An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study of the School Leaders\u27 Role in Students\u27 Mathematics Achievement Through the Lens of Complexity Theory
Student achievement in the K-12 mathematics classroom is of concern to parents, teachers, and community leaders as complex modern technological innovations call for higher proficiency in problem solving and mathematically creative minds are necessary to fill the vital, higher-paying jobs of today and the future. School leaders are expected to make decisions that will measurably, and in some cases, dramatically, improve student achievement in mathematics. However, school leaders do not make decisions in isolation; rather, they make decisions as part of a complex adaptive system (CAS). There is limited research concerning content-specific school leadership and its effects on student achievement, particularly through the lens of complexity theory. This study focuses on the relationships between students’ mathematics achievement and the characteristics of school leaders, looks at the influences affecting the decisions and actions being made by school leaders, and then seeks to understand how a school leaders’ decisions and actions are associated with students’ mathematics achievement. A significant predictive model was found including evidence of interaction effects and multiplicative looping effects aligned with complexity theory. Distinctive patterns emerged between school leaders’ decisions and actions from schools who were performing higher than expected, about where expected, and lower than expected. Furthermore, result indicate that school leaders do play an indirect role in student mathematics achievement specifically through the ability to foster a shared vision of mathematics education in their respective schools
