the nature of rural school administrators’ work d. cameron hauseman, ph.d. candidate oise/ut dr....
TRANSCRIPT
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The Nature of Rural School Administrators’ Work
D. Cameron Hauseman, Ph.D. CandidateOISE/UT
Dr. Katina Pollock, Associate ProfessorAsma Ahmed, Patricia L. Briscoe,
Michael Mindzak & Donna Hazel-SwappWestern University
CCEAM/CASEA – June 7, 2014
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Purpose
• Using the revised Ontario Leadership Framework (OLF) as a guide, this paper seeks to document how rural principals spend their time and describe any challenges and possibilities their work presents to them.
• The perceptions of 18 rural principals are compared and contrasted with those of 52 principals from urban and suburban population centres who also participated in this study.
• This research is designed to deepen the collective understanding of the current nature and characteristics of school principals’ work in rural contexts.
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Methods
• Data is from phase one of a larger, three-phase study. Phase one involved conducting 70 interviews with 70 school principals. was completed in April, 2013.
• This paper focuses on comparing responses from 19 rural principals interviewed as part of that initial phase and 51 urban and suburban principals who participated.
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Sample
A diverse sample of principals participated:• 10 of the 19 principals interviewed self-identified as
female, 9 self-identified as male.• 12 had at least five years of experience, 7 were new to the role. • All rural principals were employed in elementary schools. • All rural, urban and suburban principals self-identified as white.• Rural school sizes ranged from ~175 – 500 students.
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Framework
Three parts:• Understanding of the term, “rural”;• The notion of work; and• Ontario Leadership Framework (Leithwood, 2012;
IEL, 2008) - five domains:o Setting Directions;o Building Relationships;o Developing the Organization;o Improving the Instructional Program; and o Securing Accountability.
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Findings - Setting Directions
• Principals in rural regions indicated they set directions by:o Encouraging staff to work together and building morale; o Using of student achievement data to identify shared short-
term goals and pinpoint gaps in understanding at the school-level; and
o Targeted PD for teachers• Differences between urban/suburban and rural principals:
o Creating an environment conducive for collaboration and modelling were important strategies for all principals, though to a much lesser degree for those working in rural settings
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Findings – Building Relationships
• Principals indicated building relationships using the following strategies:o Supporting personal and professional needs of staff;o Being visible and available; ando Transparency
• Few differences between rural principals and the rest of the sample, though urban principals spoke more about building relationships by fostering a positive learning environment.
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Findings – Developing the Organization
• All principals interviewed spoke of modelling collaboration to develop the organization at their schools.
• Responses were similar across the sample, though urban principals indicated allocating resources to support student monetary needs, which was not mentioned by any of the suburban or rural principals interviewed.
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Findings – Improving the Instructional Program
• Rural principals cited the following strategies as key to improving the instructional program at their schools.o Observing instruction;o Analyzing data; ando Providing instructional support for staff
• There were few differences between these responses and those offered by the urban/suburban principals who participated.
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Findings – Securing Accountability
• Build a sense of personal or internal accountability amongst staff by:o Visibility, transparency and maintaining open
communication with staff.
• Meet the demands of accountability from external stakeholders (district, parents, guardians, community) by:o Disseminating results of student achievement
measures, such as large-scale assessments.
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Discussion
• Surprising that population of the community surrounding the school had little influence on the leadership practices enacted by principals in rural, urban and suburban contexts
• “Checklisty” nature of the OLF has meshed with other reforms to lead to a perceived erosion of power and decision-making authority for some principals.
• Insight into PD needs for rural principals:o Communication, emotional intelligence and collaborating
leadership would assist rural principals in building relationships.
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Discussion
Directions for future research:• Explore whether these similarities in the leadership
practices enacted by rural and urban/suburban principals extends to other potentially moderating factors, such as:o Gender;o Level of education;o Panel (elementary or secondary school); ando SES of the community surrounding the school
• Observations of principals’ work in all of these different contexts to add legitimacy to the interview data.
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Conclusions
• Despite prior research highlighting differences in context, there were few differences in the leadership practices and work content enacted by rural principals and their urban/suburban counterparts.
• The OLF has combined with changes in the external environment and policy shifts to slowly chip away at principals’ autonomy and limit the role of professional judgment in their work