Systems Leadership in Middle Schools: Findings from an Exploratory Efficacy Study

• In Event: 106 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session I
  In Refereed Roundtable: A. Table 03. Education and Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of our Institute of Education Sciences study is to 1) explore the relationships among the Systems Leadership for Middle Schools (SLMS) school-wide intervention and student achievement outcomes and to 2) explore factors and conditions that mediate the relationships among the SLMS intervention and student achievement outcomes. Developed by Modern Red Schoolhouse and explicated in Kilgore and Reynolds (2011), the SLMS program aims to provide support for middle school staff to effectively devise their own solutions to contextually specific problems.

We draw upon administrative data provided by the Florida Department of Education, the participating school district, and Modern Red Schoolhouse. We administered pre and post-intervention surveys and a networks survey at four time points. We conducted more than 60 observations of classroom teaching, nearly 80 interviews with teachers, principals, and focus groups, and observed more than 100 professional development sessions.

Our multiple-methods study focuses on malleable factors under the control of middle schools and influenced by the intervention. First, we will include a description of the intervention and key findings. Second, we will highlight barriers to implementation fidelity. Third, we will summarize findings from a small set studies embedded within our larger research project, including a test of the factorial invariance of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, an exposition of teacher resistance and everyday bureaucratic life, a model of changes in collegial ties over time, and comparative case studies outlining organizational change and reproduction. Finally, we will graphically depict our inductively derived theory of organizational change and reproduction in schools.

Authors

• Scott Patrick Murphy, University of South Florida

• Lea K. Schlanger, University of South Florida

• Owen Gaither, University of South Florida

• Lauren Johnson, University of South Florida

• Jasmon Bailey, University of South Florida

• Kathryn M. Borman, University of South Florida