Yes / This article introduces a critical approach to follower/ship studies through exploring the unarticulated but highly influential implicit academic theory of follower/ship that informs dominant paradigms of leadership. Research into follower/ship is developing apace but the field lacks a critical account. Such an absence of critical voice renders researchers unaware of the performative effect of their studies, that is, how their studies actively constitute that of which they speak. So, do studies of followers (and leaders, it follows) constitute that very actuality they are studying? Analysis of seminal papers in three major categories of leadership, leader-centric, multiple leadership and leader-centred, shows that leadership theory is underpinned by the desire for power and control over the potentially dangerous masses, now labelled ‘followers’. The etiolated perspective of the people called ‘followers’ undermines leadership theory, and we recommend the wisdom of leaving follower/ship unexplored.

This research is underpinned by a conceptual framework which is based upon the theory that the principal should share leadership responsibilities with educators to inspire commitment in creating a quality learning environment. The research investigates the role of the principal in creating a quality learning environment to improve school performance and the achievement of its learners. The research considered complexities surrounding educational reforms which require a collaborative approach wherein the principal invites educators to participate in a discussion on how instructional activities should be conducted in a school. When principals who are instructional leaders accept their instructional role and exercise it in collaboration with educators, they practice an integrated form of leadership. This report is relevant in the South African context because the situation in South Africa is made critical by the introduction of a new curriculum framework which requires an approach which will emphasise the principal’s interactive role with educators in the central area of curriculum, instruction and assessment. Shared instructional leadership is an inclusive concept, compatible with competent and empowered educators. Educators assume leadership responsibility when they interact with other adults in the school community around school reform efforts, encourage others to improve their professional practice, or learn together with their school colleagues (Moller & Katzenmeyer, 1996). iii A qualitative methodology was used which involved a secondary school in Gauteng.This case study was undertaken to establish the principal’s and educators’ perception of the role of the principal as an instructional leader. Although limited in its scope, the research revealed valuable information which identified contextual factors such as socio-economic, organizational climate and educator commitment which concluded that these are factors which play a significant role in creating a quality learning environment. What is needed in South Africa for a quality education to take place is an inclusive approach to leadership to promote a school climate supportive of teaching and learning. Instructional leadershipis shared, therefore, in that specific leadership functions are carried out by designated staff members working in collaboration, under the guidance and direction of the principal.

Denna studie undersöker hur arbetslagsledarrollen är utformad genom intervjuer och uppdragsbeskrivningar på de kommunala gymnasieskolorna i en svensk storstadskommun. Studien utgår från ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv och kritisk teori genom Foucault, i form av maktanalys. Maktanalysen bidrar till att belysa samtida praktiker och tekniker ur ett historiskt perspektiv utifrån frågeställningar som på olika sätt berör maktens bas och logiker. Arbetslagsledarens roll framstår i uppdragsbeskrivningar som mångfacetterad, omfattande och splittrad med diverse administrativa uppgifter samt ansvar för utvecklingsprocesser och utvärdering. Formuleringar om att utveckling ska initieras av arbetslagsledaren och beslut från skolledning också implementeras förekommer, vilka kan härledas till olika teoribildningar. Arbetslagsledare själva beskriver ett komplext uppdrag där en stor del av tiden läggs på uppgifter som är mindre framträdande eller inte alls framgår i uppdragsbeskrivningarna. En betoning ligger på att agera budbärare, eftersöka information och sköta administrativa åtaganden. Sammanfattningsvis tycks en helhet saknas i uppdragen och praktiken skilja sig från utformningen i uppdragsbeskrivningarna. Arbetslagsledaren framstår som en länk mellan skolledning, elevhälsa och lärare där de bidrar till kontinuitet och stabilitet i en skola där omsättning på rektorer tycks mer frekvent. En ny komplex organisation med flera olika delegerade ledningsuppdrag och funktioner ställer höga krav på samordning. Framtida studier kan med fördel belysa hur samverkan och samarbete mellan distribuerade ledningsfunktioner kan fungera i en komplex organisation, där förutsättningar ständigt förändras. / This study explores the formation of the teacher team leaders´ role, using interviews and job descriptions at comprehensive upper secondary schools in a Swedish metropolitan municipality. The theoretical framework includes a social constructionist and critical perspective, through Foucault, based on analysis of power. Analysis of power illuminates contemporary practices and techniques through a historical lens, using questions that are related to the basis and logics of power. The job descriptions proclaim a diverse, extensive and somewhat scattered mission consisting of administrative duties as well as managing development and evaluation of processes. According to the job description, the teacher team leader is responsible for initiating learning processes as well as implementing decisions by principals, each advocating a different theory. Teacher team leaders describe a complex mission where a substantial amount of time is spent on tasks less prevalent or unmentioned in the job description. Acting as a messenger, yet a constant search for information and administrative duties are tasks that teacher team leaders emphasize. In conclusion, it appears as if a comprehensive view of the mission at hand is deficient and that actual practice appears relatively different from the job description. The teacher team leaders operate as a link between school leaders, the Student Health Team and teachers where they contribute to continuity and stability in a school where school leaders more frequently are exchanged. A new and complex organization involving several distributed leadership roles requires thorough work in terms of co-ordination. Future studies may address how interplay and collaboration can work in a complex organization, where preconditions are continuously altered.

This study explored forms of distributed leadership in schools and the relationship between these forms and various personal and organizational factors. Though all empirical constructs used in this study were carefully grounded in the existing literature on the topic, the organization and empirical investigation of these constructs in a systemic manner is a distinct contribution of the study. The research was conducted in one large Ontario district that had been promoting distribute leadership for years. The evidence consisted of the surveys of 92 principals, 52 vice-principals, and 2190 teachers from the district’s elementary schools. Various statistical analyses, including descriptive, correlation, regression, and multi-level modeling analyses, were used to analyze the gathered data. In the study schools, administrators and teachers perceived leadership for high-priority school initiatives being mostly distributed in an egalitarian and coordinated manner. They also associated this coordinated way of distribution with wider distribution of leadership. At the same time, teachers often experienced leadership being distributed by principals in an authoritative manner as well. This finding indicates that principal delegation remains a dominant form of leadership and should be studied alongside more egalitarian distributed forms. This research brings to light the differences in principals’, vice-principals’, teacher-leaders’, and classroom teachers’ experiences with distributed leadership. It is recommended for researchers to take into account these differences in their studies of school leadership. District and school leaders should also consider staff’s varied leadership experiences while developing distributed leadership forms in schools. The study also suggests that school conditions have more effect on the way leadership gets distributed in schools than personal beliefs and experiences of principals, vice-principals, and teachers do. This implies that in order to develop extensive and coordinated distributed leadership forms, which are believed to be more productive, school administrators should devote considerable effort to encourage teachers’ engagement in leadership activities, build cultures of trust and collaboration, develop structures supporting shared decision making, ensure staff’s commitment to shared goals and provide incentives and relevant resources.

This study explored forms of distributed leadership in schools and the relationship between these forms and various personal and organizational factors. Though all empirical constructs used in this study were carefully grounded in the existing literature on the topic, the organization and empirical investigation of these constructs in a systemic manner is a distinct contribution of the study. The research was conducted in one large Ontario district that had been promoting distribute leadership for years. The evidence consisted of the surveys of 92 principals, 52 vice-principals, and 2190 teachers from the district’s elementary schools. Various statistical analyses, including descriptive, correlation, regression, and multi-level modeling analyses, were used to analyze the gathered data. In the study schools, administrators and teachers perceived leadership for high-priority school initiatives being mostly distributed in an egalitarian and coordinated manner. They also associated this coordinated way of distribution with wider distribution of leadership. At the same time, teachers often experienced leadership being distributed by principals in an authoritative manner as well. This finding indicates that principal delegation remains a dominant form of leadership and should be studied alongside more egalitarian distributed forms. This research brings to light the differences in principals’, vice-principals’, teacher-leaders’, and classroom teachers’ experiences with distributed leadership. It is recommended for researchers to take into account these differences in their studies of school leadership. District and school leaders should also consider staff’s varied leadership experiences while developing distributed leadership forms in schools. The study also suggests that school conditions have more effect on the way leadership gets distributed in schools than personal beliefs and experiences of principals, vice-principals, and teachers do. This implies that in order to develop extensive and coordinated distributed leadership forms, which are believed to be more productive, school administrators should devote considerable effort to encourage teachers’ engagement in leadership activities, build cultures of trust and collaboration, develop structures supporting shared decision making, ensure staff’s commitment to shared goals and provide incentives and relevant resources.

The number of studies related to school reform and principal leadership styles confirms both the interest in how the two might be related and the enigma that schools and principals present as research topics. The art and science of school reform is hard to figure. While many studies attempt to make sense of an overlapping and competing set of variables that are found in good schools, nearly all studies have confirmed some support for principals as a key ingredient to school improvement. This study seeks to add to the increasing amount of research related to principal leadership styles in an era of increasing levels of accountability. The focus for this study was on four high school principals who were identified as "successful" by their central office superintendents. Each of the principals was a veteran administrator in three of the six largest school districts in Florida. This study's initial focus was on site-based management and the amount and degree of control afforded the principal, teachers and parents in secondary schools. The literature review found that site-based management by itself could not be confirmed as a reliable, research-supported school reform protocol. In each case where site-based management or distributed leadership was found to be successful, the principal was the key antecedent to the school improvement. This study sought to add to the research on principal leadership styles by providing a qualitative view on the lives and efforts of the principals in these four schools. The study employed a phenomenological approach and used a technique called portraiture to paint the narratives of the four participants. The interviews and site visits provided a great deal of data and produced four key themes or tendencies found in all four principals: They tended to be I-focused, We-focused, Servant-focused, and Learning-focused. These four styles of leadership were found to be both overlapping and paradoxical. Though each of the participants had slightly different leanings, all of them shared aspects of the four tendencies. The study adds to the growing research on school reform and principal leadership styles and provides a deeper understanding of each through its use of phenomenological methods.

The purpose of this study was to discover, document, and describe the salient actions, events, beliefs, attitudes, social structures and processes related to professional learning conversations from the perspective of nine assistant principals (APs). The participants were elementary, middle and high school APs, three at each level. Using a modified critical incident technique through participant written response and two in depth interviews with each respondent, this study investigated the lived experiences of these APs related to the practice of professional learning conversations in their schools. The research questions focused on: (1) the participants' beliefs and attitudes about professional learning conversations, (2) their roles in facilitating these conversations, (3) their ability to identify elements of trust within the groups of teachers with whom they work and (4) their roles in building trust. The research literature is clear that teacher collaboration is a key factor in professional growth and self-efficacy, yet often the structure of the school day, a negative emotional environment, and a culture of teacher isolation prohibit meaningful teacher collaboration. Although faced with many obligations and directives, school administrators have considerable influence over the organizational structure within their individual schools. Furthermore, assistant principals often become the face of administration within their schools as they directly supervise teachers and APs are less studied than students, teacher or principals. How these individuals perceive and value professional learning conversations will likely impact the level of collaboration at their individual schools. The findings of this study indicate that professional learning conversations for teacher growth were more prevalent at the elementary school level, that trust may be more difficult to cultivate at the middle and high schools, and that protocols as structures for facilitating conversations and building trust were not widely in use. A better understanding of the opportunities and barriers schools face related to professional learning conversations as well as a better understanding of the dynamics of trust will assist district and school administrators to engage in a problem solving process for better collaboration. Ultimately, administrators have an opportunity and a responsibility to touch the hearts and minds of the individuals on the front line of the work - the teachers in the classrooms working with students. Without teacher confidence, hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy, no amount of financial incentive, cajoling, or sanction will improve student learning.

本研究旨在探討高級中學校長分布式領導與學校創新經營之現況，不同背景變項教師知覺分布式領導與學校創新經營之差異，高級中學校長分布式領導與學校創新經營之關係，及分布式領導對學校創新經營的預測力。 本研究對象為臺中市公立高級中學學教之教師，以「高中校長分布式領導與學校創新經營調查問卷」為研究工具，正式施測有效樣本共531位。所得資料分別以描述性統計、獨立樣本t考驗、單因子變異數分析、皮爾遜積差相關和逐步多元迴歸等統計方法進行考驗。研究結論如下： 一、公立高級中學教師所知覺的校長分布式領導為中上程度。 二、公立高級中學教師所知覺的學校創新經營屬中上程度。 三、不同背景變項之公立高級中學之教師所知覺的分布式領導有顯著差異。 四、不同背景變項之公立高級中學之教師所知覺的學校創新經營有顯著差異。 五、公立高級中學之校長分布式領導與學校創新經營之間有顯著的正相關。 六、不同程度分布式領導在學校創新經營整體與各構面的表現有差異。 七、校長分布式領導能有效預測學校創新經營。 最後，根據上述結論提出建議，供高級中學教育人員、教育行政機關、及後續研究者進行相關研究之參考，期有裨於學校教育之進步與發展。

This study explores educational leadership within and across two of NZ’s eLearning clusters. Two complementary perspectives of educational leadership are used to frame the investigation: instructional leadership and distributed leadership. The research was conducted approximately nine months after the cessation of a two-year Ministry subsidy for the employment of 12 ePrincipals and at a time when Ultrafast Broadband was imminent for nearly all NZ schools. The literature review explores aspects of two areas related to eLearning leadership: conventional educational leadership in ‘bricks-and-mortar’ schooling contexts and eLearning/eTeaching in virtual schooling contexts. Data was gathered from semistructured interviews with twelve school-based research participants (ePrincipals, eTeachers, Site Supervisors and Principals) across two of NZ’s eLearning clusters and four National Officials with responsibilities for wider forms of eLearning. The findings are presented in a manner that attempts to capture directly the research participants’ voices, while still maintaining confidentiality and anonymity. The findings are discussed using an ecological perspective of eLearning as the unifying framework to explore the leadership across nested and interacting layers, from the micro-level of an eLearning class to the macro-level of NZ’s system for secondary education. The major findings from the study indicate that educational leadership in eLearning clusters is complex, relies heavily on goodwill and collaboration, and occurs in a challenging environment. Within an eLearning cluster the leadership of eLearning/eTeaching is distributed primarily across the ePrincipal, eTeachers and Site Supervisors who each assume complementary leadership roles. A raft of recommendations, across all ecosystem levels of eLearning, is proposed for leaders to consider when initiating change to strengthen their practices and policies with respect to enhancing eLearning and eTeaching.

本研究旨在瞭解國民中學校長分散式領導與學校教育成效現況，並探討國民中學校長分散式領導對學校教育成效之影響。本研究採用調查研究法，自編「分散式領導量表」與「學校教育成效量表」，以八個縣市的公立國民中學正式教師為研究對象，並另外發送校長版問卷以求得校長基本資料。藉由專家效度審查與預試回收有效教師問卷173份，進行項目分析、一階驗證性分析、二階驗證性分析以及信度分析，以形成正式問卷。正式問卷發送1000份教師問卷和100份校長版問卷，回收有效教師問卷567份，回收率為56.7%。本研究以描述性統計、單因子變異數分析、多變量變異數分析、皮爾森積差相關以及結構方程模式等統計方式，對回收資料進行分析。 本研究獲致之結論如下： 一、國民中學校長分散式領導實施現況，尚稱良好。 二、校長分散式領導目前最需加強的是學校「情境」文化部分。 三、校長分散式領導目前表現最好的前三項指標是「校長謙遜有禮」、「校長鼓勵團隊合作」、「校長有清楚的學校願景」。 四、校長分散式領導目前表現最差的三項指標是「本校教職員工勇於嘗試學校新事物」、「本校會依同仁的實際表現來評鑑教職員工的績效」、「本校針對表現不佳的同仁會給予改善建議」。 五、國民中學學校教育成效現況方面，教師部分尚稱良好，學生部分尚可。 六、國民中學學校教育成效，教師成效表現最好的是「教師信任」，最差的是「教師學習」。 七、國民中學學校教育成效方面，學生成效表現最好的是「學生教育機會均等」，最差是「學生學習」。 八、教師因「教師擔任職務」不同，知覺校長分散式領導有顯著差異。 九、教師因「教師性別、教師擔任職務」不同，知覺學校教育成效有顯著差異。 十、教師因「學校規模、校史、學校地區」不同，知覺校長分散式領導有顯著差異。 十一、教師因「學校規模、校史、學校地區」不同，知覺學校教育成效有顯著差異。 十二、教師因「校長性別、校長曾經主要任教領域」不同，知覺校長分散式領導有顯著差異。 十三、教師因「校長性別、校長年齡、校長最高教育程度、校長曾經主要任教領域」不同，知覺學校教育成效有顯著差異。 十四、分散式領導與學校教育成效（學生、教師），均有高度正相關。 十五、校長分散式領導可以有效的預測學校教育成效。 根據研究結果分別提出對教育行政機關、校長以及未來研究的建議如下： 一、對教育行政機關的建議 (一) 宜多辦理教育理念與教育革新議題的相關研習給教師進修。 (二) 舉辦分散式領導相關研習，鼓勵學校成員參與。 (三) 檢視校史達60年以上的學校之教師責任與教師信任。 (四) 建立更有效的學校成員績效評鑑機制。 (五) 加強鄉鎮地區的教育成效關注。 (六) 在學生教育機會均等的進步上，可以參考「導師」的建議。 二、對校長的建議 (一) 校長宜增加與學校成員的互動機會。 (二) 校長可以多鼓勵學校成員嘗試學校新事務。 (三) 學校宜建立更專業發展的回饋機制。 (四) 鼓勵教師主動研究與學習。 (五) 提升學生學習動機。 (六) 關心學生自我概念與具備優良公民美德的能力。 (七) 支持學校成員團隊合作。 三、未來研究的建議 (一) 研究對象：包括不同層級的校長、家長、學生對分散式領導的知覺均為 可能的研究對象。 (二) 研究工具：針對不同研究對象發展不同的問卷。 (三) 研究變項：家長背景亦為可行之研究變項。 (四) 研究方法：加入質性研究加以後續探討。 (五) 統計方法：探討更複雜的分散式領導與各種教育內涵的線性關係。 / The study was to understand the current status of the distributed leadership for junior high principals and effectiveness of school education and to probe into the influences of the distributed leadership for junior high principals on the effectiveness of school education. In this study, I adopted the investigation method, self-prepare the “Distributed Leadership Scale” and the “Effectiveness of School Education Scale”, and took the public junior high school formal teachers in 8 counties/cities as my research samples. Then, I additionally distributed questionnaires to principals for basic information. Through the expert review of validity and pretesting on 173 effective questionnaires, I conducted the item analysis, first order confirmatory factor analysis, second order confirmatory factor analysis, and the reliability analysis to construct the formal questionnaires. Then, 1000 formal questionnaires were issued to the teachers and another 100 questionnaires were issued to the principals with 567 effective teacher questionnaires returned, i.e., 56.7% return rate. Also in this study, I analyzed the returned data by using the descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (or one-way ANOVA), multivariate analysis of variance (or MANOVA), Pearson's correlation and simple linear regression and the structural equation models. The study concludes as follows： 1. The current implementation status of the distributed leadership for junior high principals was moderately good and what needs to be improved most is the “cultural environment” part. 2. The top 3 indexes of the distributed leadership for junior high principals were that “the principal is civil”, that “the principal encourages teamwork”, and that “the principal has a clear vision for the school” while the bottom 3 indexes were that “the faculty staff at this school are brave to try new things”, that “the faculty at this school evaluate each other’s performance based on reality”, and that “the school recommend improvement to the underperforming staff.” 3. For the current status of effectiveness of junior school education, it was moderately good for teachers and above average for the students; Teachers performed best at “teacher trust” but worst at “teacher learning” while students performed best at “equal educational opportunities for students” but worse at “student learning.” 4. For teachers, there was a significant difference in the consciousness of the distributed leadership for principals due to different “teachers positions”, “school size, history, and districts”, and “principal genders and main teaching fields in the past” while there was a significant difference in consciousness of the effectiveness of school education due to different “teacher genders and positions” and “principal genders, ages, and the highest levels of education.” 5. There was a high positive correlation between the distributed leadership and the effectiveness of school education (both for students and teachers) and through the distributed leadership for principals, I could effectively predict the effectiveness of school education. Recommendations for the educational administration, principal, and future research are as follows: Recommendations for the educational administration I recommend the educational administration conduct more workshops concerning further educational believes and innovations for teachers, hold the distributed leadership, encourage school members to participate in relevant workshops, review teacher responsibility and trust at the 60-year-old or older schools, build a more effective school member performance evaluation mechanism, enhance its focus on the educational effectiveness in the rural areas, and refer to “recommendations for the mentors” based on the equality of educational opportunities for the students. Recommendations for the principals I recommend the principals increase opportunities for school member interactions, encourage school members to try new things more, build a more professionally developed mechanism for the students, encourage the teachers to research and learn actively, promote students’ learning motivation, care about student self-concepts and virtues of citizens, and support teamwork at school. Recommendations for future research I recommend the future research include different levels of principals, parents, elder siblings, and students, and their consciousness in distributed leadership in research objects, develop various questionnaires for various research objects in research instruments, include parents and elder siblings in feasible research variables, supplement with qualitative research for further probe in research methods, and probe into the linear relationship between the distributed leadership of more complexity and all kinds of educational contents in statistical methods.