Key Paper #1 - Review, Analysis, and Commentary

Group 1 members:

Brant Knutzen

Reading #1 – Discussion A • The term ‘Distributed Leadership’ has 3

powers:

– Normative Power – it reflects the current changes of leadership practice in schools

• Gronn’s “greedy work” – the expansion of leadership tasks and responsibilities in schools has resulted in work that will consume a single leader’s life

Reading #1 – Discussion A

• Representational Power – it describes the alternate leadership practices that are becoming prevalent • New leadership practices are:

– Distributed

– Extended

– Shared

• “Cross multiple boundaries to share ideas and insights” – Wenger, 2002, pg 123

• Multi-agency: – Federations

– Partnerships

– Networked Learning Communities

– Extended Schools

Reading #1 – Discussion A

• Empirical Power – research evidence that distributed leadership makes a

positive difference to organisational outcomes and student learning (Harris 2007, Leithwood 2004, 2007)

• Limitations of the term “distributed leadership” – Conceptual overlap and confusion

• “devolved leadership”

• “effective teamworking”: social activity theory

• “catch all” term for shared, dispersed practice?

– Theory vs Practice • “what is it?” vs “how is it done, and to what effect?”

Reading #1 – Discussion B

• Distributed Leadership can be used as an analytical frame – A tool that offers constructs for

• Framing a diagnosis • Informing the design process • How does the distribution affect the school? • Leadership as a practice, not a role

– Offers a way to track, analyze, and describe: • Patterns of interaction • Influence • Agency

Reading #1 – Discussion B

Research: What do Harris and Leithwood say about the relationship between distributed forms of leadership and improved organizational performance and outcomes? • Harris, A. (2007) ‘Distributed leadership: conceptual confusion and empirical

reticence’, International Journal of Leadership in Education, 10(3): 1–11

• Leithwood, K., Seashore-Louis, K., Anderson, S. & Wahlstrom, K. (2004) How leadership influences student learning: A review of research for the learning from leadership project. New York:Wallace Foundation.

• Leithwood, K., Mascall, B., Strauss,T., Sacks, R., Memon, N. & Yashkina, A. (2007) Distributing leadership to make schools smarter. University of Toronto, OISE