Studying Administrative Processes Across Cultures speech...2. Assess the relevance of the global...

Studying Administrative Processes Across

Cultures

P. Hallinger/A. Walker UCEA 2009 1

Accelerating Development of a Knowledge

Base in Educational Leadership and

Management in East Asia

Professor Philip HallingerHong Kong Institute of Education

Presentation Objectives

1. Examine the geographic terrain of the current knowledge base in educational leadership and management,

2. Assess the relevance of the global knowledge base in the field for East Asia region

3. Consider the current status of university-based education and research culture in the region

4. Offer a strategy for accelerating the development of the field of educational leadership and management in the region

2Accelerating Development of a Regional Knowledge Base

Current Status of the Global Knowledge Base in Educational Leadership and Management

Governments Around the World have

Seen Leadership as a ‘Solution’

• Leadership ‘makes a difference’ in education quality

• Leadership enhances learning outcomes

• Leadership supports successful implementation of change


There is Some Support from Education

Research for a ‘Leadership Solution’

Almost all successful (school)

leaders draw on the same

repertoire of basic leadership

practices. . .

but the application of those basic

practices must be sensitive to

features of the school’s context

Ken Leithwood: ‘7 Strong Claims

about School Leadership’ 2006


Yet Research on School Leadership Comes

from a Distorted Knowledge Base

• Biased towards Western theories and research

• Publications describe administration in a very limited set of cultural contexts

• Most education and training rely on Western cases, theories and research findings



Cultures


Evidence of a Distorted Knowledge Base


The Cultural Context in Which

Leadership is Enacted Matters

• Leadership takes place in a cultural context of values and norms of behavior

• Effective leadership practices are sensitive to these values and norms

• The global knowledge base cannot be derived a single type of cultural context


Higher Education Programs Have

Expanded Internationally Since 1990

• Export of Western curricula in degree programs

• The underlying knowledge base is derived solely from Western theory and empirical research

• Theories, findings and recommended practices lack validation in the regional context

University of Chicagoin Singapore


Part I: Interim Conclusions• Leadership is seen as a solution

• Leadership ‘makes a difference’ in schools

• But application of leadership practices varies across cultural contexts

• But the current knowledge base is distorted, offering relatively little understanding of how leadership practice differs in East Asia

• This potentially impacts educational policy, leadership preparation and practice


Accelerating Development of the Educational Leadership and Management Knowledge Base in East Asia

Development of a Field of Knowledge

• Strong norms of ‘academic freedom’ with common values and diverse interests

• Proceeds in a relatively uncoordinated fashion

• Based on a combination of individual initiative and interest shaped by norms and issues of the field of study



Cultures


But Any Journey of Intellectual

Progress has Markers Along the Way

• Research reviews identify boundaries of knowledge

• Recommend preferred destinations and paths to reach them

• In doing so they create markers and milestones in the intellectual journey of knowledge development


Example: Knowledge Development in

Leadership Effects ResearchKey Reviews Over Time Evolution of Knowledge

• 1967: Erickson

• 1982: Bridges; Bossert;

Leithwood & Montgomery

• 1988: Pitner

• 1996: Hallinger & Heck

• 2006: Leithwood et al.

• 2008: Hallinger

• 2008: Robinson et al.

• Beliefs about the traits and impact of successful leaders

• Stop studying traits and focus on impact and effects

• Identified leadership effects;

• Found effects and advised focus on mediated effects models

• Increase in mediated effects studies and identified 4 paths

• Meta-analysis strengthened confidence in findings of effects and pointed to specific paths


Context of Higher Education in East Asia

Institutional Settings Consequences

• Emphasis on direct service for faculty

• Weak research cultures

• Lack of financial support

• Limited opportunity for continued development of research skills

• Recent expansion of graduate research degree programs

• Lack of senior mentorship for junior faculty

• Limited production of reliable new knowledge by faculty members

• Collectively faculty are unable to provide high quality supervision for research students

• Regional contributions to global academic community are limited


Implications for a Regional Strategy

• A successful strategy will reduce the ‘cognitive load’ on researchers in settings where resources for research are limited

• Create a focused regional agenda

• Replicate, refine and extend high quality global lines of inquiry

• Build a ‘deep knowledge base’ within various countries in the region on common lines of inquiry

Accelerating Development of a Regional Knowledge Base 16

Strategies for Accelerating Progress

• Classic studies extended across different cultural contexts in the region

• Indigenous research on local issues and theory

• High impact studies in different national contexts

• Cross-cultural comparative studies


Classic Studies: An Arbitrary ListGoal: to build a sound fundamental knowledge base across national contexts

• D. Dwyer. 1985. Understanding the principal's contribution to instruction. Peabody Journal of Education

• K. Leithwood & M. Stager. 1989. Expertise in Principals. EAQ.

• J.G. March 1978. American Public School Administration, A Short Analysis, School Review

• H. Mintzberg, 1973. Nature of Managerial Work. Harper Collins. (Peterson, Martin & Willower, Kmetz)

• H. Wolcott. 1973. Man in the Principal’s Office.



Cultures


High Impact Issues & Findings

Goal: to compare results on selected high impact findings/issues from Western societies

• Change strategies and processes

• Gender impact on leadership approaches

• Studies of school and principals effectiveness

• Evaluations of leadership development

• Social Justice

• Leadership at different levels of the system

• Processes and results of school improvement


Indigenous Research Driven by Local

Theory and Issues

• Indigenous theories of leadership and change

• Investigation of local variations in goals, policy structures, and programs

Accelerating Development of a Regional Knowledge Base 20

Goal: to generate knowledge about locally relevant administrative practices

Cross-cultural Comparative Studies

• GLOBE study of culture and leadership

• International Successful Schools Project


Goal: to compare theories and practices across cultural contexts in order to identify universal and context-dependent features

Caveats

1. The conclusions and suggestions offered here are meant to stimulate discussion towards the development of a common agenda

2. They are not meant as dictates or the ‘final word’

3. They are offered in the knowledge that regional scholars will continue to work on a variety of issues

4. In my own view ‘success’ will be measured by the extent to which a common agenda is forged that results in substantial

knowledge accumulation over the next decade


Studying Administrative Processes Across Cultures speech...2. Assess the relevance of the global...

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