Leadership for Family and Community Engagement: A Qualitative Policy Analysis of State Principal Evaluation Processes

Purpose: The primary purpose of this policy analysis is to examine how states changed their principal performance evaluation systems since the passage of Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015. In particular, we focus on whether states have capitalized on the flexible policy landscape to make space for meaningful family and community engagement (FCE) in assessing principals’ effectiveness. Research Methods: This study uses document analysis to review the structure of principal evaluation systems in all 50 states and selects 17 revised systems for a deeper review of their approach to leadership for partnering with families and communities. Findings: A plurality of states have not substantively revised their evaluation systems. Several of the revised systems narrowly focused on instructional leadership and student achievement measures and were thus unsupportive of meaningful FCE and federal policy aims for schools to work in partnership with family and community stakeholders. The principal evaluation systems most supportive of authentic family and community engagement allowed for flexible goal setting and explicitly encouraged the use of stakeholder feedback as evidence of principals’ effectiveness. Implications for Research and Policy: The authors discuss the implications of the results in terms of 1.) expanding definitions of educational leadership to include tenets of authentic FCE, 2.) creating coherent yet compendious systems for school improvement, and 3.) planning for and implementing a developmental approach to the evaluation of school leaders.

Learning–centred leadership and student achievement: Understanding the mediating effect of the teacher professional community and parental involvement

This paper examines the links between learning–centred leadership and student achievement through the mediating effect of teacher professional community and parental involvement. Using teacher and student survey data collected from 79 lower secondary Turkish schools in 12 provinces across the country in 2019, this study employs multilevel structural equation modelling. The findings of the current study add to the growing knowledge base in the non-western societies, revealing the impact of principals’ leadership on school processes and outcomes in Turkey. The study suggests that principals have a crucial role in improving student achievement by enhancing situations in which teachers work, namely, organisational and family paths. It suggests that principals’ leadership practices still matter for teacher professional community and parental involvement in non-western countries. Implications for policy, practice and further research are discussed.

Teacher Performance and Principal Leadership Patterns

The value of effective management in educational organizations is increasingly recognized by various stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to find out if the Head of Islamic Religious Education in Ketapang City uses an effective leadership pattern in managing his leadership. The findings of this study show that madrasah Aliyah level principals are effective leaders who understand how to be professional leaders. Professionally, this means that the head of Aliyah madrasa has established himself as an education leader and is committed to maintaining high standards at all times. In some cases, the head of Madrasah Aliyah falls into the category of master school leaders who are able to show quality in areas where others can place the principal. as a school leadership authority. The principal is not only good-looking, but also able to show an understanding of the concept of quality. However, no correlation was observed between the principal's leadership and student achievement levels. This indicates that the principal is an education leader with a professional or even a master's degree, but there is no relationship between leadership level and student learning achievement.

A bibliometric analysis of research on principal leadership and student achievement

This study aims to explore the bibliometric review of research on principal leadership and student achievement. The study consists of 473 articles indexed in the Web of Science database between 1992 and August 2019. This database provides access to bibliographic data of publications. Data were analysed by using VOSviewer software to create co-authorship, keyword and citation map. Descriptive statistics and social network analysis were used for data analysis. There are 93 items that are mentioned at least four times in 473 articles. These keywords grouped into nine clusters. The most common keywords are achievement, school leadership, principal, school improvement, instructional leadership, teachers and performance. The temporal analysis finds that recent interest revolves around teacher evaluation, teacher professional development, trust and collaboration. Researchers can do a similar study in the field of school leadership and school culture. Keywords: School principal, academic achievement, bibliometric analysis.