In one school, well-defined instructional priorities plus deliberate leadership facilitated sustained developmental practices¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2006 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2009: local conditions change quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Efforts to collectively improve instructional practices were unlikely to happen spontaneously but were facilitated by well-defined instructional priorities and explicit efforts to lead and coordinate them. → Stevens 2006

Evidence¶

Stevens 2006¶

Stevens, W. D., with Kahne, J. (2006). Professional Communities and Instructional Improvement Practices: A study of small high schools in Chicago. Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/professional-communities-and-instructional-improvement-practices-study-small-high

q2 · i? · qualitative · r3

In the school C case study, sustained collective improvement activities, such as aligning curriculum to standards, happened through professional development organized by the principal; without deliberate coordination, teachers did not engage in regular systematic improvement activities in group meetings.

"Well-defined instructional priorities alone, however, will not lead to developmental practices. We found that developmental practices also require intentional efforts to initiate and organize them."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The modern principal's job has expanded from administrative oversight to instructional leadership and staff collaboration — related
• High-performing CHSRI schools shared four practices for guiding and sustaining instructional improvement: defining leadership responsibilities, creatively distributing them, institutionalizing routines, and focusing team work on school-wide goals — related
• None of the three key organizational characteristics is individually sufficient for strong freshman course performance in CHSRI small schools — related
• Differences favoring CHSRI teachers on facilitators of instructional improvement were small and mostly not statistically significant — related
• Networks and professional learning communities of practicing principals support sharing best practices and problem solving on the job — related
• Teacher activities in CHSRI small schools' professional communities were primarily oriented toward supportive rather than developmental practices — related
• In CHSRI small high schools, strong freshman course performance is associated with the combination of developmental practices, deep principal leadership, and teacher influence — related