2012 UCEA Convention

Mapping the Path from Organizational Theory to Distributed Leadership. Paul Goldman, Washington State University; Michele Anne Acker-Hocevar, Washington State University
This paper represents an effort to explore how four traditions in organizational theory provide useful perspectives for understanding and applying leadership in P-12 schools. We examine and describe the major tenets and research findings of bureaucratic, institutional, contingency, and sensemaking theories, concluding each section with an analysis of implications for educational leadership. We argue that organizational theory and research provide an intellectual foundation supporting participative leadership generally and distributed leadership specifically.

Preparing Principals for Successful Political Leadership in Ontario, Canada. Sue Winton, York University; Katina Pollock, The University of Western Ontario
Drawing on the fields of micropolitics and critical policy analyses, we demonstrate 1) the principal’s role is inherently political and 2) without political skills principals are unlikely to be effective in their efforts to improve schools. We argue that strategic policy appropriation is an important political skill for leaders who aim to make schools more democratic. We call for revisions to Ontario, Canada’s Leadership Framework because it excludes the political aspects of principals’ work.

School District Policies for Principal Professional Development: Influences on Policy Design. John Hall, UC Berkeley
This study examines the factors that influence the design of principal professional development (PD) within a school district. I explore how ideas from the broader field are incorporated into principal PD policies, how the organizational environment of the district influences the design of these policies, and how policy messages are transformed as they are expressed into specific professional development activities.

School principals’ leadership style and school outcomes: The mediating effect of principals’ use of power bases. Adam E Nir, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Lior Hameiri, The Zefat College
Based on Theory for Social Power Bases, the current study focuses on principals’ use of power-bases as mediators between leadership style and school effectiveness. The findings support the assumption that leaders’ use of power-bases has a mediating effect on the relation between principal leadership style and school outcomes. Specifically, the combination of transformational leadership style with soft power- bases is likely to significantly influence school effectiveness and therefore, produce leadership that matters.