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McREL: Turning what works in teaching, leading, and learning into innovation and results
 

Leading Schools: Distinguishing the Essential from the Important

 
 
Product Description  

Standards for school leaders do not distinguish between which leadership behaviors are important and which are essential to improving student achievement. This issues brief draws upon McREL's meta-analysis of research on the impact of school leadership on student achievement to help leaders identify which responsibilities are essential for ensuring high levels of student achievement in their schools.

The brief also reports findings from a factor analysis McREL conducted of the 21 leadership responsibilities identified in its original research report, Balanced Leadership. One of the key findings from this factor analysis is that the "order" or "magnitude" of change underway in a school impacts how teachers perceive their leaders' performance.

Authors  Tim Waters & Sally Grubb
Target Audience  School administrators
Ways to Use this Product  School leaders as well as those responsible for preparing and supervising school leaders can learn from this report which leadership responsibilities and practices are most essential for leaders to develop.
Key Ideas  
One way to pare the long list of principal standards down to a more manageable set is to use research findings to identify those leadership responsibilities that are essential for raising student achievement.
How to Get this Product  Download the pdf file.
APA Citation  Waters, T., & Grubb, S. (2004). Leading Schools: Distinguishing the Essential from the Important. Aurora, CO: McREL.
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