Can They Make a Lasting Difference? Examining the Longitudinal Influence of Principals’ Leadership on School-Wide Professional Community

• In Event: It’s the Principal of the Matter

Abstract

Researchers have increasingly agreed that school leaders’ primary responsibilities should focus on improving teaching and learning in their schools. However, only those studies that have examined how principals create key school conditions to improve student learning have succeeded in mapping the indirect links between leadership and student achievement. This study uses HLM to examine the longitudinal relationship between changes in principals' practices and school-wide professional community, a key mediator for student learning. Results offer evidence of a link between principals’ instructional leadership practices and professional community; they suggest that those principals who take actions to develop professional communities will have higher levels of such collaboration in their schools. This paper discusses both the findings’ significance and future research directions.

Author

• Jason Huff, New Leaders