Systematic Review of Key Leader Practices Found to Influence Student Achievement

Abstract

The field of educational leadership has accrued a body of research that explains how leaders influence student achievement through the enactment of various practices. Yet, differences exist in the substance of the frameworks that assert the areas to which leaders should attend. The specific purposes of this article are to identify and synthesize the empirical research on how leadership influences student achievement and to provide evidence on how school leaders should direct their efforts. During the literature review, we consulted experts for recommendations and searched peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2014. The literature review yielded 56 empirical research studies of relevance to the topic and 3 frameworks consisting of clustered practices. We then grouped the 28 practices according to systematic criteria and found 5 overarching domains. In doing so, this study unifies existing frameworks through developing a cohesive set of practices to inform the work of researchers and practitioners.

Principals' Leadership in High Performance Schools in Norway

“…The principals' practices involves many interest groups which in different ways contribute to the school's development. According to Hitt and Tucker (2016) successful principals manage to engage in and build relationships to others in order to develop practice. The leaders have high expectations of the people who in different ways are involved in the school, something which is pointed to as a central characteristic of leadership in schools that achieve good academic results (Viviane M. J.…”

“…Several studies have documented that principals, through their leadership are of great significance to pupils' learning (DuFour & Marzano, 2011;Hitt & Tucker, 2016;Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008;Møller, 2009;Møller et al, 2005; Viviane M. J. Robinson, 2007;Timperley, 2011).…”

“…Robinson, 2007;Timperley, 2011). Historically, it has been claimed that a principal's practice has an indirect effect on pupils' learning (Hitt & Tucker, 2016). However, as the understanding of the role of the principal has been expanded, the opposite has been found to be true, in that principals' practices have direct consequences for pupils' learning (Day, Gu, & Sammons, 2016).…”

“…In a review article Hitt and Tucker (2016) directed the spotlight on the type of leadership practices that have positive significance for pupil's attainment of academic learning. They developed five general areas they considered to be overlapping in the material they were based on: a) establishing and conveying the vision, (b) facilitating a highquality learning experience for pupils, (c) building professional capacity, (d) creating a supportive organization for learning, and (e) connecting with external partners.…”

“…Many studies point to the fact that principals who successfully achieve good academic results set clear goals and have high expectations for the school as a whole (Day et al, 2016;Hitt & Tucker, 2016; V. M. J. Robinson, Lloyd, & Rowe, 2008;Vestheim, 2014), and that these are adapted to the contextual conditions where the school is located (Hitt & Tucker, 2016;Leithwood et al, 2008). Pashiardis, Savvides, Lytra, and Angelidou (2011) support this, finding that principals at schools in areas with lower socio-economic status set different goals and have other expectations than principals at schools which are located in areas with higher socio-economic status.…”