Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 02170087
12/95/
ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED238194 AUTHOR: Pink, William T.
TITLE: Instructional Leadership: The Role of the
Administrative Team and Student Achievement.
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1983
NOTE: 10 p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Educational Research Association (Montreal, Quebec,
Canada, April 11-15, 1983).
ABSTRACT: In an effort to support the contention that the
levels of student achievement and discipline depend more on
administrative style and school ethos than on inner city
location and/or social class, race, or IQ of students, an
investigation was conducted of a single midwestern urban
high school. The procedure consisted of observation and
interviews of the principal, three vice-principals, and a
representative sampling of teachers, individual students,
student groups, support staff, and parents, followed by a
review of documentation pertaining to instruction. Eleven
separate findings are summarized, suggesting that the
administrative style of this school is a negative
illustration of the above thesis: student achievement scores
are declining because administrative policy does not
emphasize high expectations for academic improvement. This
lack of administrative involvement in instructional
leadership results from a lack of interest therein among
administrators, a conflict in leadership style between the
principal and his three authoritarian vice-principals, too
much concern for administrative tasks subject to evaluation,
and a low level of faculty confidence in administrative
support for instruction and discipline. Structural
constraints on administrative power to upgrade the faculty
(i.e., affirmative action quotas, the seniority system) are
seen to contribute to a steady decline in instructional
quality and to hamper any efforts at effective instructional
leadership. (TE)
KEY DESCRIPTORS: Academic-Achievement; Assistant-Principals;
Discipline-; Principals-; Secondary-Education; Teacher
Effectiveness; Teacher-Morale; Teacher-Supervision
KEY DESCRIPTORS: *Instructional-Improvement; *School
Administration; *School-Policy; *Teacher-Administrator
Relationship
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