Outlier leadership in Alabama: resource challenged schools and principal practices

Abstract

PurposeSchools in resource challenged communities require principal approaches that break patterns of low expectations and low student achievement. This study identifies Alabama’s “outlier” schools that have been consistently successful in attaining higher student outcomes than their neighboring schools despite their similar community conditions. Then, it describes the perspectives and practices of principals leading these outlier schools. The purpose of this paper is to discuss findings on principal leadership in five of Alabama's outlier schools.Design/methodology/approachIn a sequential, explanatory mixed-methods design, the authors first use state administrative data to identify which Alabama schools had better results than their peers as evidenced by standardized testing between 2016 and 2020. Then, through semi-structured interviews, they examine the beliefs and approaches of five principals who are currently leading an outlier school. The frame of contextual leadership provides a deeper understanding of how these principals navigate successful schools in the midst of challenging community influences.FindingsThe evidence demonstrated that (1) community factors of low education, high unemployment, single-parent households and generational poverty are associated with considerably lower levels of student growth and achievement; (2) measured school and community factors do not explain student growth and achievement in these outlier schools; (3) outlier principals have a realistic view of their community’s challenges but focus on supporting students through a context sensitive, relational approach that emphasizes assets over limitations.Originality/valueWhile research has attended to leadership in turnaround schools and effective schools, there is little literature on principals leading in positive outlier schools. This study contributes to the literature on school leadership in resource challenged contexts by identifying high performing, resource challenged schools and then showing the perspectives and practices of principals who lead in schools that have consistently achieved better than expected student outcomes. It extends the construct of “outlier leadership” in education and connects it to contextual leadership in schools.

Cultivating Resilience: Multiple Case Study of School Heads’ Leadership in Integrated Senior High Schools

“…Collaborative leadership has become increasingly recognized as an effective approach to school management, particularly in the context of integrated senior high schools where complex challenges demand collective problem-solving and shared decision-making. According to Santos [24], collaborative leadership is characterized by a commitment to inclusivity, transparency, and empowerment, as school leaders actively involve stakeholders in decisionmaking processes and foster a culture of trust and collaboration. This resonates with the findings of Reyes and Cruz [25], who emphasize the importance of building strong relationships and creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue among teachers, students, parents, and community members.…”

Learning from Outliers: Identifying and Learning from High-Challenge Schools with Exceptional Learning Recovery

“…To address RQ1, we began by constructing a 'Recovery Score,' which is simply the difference in student achievement between 2019 and 2022, with higher scores representing a positive change from 2019-2022. Next, we examined which schools have high recovery scores, and then ran a series of fixed effect regressions estimating school Recovery Scores based on school and community factors specifically identified in the literature (Leventhal & Dupéré, 2019;Minh et al, 2017;Rushing & Pendola, 2022) with district fixed effects. We utilized the following general model:…”

“…RQ2: Which schools recovered beyond the odds?, To address RQ2, we derived point-estimates for each school's recovery from the above regression model, and then developed a 'Recovery Outlier score' as the distance between expected and actual recovery, based on the work of Rushing and Pendola (2022). Schools with greater Recovery Outlier Scores performed better than expected based on their characteristics.…”