Donnie Adams (2023). Educational Leadership Contemporary Theories , Principles and Practices
Consequently, the literature has established that school leadership matters for student achievement and school improvement (Adams 2018; Bush 2022; Özdemir et al. 2022). An outstanding principal that focuses on instructional rather than administrative leadership may raise student outcomes by as much as 20% across schools (Adams 2018; Bush 2022; Harris et al. 2017). This effect may become more powerful when principals utilise instructional leadership and distribute leadership widely within the school to improve student learning (Day et al. 2016; Harris et al. 2017). Additionally, Hallinger’s (2010) review of empirical research on school leadership over 30 years highlights that those principals who build collaborative organizational learning, structures, and cultures, create a positive school climate, and build staff leadership capacities will in turn increase students’ engagement and motivation in learning. Thus, principals play an important role in developing effectual collaborative working conditions (Jensen et al. 2012). Other scholars suggest that principals now have a broader set of responsibilities, including towards the teachers, such as creating professional learning communities to improve teaching practices, making them better teachers, and keeping them on track to improve student learning outcomes (Adams et al. 2022). Thus, the role of principals has become increasingly challenging as they are viewed as the key personnel for effective schools (Day et al. 2016; Harris et al. 2017). The next section of this chapter outlines leadership challenges encountered by school principals, and how these subsequently affect their job performance.
- Adams D (2018) Mastering theories of educational leadership and management. University of Malaya Press
- Bush T (2022) School leadership in Malaysia: policy, research and practice. Routledge
- Özdemir N, Gümü¸ s S, Kılınç AÇ, Belliba¸ s M¸ S (2022) A systematic review of research on the relationship between school leadership and student achievement: an updated framework and future direction. Educ Manag Adm Leadersh. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432221118662
- Harris A, Jones M, Cheah KSL, Devadason E, Adams D (2017) Exploring principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia: insights and implications. J Educ Adm 55(2):207–221. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-05-2016-0051
- Day C, Gu Q, Sammons P (2016) The impact of leadership on student outcomes: how successful school leaders use transformational and instructional strategies to make a difference. Educ AdmQ 52(2):221–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X15616863
- Hallinger P (2010, Mar) Leadership for learning: what we have learned from 30 years of empirical research. Paper presentation. Hong Kong School principals’ conference 2010: riding the tide The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong. https://www.lib.eduhk.hk/pure-data/pub/201709341.pdf
- Jensen B, Hunter A, Sonneman J, Burns T (2012) Catching up: learning from the best school systems in East Asia. Grattan Institute. https://grattan.edu.au/report/catching-up-learning-from-the-bestschool-systems-in-east-asia/
- Adams D, Abdullah Z, Cheah KSL (2022) Professional learning communities for educational reform. In: Adams D, Abdullah Z (eds) Professional learning communities in Malaysia: research and evidence. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Press, pp 1–16