Teachers and principals report district inflexibility and insufficient support for teacher-led, shared-decision-making leadership in small-school reform¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2004 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Teachers and principals voiced significant concerns about district support and policies, seeking greater flexibility and clarity about their autonomy. → Sporte 2004 q2 i? Several participants felt the district did not support shared decision-making leadership styles they see as essential to small-school reform. → Sporte 2004 (2)

Evidence¶

Sporte 2004¶

Sporte, S. E., Kahne, J., & Correa, M. (2004). Notes from the Ground: Teachers, principals, and students' perspectives on the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative, year two. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/notes-ground-teachers-principals-and-students-perspectives-chicago-high-school-redesign

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Interview finding from the 2004 study; one principal said "they're not flexible. They're using the same prescription for every principal, for every child, for every school."

"Some teachers and principals at small schools would like greater flexibility from the district and more clarity regarding the degree to which they are or are not free to differ from general high school procedures and policies."

Sporte 2004 (2)¶

Sporte, S. E., Kahne, J., & Correa, M. (2004). Notes from the Ground: Teachers, principals, and students' perspectives on the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative, year two. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/notes-ground-teachers-principals-and-students-perspectives-chicago-high-school-redesign

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Interview finding from the 2004 study; a principal contrasted the district's boss-model principalship with a facilitator role that empowers teachers to solve their own problems.

"Several principals and teachers felt that the district did not support leadership styles that em-phasize shared decision-making rather than a top-down approach. These teachers and principals stated that such leadership is essential in small-school reform."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The increased number and specificity of policy requirements challenged implementation flexibility, with some viewing the policy as one-size-fits-all — related
• Resource limitations from the redesigned policy are felt at the program, district, and principal candidate levels — related
• Principals interviewed emphasized nimbleness and flexibility as non-negotiable traits for leading virtual learning — related
• Chicago high school reform efforts of the late 1990s were studied at the district, school, and departmental levels in a 2001 conference volume — related