Successful, coasting and low-performing school principals in Israel: an explanatory model

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the successful school and principal (SSP) model, which has developed over 13 years of Israeli involvement in the ISSPP study.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper summarizing the findings of more than 20 case studies of successful, coasting and low-performing schools and their principals, into the SSP model. In all the cases, ISSPP protocols were used to collect the data, and the findings were analyzed in accordance with the organizational approach and organizational routine theory.FindingsThe explanatory SSP model comprises three cyclical phases that explain cause–effect relationships and presents intervention points for school improvement toward success. The first phase is an organizational restructuring of two core routines: the school schedule routine and the school tracking routine, which shape and affect school staff behavior. The second phase is the priorities and values revealed in these behaviors and which shape the school as a learning environment. The third phase in school improvement is the institutional legitimacy derived from and reflecting the school’s priorities and values. All these phases are based on the principal as a crucial key player who turns the wheel.Originality/valueTheoretically, the SSP model explains cause–effect relationships and indicates possible interventions and improvements. Practically, the SSP model can influence principal preparation programs, novice principal mentoring and serve as a roadmap for school improvement.

Novice principal mentoring and professional development

PurposeThis article explores the contribution of mentoring to the professional development of novice principals. Based on Abbott’s (1988) framework, the authors suggest that effective mentoring depends on the extent it develops professional core knowledge, which includes the skills of diagnosis, intervention and inference that are heavily based on academic knowledge, practical experience, self-awareness and reflective ability.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative methodology was applied to discover principals’ perceptions of their mentoring. The authors interviewed 15 novice principals about their mentoring events and conducted a category-based analysis to find out how these events reflect contributions to their diagnosis, intervention and inference skills.FindingsThe study found that most of the mentoring events provided support for the intervention skill, while ignoring the skills of diagnosis and inference. We suggest that to develop novice principals professionally, mentors should place similar emphasis on all three skills.Research limitations/implicationsThe small research population and its possible bias toward positive mentoring experience may present only part of the picture. Still, the data provided important insights into how mentoring supports (or not) professional skills development, even in the best cases. Using professional skills in a large sample survey of effective and less effective mentoring relationships would help to validate this framework.Practical implicationsFirst, the findings serve as a guideline for mentor training programs to help develop mentors’ ability to support all three professional skills. Second, the findings may help novice principals to evaluate their mentoring relationships and their contribution to developing professional core knowledge skills.Originality/valueThe professional skills framework adds to the principal mentoring literature by emphasizing the importance of diagnosis, intervention and inference skills, in addition to certain content and specific conditions.

Leveraging a Handbook for Principal Mentoring: Pathways in a District Context

Mentoring is one important construct to support novice principals in this time of change. This study investigates the impact of a district-developed handbook to support co-constructed mentoring practices and cultivate a learning culture within a suburban school district. The handbook offered a framework of interactive systems and tools for communication and relationship building including guiding questions for deep discussion and analysis of practices and culture, data collection, and webinars. Use of the handbook was perceived to deepen instructional leadership capacity and to foster the colearning of the leaders through shared experiences. An emerging emphasis on professional learning among the participants in the mentoring program was unanticipated. Implications of these findings are offered within a specific district context for cultural shifts and improved student outcomes.

Perceptions of a Principal Mentoring Initiative

The daily demands on school principals require clear and consistent feedback, and without a mentor, a new principal may not have this type of assistance. This phenomenological study explores the perceptions of new principals and their assigned mentors in one legislated initiative, named by the researcher as the Vermont mentoring “program.” Vermont requires new principals to be mentored for 2 years. Study participants discuss their mentor-mentee relationship and how that affects their leadership practices.

Coaching from the coaches’ perspective: a process-oriented focus

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the practice of new principal coaching in schools from the coaches’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Six coaches of new principals were interviewed over a one-year period. Through the use of a qualitative, constant-comparative approach, the participants’ voices were used to discover their views. Data analysis employed emergent coding (Creswell, 2008; Denzin, 2005; Glaser and Strauss, 1998; Spradley, 1979). The study took place in the San Francisco Bay Area, a linguistically and ethnically diverse area, in the state of California, USA. Findings – Thematic analysis of interview data from principal coaches revealed a process-oriented focus within principal coaching as a primary finding. Process-oriented coaching, rather than specific, skill-focussed content, was the main mechanism coaches used to support new principals. Research limitations/implications – Findings are limited to the sample of principal coaches used for this analysis, although there are potential applications to similar school settings in other locations. Researchers are encouraged to examine new principal coaching in other contexts. Practical implications – The results of this inquiry point to the importance of process skills in new principal coaching, suggest the need for new approaches in principal mentoring programs, and call for further research on specific process tools in coaching to promote reflection and inquiry. Originality/value – The paper identifies process-oriented coaching as a valuable support mechanism for new principals, particularly during their first year in the role.

National principal mentoring: does it achieve its purpose?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived efficacy of a US-based national principal mentor training program. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 370 protégés who received services from principal mentors in a national mentor internship program were invited to complete an electronic survey. Responses were obtained from 54 protégés. Findings – The 54 respondents rated the mentor program highly, indicating that mentors were well prepared, good listeners, and instrumental in strengthening their instructional leadership. Research limitations/implications – This study provides preliminary information on the perceived efficacy of the program. To more fully understand the needs of new principals and the value of varying mentor approaches, follow-up interviews, a research design that provides for data to be disaggregated by specific mentor trainers and dates/locations of training sessions, and comparative data from protégés supported by mentors prepared by other programs are needed. Practical implications – Protégés reported high job satisfaction and recommended the program to others. Originality/value – New principals reported that the principal mentoring was critical to their adjustment and success during their first year. This is the only known principal mentor program requiring a nine-month internship. The outcomes revealed the value of evaluating perceptions of protégés for continuous quality improvement.