Purpose – Considering student achievement in a nation-wide examination as an indicator of school effectiveness, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the common characteristics across nine highly performing schools. Design/methodology/approach – The study was designed as a multiple-case study. Semi-structured interviews with teachers and administrators were conducted when collecting the data. Content analysis was implemented in analyzing the interview transcripts. Findings – The findings of the study basically suggest building a vision of achievement and sharing this vision with different constituencies, structuring positive instructional environment and implementing positive classroom managerial practices, educational leadership identifying the needs of school environment and responding to these needs, investing in positive school climate, monitoring pupils’ progress, ensuring the contribution of parents in schooling practices, and structuring a safe physical environment and providing necessary materials are instrumental activities for positive student outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Although it is not uncommon in the literature, the study relies on students’ scores in a nation-wide examination as an indicator of school effectiveness. However, this was inevitable because of the fact that Turkish education system does not suggest behavioral or organizational effectiveness indicators. Hence, further research in Turkish context may identify multiple indicators and focus on school wide as well as environmental dynamics of effectiveness. Originality/value – The current study produced similar themes characterizing effective schools with the rest of the literature. However, the Turkish context exhibits a different understanding in relation to what causes effectiveness. The uniqueness of the Turkish context is largely related to the cultural context which has largely been shaped by conservatist philosophical orientations and centralized structure.

Maintaining classroom order is one of the skills and responsibilities teachers are required to develop. Likewise, teachers are expected to design a proper classroom environment where instructional goals are reached effectively. Self-efficacy is a concept frequently debated among scholars of educational realms, albeit exploration of teachers' self-efficacy specifically in terms of classroom management is quite rare, especially for pre-service teachers. Hence, the present research was conducted to reveal pre-service teachers' beliefs about their own capabilities in classroom management. The survey was carried out by utilizing "Classroom Management Self-efficacy Scale" with respect to quantitative research methodology, collecting data from senior (fourth grade) pre-service teachers enrolled in a primary education program during 2014-2015 academic year. Data analyses demonstrated participants' high degree of self-efficacy beliefs in classroom management, implying the effectiveness of classroom management courses taught at the programs. The evidences further suggested higher self-efficacy levels in maintaining classroom order for female prospective teachers. The outcomes also revealed pre-service teachers with higher academic achievement tended to perceive themselves more efficacious in terms of classroom management. Pre-service teachers enrolled at departments of elementary school teaching and pre-school teaching were found to be more confident in their classroom management capabilities compared to those studying at science teaching. The results of the study lastly indicated a positive correlation between classroom management efficacies and outcome expectancies of the subjects.

ÖzPaylaşılan liderlik son yıllarda diğer alanlar gibi eğitim alanında da tartışılmaktadır. Kavram üzerine yapılan araştırmaların son on yılda gösterdiği sıçrama göz önüne alınarak bu çalışma kültürler arası bir bakışla eğitim alanında paylaşılan liderliğe dair 2005-2015 yılları arasında yapılan ampirik araştırmaları incelemeyi amaçlamıştır. Yazarlar, paylaşılan liderlik üzerine geliştirilen kavramsal modelleri de göz önüne alarak esasen ilgili liderliğin eğitim kurumlarındaki sahaya yansımalarına odaklanmıştır. 18 farklı ülkede gerçekleştirilen 43 ampirik araştırmanın incelendiği bu çalışmada, içerik analizi sonucu elde edilen kavramlar ve temalar ortaya konarak paylaşılan liderlik uygulamalarına incelenen bazı kritik sorulara yanıt aranmaktadır. Alanyazını temsil eden kaynaklardaki araştırmalara konu olan paylaşılan liderlik kavramına ve uygulamalarına ampirik verilerle ışık tutan bu inceleme, paylaşılan liderliğin birçok farklı ülkedeki okullarda yansımalarını da ele almaktadır. Ayrıca, son bölümde ampirik araştırmalardan çıkan bulgular ışığında paylaşılan liderliğin doğası tartışılarak okuldaki öğrenmeye olumlu katkı sağlamak için okulların hedefleri, değerleri ve kültürünün ortak bir vizyon çerçevesinde paydaşlarca paylaşılmasına yönelik önerilere yer verilmektedir. Anahtar sözcükler: Okul liderliği, paylaşılan liderlik, ampirik araştırma, kültürlerarası inceleme AbstractRecently distributed leadership is on the agenda of educational researchers. Considering the remarkable leap in the number of studies conducted for the past ten years, this review focused on the empirical studies in educational institutions carried out between 2005 and 2015, with a cross-cultural perspective. Keeping the conceptual models offered in the literature in mind, the reviewers attempted to shed lights on the reflections of distributed leadership on the ground. Throughout this narrative review, 43 empirical studies conducted in schools from 18 countries were scrutinized through content analysis. Answers were sought for some critical questions on practicing of distributed leadership by presenting the emerging themes and concepts. Furthermore, this article presented practices of distributed leadership at schools on various countries in the lights of the empirical findings of the studies the literature. Additionally, in the final section of the current review, the conceptualization of distributed leadership with empirical outline was discussed, and some recommendations were offered towards sharing school objectives, values in a frame of collective vision for contributing to learning at schools.

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