Abstract
School leaders are at the core of school growth and performance. They work with others to support improvement and performance to shape the organization as a place of learning. As they focus on building stronger learning communities where both students and teachers are successful, several key issues consistently challenge them. Articles in this issue of Bulletin offer several important ideas that principals will find valuable in addressing these challenges and becoming more accomplished, skillful, and impactful.
Promoting an ethical environment in schools is an important responsibility for school leaders. In the lead article, researcher Shapira-Lishchinsky proposes a multidimensional model for understanding the meaning of ethical practices in school. The author examined the meaning of “ethical practice in school” based on cross-national attitudes reflected in a random sample of codes of ethics in various countries using qualitative methodology. The study’s findings identify six dimensions that appear in almost every code of ethics reviewed: “caring about pupils,” “teachers’ professionalism,” “collegial relationships,” “parental involvement,” “community involvement,” and “respecting the rules and regulations.” School principals will find this model helpful as they engage in fostering an ethical school environment.
Policymakers have become increasingly focused on ways to ensure instructional quality with recent approaches centered on boosting the quality of teacher evaluations. In the second article, researchers Deandalt and Brutus analyze the employment policies regulating teacher performance evaluations in Ontario to determine if the system is a quality measure of teacher effectiveness. Their findings suggest that the evaluation system has flaws in both appraisal practices and evaluation regulations or policies. Several practical implications, which may be of value to achieving the intended results from teacher evaluation systems, are described and are important for principals as they engage in evaluating teachers in their schools.
Alternative or nontraditional teacher certification has been widely adopted as a way to recruit talented individuals who have a passion for teaching but do not have a background in education. However, not all alternative certified teachers are ready for the realities of the classroom. In the final article by Rose and Sughrue, the authors explore the relationship between school leaders’ knowledge of alternative certified teachers’ challenges and factors affecting their retention in the profession and the support they provided in light of the knowledge. In addition, they examined the impact of professional development provided by school leaders on retention of novice alternative certified teacher. Their primary findings suggest that while alternative certified teachers and school leaders both claimed school leaders had some understanding of the challenges of these teachers, a clear gap in leader knowledge existed. Principals will find this research informative and practical as they address the challenges of providing support for alternative certified teachers.
As you read this issue, I hope you will gather ideas that will help you move your school forward. Each article is a “must read”!