Learning From Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning

Posted by on August 05, 2010

Leading the way

A new study from the University of Minnesota and the University of Toronto, commissioned by the Wallace Foundation, finds that the work of leaders in education — including state-level officials, superintendents and district staff, principals, school board members, teachers, and community members enacting various leadership roles — provides direction for policy and practice. The in-depth study of school leadership analyzes quantitative data that confirms education leadership’s strong impact on student achievement, as measured by student test scores. In the view of the authors, education leadership makes its mark largely by strengthening a school’s “professional community” — fostering an environment where teachers work together to improve classroom instruction. It therefore follows that rapid turnover of principals reduces student achievement. The study also shows that although the principal remains the central source of leadership in schools, he or she is far from the only source. The highest performing schools operate by a “collective leadership” that involves many interested players, including parents and teachers, in decision-making. “Significant effects on student learning depend on creating synergy across a range of human and institutional resources, so that the overall impact adds up to something worthwhile,” according to the study.

See the report: http://www.wallacefoundation.org/KnowledgeCenter/KnowledgeTopics/CurrentAreasofFocus/EducationLeadership/Pages/learning-from-leadership-investigating-the-links-to-improved-student-learning.aspx