1. Balanced Leadership: School Leadership that Works™
Keynote Presentation
CREATE
June 7, 2006
Version: February 28, 2006

2. Your assumptions
What are your assumptions about the future of schooling in American public education?
What are your assumptions about leadership of schools in American public education?

3. McREL’s assumptions
We need to get the most possible out of our schools.
In light of the resource, social, political, & design realities facing our schools & their leaders, schools (as currently designed) are not likely to meet the expectations that no child is left behind.
We need education leaders who are prepared to deal with the first- and second-order changes implied by both assumptions.

4. The principal cannot do it alone.
New expectations
Leading increasingly complex change
Relentless focus on improving student achievement
Sharing leadership
The principal cannot do it alone.

5. McREL’s research questions
What knowledge from the quantitative and qualitative research on:
teacher,
school, &
leadership practices
associated with high levels of student achievement & institutional productivity should we use to improve schools?

6. McREL’s meta-analyses
Publication titles
Classroom-level practices
Classroom Instruction that Works
(Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001)
School-level practices & student characteristics
What Works in Schools
(Marzano, 2003)
Leadership responsibilities & practices
School Leadership that Works
(Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005)

7. Leadership meta-analysis
5,000 study citations
• 3,000 dissertation citations
• 2,000 other study citations
69 studies met our criteria for inclusion
• Quantitative data
• Student achievement as the dependent variable
• Standardized scores
• Teacher perceptions as the independent variable

8. Findings from McREL’s meta-analysis
There is a relationship between leadership and student achievement — leadership matters.
There are 21 leadership responsibilities, each with statistically significant and positive relationships to student achievement.
Leaders perceived as strong do not always have a positive impact on achievement.

9. Finding #1: Leadership & student achievement
Average correlation (r) between principal leadership behavior & school achievement is .25
This means …
A one standard deviation increase in teacher perceptions of principal leadership is associated with a 10 percentile point gain in school achievement.

10. Finding #2: Responsibilities & practices
21 leadership responsibilities
66 leadership practices
All correlated to student achievement
Each correlation is statistically significant

11. 21 leadership responsibilities
Affirmation
Involvement with CIA
Change agent
Knowledge of CIA
Communication
Monitor/evaluate
Contingent rewards
Optimize
Culture
Order
Discipline
Outreach
Flexibility
Relationships
Focus
Resources
Ideals/beliefs
Situational awareness
Input
Visibility
Intellectual stimulation

12. Finding #3: The differential impact of leadership
Leaders perceived as strong do not always have a positive effect on student achievement.

13. Differential impact: McREL’s interpretation
• Focus of the change
• Magnitude of the change

14. Examples of ineffective focus
Focus on improving school and classroom practices that are already well developed and implemented.
Focus on school and classroom practices that are implemented marginally.
Focus on practices that lack evidence for improving student achievement.

15. Focus of change: Influences on student learning
School
1. Guaranteed & Viable Curriculum
2. Challenging Goals & Effective Feedback
3. Parent & Community Involvement
4. Safe & Orderly Environment
5. Collegiality & Professionalism
Teacher
6. Instructional Strategies
7. Classroom Management
8. Classroom Curriculum Design
Student
9. Home Environment
10. Learned Intelligence/Background Knowledge
11. Motivation

16. The same change can be perceived
McREL’s view of change
The magnitude of change is defined by the implications it has for the people expected to implement it and/or those who will be impacted by it.
The same change can be perceived
differently by different stakeholders.

17. Magnitude of change: Common labels
Incremental
Fundamental
Technical
Adaptive
Continuous
Discontinuous
First-order
Second-order
McREL uses labels based on the implications of change rather than the type of change.

18. What is a factor analysis?
Definition: A statistical procedure that reduces a set of items on a measuring instrument into a smaller number of dimensions called factors¹
Purpose: To understand the nature of underlying patterns among factors
Requirements: Scientific procedures and interpretation
¹Lauer, P. A. (2004). A policymaker's primer on education research: How to understand, evaluate, and use it. Aurora, CO: McREL, and Denver, CO: ECS. Available from

19. McREL’s leadership factor analysis
92-item online survey (Sept.2003-Feb.2004)
652 principal responses (reliability of .92)
Data used to understand how the leadership responsibilities are related AND degree to which principals are fulfilling responsibilities:
• Change initiatives
• Relationship of change to leadership responsibilities
• Inter-correlations among the responsibilities

20. Findings from McREL’s factor analysis
Two major factors: first-order change and second-order change
21 responsibilities with positive correlations to changes perceived as first order
11 responsibilities with correlations to changes perceived as second order

21. Finding #4: Two major factors
• First-order change
• Second-order change
Insufficient evidence to collapse any of the 21 leadership responsibilities

22. Finding #5: First-order change implications
1. Monitor/evaluate
2. Culture
3. Ideals and beliefs
4. Knowledge of CIA
5. Involvement in CIA
6. Focus
7. Order
8. Affirmation
9. Intellectual stimulation
10. Communication
11. Input
Relationships (.18)
Optimize
Flexibility
Resources
Contingent rewards
Situational awareness (.33)
Outreach
Visibility
Discipline
Change agent
(Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005)

23. Knowledge of curriculum, instruction, & assessment Optimize
Finding #6: Factor One Second order change implications (7 positively correlated responsibilities)
(rank ordered)
Knowledge of curriculum, instruction, & assessment
Optimize
Intellectual stimulation
Change agent
Monitor/evaluate
Flexibility
Ideals/beliefs
(Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005)

24. Culture Communication Order Input
Finding #6: Factor One Second order change implications (4 negatively correlated responsibilities
(rank ordered)
Culture
Communication
Order
Input
(Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005)

25. The Balanced Leadership Framework™
Purposeful Community
Leadership
FOCUS
School practices
Classroom practices
Student characteristics
MAGNITUDE
Create demand
Implement
Manage transitions
Monitor & evaluate

26. The Millenial Generation
Boomers
(1943–1960)
Superintendents
and
central office
Gen X
(1961–1981)
Principals
Gen Y
(1982–2000)
Teachers
Tweens
(10–12 year olds today)
Students
Millennials
70-75 Million

27. Leaving the leadership comfort zone
“…we should be calling for leadership that will challenge us to face problems for which there are no painless solutions problems that require us to learn in new ways.”
~ Ronald A. Heifetz

28. For more information Visit the McREL Web site • www.mcrel.org
Visit McREL’s online newsroom •
• Click on “education topics”
• Click on “leadership”

29. Affirmation The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Recognizes and celebrates school accomplishments and acknowledges failures
Systematically and fairly recognizes the accomplishments of teachers and staff
Systematically and fairly recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of students
Systematically and fairly recognizes the failures of and celebrates the accomplishments of the school as a whole

30. Change Agent The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Is willing to and actively challenges the status quo
Consciously challenges the status quo
Is willing to lead change initiatives with uncertain outcomes
Systematically considers new and better ways of doing things
Consistently attempts to operate at the edge versus the center of the school’s competence

31. Communication The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Establishes strong lines of communication with teachers and among students
Is easily accessible to teachers and staff
Develops effective means for teachers and staff to communicate with one another
Maintains open and effective lines of communication with teachers and staff

32. Contingent Rewards The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Recognizes & rewards individual accomplishments
Recognizes and rewards individual accomplishments
Uses performance versus seniority as the primary criteria for rewards and recognition
Uses hard work and results as the basis for rewards and recognition
Recognizes individuals who excel

33. Culture The extent to which the principal ...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Fosters shared beliefs & a sense of community and cooperation
Promotes a sense of well being among teachers and staff
Promotes cohesion among teachers and staff
Develops an understanding of purpose among teachers and staff
Develops a shared vision of what the school could be like
Promotes cooperation among teachers and staff

34. Discipline The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from their teaching time or focus
Protects instructional time from interruptions
Protects/shelters teachers and staff from internal and external distractions

35. Flexibility The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Adapts his or her leadership behavior to the needs of the current situation and is comfortable with dissent
Is comfortable with making major changes in how things are done
Encourages people to express diverse opinions contrary to those held by individuals in positions of authority
Adapts leadership style to the needs of specific situations
Is directive or non-directive as the situation warrants

36. Focus The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Establishes clear goals and keeps those goals in the forefront of the school’s attention
Establishes high, concrete goals and expectations that all students meet them
Establishes high, concrete goals for curriculum, instruction and assessment practices within the school
Establishes high, concrete goals for the general functioning of the school
Continually keeps attention on established goals

37. Ideals/beliefs The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Communicates and operates from strong ideals and beliefs about schooling
Possesses well-defined beliefs about schools, teaching, and learning
Shares beliefs about school, teaching, and learning with the teachers and staff
Demonstrates behaviors that are consistent with beliefs

38. Input The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Involves teachers in the design and implementation of important decisions
Provides opportunities for teacher and staff input on all important decisions
Provides opportunities for teachers and staff to be involved in developing school policies
Uses leadership teams in decision-making

39. Intellectual Stimulation
The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Ensures that the faculty and staff are aware of the most current theories and practices and makes the discussion of these a regular aspect of the school culture
Keeps informed about current research and theory on effective schooling
Continually exposes teachers and staff to cutting-edge research and theory on effective schooling
Fosters systematic discussion regarding current research and theory on effective schooling

40. Involvement in CIA The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Is directly involved in the design and implementation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
Is directly involved in helping teachers design curricular activities and address assessment and instructional issues

41. Knowledge of CIA The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Is knowledgeable about current curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
Possesses extensive knowledge about effective curricular, instructional, and assessment practices
Provides conceptual guidance regarding effective classroom practices

42. Monitor/evaluate The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their impact on student learning
Continually monitors the effectiveness of the school’s curricular practices.
Continually monitors the effectiveness of the school’s instructional practices.
Continually monitors the effectiveness of the school’s assessment practices.
Remains aware of the impact of the school’s practices on student achievement.

43. Optimize The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Inspires and leads new and challenging innovations
Inspires teachers and staff to accomplish things that might be beyond their grasp.
Is the driving force behind major initiatives.
Portrays a positive attitude about the ability of teachers and staff to accomplish substantial things.

44. Order The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Establishes a set of standard operating procedures and routines
Provides and reinforces clear structures, rules, and procedures for teachers and staff.
Provides and reinforces clear structures, rules, and procedures for students.
Establishes routines for the effective running of the school that teachers and staff understand and follow.

45. Outreach The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Is an advocate and spokes- person for the school to all stakeholders
Ensures the school complies with all district and state mandates.
Is an advocate of the school with the community at large.
Is an advocate of the school with parents.
Is an advocate of the school with central office.

46. Relationships The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Demonstrates awareness of the personal aspects of teachers and staff
Is informed about significant personal issues within the lives of teachers and staff.
Maintains personal relationships with teachers and staff.
Is aware of the personal needs of teachers and staff.
Acknowledges significant events in the lives of teachers and staff.

47. Resources The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Provides teachers with materials and professional development necessary for the successful execution of their jobs
Ensures that teachers and staff have the necessary materials and equipment.
Ensures that teachers and staff have the necessary professional development opportunities that directly enhance their teaching.

48. Situational Awareness
The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Is aware of the details and the undercurrents in the running of the school and uses this information to address current and potential problems
Is aware of informal groups and relationships among teachers and staff
Is aware of the issues in the school that have not surfaced but could create discord
Accurately predicts what could go wrong from day to day

49. Visibility The extent to which the principal...
Practices Used to Fulfill the Areas of Responsibility
Has quality contacts and interactions with teachers and students
Makes systematic and frequent visits to the classroom.
Is highly visible to students, teachers, and parents.
Has frequent contact with students.