about leadership. This may be because they tend to use transformative or instructional leadership. The instructional leadership is beneficial in the beginning of the structuring of a school. In light of growing maturity in the organization, it is possible to switch to transformative leadership which gives the principal greater opportunities to work with future visions and the school's overall goals.<p> </p><p> </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p> / <p><p>Syfte och frågeställningar<p> </p><p>Studiens syfte är ur ett komparativt perspektiv undersöka rektorers syn på ledarskap i framgångsrika skolor. Frågeställningar:<p> </p><ol><li>Hur beskriver rektorerna sitt eget ledarskap? </li><li>Vilka subjektspositioner intar rektorerna? </li></ol><p>Metod<p> </p><p>Tre rektorer intervjuades i studien. Intervjuerna pågick under ca 60 minuter. Intervjuerna spelades in och transkriberades. Intervjuerna analyserades enligt teorierna om transformativt och instruerande ledarskap samt vilka av de tre subjektspositionerna <em>supporter, pedagogisk ledare och chef</em> rektorerna intog.<p> </p><p>Resultat<p> </p><p>Rektorerna har inte en helt samstämmig syn på skolledarskap. Två av rektorerna talade om ledarskapet i enlighet med den transformativa teorin med fokus på utveckling och förändring. Den tredje rektorn beskrev sitt ledarskap på ett sätt som mer liknar den instruerande teorin med tydlig toppstyrning och fokus på att skolan ska vara en trygg plats för elever i ett oroligt område. Samtliga rektorer aktiverade i någon grad alla tre subjektspositioner dock hade de varsin position som de främst aktiverade.<p> </p><p>Slutsats<p> </p><p>Rektorernas syn på ledarskap skiljer sig på en del punkter vilket skulle kunna tyda på att ledarskapet behöver passa för den specifika skolan för att skolan och rektorn ska kunna bli framgångsrika. Gemensamt för rektorerna var att de hade ett starkt engagemang för uppdraget och eleverna. Rektorerna tar olika positioner när de talar om ledarskap. Detta kan bero på om de tenderar att leda transformativt eller instruerande. Det instruerande ledarskapet är fördelaktigt i början av struktureringen av en skola. I takt med ökande mognad inom organisationen finns det möjlighet att växla till transformativt ledarskap vilket ger rektorn större möjligheter att arbeta med framtidsvisioner och skolans övergripande mål.<p> </p><p> </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>

Aim  The aim of the study is to, from a comparative perspective, examine principals’ view of leadership in successful schools. Questions:  How do the principals describe their own leadership? What subject positions do the principals take? Method  Three principals were interviewed in the study. The interviews lasted for about 60 minutes. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The interviews were analyzed according to the theories of transformative and instructional leadership and also which of the three subject positions supporter, pedagogical leader and chief the principals enabled.   Results  The principals had not an entirely consistent approach to school leadership. Two of the principals spoke of leadership in accordance to the transformative theory with a focus on development and change. The third principal described his leadership in a manner more similar to the instructional theory with clear top-down approach and focus on school to be a safe place for students in a troubled area. All headmasters enabled in some degree all three subject positions however, they had one position each as they foremost enabled.  Conclusions  The headmasters’ view of leadership differs on some points which could indicate that the leadership needs to be adapted to the specific school in order to make the school and the headmaster successful. Common to all headmasters was that they had a strong commitment to the mission and students. The headmasters are taking different positions when they talk about leadership. This may be because they tend to use transformative or instructional leadership. The instructional leadership is beneficial in the beginning of the structuring of a school. In light of growing maturity in the organization, it is possible to switch to transformative leadership which gives the principal greater opportunities to work with future visions and the school's overall goals. / Syfte och frågeställningar  Studiens syfte är ur ett komparativt perspektiv undersöka rektorers syn på ledarskap i framgångsrika skolor. Frågeställningar:  Hur beskriver rektorerna sitt eget ledarskap? Vilka subjektspositioner intar rektorerna? Metod  Tre rektorer intervjuades i studien. Intervjuerna pågick under ca 60 minuter. Intervjuerna spelades in och transkriberades. Intervjuerna analyserades enligt teorierna om transformativt och instruerande ledarskap samt vilka av de tre subjektspositionerna supporter, pedagogisk ledare och chef rektorerna intog.  Resultat  Rektorerna har inte en helt samstämmig syn på skolledarskap. Två av rektorerna talade om ledarskapet i enlighet med den transformativa teorin med fokus på utveckling och förändring. Den tredje rektorn beskrev sitt ledarskap på ett sätt som mer liknar den instruerande teorin med tydlig toppstyrning och fokus på att skolan ska vara en trygg plats för elever i ett oroligt område. Samtliga rektorer aktiverade i någon grad alla tre subjektspositioner dock hade de varsin position som de främst aktiverade.  Slutsats  Rektorernas syn på ledarskap skiljer sig på en del punkter vilket skulle kunna tyda på att ledarskapet behöver passa för den specifika skolan för att skolan och rektorn ska kunna bli framgångsrika. Gemensamt för rektorerna var att de hade ett starkt engagemang för uppdraget och eleverna. Rektorerna tar olika positioner när de talar om ledarskap. Detta kan bero på om de tenderar att leda transformativt eller instruerande. Det instruerande ledarskapet är fördelaktigt i början av struktureringen av en skola. I takt med ökande mognad inom organisationen finns det möjlighet att växla till transformativt ledarskap vilket ger rektorn större möjligheter att arbeta med framtidsvisioner och skolans övergripande mål.

The aim of this thesis was to describe and analyse principals´ views of collaboration forms, staff development and leadership, as critical internal capacities for school improvement, in five more successful and four less successful Swedish secondary schools, and compare the qualitative similarities and/or differences in the principals´ views at the level of schools. A successful school is understood to be a school where pupils accomplish both the academic objectives and the social/civic objectives in the National Curriculum. The empirical materials used were collected through semi-structured interviews with the principals and deputy principals, and through general school observations in the nine schools. The perspective of principals´ views was used as the unit for analysis, in order to reflect the principals´ way of thinking about the internal capacities, as principals´ views were expected to be an important indication of how principals act and interact with teachers in their specific context. To create such a model for analysis meant creating views, generated from empirical text, that deepened the understanding of the meaning of collaboration forms, staff development, and leadership, as critical internal capacities for school improvement. These views were then interpreted with the help of two theoretical concepts; structure and culture. The creation of the model made it possible to analyse and describe the school observations and the principals´ views of the three critical internal capacities, in the same usage. The question of what is decided helped to describe and understand the structure in a school, which in educational sociology is understood as the division of labour. The question of how the decisions are realised helped to describe and understand the culture in a school, the distribution of work. By using the theoretical concepts of structure and culture it was possible to unfold the power relations and the modes of control in the schools, regarding the three internal capacities for school improvement. One part of the result was the constructed view types for collaboration forms, staff development and leadership. It was possible to construct three qualitatively different view types: A principal distributed and team-based/involving view type, a principal distributed and teacher-based/traditional view type, and a politically distributed and principal-based view type. The last view type only appears in relation to staff development. When connecting the principals´ views of the three internal capacities in the different schools to the different view types, the results show that the ´team-based` view type dominates in all of the more successful schools, as well as in one of the less successful schools. In two of the less successful schools the ´team-based´ view type has become a vision for the principals to strive for in relation to the experienced reality of the ´teacher-based´ view type. The remaining less successful school is dominated by the ´teacher-based´ view type. Principals´ views of external collaboration forms, the connections with the world outside the school-house, are interesting, as all schools no matter the level of success, are ´teacher-based´.

This study aimed to explore the characteristics of successful primary schools in the province of Izmir. In this study, qualitative research technique is employed through the perspective of multiple case studies. It was conducted in 9 distinguishingly effective primary public schools located in various districts of Izmir. The participants of the investigation were school administrators and teachers of the investigated schools. Reviewing the relevant literature of the field, a model of school effectiveness characteristics (consisting of five factors) was exploited in order for conceptualizing the research. This frame of effectiveness characteristics were identified as achievement &ndash / oriented policy, orderly and secure climate, strong educational leadership, maintaining parental support and thorough monitoring of pupil progress. Throughout the study, multiple case study method was adopted, and semi-structured interview technique was employed as the main data collection instrument. Content analysis technique was utilized to unfurl the data gathered through the interviews. The results of the research revealed that achievement orientation, strong educational leadership, school climate, monitoring students&rsquo / progress, parental support, and supportive physical environment are among the identified characteristics for school effectiveness.

This study focuses on how school management teams manage the school-based continuous professional development of the teachers at their schools. The assumption is that continuous professional development - if school-based - may be more practical in implementing changes because the teachers will be working in a familiar context when managing their own development and in meeting the specific needs of their school. At present the professional development of teachers consists mainly of external workshops and courses. Teachers then return to the school context that has not changed to accommodate what has been learnt at these workshops or courses. The lack of feedback or follow-up has done little to encourage teachers to implement any changes in their teaching practice. The study also explores the practice of school management teams in creating collaborative school cultures for the implementation of schoolbased continuous professional development. The rationale for this study is based on the urgent need for continuous professional development to be part of the schools’ development of teachers. The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development provides the frame of reference. There is, however, a gap in the policy on how continuous professional development should be implemented to create a collaborative school culture and the role that the school management team plays in doing this. The aim of the study was to determine how school management teams managed continuous professional development at their schools; to identify the challenges they faced in managing school-based continuous professional development; and to explore the strategies that contributed to successful school-based continuous professional development. The research methodology employed in this study is a Triangulation Mixed Methods Design. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected simultaneously and analysed separately to understand the research problem. The sample consisted of principals, deputy principals and heads of department of primary schools who were interviewed. Questionnaires were administered to Level 1 teachers at these schools. The interviews were analysed by identifying emerging patterns, themes and categories. The questionnaires were analysed by presenting descriptive statistics about the schools and then inferential statistics were determined that correlated and tested the hypotheses. The results were reported in the form of summaries from the interviews and graphs from the questionnaires. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The purpose of the study is to acquire knowledge and understanding of successful school development, with a focus on students' cognitive abilities. The survey focuses on the implementation of development work and its effects on the organization and students' development. The theoretical framework is based on special educational perspectives, salutogenic perspective and organizational theory. Two contiguous preschool class‑third grade schools are included in the study and primary data consists of interview responses from school staff. The study also includes questionnaire responses from guardians of children in third grade. However, the response rate from the guardians is insufficient for conclusions. The results show that school development changed the view of students' differences and needs. Furthermore, the schools have shifted their focus to group and organizational level, as well as to more promotional and preventive work. Fewer students are included in the student health team and the number of action plans has decreased. The development of the schools is characterized by a shift towards a more critical perspective and has been conducted through strengthened meaningfulness in the form of defined values, consensus in purpose and vision and collegial cooperation. The conditions that enable successful school development are characterized by a strong sense of coherence, in both leadership and conditions. Increased focus on the environment, as well as enhancement of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness, are also factors that have benefited students' development. Factors that hinder school development can be traced to a compensatory and dilemma perspective, as well as to a lack of sense of coherence. Above all concerning attitudes among school staff and external demands placed on the school activities. Our conclusion is that both school development and students' cognitive abilities can be promoted through the application of a salutogenic perspective.