Sustaining the Principalship Via Shared Practices IV

Part IV (of VII)

The use of shared leadership practices empowers teachers and raises student achievement.

Empowerment

Empowerment is a constructive byproduct of shared leadership.  Dee, Henkin, and Duemer (2003) found that “empowered teachers with increased motivation, enhanced feelings of meaning, and strong organizational commitment are at the root of dynamic school progress.”  They supported the use of shared leadership as a collaborative structure through which educators and schools can reach their goals.

While comparing directive leadership with participative leadership, Somech (2005) found that shared practices enhance teacher performance through two motivational mechanisms: organizational commitment and teacher empowerment.  Somech’s study supported previous research that noted to improve teacher innovation, “they need to be recognized as experts in their fields, have input about what they do and how they do it, feel that they are engaged in meaningful work, and be respected by others.”  This further illustrates the dynamic nature of shared leadership and its effect on student achievement.

Student Achievement

The link between leadership and student achievement has been explored in several noteworthy studies.  In 2003, Waters, Marzano, and McNulty conducted a meta-analysis that examined the effects of leadership on student achievement.  They found significant correlations between leadership and student achievement.  Specifically, they found correlations among many factors that are associated with shared leadership including:  culture, communication, affirmation, relationships, and intellectual stimulation.

Lambert conducted a study on high leadership capacity schools in 2006 and discovered that challenging schools made tremendous improvements through shared leadership and a professional culture.  In many cases, this allowed them to remove the “low-performing” designation assigned to their schools.  The schools in their study, “stopped at nothing to improve student learning.”  Approaches to problem solving revealed a strong sense of collective responsibility in the schools.  The principals led from the center or side with an emphasis on facilitating and co-participating rather than on dominance.

In 2010, Seashore Louis et. al. found a positive link between educational leaders and student learning outcomes.  They found that student achievement is higher in schools where principals share leadership with teachers and the community. The study, funded by the Wallace Foundation, provides some of the most compelling evidence related to shared leadership and student achievement.  The researchers examined collective, shared, and distributed leadership effects on teachers, students, and principals.  Their findings suggest that when leadership is used as a shared property by parents, teachers, principals, and staff members, students achieve at higher levels.

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