Leadership for Improving Teaching Quality leadership: Findings from School Practice in Northeast China

• In Event: Principals as leaders in Peru, China, and South Korea

Proposal

Purposes and central research questions
Teaching quality has always been the core issue of school education. The eighth round of basic education reform in China is aimed at improving the quality of teaching every time. But in the school, the quality management mode and effect of the organization will directly affect the quality of classroom teaching, the way of quality improvement, the effect and duration. Leaders determine the degree of attention paid to teaching quality , mode of operation , overall direction and the effect of the development of school teaching quality. However, compared with teaching quality management, teaching quality leadership is a neglected topic.
Therefore, from the perspective of school leadership, the researchers analyze the structural problems that dominate the improvement of school teaching quality. The main purposes of the study include the status quo of teaching quality leadership in primary and secondary schools, the existing problems, the causes of leading problems in teaching quality, and the corresponding improvement strategies.

Theoretical Framework
The study draws on the theory of total quality management，Baldrige Quality Program Education Criteria for Performance Excellence，transformational leadership theory and distributed leadership theory as support. Total quality management theory adheres to the "meet demand for the purpose" of the people-oriented view, system view, service view, and sustainable development concept, pay attention to the role of leadership, and require full participation in quality management. On the basis of TQM theory, the "Baldrige National Quality Award for Excellent Performance in Education" has constructed an organizational management framework aiming at excellence in performance.
Studies indicate that leadership that has the most significant influence on the composition, not only promotes the continuous improvement of integration but also matures management system and the quality level(Hill，2008；Olsen，2009); The model of Excellence Performance Criteria shows strong correlation in school improvement （Collier，2001）and effective school construction（Leithwood et al., 2006；Choy & Lee-man.，2002；Grumdahl，2010）. Some Chinese scholars also tried to apply TQM theory to educational research and gained similar results (Zhaolong, 1992; Ping, 2004; Fengchun, 2004; Afang, 2007).
The theory of transformational leadership is geared towards the needs and motivations of followers. It regards them as integral. It also encourages and changes followers to transcend their personal interests and make outstanding contributions to the interests of collectives and organizations by means of the influence of ideas and values, motivation, innovation and individual care. Distributed leadership theory, from the collective angle, puts forward different situations, employees, with ability and willingness, are able to assume leadership responsibility.
Obviously, there is an inherent consistency between transformational leadership theory, distributed leadership theory and total quality management theory and Excellence Performance Criteria, they all pay attention to the leadership of the organization's leaders and employees（ Turvey，1999；Culp，1992； Hirtz，2002； Qian，2009；Xinping，2006）, also be focusing on organizational change（Hallinger ，2005；Antonaros，2010； Caihua，2017）and systematic development（ Bartoletti，2000；Spillane.,2006；Yulin, Wanpeng ,2017）.

Methods of data collection and analysis
Interviews and questionnaires were used in the study. According to the theory, the researcher preliminarily constructed a leadership structure model of teaching quality in primary and secondary schools. The researcher visited and exchanged the schools around the problems of "understanding of teaching quality, leading organizations of teaching quality, responsibilities, and effects", and obtained the corresponding basic information. On this basis, the questionnaire of teaching quality leadership in primary and secondary schools was designed and perfected, and the detailed investigation was carried out from the four dimensions of teaching quality leadership concept, leadership mechanism, leadership activities, and leadership effect. The study involved 1,100 educators from 54 urban and rural primary and secondary schools in Heilongjiang Province. In the process of statistical data, the basic situation of schools in the survey area was mastered. Further tests showed that there were significant differences among subjects with different gender, first degree, position, school level, and school area. After in-depth cross comparison, obvious regularity characteristics were found.

Conclusions
The study found that primary and secondary schools that attention to teaching quality management, and teaching quality leadership is inadequate or in the absence of the state. The concrete manifestations are as follows: the teaching quality concept of faculty and staff is obscure and obsolete, and the concept of implementing systematic leadership on teaching quality has not yet formed; the teaching quality leadership system overlaps with the school administration system and lacks professional leadership; Male teachers, teachers with first degree (or above), teaching and research group leaders, lesson preparation group leaders, and township school leaders were less satisfied; the resource of teaching quality is single and inadequate, have to improve leading effect . The main reasons leading to these problems are: the pursuit of teaching quality development in school is inertia, and the quality of leaders and environmental integration problems still exist. Finally, from the systemic point of view, three strategies to promote the excellent development of school teaching quality are proposed: Leading the development direction of school teaching quality with advanced teaching quality view, promoting the leadership practice of continuous improvement of teaching quality, and the Distributed organic community of teaching quality leadership model is constructed.

Academic significance
To study the improvement of teaching quality from the perspective of leadership and put forward the concept of "leadership of teaching quality" is the first in China. Integrating the value concept and management model of the Baldrige Quality Program Education Criteria for Performance Excellence into the study , under the guidance of the distributed leadership and transformational leadership theories, study constructed the " Distributed organic community of teaching quality leadership model" to fill the domestic research gap. The study will draw the attention to the teaching quality leadership, and will promote the theory of leadership closely combined with the practice of the teaching quality in schools.

Authors

• YU LI, HARBIN NORMAL UNIVERSITY

• Wenfan Yan, University of Massachusetts Boston