Policy Document Analysis: A Practical Educational Leadership Tool and a Qualitative Research Method

This paper presents policy document analysis as practical tool that can be put to valuable use by educational leaders and can also be adopted as a research method. Educational leaders are at the forefront of policy interpretation and consequently need knowledge and skills that enable them to analyse policy as part of their work in developing, implementing and reviewing organisational policy. They need to be able to look behind the policy to know what forces brought it into being; to tap into policy history to know how it was constructed; and most importantly, evaluate the way it is working to achieve its stated purposes. The analysis of policy documents is also an established and appealing qualitative research method, especially for students engaged in postgraduate research associated with educational leadership and policy studies because policy documents offer background insights into understanding educational problems in both research and practice. In this paper advantages and disadvantages associated with using documentary analysis as a qualitative research method are outlined and practical document analysis tools and approaches are presented

Policy document analysis : a practical educational leadership tool and a qualitative research method

This paper presents policy document analysis as practical tool that can be put to valuable use by educational leaders and can also be adopted as a research method. Educational leaders are at the forefront of policy interpretation and consequently need knowledge and skills that enable them to analyse policy as part of their work in developing, implementing and reviewing organisational policy. They need to be able to look behind the policy to know what forces brought it into being; to tap into policy history to know how it was constructed; and most importantly, evaluate the way it is working to achieve its stated purposes. The analysis of policy documents is also an established and appealing qualitative research method, especially for students engaged in postgraduate research associated with educational leadership and policy studies because policy documents offer background insights into understanding educational problems in both research and practice. In this paper advantages and disadvantages associated with using documentary analysis as a qualitative research method are outlined and practical document analysis tools and approaches are presented

Features of effective leadership development provision for experienced New Zealand principals

This article reports knowledge gained from an evaluation of a nationwide leadership development initiative for experienced principals in New Zealand. The Experienced Principals Development Programme (EPDP) was piloted with 300 primary and secondary principals as part of the New Zealand government's strategy to refresh and retain experienced school leaders. In spite of a highly positive reception by participants, the initiative was discontinued. However, the formal evaluation of the programme has contributed to the knowledge base on effective school leadership development. The article captures the perspectives of the providers of the programme, who pinpointed particular successful and challenging features. Overall, the findings point to the success of delivery modes with small cohorts that include clarity of expectations, timely initiation, the inclusion of internal and external coaching/mentoring partnerships, and context-related activity around school improvement. The learning from this study could inform the shape and delivery of similar programmes for experienced principals in other nations so that sufficient experience is maintained across the principalship

Tracing the stages of senior leadership team development in New Zealand primary schools : insights and issues

Senior Leadership Teams abound as the most common permanent team found in New Zealand schools, yet there is a paucity of research studies on the nature of team leadership and the development of these teams – particularly in primary school settings. Findings from individual interviews with principals and focus group interviews with team members in five Auckland primary schools confirm that leadership is consistently the single most important feature of developing a Senior Leadership Team into a high performing team. Paradoxically, the study also points to a lack of leadership knowledge and action in relation to specific developmental activity for teams. Using a well - known universal model of the stages of team development (forming, storming, norming, and performing) to analyse perceptions of practice, it was found that in all of the teams in this study principal leadership did not extend to the formal development of the team. This research concludes that the performance of Senior Leadership Teams could be enhanced if principals and Senior Leadership Team members were provided with research-based and practical insights into (1) the dynamic processes at work within a team and (2) the leadership behaviours and actions that are most appropriate to move the team through the team development process

Problems in promoting the professional development of staff in New Zealand secondary schools (a prima facie study) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University

This study examines the problems which exist in promoting the professional development of staff in New Zealand secondary schools. It has been approached as a first phase study to establish an initial knowledge base in a field which has not hitherto been the subject of wide research in New Zealand. The introduction clarifies the use of the term 'professional development' in the context of this study and a review of overseas literature draws attention to themes and developments common to this field. An overview of the structures and the systems used to provide and promote professional development and the listing of current provisioning for professional development opportunity lead to a multi-disciplinary analysis of data as a comment on the state of the art in New Zealand. A study fellowship to Australia in 1986 enabled comparative research to be conducted and alerted the author to some of the problem areas in this field in New Zealand. The study concludes with the suggestion of tentative solutions to resolve problems identified in this phase of the research. It recommends that further research at a later stage be undertaken to eliminate error from conjectures made in the concluding chapter of this study

Realising the value of performance appraisal for middle leaders in New Zealand secondary schools

This paper reports on a study that investigated the appraisal of middle leaders in three New Zealand secondary schools in order to determine what constituted effective performance appraisal and how this practice could be improved from the perspective of this middle tier of leadership. Overall, appraisal was variably practised and seen as a compliance mechanism rather than an opportunity for conversations about achievement and development, when it occurred at all. It is concluded that what middle level leaders experience as performance appraisal may be devalued by senior leaders paying insufficient attention to the appraisal of middle leaders especially in relation to their management responsibilities. Development linked to the appraisal of both senior and middle leaders could strengthen appraisal practice, increase its value for all parties, and tap the unrealised potential that performance appraisal has for supporting middle leaders to improve student learning outcome