A science-based theory of leadership: Facilitating continuous progressive change in P12 schools. Jared R. Lancer, Ed.D.

Problem

There are major persisting problems in public education rooted in teaching practice and that are exacerbated by traditional conceptions of leadership. These problems are illustrated by the social context and high rate of punitive school practices in the nation’s public schools that cause harm and trauma and negatively influences the life trajectories of children (US Department of Education, 2015-16 State and National Estimations, https://ocrdata.ed.gov/estimations/2015-2016).

Despite the primary charge of public schools to develop the habits of mind among learners to be productive members of society, less than 50% of every student racial group including students whose parents graduated from college, can read printed texts proficiently by 12th grade according to the Nation’s Report Card (U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress NAEP, 1992–2019 Reading Assessments https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/nation/achievement/?grade=12). Approximately 14% of students in the United States are able to comprehend and interpret printed texts well enough to distinguish between fact and opinion according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (OECD, 2019,?https://doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en).

In California, while 83.6% of all students graduated from high school as part of the 4-year cohort in 2020-2021, less than half of white students and all learners met the minimum college entrance requirements for the University of California and California State University (California Department of Education, 2022 https://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest.). Nationally, as many as 60% of entering college freshmen are placed in remedial education courses to develop the skills they should have learned in high school (Thompson, Maggie, J. Morales, S. Sargrad and L. Jimenez, 2016). This reality poses multiple challenges including access to economic opportunity and quality of life in communities across the nation.

Given the low rate which all students are prepared for college and professional careers, what level of responsibility should public schools take for poverty, homelessness and illiteracy in local communities? Traditional conceptions of leadership significantly contributes to these problems. A traditional conception of leadership is guided by an individualistic and egocentric focus adhering to a surface, narrow and linear thought pattern in decision making. This perspective causes instability, turbulence and conflict resulting from surface and narrow decision making that lacks depth of understanding of the local context and communities of public schools across the country. This traditional conception of leadership is at the root of the lack of continuity in public school systems. This traditional conception of leadership is the underlying reason why it is that longstanding high performing schools can suddenly become average or low performing following a change in leadership. The perspective on leadership thus plays a central role in the inability to transform underperforming schools and is at the root of the issue of sustaining high performing schools and systems. ?

Science based theory of leadership

In an effort to address these challenges, a science-based theory of leadership is presented here. A science-based theory of leadership is grounded in a theory to explain, facilitate and predict learning that dynamically interacts with underlying conceptual understandings including investment, purpose, process, assessment and evidence. Application of theory and its underlying concepts to practice, and that accounts for the particular social and cultural context, results in meeting the expected outcomes for all students with greater consistency, predictability and verifiable evidence. ?

The question is then raised as to the extent to which we possess the power to predict continuous progressive change in public schools??If we do, can we use theory to consistently transform practice and learning outcomes in underperforming schools? If we can, to what degree could a science-based theory of leadership sustain high achievement and learning outcomes? What questions might be asked of current and prospective leaders to determine these understandings and their application to practice to predict performance? Which aspects of the dialogue would be important sources of evidence of this level of understanding? To the degree these underlying understandings are used to identify and place leaders in public school systems is significant.

In response to these questions, articulating a science-based theory of leadership is grounded in the application of particular conceptual understandings and provides explanatory and predictive power over learning outcomes. The theory applied to practice with consideration for the particular social and cultural context reflects a science-based approach.?The interconnected conceptual understandings function as tools to guide and adjust practice in response to the particular local context. Adjustments are based upon making ongoing observations, documentation of practice and fostering a culture of collaborative inquiry and analysis of what is working and not working for students based upon evidence.?This type of leadership influences and organizes thoughtful and deliberate analysis of practice and to use evidence to identify the necessary adjustments for change and continuous improvement. Leadership fosters investment and synergy among stakeholders and school-based teams in a shared purpose for the work.?Teams engage in collaborative and constructive problem solving to improve and make ongoing adjustments.?To this end, leadership practice grounded in a science based approach facilitates greater consistency, continuity and predictability for the organization and for better serving students in all areas. In short, leadership facilitates continuous progressive change. A science based theory of leadership is set forth below which defines its conceptual understandings and interrelationships as follows:

Theory: a system of interacting principles or concepts used to guide practice and to explain and predict events

A constructivist theoretical perspective predicts that learning will occur through?an active participatory mental process of constructing new knowledge by building upon and extending existing cognitive schemas through new experiences (Hollins, 2010). Application of theory to practice requires leadership to facilitate the improvement of schools through a process of planning active stakeholder participation. These experiences build upon existing values and thought processes to construct knowledge and advance learning.?

Investment: finding meaning and purpose in the work and the power to make decisions regarding its direction

Using a constructivist theory requires leadership to build and extend upon existing cognitive schemas within a community rather than superimposing a perspective or approach to the work. This means understanding the values and work in a community and using these understandings to plan experiences that will keep teams focused and engaged in setting direction for continuous school improvement and learning.

Purpose: a description of the focus and intention for the work of an organization and the desired impact.

Using theory to facilitate investment involves planning an active and participatory process that builds upon the values and work within a community and that engages teams in constructing shared meaning and sense of purpose and direction. Constructing a shared purpose provides meaning, responsibility and direction and serves as a tool for examining the congruence among the intentionality of the school, internal coherence and desired impact.

Process: a deliberate plan used to facilitate change through organizing new experiences and active participation.

Carrying out a process for continuous improvement in a school involves planning and facilitating experiences that actively engages the community and builds upon the present thinking, work and values. ?Successfully facilitating a process for continuous improvement involves developing a plan and structure to ensure active participation and a format for discourse.

Assessment: tools and process for gathering information to evaluate needs, diagnose problems, determine impact.

Facilitating a process of continuous engagement and improvement of practice to better serve all students requires use of assessment to define challenges, determine goals and to evaluate the effectiveness of current approaches. An example of an accurate and useful assessment requires documentation of learner responses to instruction to understand patterns as well as to determine common successes and challenges and the necessary adjustments.

Evidence: proof that a phenomenon exists or that an event has occurred.

The use of assessments provides information for analysis in order to determine the effectiveness of present approaches.?Resulting information from assessments is used to analyze what is working and not working for particular student groups based upon evidence.?Evidence provides justification for making adjustments to pedagogy, curriculum and the social context in the school.

Theories of leadership

Transactional leadership is represented by management and the maintenance of productive operations within a system or organization. In stark contrast, transformational leadership at its core is focused on fostering a collaborative culture, promoting teacher development and problem solving (Leithwood, 1992). This distinction is important to define because the central purpose for schools and learning requires something much more than transactional leadership. Transformational leadership focuses on setting direction, developing people, redesigning the curriculum and the instructional program. The focus is on facilitating instructional improvement and student performance which is a minimum expectation for the type of leadership needed to address the major challenges confronting P12 schools.?

On the other hand, transformative leadership is concerned with eliminating inequities in society through the quality and substance of learning in schools. Transformative leadership is focused on deconstructing knowledge, addressing inequitable distributions of power and creating democracy, equity and social justice (Shields, 2016). ?In transformative leadership, the aim is not just to empower students with the necessary skills for college readiness and postsecondary success; it is to also have a transformative impact on the overall quality of life in the local community and in the society.

With a consideration for these perspectives, the following introduced a science-based theory of leadership in an effort to address the major persisting challenges in P12 schools described. In contrast with traditional conceptions of leadership, a science-based approach is grounded in theory and interconnected conceptual understandings.?This theory guiding practice defines and describes central concepts upon which it is based and provides a process for facilitating continuous progressive change in P12 schools. The consistency with which the application of theory is used to guide practice in context has the power to promote greater continuity and sustainability in schools to better serve students in all areas into the future. ?

Conclusion

Leadership is the facilitation of continuous progressive change. However, there are persisting problems in public education rooted in teaching practice which are exacerbated by traditional conceptions of leadership.?Traditional conceptions of leadership is described as possessing an egocentric and individualistic perspective with a focus on narrow, surface and linear decision making. This type of leadership causes organizational turbulence and conflict as well as discontinuity in learning for students and is a major contributing factor to the instability and unsustainability of public schools and public school systems. This perspective is commonly on display in the case of leadership transitions and successions which explains how high performing schools can suddenly become average or low performing.

Therefore, with consideration and an understanding of transactional, transformational and transformative theories of leadership, the following introduced a science-based approach in an effort to address these major challenges. A science-based approach is based upon a definition of theory and interconnected conceptual understandings including investment, purpose, process, assessment and evidence. Application to practice in response to the local context with consistency offers a process for facilitating continuous progressive change and the power to promote greater continuity and sustainability of learning in the nation’s schools. ? ?

References

Data from the California Department of Education, retrieved from https://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest on (Feb 7, 2022)

Hollins, E. R. (2010, October). Application of theories of learning to practice. Paper presented at the 14th Biennial Edgar Snow Symposium: Global Community: A Chinese-American dialogue, Kansas City, MO.

Leithwood, K. (February 1992). Transforming leadership: The move toward transformational leadership. Educational Leadership. ASCD.

OECD (2019),?PISA 2018 Results (Volume I):?What Students Know and Can Do, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris,?https://doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en.

Shields, C. M. (2016). Transformative leadership: Primer.?New York, NY:?Peter Lang

Thompson, Maggie, J. Morales, S. Sargrad and L. Jimenez (Sept. 28, 2016) Remedial Education. Center for American Progress https://www.americanprogress.org/article/remedial-education/

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1992–2019 Reading Assessments https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/nation/achievement/?gade=12

US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights Data Collection, 2015-16 State and National Estimations https://ocrdata.ed.gov/estimations/2015-2016

?Jared R. Lancer ? Copyright 2022?

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