Educational Leadership and Policy

 

Educational Leadership 

and Policy

 

Welcome !

 

مرحبا بكم فى موقعى التربوى العالمى

 

 

Hi and a warm welcome to my personal international

 

 education website, my new and returning learners, 

 

teachers, mentors, senior teachers, advisors,

 

 supervisors, experts, researchers and reviewers

from all around the world.

 

 

 

 A Research Thesis about:

 

Educational Leadership  and Policy

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منهج الانجليزى ثانوية عامة / معكم الاستاذ / جرجس حنا هارون 

 

/Unit 1: (Writers and stories) Lesson: 1

A brief Summary

 for Researching Thesis

 

Title

               Educational leadership

                             and Policy

My Researching

 

 Project                 

 

Educational 

 

 leadership

 

 and Policy

  

Time:  April, 2023

 

 

Corresponding Authors:

1-Mr. / Girgis Hanna, the senior researcher.

2- 3 of my assistant Colleagues.

Editor

Edited by: Mr./ Girgis Hanna Haroun

Supervisor:

Senior and public supervisors of 

 

English in Egypt.

The site published on:

www.bchmsg.yolasite.com

Subject:

Educational leadership and policy

Online since :  2017

Affiliation:

The Ministry of Education in Egypt.

 

Abstract

Change is an inevitable part of organizational life and

if you have any leadership role, you'll soon be called

 upon to help lead it. But, we often fear change.

This leads to resistance. So, managing and leading

 change is a challenging role. It will take you outside

of your comfort zone and beyond your existing

 management and supervision tool-set.

But change is predictable. You can anticipate how

people will respond, and what you need to do to

 engage them positively. You can plan, prepare,

and handle the resistance that will certainly come.

To do that, you need practical tools and models.

This thesis has been written on commission by me,

 Girgis Hanna Haroun, a supervisor of English at

 high schools and colleges in Egypt.

Several preliminary interviews made us very interested

 at the situations at schools and helped us to formulate

 our research question: “How do we Improve student

 outcomes, particularly in chronically under performing

 schools that disproportionally serve poor and minority

 students, is a national priority.

  The findings of our research revealed that this

 researching study is designed to develop thoughtful

 and highly skilled educators, administrators, policy

analysts, and academic practitioners.

Leadership is more distributed for practices aimed

 at "developing people" and "managing instruction"

than it is for "setting directions" and "structuring the

workplace."Leadership is a virtue of leading people

 through encouraging them. Management is a process

 of managing the activities of the organization.

 Distribution of leadership to include teachers, parents,

and district staff is needed in order to improve student

achievement. Districts provide human and financial

resources to assist schools in achieving

 district-established directions.

Districts hold principals accountable for implementing

 and following up on what is learned during

district-sponsored professional development.

 

Research Content

1-Introduction

1-The Research Vision, Mission and Objectives

The vision is (Developing our Education system)..

The mission is Doing research theses

The Objectives are:Solving problems that arise from

 educational leadership which creates conflicts inside

 the education organizations and the educational 

 

policy itself.

2-A problem needs a solution

 

 We faced a problem that needs a an urgent solution. 

The problem is: We, the researching group, noticed

 

 that the learning outcomes of high schools and 

colleges are low.

It has been known for decades that teachers

can have a profound effect on the students they teach.

Education policies can make a significant difference

 in a teacher’s work, which in turn affects their students.

 When expert teachers are actively engaged in the

development of education policy and initiatives,

achieving the intended outcomes and avoiding

unintended consequences is more likely.

3-Reasons for the research:

The reason for doing such research is that I and

 my colleagues noticed that some organizations did

not work as efficiently as they could, and senior

 

 managers have encountered various problems.

Complaints were numersous. People worked in

 terms of only firm accountability and punishment.

There was no vision, no mission, no ogjectives,

 no team work, no love or respect and no good

performance. We have been asked to estimate

the situation, analyze it, and come up with

solutions which could increase efficiency and

 productivity; in other words, increase

organizational performance. After preliminary

interviews with the senior managers and teachers

at schools, we have identified our areas of the

interest: organizational structure, leadership,

and communication.

The teachers worked individually without any

collaboration with their managers or school leaders.

Teachers didn't like change. They used traditional

 method of teaching like the GTM method.

 Learners were just listeners or stores waiting

for being filled with some information that were

 learnt by heart.

Learners knew nothing about any critical thinking

 like practice, analysis, synthesis, evaluation,

imagination, creation or innovation. They didn't use

 technology in learning. There were no meeting

 areas between the organization managers and

the people who  working with them.

The organizations had managers of instructions

and orders not leaders that could lead the education

 process forward through the leading skills that the

 leader should practice and apply.

4- The researching questions:

How do organizational leadership, and communication

 affect productivity and efficiency of schools and 

 

educational organization?

How we make education organizations perform

well and learning outcomes high?

5-The problem solutions

 

Employers and employees must learn academically

 and practice actually the roles played by leadership,

 organizational culture, motivation and commitment.

6-Objectives:

 

Education Policy Drives Social Change. ...

 Policy Studies track prepares educators and other

professionals to serve as leaders in education

 organizations. Students gain the knowledge and

 skills in leadership, policy, law, economics, and

research to effectively administer education 

 

programs and policies at all levels.

The Policy Studies track prepares teachers and

other professional to serve as leaders in organizations

 - including federal and state education agencies,

school districts, and nonprofits - that implement

education policies and programs.

In addition to leadership, policy, legal, economic,

 and research skills, the track emphasizes the data

analysis and performance management skills needed

 to administer education programs and policies.

The Educational Leadership and Policy (ELP) program

 is devoted to the study and development of policy,

 leadership, change, social diversity, ethics and values

 in PK-12 education. It is designed to develop thoughtful

 and highly skilled educators, administrators, policy

analysts, and academic practitioners.

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS)

 program gives you the tools to tackle challenges at all

 levels within an educational system, whether you are

 an aspiring principal, district leader, or policy maker.

Build critical skills through intensive academic and

 field-based experiences.

2-Materials and Methods

In order to find out the answer to the research question

 and to fulfill both purposes of the research, we have

conducted a qualitative research.We used types of

qualitative research methods like an in-depth interview,

 focus groups, ethnographic research, content analysis

 and case study research that are usually used.

This has been done by interviewing twenty schools

managers and 20 educational leaders or administers

beside 50 teachers and senior teachers working at

schools and education zones and supervision.

We have tried to talk to representatives of different

 layers of the organizations to make our research

complete. These semi-structured interviews resulted in

 qualitative data, which had been processed and

analyzed using coding technique.

Our research used 2 methods:

One of academic character, and one of practical

character.

1-The academic purpose is in investigating relationship

 between organizational structure, leadership, and

 communication and organizational performance,

 i.e. efficiency and productivity.

2-The practical purpose is in giving analysis-based

 recommendations about possible ways to increase

productivity and efficiency to our educational

organizations.

3-We used interviews, lectures, debates, experiencing,

 observations, analysis, synthesis, assessment,

 feedback and evaluation.

4-We held workshops, modeling, training units authentic

 field practice in actual fields and we assessed, followed

and evaluated what we recommended academically

 before. It took 3 months to conduct our experiences

that we acquired from our professors in East Anglia

University, England.

 

  3- Main Findings / Results

The results section is where I reported the findings of

my study based upon the  methodologies I applied to

gather information. I used case studies, interviews and

 gathered data at the organizations of schools,

 educational associations and zone.

Findings and results:

Learning, teaching and learning are integrally 

connected. Leadership can play a key role in improving 

learning outcomes of learners by setting strategic 

direction and goal, influencing teachers’ and facilitators’

 

 behaviors and motivations, mobilizing resources and 

 

 support for institutional development and keeping 

 

teachers/facilitators and learners focused on teaching 

 

and learning through monitoring, support and guidance,

Effective learning is the outcome of effective leadership.

 

 Education systems should have appropriate policies 

 

and programs to develop educational leaders 

 

who embrace /learning’ at the core of their leadership 

 

role, what is referred to as  learning leadership. 

 

The hallmark of good leadership in education is to take 

 

responsibility and accept accountability for learning.

Educational leaders have traditionally focused on

 

 management roles such as planning, budgeting, 

 

scheduling, maintenance of facilities, teacher 

 

evaluation, etc. Research in education has 

 

shown that a particular type of leadership that 

 

makes a difference in learning is instructional 

 

leadership or learning leadership, 

 

where leaders are intensely involves in curricular

 

 and instructional issues that 

 

have direct bearing on learner achievement.

Learning leaders are those who prioritize teaching 

 

and learning at the top of their priority, promote the 

 

culture of continuous learning, use evidence or data on 

 

learner achievement to make decisions and set priorities. 

 

These leaders are consistently focused on the core 

 

technology of education, which is learning, 

 

learner support, teaching, teacher support, curriculum,

 

 learning materials, assessment, feedback and 

 

improvement.

 

We wrote a report that included our data, solutions and 

recommendations we presented.

Our teachers, senior teachers, schools managers

 and education organizations leaders learnt the

relation between education and development through

  the key findings and secondary findings we presented.

I will Present a result and then explain it, before

presenting the next result then explaining it, and

 so on, then end with an overall synopsis.

 This is the preferred approach as I have multiple

results of equal significance.  It is more common in

 longer papers because it helps the reader to better

understand each finding.

Finding result   1 :

Why Leadership and Policy?

Improving student outcomes, particularly in chronically

  under performing schools that serve poor and minority

 students, is a national priority. To address this

imperative, state and national education reform efforts

 are increasingly focused on improving the professional

knowledge base  and preparation of educational

leaders, as catalysts of improvement.

This researching study is designed to develop

thoughtful and highly skilled educators, administrators,

 policy analysts, and academic practitioners. A

combination of theory and practice will enable students

to tackle the complex challenges of current education

policies and procedures.

This program prepares students with the skills,

knowledge, and real-world experiences to provide

direction within a dynamic educational landscape as

superintendents or executive leaders.

This study prepares graduates for many types of

school-based leadership roles including the principal-

ship,instructional coach, data and evaluation specialist,

or program developer. We also prepare graduates for

leadership careers outside of schools in roles such as

policy analyst, social advocate, or educational

entrepreneur.

     Learners will :

Understand the complexity of the educational system,

 including the historical, cultural, economic, and social

conditions that may affect student learning.

Research the effectiveness of policy proposals and

better understand the implementation of existing

policies,  particularly as they affect outcomes for

traditionally marginalized students. Advocate for the

implementation of different approaches to enhance

student learning for all children.

Finding result   2 :

The difference between educational leadership

and management:

Educational management and educational leadership

 are central concepts in understanding organizing in

educational institutions but their meaning, the difference

 between them and their value in educational organizing

remain the subject of debate. In this article, we analyze

 and contrast the two concepts.

We conclude that educational management entails

 carrying the responsibility for the proper functioning of

a system in an educational institution in which others

 participate. Carrying a responsibility of this kind is a

state of mind and does not necessitate actions, though

 it typically and frequently does.

In contrast, educational leadership is the act of

influencing others in educational settings to achieve

goals and necessitates actions of some kind.

 

4- Results / Secondary Findings

 I will Present a secondary result or finding and then

 explain it, before presenting the next result then

explaining it, and so on, then end with an overall

synopsis.

This is the preferred approach as I have multiple

 results of equal significance.  It is more common

 in longer papers because it helps the reader to better

 understand each finding.

Secondary Finding result   1 :

Policy leadership and complex 

social change

An investigation of leadership for school improvement

and student achievement would be incomplete if it did

not attend to the role of the states.

Over the past three decades, the states have played

 an increasingly active role in promulgating policies to

promote change in the education systems for which

they have constitutional responsibility.

In addition, policy makers and educators have viewed

policy initiatives in light of their obligation to foster

economic growth and social goals.

But in matters of K- 12 education, the United States 

has a long tradition of local autonomy, and muscular 

new efforts to launch systemic reform have not always 

been received with enthusiasm by schools and districts.

 Leadership at the state level entails dealing with

policies and practices that may seem far removed from

people whose interest in schools is immediate and

concrete—individual students and parents, for example.

State-level leaders are charged with formulating policies

that will frame practice in districts and schools more

broadly, according to the public interest, and to provide

 incentives and sanctions for local implementation of

 those policies. Tensions have been inevitable in these

 efforts, which have left no state untouched.

How might these efforts be characterized? Scholarship

about the relationship between policy leadership and

complex social change presents three main images.

A technical policy perspective is found in most policy

analysis texts; it is generally associated with rational

 choice models. Policy leaders should, according to this

perspective, focus on rational choices to be made once

a policy issue is on the agenda. Another image

emphasizes a political perspective, focusing on a

naturalistic explanation of how policies are made.

The indeterminate nature of leadership in the course

 of policy making, and the slippage that occurs as

policy refinements accrue during implementation,

help to explain how policies succeed or fail. Particular

 instruments used to reformulate policy are less

important, according to this perspective, than

understanding how a particular policy issue got the

governor‘s or the legislative

 committee‘s attention in the first place.

A third image, the practitioner perspective, emerges

from studies of public sector administrators; it examines

 the tendency of administrators to seek flexibility and

autonomy in interpreting policies, and ways in which

this tendency affects the broader process of change.

 

Secondary Finding result   2 :

Distribution of leadership to include teachers, parents,

 and district staff is needed in order to improve student

achievement. School and district leaders should,

as a matter of policy and practice, extend significant

influence to others in the school community as a

foundation for their efforts to improve student

achievement.

Such an expansion of influence to others will in no way

diminish their own influence.

District-level and state policy makers must assume

 the responsibility for nurturing principals’ dispositions

 toward the distribution of leadership.

 Promoting productive forms of distributed leadership

 in schools creates new challenges for principals,

 and without sustained encouragement and support

from outside the school it is unlikely to become

common practice. Distributing leadership

more widely in schools is definitely not a means of

reducing principals‘ workload, as has sometimes

been suggested; neither is it likely to diminish the

principal‘s own influence. This conclusion brings us

 back to our second point about the need for serious

consideration of redesigning principals‘ jobs.

Policy makers and practitioners should avoid promoting

 conceptions of instructional leadership which adopt an

 exclusive or narrow focus on classroom instruction.

Our study suggests that successful school-level

 leadership involves significant attention to classroom

instructional practices, but it also includes attention

 to other issues critical to the health and welfare of

schools. 

Furthermore, school leaders can have a significant

influence on teachers‘ classroom practices through

their efforts to motivate teachers and create workplace

settings compatible with instructional practices known

 to be effective.

 

5-Discussion

The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and

 describe the significance of our findings in light of

 what was already known about the research problem

 being investigated and to explain any new

understanding or insights that emerged as a result of

our study of the problem.

 DISCUSSION provides the explanation and

interpretation of results or findings by comparing with

the findings in prior studies. Then, I can say that:

compared to the previous study about (Educational

leadership and policy), I say that my research is

different .

My research recommended the following:

Implications for Practice

School improvement requires the participation of all

leaders.

Our findings complement those of Part I, where

 distributed leadership effects on student achievement

 were among the most significant. In most states,

there are few forums for creating dialogue that might

influence how people at all levels make sense of state

 standards, tests, and other measures of student

development.

 

   

 

6-Limitations

Here are 5 challenges facing leaders in

education and the opportunities that could

 enable them to turn things around for their

proud institutions. 

 

Challenge #1 Transitioning from

Faculty to Management

Leaders in education face a dilemma as

they advance in their careers – to lead in

 the classroom as educators or to lead in

 the institution as administrators. Do they

have to choose one over the other? Is it

possible to do both and do them well?

Most definitely. 

 

There is a tremendous opportunity for

teachers to leverage classroom techniques

such as effective study skills, course design,

 planning and rubrics, to lead successfully

in the business side of education.  

 

Challenge #2 Investing in

Leadershp Education

It is ironic that educators are missing out

on their own leadership education. When

learning opportunities are abundant and

accessible, it is easy to put them aside.

Teachers urgently need to commit to their

own education success to stay relevant

and ahead of competition.

Challenge #3 Responding to the

Threat of Disruption

As self-paced, individual learning rises,

educational institutions are under threat

of being disrupted. All members of the

education sector, whether teacher,

administrator, researcher or policymaker,

are challenged to innovate the old business

model and find new ways to deliver value.

 

Challenge #4 Shifting focus on th

 Customer-Experience

Education can take a page from the

playbook of commercial enterprises in

creating lasting customer relationships.

Future leaders in education must be

customer-focused in order to succeed –

dedicated to serving life-long learners and

catering to their evolving wants, needs and

preferences.  

Challenge #5 Collaborating with

Businesses

Education is not currently fulfilling the

qualified, skilled labor that today’s

businesses demand. According to a 2018 EY

study, more than half of Australia’s employers

say that degrees in management are not

worthwhile. 

By partnering with businesses, leaders in

education will be able to effectively design

content and produce exceptional, job-ready

candidates.

Other Limitations

 “The empirical results reported herein should be

 considered in the light of some limitations.”

1-Time constraints

Just as researchers have deadlines

to turn in their class papers, academic

researchers also must meet the deadline for

submitting a research manuscript

to a journal.

Therefore, the time available to study

 a research problem and to measure

change over time is constrained by the

deadline of my “assignment.” I should

have Made sure I choose a research

problem that I will be able to complete

well before the assignment’s deadline.

If time constraints negatively impacted

 my study in any way, acknowledge

this impact by mentioning a need for a

future study (e.g., a longitudinal study)

 to answer this research problem.

2-Conflicts arising from cultural bias

and other personal issues

Researchers might be biased views due to their

 cultural backgrounds or perspectives of certain

phenomena, and this can affect a study’s legitimacy.

Also, it is possible that researchers will have biases

 toward data and results that only support their

 hypotheses or arguments.

In order to avoid these problems, the author(s)

of a study should examine whether the way the

problem was stated and the data-gathering process

 were carried out appropriately. I found a difficulty ,

but I did it .

3-More study:

I suggest additional studies in the future as the subject

of my research is of a national importance to my great

 country. Leading a multicultural team is very important.

 

 

 

7-Conclusion

In conclusion, I provide a brief conclusion that ties each

 of the findings together and provides a narrative bridge

 to the discussion section of the your paper.

We reached to the objectives we set before and the

 vision we dreamed of through implementing our

mission, goals and objectives.

Through conclusion, I give my recommendations.

All people at any organization should know and

 practice their work according to the organization

principles, values, vision, mission, goals and

objectives. All people became loyal to their

organization in terms of proper leadership, right

educational policy, communication, responsibility,

tolerance, understanding, good relation,

teamwork,love, respect, the ideal atmosphere that

paved the way to creation and innovation.

Also, the leaders worked in terms of communication,

sharing, rewards, listening to complaints and speaking,

 justice, responsibility, equality, solving problems,

Democracy, commercial awareness and technical

skills.

     

Finally, the conceptual model draws attention to the

fact that successful school leadership must be

understood (and studied) in terms of its particular

context. The instructional management role of the

principal. Educational Administration Quarterly.

Schools are embedded in particular community and

institutional contexts.

Scholars have elaborated on this understanding of the

‘context for leadership’ by calling attention to ways that

socio - cultural norms and institutional structures vary

from nation to nation .Contrasting effects of

instructional leadership practices on student learning

 in a high accountability context. Journal of Educational

 

Administration.

 

8-Acknowledgements

I would like to express my very great

 appreciation to those people who helped

me during my work on this thesis.

They gave advice and assistance in

keeping my progress on schedule.

I would like to express my very great

appreciation to Dr Rod in East Anglia

University for his valuable and

constructive suggestions during the

planning and development of this

research work. His willingness to give

his time so generously has been very

much appreciated.

I thank:

(The Main supervisor,The Second

supervisor,

The Other academic staff in my

department.

I want to thank my people in charge of

 the education system in my country for

 Funding and inviting me to work on this

project.

I would like to thank the schools,

companies, associations and other

educational associations for the

ir assistance with the collection of my

data :  personnel of schools

I wish to acknowledge the help provided

by my public supervisor for his help,

guidance, and advice in times when I

needed it most.

I am particularly grateful for the

assistance given by my professors

in East Anglia University for their general

 supervision and general administrative

support.

My special thanks are extended to the

staff of my team for their writing

assistance, technical editing, language

editing, and proof-reading.”

Finally, I wish to thank my parents for

their support and encouragement

 throughout my study.

 

9-References

1-Some texts from publications of my

professors in East Anglia University,

Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK.

2-Some quotations from online sites.

3-Some recommendations, guide and

 advice from my colleagues who worked

 with me collaboratively and shared in

collecting data, analyzed them and

synthesized them  .

I wait for your comments, suggestions, questions and evaluation.

 

 

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Signature,

 

Mr. / Girgis.

My site Link

 

www.bchmsg.yolasite.com

My Blog Link    

     

https://mrgirgis.blogspot.com/

 

 

Other Researching Projects:

1-Leadership and Culture.

2-Education and development

3-InterculturalCommunication

4-Edu.&sustainable development  

5-Language communication  

6-Homogeneous VS  Heterogeneous

7-Learning/Pedagogy Assessment

 

8-Diverse and multi-cultured learners