Toward A Conceptualization of Democratic Leadership in a Professional Context

Auteurs-es

Mots-clés :

school, culture, professional leadership, democratic leadership

Résumé

In this article, an argument is advanced with a view to establishing the central principles and premises upon which democratic leadership in school contexts is based. These principles are derived from the findings of a study on the professional leadership culture of one school conducted by this author. The initial study was a qualitative case study that examined, through Schein’s (2010) organizational culture and leadership model, the perceptions of school-level professionals regarding the nature of their professional leadership culture. Numerous findings with rich implications for democratic leadership in professional contexts emerged from the study. Based on these findings, I propose a conceptualization of democratic leadership and suggest ten strategies for its use in school contexts. Finally, I examine possibilities for the development of democratic leadership capacity in school contexts. 

 

Biographie de l'auteur-e

Rob Liggett

Dr. Liggett has been a bilingual educator in western Canada for over 20 years. He has recently completed his doctoral studies in the department of education administration at the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked in rural and urban school systems and is a regular presenter at scholarly conferences in educational leadership as well as a sessional lecturer at the university level on leadership culture and leadership in administration. He has worked as a facilitator of curricula, instruction, and administration at the local, division, and ministry levels. His research interests are in the areas of organizational theory, educational leadership, administration, instructional improvement.

Références

Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2009). Shaping the future: How good educational systems come out on top. Retrieved from http://www.mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Education/Worlds_School_Systems_Final.pdf

Barth, R. S. (2006). Improving relationships within the schoolhouse. Educational Leadership, 63(6), 8-13.

Beerbohm, E. (2015). Is Democratic Leadership Possible? American Political Science Review, 109(4), 639-652. doi:10.1017/S0003055415000398

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2003). Reframing organizations artistry, choice and leadership (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Buffum, A., Mattos, M., & Weber, C. (2009). Pyramid response to intervention. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Campo, S. (2016). Nurturing Democratic Education in Community Schools: The Role of Leadership. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 52(4), 168-169. doi: 10.1080/00228958.2016.1223991

Chamberlain, S. (2005). Recognizing and responding to cultural differences in the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40(4), 195-211.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Deal, T., & Peterson, K. (2009). Shaping school culture pitfalls, paradoxes & promises. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Demers, C. (2007). Organizational change theories: A synthesis. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Doyle, L. (2004). Leadership for community building. Changing how we think and act. The Clearing House, 77(5), 196-198.

DuFour, R. (2004). Culture shift doesn't happen overnight-or even without conflict. Journal of School Development, 25(4), 63-64.

DuFour, R. (2004b). What is a professional learning community? Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6-12.

DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

DuFour, R., & Fullan, M. (2013). Cultures built to last {systemic PLCs at work}. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

DuFour, R., & Burnette, B. (2002). Pull out negativity by its roots. Journal of Staff Development, 23(3), 27-30.

Engels, N., Hotton, G., Devos, G., Bouckenooghe, D., & Aelterman, A. (2008). Principals in schools with positive school culture. Educational Studies, 34(3), 159-274. doi:10.1080/03055690701811263

Fairman, J., & Mackenzie, S. (2012). Spheres of teacher leadership action for learning. Professional Development in Education, 38(2), 229-246. doi:10.1080/19415257.2012.657865

Firestone, W., & Seashore Louis K. (1999). Schools as cultures. In J. Murphy & K. Seashore Louis (Ed.), Handbook of research on educational administration (2nd ed., pp. 297-322). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Fullan, M. (2005). Leadership & sustainability: System thinkers in action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Glatter, R. (2009). Wisdom and bus schedules: Developing school leadership. School Leadership & Management, (3), 225-237. doi:10.1080/13632430902793767

Glickman, C., Gordon, S., & Ross-Gordon, J. (2014). Supervision and instructional leadership. A developmental approach (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Guskey, T., & Sparks, D. (2002). Linking professional development to improvements in student learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of American Education Research Association, New Orleans, LA. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED464 112)

Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (1996). Leadership: A communication perspective (2nd ed.). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

Hallinger, P. (2011). Leadership for learning: Lessons from 40 years of empirical research. Journal of Educational Administration, 49(2), 125-142. doi:10.1108/09578231111116699

Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. H. (1996). Reassessing the principal's role in school effectiveness: A review of empirical research, 1980-1995. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32(1), 5-44.

Handford, V., & Leithwood, K. (2013). Why teachers trust school leaders. Journal of Educational Administration, 51(2), 194-212. doi:10.1108/09578231311304706

Harris, A., & Chapman, C. (2002). Democratic leadership for school improvement in challenging contexts. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning, 6(9), 1-10.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York, NY: Routledge.

Kaplan, L. & Owings, W. (2013). Culture re-boot. Reinvigorating school culture to improve student outcomes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Kruse, S. & Seashore Louis, K. (2009). Building strong school cultures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Kuczmarski, S. S., & Kuczmarski, T. D. (1995). Values-based leadership. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Leithwood, K. (2011). Leadership and student learning: What works and how. In J. Robertson & H. Timperley (Eds.), Leadership and learning (pp. 41-70). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Leithwood, K., & Jantzi, D. (1999). The relative effects of principal and teacher sources of leadership on student engagement with school. Educational Administration Quarterly, 35(5), 679-706.

Leithwood, K., Patten, S., & Jantzi, D. (2010). Testing a conception of how school leadership influences student learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46(5), 671-706. doi:10.1177/0013161X10377347

Leithwood, K., Seashore Louis, L., Anderson, S., & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). Executive summary: How leadership influences student learning. (Executive Summary). New York: The Wallace Foundation.

Leithwood, K. & Sun, J. (2012). Transformational school leadership effects on student achievement. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 11(4), 418-451. doi:10.1080/15700763.2012.681001

Louis, K., & Wahlstrom, K. (2011). Principals as Cultural Leaders. The Phi Delta Kappan, 92(5), 52-56.

MacNeil, A. J., Prater, D. L., & Busch, S. (2009). The effects of school culture and climate on student achievement. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 12(1), 73-84. doi:10.1080/13603120701576241

Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Mitchell, C. & Sackney, L. (2011). Profound improvement building learning-community capacity on living-system principles (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

O'Neill, J., & Conzemius, A. (2002). Four keys to a smooth flight. Journal of Staff Development, 23(2), 14-18.

Peterson, K., & Deal, T. (1998). How leaders influence the culture of schools. Educational Leadership, 56(1), 28-30.

Robinson, V. & Timperley, H. (2007). The leadership of the improvement of teaching and learning: Lessons from initiatives with positive outcomes for students. Australasian Journal of Education, 51(3), 246-262.

Saldana, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Samuels, C. (2010). Study: Effective principals embrace collective leadership. Education Week, 29(37), 1-4.

Schein, E. (1997). Organizational culture and leadership. (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Seashore Louis, K., & Wahlstrom, K. (2011). Principals as cultural leaders. Phi Delta Kappa, 92(5), 52-56. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Southworth, G. (2011). Connecting leadership and learning. In J. Robertson & H. Timperley (Eds.), Leadership and learning (pp. 71-99). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Timperley, H., & Robertson, J. (2011). Establishing platforms for leadership and learning. In J. Robertson, & H. Timperley (Eds.), Leadership and learning (pp. 3-12). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Tubbs, J., & Garner, K. (2008). The impact of school climate on school outcomes. Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 5(9), 17-26.

Walker, K. (2011). Leadership for sustainable development in commonwealth Africa. 8th Forum of Commonwealth Heads of African Public Service, 1-103.

White, T., Martin, B., & Johnson, J. (2003). Gender, professional orientation, and student achievement: Elements of school culture. Journal of Women in Educational Leadership, 1(4), 351-365.

Téléchargements

Publié-e

2020-06-30

Numéro

No. 193 (2020)

Rubrique

Articles

Licence

Les auteurs dont les articles sont publiés dans la Revue acceptent les conditions suivantes :

  1. Les auteurs conservent leurs droits d’auteur et accordent à la Revue un droit de première publication, les travaux faisant en même temps l’objet d’une licence d'attribution Creative Commons  autorisant d’autres parties à diffuser les travaux, sous réserve d’une mention de l’auteur et de la publication initiale dans la RCAPE.

  2. Il est permis aux auteurs de conclure des ententes contractuelles distinctes additionnelles en vue de la diffusion non exclusive de la version de travaux parus dans la Revue (p. ex. pour enregistrement dans un dépôt institutionnel ou inclusion dans un ouvrage), à la condition d’inclure une mention de la parution initiale dans la RCAPE.

  3. Les auteurs sont autorisés et encouragés à faire paraître leurs travaux en ligne (p. ex. dans des dépôts institutionnels ou dans leurs sites Web) avant et pendant le processus d’évaluation, ce qui peut déboucher sur des échanges productifs et favoriser et faire que les travaux publiés soient cités plus tôt et plus fréquemment