Proposing a new model for long-term learning among mid-level school leaders: toward enhancing organizational learning via simulation training

Shapira‐Lishchinsky, Orly

doi:10.1108/ijem-08-2019-0296

Cited by 4 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The culture and climate of schools are two of the factors that are revealed, in recent research, as the most important for organizational learning to take place. The qualification of school leaders through simulation promotes an improved culture of organizational learning (Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2020), observing a positive relationship between the culture of organizational learning and the climate of innovation, which favours the intention of teachers to remain at the schools (Da'as et al , 2020). Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between an organizational learning culture and good student learning outcomes (Serpa et al , 2020).…”

Section: School Organization As a Context: Organizational Development...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ informal learning and organizational learning in Spain

Sallán

Díaz-Vicario

Barrera-Corominas

et al. 2021

JWL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this study is to focus on the informal learning (IL) processes of teachers in primary and secondary schools in Spain. Its objective is to study the strategies currently used by teachers to generate IL, identifying the factors that condition such learning and the changes that must be introduced to enhance it. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is qualitative, with information from interviews with school principals (n = 21) and teachers (n = 60) from 22 primary and secondary schools in Spain and from 3 discussion groups with experts (n = 17). The topics used refer to strategies to generate and promote IL and its conditioning factors. Findings The findings suggest that, regardless of the stage (primary/secondary) and ownership of the centre (state/private), the teaching staff use IL strategies that, beyond individual actions, involve meeting, sharing and reflecting with other teachers. The challenge is that IL facilitates both professional development and the development and improvement of the organizations. School principals play a central role in achieving this relationship and promoting the institutionalization of changes and educational administration in facilitating the right conditions for their development and recognition. Research limitations/implications Given that the participation of schools in the research was voluntary, as was that of the teachers who agreed to be interviewed, some bias may exist. To refine the analyses it would also have been interesting to contrast with the people interviewed some of the assessments which appeared in the focus groups. Finally, future work might focus on analysing in greater detail the effect of different management styles on IL. Practical implications The results presented point to the need for decisive support from school leadership teams for collaborative work processes and joint reflection, which are one of the basic conditions for facilitating IL and, at the same time, for encouraging organizational learning. Furthermore, in the Spanish context, there is the challenge of combining the participation of teachers in formal training actions with the recognition of IL generated in the development of daily professional activity. Originality/value The data provided complements and reaffirms the findings of research carried out in other types of organizations, at the same time highlighting the importance of horizontal relationships among education professionals and the difficulty of creating a solid foundation for organizational changes. Improvements are, on the other hand, highly conditioned by the role adopted by school principals.

show abstract

Section: School Organization As a Context: Organizational Development...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ informal learning and organizational learning in Spain

Sallán

Díaz-Vicario

Barrera-Corominas

et al. 2021

JWL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Accordingly, successful school leaders align their practices Middle-level school leadership with the unique contextual requirements of their schools. They need to be able to move easily into a range of situations, integrate several leadership models in their specific contexts and adopt a leadership style that fits the purpose and suits the context in which they work (Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2020). Therefore, we would like to offer a two-dimensional theoretical framework for the current study composed of the leadership style theory and a socialecological model (SEM).…”

Section: Jea 612mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The social-ecological approach (Bronfenbrenner, 2005) focuses on human development through the exploration of inter-relationships between JEA 61,2 individuals and their environmental systems and the relationships between the environmental systems. Educational research adopted Bronfenbrenner's social-ecological approach in various subjects, such as aspects of school leadership (King and Travers, 2017;Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2020). Context is an essential factor in understanding different aspects of school leadership, involving negotiating interactions among people, policies and practices in a variety of frameworks.…”

Section: Jea 612mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Middle-level leaders are not always adequately prepared to do so, which raises the importance of unique training programs. This kind of training should consider the middle-level leaders' role context and allow an examination of their function through a tailored, multifaceted prism (Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2020). Thus, role-play simulations have tremendous potential as a professional learning process for middle-level leaders to practice leadership scenarios – everyday case descriptions that may elicit challenging aspects associated with their roles (Delucas, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These scenarios simulate their work environment, social factors and multiple interactions. Throughout this proposed professional learning process, middle-level leaders may examine their functioning, adopt appropriate leadership styles and perspectives and foster professional development (Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2020; Thornton et al. , 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Exploring middle-level school leadership styles through role-play simulations

Iftach

Shapira‐Lishchinsky

2023

JEA

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe study's main goal is to investigate different leadership styles that characterize middle-level leaders, the intermediate leadership tier of role holders in school, as they practice leadership scenarios through active participation in a professional learning process of role-play simulation, using a social-ecological approach.Design/methodology/approachThirty middle-level leaders from different Israeli high schools and districts participated in the study during an M.A. course in an educational leadership program. The authors used qualitative analysis to examine role-play simulations of leadership scenarios based on group debriefings. This content analysis was conducted within a two-dimensional theoretical framework composed of leadership style theory and a social-ecological model.FindingsThe study findings address four main leadership styles: authentic, transformational, participative and transactional. Regarding their appearance within different social-ecological layers, the interpersonal layer was the most salient one with a prominent appearance of transformational and authentic leadership styles. On the organizational and communal layers, authentic leadership was more prominent. The study findings demonstrate multidimensionality in both the leadership styles and social-ecological layers, as different styles appeared in different layers concurrently.Practical implicationsThe findings may help articulate the nature and characteristics of middle-level school leadership. They may also provide relevant theoretical content and instructional strategy to develop simulation-based preparation programs for middle-level leaders.Originality/valueThe study findings highlight unique leadership characteristics of middle-level school leaders and suggest a contextual perception of their leadership styles within a social-ecological framework.

show abstract

Ethical dilemmas among mid-level school leaders through role-play simulations: Developing a social-ecological approach

Iftach¹,

Shapira‐Lishchinsky²

2021

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of the study is to examine the ethical dilemmas among mid-level school leaders in the social-ecological context through role-play simulations. We examined simulations involving role-played ethical scenarios and group debriefings among 30 mid-level school leaders from different Israeli high schools and districts during the MA course in the educational leadership program. A qualitative analysis generated an expanded social-ecological model for mid-level school leaders. The model consists of six main layers: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, public policy, and technology. Each of the layers is divided into sub-categories. The study’s findings reveal the concurrent appearance of the different layers. These findings emphasize the complexity of the role of mid-level school leaders, as they cope simultaneously with a variety of ethical dilemmas characterized by multiple conflicting values. Moreover, the study findings indicated the interpersonal layer to be the most dominant layer, demonstrating mid-level leaders’ dual role as both classroom teachers and as team leaders. This study may contribute toward the development and modification of professional training programs for mid-level school leaders. It may also be helpful when designing strategies to deal with ethical challenges and to strengthen the school’s ethical leadership.

show abstract

Proposing a new model for long-term learning among mid-level school leaders: toward enhancing organizational learning via simulation training

Cited by 4 publications

References 36 publications

Teachers’ informal learning and organizational learning in Spain

Teachers’ informal learning and organizational learning in Spain

Exploring middle-level school leadership styles through role-play simulations

Ethical dilemmas among mid-level school leaders through role-play simulations: Developing a social-ecological approach

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About