Leadership's Influence: A Case Study of An Elementary Principal's Indirect Impact On Student Achievement

SGDC 5063: CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
AWANG HAD SALLEH SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES
UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA
ARTICLE REVIEW
OF
Leadership's Influence: A Case Study of an Elementary Principal's Indirect Impact

on Student Achievement
NAME : SITI NOOR HASLINA BINTI MD LATIP
I/C NO. : 801121-10-5440
MATRIC NO : 823347
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1.0 Introduction
The article entitled "Leadership's Influence: A Case Study of an Elementary Principal's
Indirect Impact on Student Achievement" is written by Dr. Goldy Brown III from Auburn
University of Montgomery College of Education. The article is published in ERIC, Vol.137, No.1,
p101-115; Fall 2016 through this link: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1112173.
Curriculum leadership is a balance of instructional and administrative leadership
responsibilities that could affect students achievement which includes professional development,
professional accountability, and curriculum development (Ogawa & Bossert, 1995). In an
organization, principal’s role as school leadership is crucial and each principal has his or her own
strategies in check and balance on his or her leadership. This is one of the reasons, the author is
looking at.
2.0 Summary
This article is a study to identify the leadership strategies that could be used for other
schools. This qualitative study was done in a high performing diverse school. Based on this research,
the study highlighted on 8 different strategies used by the principal. The strategies are, curriculum
that are being aligned to the standards, data driven instruction efforts, the development of common
assessments, professional learning communities, parent teacher organization facilitation, TRIBES
Behaviour Program, budgeting and a schedule that allowed for uninterrupted instruction.
This research is examined the following research question: What supports did the
elementary principal in this high-achieving school implement to increase student achievement? This
study is using interviews and data analysis in collecting datas. The research framework is based on
Perspective on Learning Environment (PLE) framework which highlighted on 4 aspects which are:
1) Learner centered, 2) Knowledge centered, 3) Assessment centered, and, 4) Community centered.
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Learner centered focusing on how an educator should look at “knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
beliefs that learners bring to the educational setting” (Bransford et al.,2000). Teacher should apply
this and view students’ thought from their “eyes” and adapt to it so that it could suites the students’
need. In the article, it stated that, a teacher should construct a “bridge” that connects the subject
matter and the students. Knowledge centered taken into account students prior knowledge in
learning the subject. The main aspect highlighted is “the emphasize of the importance of students
understanding knowledge” despite of memorizing it. The word understanding instead of
memorizing is the keyword for this aspect. Assessment centered touched upon the two common
types of assessment: formative and summative assessment. When it comes to this, a suitable
assessmet should be chosen so that it could fit the purpose of to measure what students’ have learned
in the classroom and apply it into different scenarios. Last but not least is the community centered,
where here, the Principal setting up TRIBES. It is a program that having a positive parents
involvement and professional learning communities (PLCs). TRIBES are based on these four
aspects, which are 1)mutual respect, 2)no put downs, 3)attentive listening, and 4)the right to pass.
The principal in this research study has a positive attitudes and the response from the
interview indicates that the positive vibes that the principal applied especially the TRIBES really
helped out on students’ achievement. TRIBES as a tool works as a behavioural management plan
for the school. Principal’s encouragement at all levels, from staff to parents to students, shows an
impact on the students’ growth and the achievements are measured. PLC in schools help teachers
to interact and discuss on students’ achievements. “Supportive leadership and collaboration between
teachers, specialists and aides is vital” and the assessment data is used to see students’ progress.
The principal would attend all put his best effort to be part of PLC, not just monitoring but also to
help out. The principal acts out as facilitator through a positive school culture environment.
Schedule and timetable is also done based on priority as it is also one of the factors that
could help students’s achievement. The principal are able to manage an efficient planning time for
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teachers, grade level and instructional times in maths and reading at each grade level. The principal
is seen as a referral expertise in schedule for the district. Her teachers “admire, respect, and
appreciate the way the principal schedules.”
Budget from the district is quite small. With minimal budget and the expenditure, the
principal believes that raising students’ achievement through funding the professional development
for teachers and staff is more crucial. Therefore, she uses the money for professional development
that fits in the school vision. Teachers and staff support the idea as they have trust in the principal’s
plan on the school budget and what more, the students’ future.
From this research, it is believed that the principal is using data analysis through professional
learning communities as a platform to observe students’ achievements. The engagement of a strong
Parents Organization that could work together into the school culture also benefited the students.
Budgeting and scheduling are are also among the aspects that the principal taken care of. All the 8
elements are applied as strategies for the principal in order to meet the needs of the students in the
school. The 8 strategies applied by the principal are:
1) Aligned curriculum
2) Development of common assessment
3) Data analysis (analysing students’ achievement)
4) Professional Learning Communities (Principal monitoring)
5) Positive involvement from Parent Teacher Organization (Collaborative)
6) TRIBES (behavioural program)
7) Ways in controlling the school budget
8) Scheduling Expertise
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3.0 Point of View
A number of studies have been conducted to observe strategies on leadership- the do’s and
dont’s, different kind of approachers, numerous type of means in leadership. Whatever mechanism
used, it goes back to the very basic mission of all- to cater the needs of students’ achievements. In
Malaysia, schools are labelled and categorized in different names, for instance, daily schools
(Sekolah Harian), Fully-Residential Schools (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh), Bestari School, School
Global of Excellence (SGE) and these schools are categorized in different Bands (Band 1-5). When
it comes to leadership, these school would have different approaches as to fit different purposes of
the school.
From my point of view, in relationship to this research, I could view some differences and
similarities that can be applied to Malaysian school situation. Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB)
2013, stated that there should be a balance division of time and effort between instructional and
administrative duties. School transformation is needed and for a school to transform, the school
leader-principal should put one step forward to this.
“A high-quality principal who displays instructional leadership supported by a leadership
team be emplaced in every school without regard to its location or school achievement level to drive
its overall school performance” (MEB 5-12, 2013). In this research, the principal shows a great
example as a role model for teacher, parents and students. She attended PLC with teachers and as
much as possible not just observing but she is there to help out on any matters. From here, we could
see that this principal truly shows “follow the leader” rules. Teachers nevertheless feel comfortable
with the principal’s appearance as she shows her kindness through a positive environment that she
brings in. Teachers do admire, respect and appreciate her way as she shows her knowledgeable
through her leadership. Even though the budget from the district is quite limited, but she handled it
perfectly fine, creatively in controlling the budget. The principal stressed on the importance of
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professional development continuously and integrate it into any of the programs. Teachers entrust
the principal and the empowerment given brings out the best on students’ achievement.
In Malaysia, I do feel and sense some gap between the authorities, the principal, teachers
and parents. There are loops where at one point, everyone point fingers at each other blaming who
is right and wrong instead of helping what we should do to help-the students. Most of the parents
in Malaysia do concerned about getting good results for their children. But, what would be their
contribution in helping the school? Some parents are attending to PTA meeting just for the sake of
being there for the attendance and to listen of how much they need to pay for the fee for that
particular year. Some of them can contribute to school in many ways but sadly, some of the parents
would complain that the fees are too much. Little that they know, the fees are not enough to support
the school academic programs. This is where principal could play his or her role in bringing
everyone together. Perhaps, principals should initiate programs that could gather both parents and
teachers as one.
The main goal of instructional leadership in Malaysia is to improve students’ academic
achievement. Therefore, principal incorporate programs in schools such as student motivational
program, student academic improvement programs, professional learning community (PLC) and
many more. Benchmark to good schools to look at good examples are also done at school level by
principals to see the pros and cons that they could get from the good schools. We do have IAB
(Institut Aminuddin Baki) to help out our principals by providing workshops. IAB which was first
known as Malaysian Educational Staff Training Institute (MESTI) was first established in March
1979. IAB vision is to produce educational principals who could contribute to a quality organisation.
Therefore, our Malaysia principals are exposed to different skills in helping teachers at school to
improve students’ achievement.
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4.0 Ideas/Suggestions
This research do give some enlightenment to where and what we should do more to benefit
students. The ideas of data analysis, PLC are widely used in Malaysia at the moment, but when it
comes to school budgeting, I do agree, even us, in Malaysia, we have tight budget, and it depends
on the principal’s wise decision to lead. I do like the idea of TRIBES as one of the strategies used
by the principal. It could curb the discipline problem among students when they apllied all the four
aspects in TRIBES- 1)mutual respect, 2) no put-downs, 3) attentive listening, and, 4) right to pass.
I wish, we in Malaysia could apply this kind of program in schools. Respect and trust are the basic
elements students should have in order to learn.
Malaysia do have IAB where it could help to produce good educational principals. The
principal in the research could bring a positive environment -from the decent and comfortable
Principal’s office to where she is easily approachable and fit in. Perhaps, if she has the platform to
share her strategies in being good leadership to others through appropriate courses, it would be far
greater. It somehow could benefit more people and inspired other educational leaders to be more
positive environment.
5.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, I do believe that educational leaders or principals play a vital role in school.
How they react, response and communicate could affect the mood of the school where later it could
contribute to students’ achievements. There are many challenges that principals need to overcome
yet the focus is the process of developing and improving a school to establish respect and trust
between teachers, parents and students. Principals need to create a vision of academic success for
all students where learning is the most important goal (Blasé, , Blasé, & Philips, 2010).
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References:
Blasé, J., Blasé, J., Philips, D. Y. (2010). Handbook of school improvement: How high performing
principals create high-performing schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Curriculum Development Center. (1989). Integrated curriculum for secondary schools. Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia: Ministry of Education. Dong, Y. R. (2004). Teaching language and
content to linguistically and culturally diverse students: Principles, ideas, and materials-
Greenwich. CT: Information Age Publishing.
Hicks, T., Pitre, A., & Charles, K. (Eds.).(2012). An instructional companion guide for the 21st
century educational leader in the classroom and beyond. Lanham,MD: University Press of
America.
Taylor & Tashakkori (1994). Predicting teachers’ sense of efficacy and job satisfaction and sense
of efficacy using school climate and participatory decision mak ing. Journal o f School
Leadership, 7, 609-628.
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LEADERSHIP’S INFLUENCE: A CASE STUDY OF AN ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL’S

INDIRECT IMPACT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Dr.Goldy Brown HI
Auburn University ofMontgomery College ofEducation
This study investigated leadership supports provided by an elementary principal of 15 years in a high performing diverse school.
Employing document analysis and interviews, the researcher gathered and ana lyzed data in an effort to identify those leadership
strategies that could be replicated at other school sites. The study identified the following principal provided supports: curriculum
being aligned to the standards, data driven instruction efforts, the development of common assess ments, professional learning
communities, parent teacher organization facilitation, TRIBES Behavior Program, budgeting, and a schedule that allowed for
uninterrupted instruction.
Key Words: Leadership, Principal, Student Achievement, Elementary School
Literature Review
Research on the principal position goes back for decades, and there is no shortage of literature that attempts to define
the po sition and how it impacts all aspects of the field of education. More recently, due to in creasing demands on
school accountability nationwide, how the principal impacts stu dent achievement has come to the forefront as a
major interest to researchers on school leadership. The literature reviewed identified five themes regarding successful
school prin cipals. These findings include the following: (1) Qualities of effective leadership (2) Prin
cipal’s establishing a vision and setting goals (3) Principals positively impacting school culture (4) Principals leading
distributed leadership systems (5) and personal traits of the effective principal. The following studies have provided
evidence on what makes an effective school leader, Cotton (2003); Gurr, Diysdale, & Mulford (2006); Hallinger &
Heck, (1996); Leithwood, Louis Anderson, & Wahlstron, (2004); Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, (2005); McGough,
(2003); Mul len, Gordon, Greenlee, & Anderson, (2002); Spillane, (2006). Other studies show that the principal can
impact student performance through influencing the goals of the school, and setting a clear vision Brooks (2007); Cap
per and Frattura (2007); Copeland, (2003); Dumay, X., Boonen, T., & Van Damme, J. (2013). Peterson and Deal
(1999); Leithwood and Jatzi (2008), Taylor and Tashakkori (1994) found that the principal can impact the school
through establishing a positive school structure and culture. The research also notes that school leadership may have a
greater influence on student achievement when lead ership responsibilities are widely distributed, Heck and Hallinger
(2009); Penlington, Al ison, and Day (2008). Finally, a handful of personal traits explain much of the variation among
principals who have impacted student
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achievement, Fullan (2002); Jean-Marie Conceptual Framework
(2008); McEwan (2003); Scheurich and Skrla (2003); Whitaker (2003). Leithwood, Louis, Anderson & Wahlstom
(2004) argued that of all the factors that contribute to student achievement, leadership’s effect is second only to
classroom instruction.
Within this research context, the research er attempts to uncover more specifically; what support is provided by
principal’s who have influenced student achievement? This study adds to the literature by employing a framework
specifically focused on student achievement. The reviewed literature offers some important insights into the research
question, but by using the Perspective on Learning Environment framework and fo cusing on one case, this study is
able to pro vide more specific findings about principal provided support that lead to increasing stu dent achievement.
Thus, this investigation adds to this body of research by targeting and illuminating the specific supports that this
principal provided that had a positive impact on student achievement that could be
replicated at other school sites.
Methodology
This study is a qualitative case study. In terviews and document analysis were used to collect data. Three one-hour
interviews were conducted with the principal. One-hour inter views were conducted with 6 teachers in the building.
One-hour interviews were conduct ed with two district office administrators, to taling 11 hours of interview data.
Documents such as building plans, and parent organiza tion agendas, were evaluated. Recorded find ings were
triangulated. The research question is what supports did the elementary principal in this high-achieving school
implement to increase student achievement?
The conceptual framework for this study comes from chapter six of Bransford, Brown, Cocking, Donovan, and
Pellegrino’s (2000) book entitled How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. They discuss a
Perspective on Learning Envi ronment framework, which identifies four general perspectives of quality learning en
vironments and emphasizes that they need to be conceptualized as a system of inter-con nected components that
mutually support one another (p. 133). These perspectives on learning are (1) learner centered, (2) knowl edge
centered, (3) assessment centered, and (4) community centered.
Learner centered
For a learning environment to be learner centered, the educator must pay attention to the “knowledge, skills, attitudes,
and beliefs that learners bring to the educational setting” (Bransford et al., 2000). If knowledge is con tinually
delivered without any thought to the learners, it is unlikely that any real learning will occur. According to the model,
it is criti cal that educators keep their learners in mind when planning lessons. Included in this teach ing is “diagnostic
teaching” (Bell, O’Brien, & Shiu, 1980). Diagnostic teaching attempts to discover what students think in relation to
the problems at hand, discusses students’miscon ceptions sensitively and gives them situations
to continue thinking about, which will enable them to readjust their ideas. Learner-centered teachers also respect the
language practices of their students because they provide a basis for further learning. Bransford et al. (2000) say that
teachers who are learner centered recognize the importance of building on the conceptual and cultural knowledge that
stu dents bring with them to the classroom. If teaching is conceived as constructing a bridge between the subject
matter and the students,
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then learner-centered teachers keep a constant eye on both ends of the bridge. The teachers attempt to get a sense of
what students know and can do as well as their interests and passions.
Knowledge centered
According to the PLE model of a learning environment, knowledge-centered environ ments emphasize the importance
of students understanding knowledge as opposed to simply memorizing a set of facts. In a knowl edge-centered
environment, students can transfer knowledge to new learning situa tions. When teaching students, it is important to
take into account the prior knowledge that students bring with them. This approach helps students formulate new
knowledge and make sense of what they are learning. The most im portant part of the knowledge component is that
educators ensure that students are truly understanding information and not merely memorizing it (Bransford et al.,
2000). En vironments that are solely learner-centered would not necessarily help students acquire the knowledge and
skills necessary to function
effectively in society. Knowledge-centered environments take seriously the need to help students become
knowledgeable by helping them learn in ways that lead to understanding and subsequent transfer. Knowledge-
centered environments intersect with learner-centered environments when instruction begins with a concern for
students’ initial preconceptions about the subject matter. Without carefully considering the knowledge that students
bring to the learning situation, it is difficult to predict what they will understand about new information that is
presented to them.
Assessment centered
The third component of the PLE model is that the learning environment must be assessment centered. There are two
types of assessment: formative assessment, which is
Leadership’s Influence /103
administered and used to improve teaching and learning, and summative assessment, which is used to measure what
students have learned at the end of the designated learning period (Bransford et al., 2000). Summative assessments are
what most people think of when assessment is mentioned; they can as sure accountability and may even help teach ers
modify their teaching strategies. However, one might argue that formative assessments are more beneficial. Formative
assessments allow students to receive feedback in a more
informative and timely manner. Furthermore, teachers are better able to adjust their instruc tion for students who have
difficulty under standing the concepts (Bransford et al., 2000). Assessing the achievement of learning goals is critical.
Assessments should be “predictive of students’performance in everyday settings once they leave the classroom”
(Bransford et al., 2000, p. 141). Assessments that are designed to measure students’ ability to simply recall
memorized information do not necessarily assess knowledge transfer, which is critically important in learning
situations. Proper assessments must measure students’ ability to take knowledge that has been ac
quired in the classroom and, in turn, apply it to a new situation.
Community centered
The final component of the PLE theory is that the learning environment is community centered—that is, it focuses on
the social nature of learning, including the norms and modes of operation of any community. Re search shows that
learning can be increased by social norms that value striving for under standing and making mistakes (Bransford et
al., 2000). In a constructivist classroom, for example, students are encouraged to share their ideas with one another to
learn from different ways of thinking. Students who feel safe to make a mistake (because the norm is learning from
mistakes) are more likely to
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feel comfortable sharing. It is also important to bear in mind that teachers can formulate detrimental norms if they are
not careful, for instance, if they have low or different expec tations for certain groups of children (Brans- ford et al.,
2000). Norms must be consistent.
It is important to reiterate that although these components of the PLE framework are discussed separately, the
research findings from Bransford et al. (2000) show that the four perspectives are aligned in ways that mutually
support one another. For exam ple, data-driven instruction would com bine setting up a classroom community, or
community-centered techniques, as well as assessment-centered, learner-centered and knowledge-centered
techniques. Without this alignment, it is difficult to know what is being learned or what needs to be planned for
students. The research also notes that there is no recipe for designing effective learning environments, but it does
support the value of asking certain kinds of questions about
the design of learning environments through these four perspectives (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 133). The degree to
which schools and classrooms are learner centered, knowl edge centered, assessment centered, and community
centered is an important consid eration in designing these environments.
The four components o f an effective learning environment described in Bransford et al.’s (2000) Haw People Learn
provided a conceptual foundation for this study. While collecting and analyzing data, the principal used the PLE
components as the guiding framework. The elementary school principal serves as the case study. The researcher asked
the principal about the support the principal provided in her respective school to raise the achievement of her students.
Interview data collected from the principal as well as data from school documents such as meeting agendas, site plans,
and newsletters were ana lyzed using qualitative methods in accordance
with the PLE model. While the four tenets of the PLE model do not directly align with the characteristics of effective
school leadership previously identified in the literature, they do reflect the categories in which a school lead er helps
provide support to increase student achievement. The tenets of PLE are used to analyze the data to provide a context
for my research question. The researcher briefly discuss the support elementary principals pro vide that is related to
the PLE model in the context o f support that is provided to increase the achievement of students in their buildings.
Table 1 shows how data will fit into the PLE categories and, records the support that the elementary principal
provided to increase student achievement. Data found outside of the framework will be recorded as other (See Table
1).
District Context
The Elementary School is in a school dis trict, which serves just over 7,000 students. The town has a population of
40,000. At the time of this case study, it had twelve elemen tary schools serving students in grades kinder garten
through fifth grade, two middle schools serving students in grades sixth through eighth grade, and one comprehensive
high school. The Elementary Schools students identified as low-income over the last fifteen years have r anged
between 28 to 42%. The African Amer ican Student population has increased from 11 to 22%. The number of English
Language Learners has steadily increased from 3 to 15%,
making the elementary school a very diverse school. State Assessment data has been good. Reading scores have
ranged from 82 to 95% increasing or maintaining each year. Over the last five years it has fluctuated between 88 and
92%. Scores in Math have ranged from 60% to 88%. The lowest years were in 2006-2008 when the district
implemented a new math program. The highest years have been the last four. The scores were 82 to 88%
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The Principal’s Provided Support
The principal is a true facilitator of com munication and collaboration. When asked what advice they would give to
any new prin cipal, they stated:
As a principal, I believe the most im portant thing that you need to do is to establish a common vision with your staff
to nurture an environment that ev eryone can support and believe in, and to establish very healthy working rela
tionships with your staff...make your staff know that they are a vital part of the whole academic process and you look
to their expertise and respect their expertise and rely on them to be strong team players.
Table 1: Tenets of the PLE Framework
Tenets of the Perspectives on Learning Environment Model
Learner centered
Knowledge centered
Assessment centered Community centered Other
Table 2: Principal-Provided Support
The principal realizes also that this is a challenge for them and for every principal to reach every person on a level
where they all feel valued. The principal added,
We are all different, we all have strengths, we all have differences, we are a very diverse society, and we all bring
something to the table that can help benefit other people.
The principal’s warm, calm, genuine de meanor makes every visitor to the school feel more than welcome. While
many administra tors’ offices have an executive feel, with the desk prominently placed, the principal’s desk faces a
wall. The focal point o f their office is a small table and chair where the meet with stu dents, families, and teachers. In
addition, their
office is personally decorated with wallpaper,
Elementary principal support identified from the data
Tenets of Perspective on Learning Environment Model
Knowledge Centered Learner Centered Assessment Centered
Community Centered
Other
Elementary Principal Support Identified in the Data
Led curriculum being aligned to the standards Led data-driven instruction efforts
Led the development of common assessments Professional Learning Communities
Professional Learning Communities Parent Organization Facilitation TRIBES
Budgeting Scheduling
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and the school radiates a warm, homey feel ing evident by a handmade quilt hanging in the hallway, noticed by
everyone who enters through the main doors. Other decorations are on display throughout the building, giving the
school a unique, welcoming charm. As a third grade teacher stated, “All families feel wel come not only by the
principals genuine care but by the physical environment they have created, as well.”
Reflecting on their experiences prior to becoming a principal, the principal mentioned that the most important thing
they learned was that all the resources at their disposal need to be working together comprehensively to do what is
best for the children. When the prin cipal was asked about what type of support they provided to raise student
achievement, this belief in coordinating resources shined through as something they put into practice. The principal’s
biggest strength is utilizing all their resources in a comprehensive way with the ultimate goal of student achievement.
The data revealed five types of support that the principal provided to increase student achievement: (1) establishing a
positive school community with professional learning communities in mind; (2) creating an efficient schedule with
protected math and reading
blocks; (3) budgeting with professional de velopment in mind; and (4) making student achievement data drive
instructional decision making and interventions.
Establish a positive school community with professional learning communities
In describing the elementary school’s culture, the executive director o f student achievement for the school district
had this to say about the principal:
I can’t think of anybody I have ever known in this district that could do the political piece as well as the princi pal....
She is wonderful with parents,
and with her special education train ing she has the perfect calming de meanor, and she uses a persistent, soft-spoken
voice, calmly moving the agenda along and moving the school community forward. She has a natural gift and is a
perfect fit for that school and its family demographic.
A third-grade teacher agreed: “Our culture is positive driven by the principal’s positive attitude; every morning the
principal makes an announcement and shares a guidance phrase and recognizes student accomplish ments.” Another
teacher commented, “The principal welcomes family and community members into school...she is able to discuss
touchy topics with parents using tact as well.”
The principal believes,
We are extremely fortunate to have stu dents of all socioeconomic bases, ex tremely multiracial in nature, and what
makes that so beneficial is that we tend to have appropriate proportions so we are able to group students in a hetero
geneous way evenly and maintain high expectations for all students.
The principal has implemented three fea tures at the elementary school that allow for this positive community: a
school-wide pro gram called TRIBES, parent involvement, and professional learning communities (PLCs).
TRIBES, is a process that allows for a common philosophy o f how all teachers teach and promote learning in their
classrooms. “I definitely consider our school a TRIBES community over the last 12 years, which truly promotes a
positive learning community,” the principal stated. The environment is highly cooperative in nature; it is highly
collabo rative not only on a professional level but also on a student level, and TRIBES works according to four
agreements: mutual respect,
no put-downs, attentive listening, and the right to pass. The principal, over her tenure at
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the elementary school, has tried to incorporate these agreements into everything that the staff does and says.
The TRIBES agreements serve as a frame work for a behavior management plan and school-wide expectations...it’s a
great tool that can be used to communicate those ex pectations to teachers, students, and parents. A kindergarten
teacher noted, “We currently teach TRIBES to our students...from kinder
garten on, they know these expectations.” A third-grade teacher added:
The principal starts every semester with a K-2 and 3-5 assembly about the TRIBES agreements and the high
expectations for creating a learning environment...it is awesome, it should be taped and shown in every school...
TRIBES is consistent and constant in every room.
Many schools have programs like this on paper, but a strong implementation of the program is what makes it work,
and this was accomplished through the principal’s com mitment to the program.
The principal stated:
It was important initially to make teach ers aware TRIBES is a process, not an activity or isolated circle. It’s
something that you integrate and make relevant to what you are teaching, and that’s a stretch for a new teacher to
grasp. They look at it many times as a touchy-feely type of program and until you work it and truly understand how
you teach, how to connect it to kids, and the way they interact with other kids, how you deliver a lesson plan,
introduce activi ties, and carry those activities out.
The principal lives this process and makes sure their staff is equipped to as well. All teachers go through an intense,
two-day train ing, and the principal feels that it is extremely
important to support TRIBES initiatives and TRIBES professional development training on a routine basis. Even after
district budget cuts and a change in the district office moved away from supporting TRIBES district wide, the
principal creatively budgets money and plans training sessions to make sure that all staff participate in this training
and are able to implement the program. The most notable
statistic is the suspension data. The 12 ele mentary schools in the school district average 17 suspensions per year, but
this elementary averages 5 and last year did not have any. A well-behaved student body allows for a pos itive
community where kids feel safe and the focus is on learning rather than discipline and
conflict management.
In addition, a positive school community
at the elementary school is developed through a strategic way of involving parents into the school community. The
principal states:
Our site-level team that we have on a district scale promotes that parents be actively serving on the team.... PTO
[parent-teacher organization] becomes a very important part of that site-level team component, and what we’ve done
is that we make sure we align our goals within site level with the same goals we’re working within our PTO so we are
talking the same language.
There are many ways in which parents can be and are actively involved with their children’s educational experience.
As one specialist teacher noted,
The principal encourages parents to lead after-school extracurricular activities where they can share their expertise. In
addition, she promotes school-wide activities—fall, winter, spring festivals, talent shows, and all school sings.
In addition, parents are educated on profi ciency levels, and information about how stu dent growth and achievement
are measured is
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provided through evening workshops at the elementary school. Reading specialists con duct reading workshops
throughout the year, and once a month the school hosts a parent event, usually a festival-type night, to build a sense of
community.
The principal stated, “Overall we get a wonderful turn out for our events, but we keep it within the school plan, so
everyone knows how these things fit into the overall education o f their child.”
While TRIBES drives the school atmo sphere to operate with a positive school culture in regard to behavior
expectations, professional learning community procedures drive the way teachers interact in regard to student
achievement. A professional learning community is made up of team members who regularly collaborate toward
continued im provement in meeting learner needs through a shared curricular-focused vision. Facilitat ing this effort
are (1) supportive leadership and structural conditions; (2) collective challenging, questioning, and reflecting on team-
designed lessons; and (3) instructional practices/experiences and team decisions on essential learning outcomes and
intervention/ enrichment activities based on results o f com mon formative student assessments (Bohlam, McMahon,
Stoll, Thomas, & Wallace, 2005).
A fifth-grade teacher noted:
Our school has done PLCs or worked year to year to implement the proce dure for quite some time. Collabora tion
between teachers, specialists, and aides is vital.... Using assessment data in meetings to come up with a way to raise
student achievement has always been a focus here.
The two most notable actions that the principal implements in regard to profes sional learning communities at the
elemen tary school are time and monitoring. The principal stated:
It is extremely important that we know what their [the teachers’] agen da is...what instruction is driving through
student data, and the time that we meet is so precious and crit ical that it has to be a real structured focus. Teachers do
look at the data at that time; they are gathering exper tise from other teachers on what best practice strategies can be
addressed and what appropriate interventions of teaching techniques can be done to support these children with needs.
The principal makes every effort to at tend these weekly grade-level meetings, or they make sure they are a part of the
conver sations about these meetings with their staff to ensure that the weekly PLC meetings are meaningful and
productive. As one kinder garten teacher noted:
She constantly checks in with us re garding our PLC meetings and helps make them meaningful to our teach ing
practice; she reviews our meeting goals and gives helpful feedback.... Data drives our instruction, which we focus on
through a student-centered environment.
The principal is known to be a facilitator of collaboration. They have built a positive school culture through TRIBES,
parent in volvement, and professional learning com munities. These three components comprise a systematically
developed management plan that the principal can maintain and then move into an instructional leader role. Student
data show that the elementary school has very few suspensions. Though it is not conclusive that the low suspension
rate is a direct result o f the TRIBES program, the infrequency of nega tive behavior does positively affect the school
community by limiting the amount of time teachers and administrators have to spend han dling negative student
behavior. In addition,
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parent involvement is seen as an open, pos itive relationship between parents and the school. Parental involvement is
not viewed as a separate entity; it is viewed as part of the school process. This collaborative environ ment creates a
positive rapport with parents and gives them a positive feeling about their child’s school. The implementation of
profes sional learning communities puts teachers and administrators on the same page about how to look at student
achievement data and develop plans to raise student achievement. Teachers, through these meetings, all speak the
same
language and all report student achievement data the same way.
Scheduling
“If I gave you ten great ideas regarding things you could do tomorrow but it took you 30 hours to do them, some
things wouldn’t get done. Not that they are bad ideas, but it’s impossible to do them all in a day.” A superin tendent
stated when asked about scheduling. Good administrators need to know how to establish a schedule that identifies and
prior itizes the necessary tasks and activities and puts people in a position to execute them to
increase student achievement. When sched uling at an elementary school, the specialist schedule is the key component
in establishing core curriculum blocks. Many districts do this differently; some work through the district of fice for
scheduling, and some rely on the prin cipals. The more specialist teachers (music, gym, and art) who can be hired the
easier it is to schedule. In the school district, a lower-income district with limited financial resources available,
scheduling can be a challenge, and, at times, specialist teachers are split between three buildings. Principals are
challenged to establish a schedule that aligns with curricular goals and stays within the contractual regu lations, which
means making sure specialist sections are within the contractual limit. Teachers have common planning time at each
grade level, and instructional times in math and reading are equal at each grade level. The principal has been able to
meet these schedul ing challenges. In fact, many other principals in the district call on the principal for their
scheduling expertise. The principal is able to establish common core subject blocks of uninterrupted time by grade
level, hold prog ress-monitoring meetings every five weeks, and have weekly grade-level meetings within the PLC
framework.
As a fourth grade teacher stated when asked what support the principal provided to increase student achievement:
Time, time, time...she has established a schedule that gives us time for col laboration, data analysis, professional
learning communities, and grade-level meetings.... she is extremely cognizant o f establishing an efficient schedule
for us, and somehow she is able to do this year after year.
Teachers at the elementary school ex pressed that there are so many initiatives that are given from the district that a
proper schedule is necessary from their principal to implement the district directives. A kinder garten teacher noted,
“the principal creates time blocks for guided reading and math in struction at every grade level so that students get
instruction uninterrupted in those core areas.” This is important for interventions such as working with a literacy
specialist or resource teachers. All of the courses must be aligned to create a comprehensive literacy plan. Elementary
teachers have many inter ruptions during the day, as described by this
fifth grade teacher:

Daily, we have a specialist [art, music,
gym, or library], we have resource teachers coming in to meet IEP [individualized edu cational programming]
minutes periodically, possibly our school psychologist, for testing, or character education etc....assemblies and
25
26
many other distractions throughout the school year. In between time, we teach our core sub jects. The principal is
excellent at putting all of those things together so that we can meet these things efficiently and effectively.
The principal’s scheduling ability has allowed her staff to buy in to her vision for the school, because it demonstrates
her com mitment to devoting the necessary time and resources to implement and execute these initiatives. Not only is
there time to do these things, but the schedule shows that the prin cipal is attempting to do everything in her power to
make it work and to put the teachers in situations where they can be successful. As the principal stated:
Scheduling is something I have worked on over the years to perfect...it goes a long way towards establishing a school
vision and making your staff feel that your district expectations are doable.... In addition, it puts together a compre
hensive framework for a building plan as it relates how student achievement will be increased.
Teachers admire, respect, and appreciate the way the principal schedules. A fifth grade teacher noted:
Regular weekly grade-level meetings, common prep times, literacy meetings, progress monitoring meetings, and
protected math and reading blocks are something we can look forward to start each year.... This gives us confidence
that a schedule is in place to support our efforts to meet the high expecta tions our building has.
The schedule at the elementary school really is the framework for the principal’s vi sion and has been a huge selling
tool for then- expectations to their staff about the school’s priorities. The principal’s ability to prioritize and focus on
what is considered important
throughout the school day is something that the teachers appreciate. The schedule lets the teachers know that
classroom time, meeting time, and professional development time are valued and that they are a high priority of the
principal. Teachers feel that the expectations and demands from the principal and the dis trict can be met because
there is a schedule in place that supports their efforts.
Budgeting and professional development
Elementary schools tend to receive a small building budget compared to other district op erations. Some districts
strictly run the bud get from the district office. In the principal’s district, buildings are given a budget annually of
between $25,000 and $30,000. More than half of that money goes to copy costs, paper, and supervision expenses. The
rest is used for other supplies. This is because the other schools in the district have higher needs or have more low-
income students. The average family income of students at the elementary school is higher than it is at other
elementary schools in the district. With a limited budget, the principal has had to come up with creative ways to fund
programs. For raising student achievement, the most important initiative they fund is professional development for the
teachers and staff. The principal stated:
Budgetary restraints sometimes hinder how much professional development we can do outside the school.... It is my
job to find creative ways to do so. In order to free money up, I negotiated with my staff to pick up recess duty, which
gives us $8,000 more per year since I don’t have to pay someone $8 an hour for recess duty. In exchange for their
service they get to use flex time, and then we use that money for professional development, so teachers are either
steered by me or can actively pursue and request these professional
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development opportunities that fit within the school’s vision.
This was a creative way for the school to fund its professional development needs. The principal’s creativity and
willingness to sell the idea to teachers made it possible. However, part of the agreement was then- willingness to help
out with supervision at
specific places and times as well. This can be challenging to an administrator with then- schedule, because
unpredictable events tend to happen during the school day. However, the principal stated:
It’s for the good of the order. They bought into the idea, so I feel I need to hold up to my end of the bargain, and I feel
we have the best profes sional situation possible because of it.... Granted, it could always be better based on money
and all of our contin ued learning, but we are doing the best with what we got.
Teachers support the principals handling of the school budget. A fourth grade teacher noted,
The principal advocates for teachers’ needs, professional development, re sources, and time.... We rest assured that
the principal has our best interest at heart as long as our interest is stu dent achievement.
The principal budgets money for sub stitute teachers to come in so that teachers can attend monthly collaborative
progress monitoring meetings, where assessment data are reviewed and intervention strategies for students who are
behind are discussed. The principal has been able to make sure teachers have the time for these important meetings by
being creative with the budget. A third grade teacher noted:
Monthly collaborative progress monitoring meetings have been very
effective. The principal supplies subs for this valuable time out of our building budget.... Meeting with all instructors
and discussing data and strategies every five weeks has been very helpful in establishing specific interventions.
In the principals first year, when the prin cipal was moving forward with new initia tives, the principal always tried to
incorporate professional development as a key forum to support collaborative efforts. The principal believes that:
The key is that professional devel opment continually be emphasized and integrated into everything that we do.... It’s
really the key to drive achievement forward. That is why I put such an emphasis on making sure money is readily
available.... It’s also important to engage teachers in the process, to empower teachers, to actively involve them in a
customized professional development plan, to get them to buy in, and actually take leadership roles. Getting that buy-
in, empowering them, engaging them, re specting their expertise, and actively bringing them forward in leadership
roles, recognizing leadership qualities in each and every person on your team
is critical.
The principal is a collaborator at heart, and applies this talent to all aspects of their building, including professional
devel opment. Getting to know their staff, their strengths and weaknesses, and building on the strengths and allowing
teachers who are strong in one area to help those who are weak, is the way the principal approaches professional
development.
We have a lot of expertise in the build ing to tap into; I don’t go outside of the building for training if I don’t have
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30
to... teachers respect people in the building who are doing things with the same demographic of students that they are
teaching.... In other words, if it works across the hall, it can work in my room.
To accomplish these professional devel opment initiatives at the elementary school, a site improvement plan team
meets on the first Wednesday of each month to customize the school’s goals in alignment with the dis trict’s strategic
goals. The team specifically addresses the topics of increased professional development for all staff. The third
Wednes day of each month is used for professional development purposes. “Our plan is to actu ally conduct
professional development for our building that is specific to our building needs,” the principal stated. Common prep
times are scheduled and used to speak about curriculum strategies once a week.
The principal’s ability to budget creatively makes it possible to achieve the large-scale vision o f the school. Their
management skills are evident in their ability to creatively budget for their school’s professional development needs
on a limited building budget and pay for other resources, copies, and supplies. Utilizing these management skills to
make managing the building efficient and to free up time to be an instructional leader is a key to their success as a
principal.
Student Achievement Data Drives Instructional Decision Making and Interventions
The school district developed a balanced literacy program and a Math Investigations Program. These, district-wide
initiatives were established by the executive director of student achievement and the superinten dent. When asked
how much the program contributed to student achievement increases at the elementary and how much the student
achievement was attributable to the princi pal’s instructional leadership, the executive director of student achievement
stated, “It was about 50-50.” She went on to add:
The superintendent and I would go from building to building to meet with every building principal, to see where they
were as far as a big picture was concerned. It was interesting as all twelve elementary schools had a different way of
implementing based on principal expertise. The principal’s strength was taking the district cur riculum initiatives and
tailoring it to her demographic of students and their needs. She had an exceptional way of identifying the strengths of
her staff and empowering them to be teacher leaders. In addition, looking at data and coming up with intervention
strat egies was a big part of her school’s success, and she really did well with that over time.
As in most districts, the curriculum framework at the Elementary comes from the district office. However, using data
curriculum tools was a key to the principal’ success in leading the elementary school toward positive student
achievement results. Two teams look at the data at the elementary school: a site improvement team and a prog ress
monitoring team.
The site improvement team meets on the first Wednesday of every month to customize goals from the district’s
strategic goals. The team looks at the data and determines the professional development needs for all staff.
Professional development for the entire staff is presented on the second and third Wednes day of every month. The
principal stated, “The number one goal of these meetings is to look at the data and to plan quality profession al
development experiences for our building, specific to our building needs.” One example
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taken from an agenda for these meetings is that a unit on money was identified at a site-level meeting as an area
where students were struggling at a grade level based on the previous assessment. At the next two Wednes day
meetings, a plan was established on how to move forward with the curriculum pace, but teachers at the specific grade
level were to plan to review this concept periodically. Teachers with a high number of students who met the proficient
or advanced level shared strategies they used in teaching that specific unit. These successful strategies were com
pared with the strategies used by teachers whose students performed at a lower level
on the unit assessment. Future lessons were developed to improve student performance.
The progress monitoring team meets ev ery five weeks, and the focus is specifically on reading, writing, and math
progress data for all students. Each teacher brings common assessment data outcomes to these meetings. The principal
has provided each teacher with a common assessment grid that allows the teachers to report data uniformly. Before
the meetings, teachers have already identified the skill-based needs for each student. The princi pal pointed out, “this
saves time, so when the teachers come to the meetings we use the data to drive the appropriate necessary interven tion
for each child and draw on the expertise
from within the group.” She added:
This process has really had a huge im pact as we have fine-tuned it over the last three years. We went from every one
bringing in raw data and arguing over what is proficient to establishing those common assessments and pac ing
guides. This has allowed us to cut through the philosophical debates among adults that initially took up so much
meeting time and to focus on the needs o f the student.
From these meetings, teachers come up with interventions or differentiated instruc tion strategies to meet the needs of
students performing below the benchmark standards. Some of these interventions include more guided reading group
time with a literacy specialist, an extra-guided math group, and math computer interventions. The principal has
developed this system of identification in her building within the district framework.
Data-driven instruction and a systematic structure that gives teachers the opportunity to make data-driven decisions
about their stu dents has been key to the Elementary schools success. Being data-driven as a leader was how the
principal was able to implement this process within her building, and this idea has trickled through to her staff. In
looking at documents from meetings and talking to teachers and the principal, it is clear that data is the focus of
everything from parent involvement to student achievement. Deci sions are not made in any category, especial ly as it
relates to instruction, if they are not based on data.
Case Summary and Implications
Principal-provided support was recorded through a process of data triangulation—that is, the provided support was
recorded only if it was mentioned by three of the following: principal, teachers, district personnel, or in document
analysis. See Table 2 for supports provided by the principal.
What Supports Did the Elementary Principal in This High-achieving School Implement That Increased
Student Achievement?
The principal believes that instruction should be driven by data. This is evident through the professional learning
communi ties, where student achievement data are ex amined and ways to proceed instructionally are identified. Data
and the appropriate use
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34
of data were at the core of many teachers’ answers to questions about instruction. At the elementary school, data
drives teachers’ grouping of students for reading and math.
Another practice is engaging a strong parent organization into the school culture. The elementary school has a strong
parent organization that host monthly meetings and activities. For example, at the elemen tary school, most of the
events are student performances (songs, recitals, ice cream social, etc.).
The principal implemented a school wide behavior expectation plan that creates similar language between students
and staff called the TRIBES program.
Budgeting and scheduling are also prac tices that the principal is involved in. The principals’ ability to budget
building funds and schedule a comprehensive day while protecting the classroom learning time was a big factor in
winning over teachers and showing them that a schedule and money will support them in meeting district initia tives
regarding instruction. This was evident in the interview responses teachers gave
in regard to identifying practices that the principal had taken to raise student achieve ment. Most teachers commented
that having a schedule and getting money for materials so they could meet district requirements in regard to
curriculum was a key to their being able to meet the needs of their students and raise student achievement.
Limitations
In this study, the researcher makes no at tempt to generalize beyond the school under investigation. As such, findings
are limited to the context examined here, although it is my belief that the findings can be useful to schools with
similar demographics and resources. In addition, this study looked at the supports provided by the principal. Based on
previous research, this may or may not affect student achievement directly. There is enough reported data in this study
to assume that the provided supports by the principal may have indirectly affected stu dent achievement in their
building, but to what level these supports affected student achievement is inconclusive.
35
36
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Leadership's Influence: A Case Study of An Elementary Principal's Indirect Impact On Student Achievement

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SGDC 5063: CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

AWANG HAD SALLEH SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES

UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA

Leadership's Influence: A Case Study of an Elementary Principal's Indirect Impact

NAME : SITI NOOR HASLINA BINTI MD LATIP

I/C NO. : 801121-10-5440

The article entitled "Leadership's Influence: A Case Study of an Elementary Principal's

p101-115; Fall 2016 through this link: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1112173.

Curriculum leadership is a balance of instructional and administrative leadership

professional accountability, and curriculum development (Ogawa & Bossert, 1995). In an

assessments, professional learning communities, parent teacher organization facilitation, TRIBES

1) Learner centered, 2) Knowledge centered, 3) Assessment centered, and, 4) Community centered.

understanding knowledge” despite of memorizing it. The word understanding instead of

appreciate the way the principal schedules.”

learning communities as a platform to observe students’ achievements. The engagement of a strong

school. The 8 strategies applied by the principal are:

2) Development of common assessment

3) Data analysis (analysing students’ achievement)

4) Professional Learning Communities (Principal monitoring)

5) Positive involvement from Parent Teacher Organization (Collaborative)

6) TRIBES (behavioural program)

7) Ways in controlling the school budget

3.0 Point of View

leader-principal should put one step forward to this.

“A high-quality principal who displays instructional leadership supported by a leadership

The main goal of instructional leadership in Malaysia is to improve students’ academic

achievement. Therefore, principal incorporate programs in schools such as student motivational

improve students’ achievement.

elements students should have in order to learn.

LEADERSHIP’S INFLUENCE: A CASE STUDY OF AN ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL’S

Auburn University ofMontgomery College ofEducation

Key Words: Leadership, Principal, Student Achievement, Elementary School

102 / Education Vol. 137 No. 1

achievement, Fullan (2002); Jean-Marie Conceptual Framework

replicated at other school sites.

Leadership’s Influence /103

quired in the classroom and, in turn, apply it to a new situation.

104 / Education Vol. 137 No. 1

The Principal’s Provided Support

Table 1: Tenets of the PLE Framework

Tenets of the Perspectives on Learning Environment Model

Assessment centered Community centered Other

Table 2: Principal-Provided Support

Leadership’s Influence /105

office is personally decorated with wallpaper,

Elementary principal support identified from the data

Tenets of Perspective on Learning Environment Model

Knowledge Centered Learner Centered Assessment Centered

Elementary Principal Support Identified in the Data

Led the development of common assessments Professional Learning Communities

Professional Learning Communities Parent Organization Facilitation TRIBES

106 / Education Vol. 137 No. 1

Establish a positive school community with professional learning communities

The principal believes,

garten on, they know these expectations.” A third-grade teacher added:

The principal stated:

Leadership’s Influence /107

108 / Education Vol. 137 No. 1

A fifth-grade teacher noted:

Leadership’s Influence /109

fifth grade teacher:

110 / Education Vol. 137 No. 1

Budgeting and professional development