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Distributed Leadership: Bridging the Gap
Lisa Ziebart
B.Ed., University of Lethbridge 2007
B.A., University of Lethbridge 2007
A Capstone
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies
of the University of Lethbridge
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF EDUCATION
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
LETHBRIDGE, AB
March 2013
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Distributed Leadership: Bridging the Gap
Lisa Ziebart
Approved:
______
Supervisor: Richard Butt, Ph.D.Date
______
Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in Education:Date
Kerry Bernes, Ph.D.
Dedication
I dedicate this paper to my family. To my parents Larry and Judy, thank you for always encouraging me to pursue what makes me happy. To my sister Jennifer, thank you for always keeping me in check of reality and reminding me to find gratitude in this process. To my brother Tim, thank you for supporting my choices and keeping me up to date with pop culture, especially in matters of what to do in a zombie apocalypse. All of this support has allowed me to reach this pinnacle and I could not have done it without your unconditional acceptance of me. Thank you.
Abstract
“Today there are fewer places and occasions where and when lone leadership works well. Belief in the power of one is giving way to a belief in the power of everyone” (Southworth, 2009, p. 94).
Leadership in education is evolving as education is being held to greater scrutiny and account in a more informed world. Formal school leadership must undergo a paradigm shift to accept that all demands cannot be completed by one individual or a small group of people in isolation. Instead, leaders must look within the organization to engage and enroll the school team through mutual trust, collaboration, and building capacity. It is here that I believe distributed leadership plays a crucial role in overcoming the hierarchical structure andrigid mentality that exists between school leaders and other staff. Leadership is a shared responsibility in which every individual must take part; this paper examines my evolving role in and insights into this complex puzzle.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the remarkable mentors and friends who have guided me throughout this process.
The support of the University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education has remained a consistent stronghold in my career. Thank you to David Townsend and Pamela Adams for insisting that I continue my learning journey; I never would have pursued graduate studies without your unshakeable belief in me and for this I am eternally indebted. Thank you to Richard Butt for your encouragement, feedback, and positive support. I am grateful to have received incredible mentorship from Carmen Mombourquette and George Bedard- yourguidance, support, and flexibility has allowed me to be successful in this program. I would also like to acknowledge Paulette Hanna as I really valued working with such a wonderfully smart, strong, and successful female leader. You all have inspired me to be a better educator and leader.
I feel so blessed to have been fortunate enough to study with such a passionate, knowledgeable, and caring group of educators. Brenna – thank you for your friendship and for inspiring me to always push harder. To my fellow doyens Brenna, Jodie, Jenn, and Jackie- thank you for sharing my twisted sense of humour, and for always making me laugh, even and especially during inappropriate times. I am going to miss seeing you!
To my mentors and friends in education, especially those who were a part of my capstone research, thank you for imparting your invaluable knowledge and accepting my shameless briberies of beverages and baking in return. I could not have completed this without your insights. Thank you all for recognizingand helping to ignite what I often could not see in myself.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Introduction...... 1
Literature Review
Other Requirements for Effective Distributed Leadership
Field Interviews
Examples of Distributed Leadership in My Career
My Leadership Action Plan
Concluding Remarks
References
Appendices
A: Interview Instrument
B: Internship II Residence Vision, Mission, Values, and Goals
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Introduction
My Interest in Leadership
My interest in leadership began long before I became a teacher. My innate interest in leadership from a young age grew as I became involved in student governments and other leadership capacities in school and various jobs. Though I am only in my sixth year of teaching, I can say that I have been exposed to nearly every kind of leadership there is,from authoritarian to charismatic, ambiguous to political. My experiences have ranged from not being given any autonomy in my teaching to being given as much responsibility as I could handle. In my fourth year of teaching I was given the incredible opportunity of becoming the high school division coordinator for a school that I have since left. This opportunity was a huge tipping point for me, as it gave me insight into leadership in education and made me realize that I had a great deal to learn.
When I chose to pursue graduate studies, I was hesitant to apply to the educational leadership cohort even though it seemed like a natural fit. Though I inherently gravitate toward being a leader, something about the traditional structure of leadership in schools did not appeal to me at all. I now see that there is another way of being involved in leadership and that it is up to me to contribute what I can, wherever I am, in whatever role I hold. I have learned that informal leaders can have just as much influence, sometimes more, than the formal leader. I have learned that leadership is not about the title or the ego that often accompanies the title; instead, leadership is about coming together for a common cause to achieve agreed upon objectives and goals. I am excited to one day move forward as a leader in this way and hope that I can encourage and inspire others to do the same.
Defining the Research Question
The research question I have created for my capstone is: how can distributed leadership create a bridge between formal and informal leaders?It is no secret that a gap exists between the leadership team and the rest of the staff in schools today. My question aims to go beyond the perplexing hierarchical culture that has traditionally existed by exploring and suggesting the distributed leadership approach. I have created a question that reflects my personal struggle and professional experience as an informal leader in education, and the limitations and opportunities that I have encountered as a result. I address what I believe to be the core problem of educational leadership by recognizing the need for vulnerability, trust, and capacity building within the leader. With these skills, the leadership team can then identify and encourage the strengths of others to work more collaboratively toward improving student learning. I believe that distributed leadership can be the driving factor which can allow the above to effectively exist.
Three definitions are needed for clarification before proceeding as I refer to different players in the school setting. Firstly, a formal leader is simply a leader in education who holds a formal role or title; examples of a formal leader include principal, vice-principal, department head, and specialty co-ordinators. Secondly, an informal leader refers to any person in education who does not hold a formal title or role, but consistently demonstrates qualities of leadership. Informal leader and teacher-leader are synonymous and, in this paper, will replace the label of follower. When I refer to teacher, I am referring to anyone in an educational setting who engages in direct teaching and learning opportunities with students. Please note that itis not my intention to suggest that everyone needs to demonstrate key leadership capacities in education at all times, but rather I want to suggest that there is an approach to ensure that individual strengths are identified, valued, and utilized to the best possible degree with the goal of collectively improving teaching and learning.
Literature Review
Defining Distributed Leadership
Today’s school leader is rarely referred to in singular form. In fact, the demands that have been placed upon the complex institution of education have made the single leader obsolete as this expectation is simply unreasonable (Spillane, 2006). The structure of the dynamic school environment has required a shift from leader to leadership development whereby more people are enrolled in leadership roles throughout the institution (Earley & Jones, 2009). Leithwood et al. (as cited in Harris, 2006) define distributed leadership as “Aset of direction-setting and influence practices potentially enacted by people at all levels rather than a set of personal characteristics and attributes located in people at the top” (p. 38). If schools are to keep up with the fast-paced and cutting-edge practices of teaching and learning, then it must be acknowledged that “Leading schools require multiple leaders” (Spillane, 2006, p. 13).
The idea of distributed leadership through multiple leaders, however, is not to be confused with delegated leadership; rather, distributed leadership “Increases the density of leadership” (Southworth, 2009, p. 108). By adding depth to leadership, schools can focus on effective teaching and improved learning through intentional and collaborative leadership actions. Therefore, distributed leadership is primarily concerned with leadership practiceand how leadership influences organisational and instructional progress (Spillane, 2006).
It must be acknowledged that school leadership is a “Shared function, not restricted to those who occupy senior role positions in the organization” (Southworth, 2009, p. 94). With this acknowledgment, Spillane (2006) contends that more people can be involved in school initiatives and greater, more purposeful collaboration can occur as “Leadership practice is stretched over multiple leaders”(p. 15). The leader must ignite individual knowledge and strengths to come together for a common purpose – student learning. The perpetual journey to improve student learning cannot be done in an office or in isolated classrooms; instead, the pursuit must be carried out “As a collective endeavour” (Southworth, 2009, p. 108). Educators must work together because education needs “As many leaders as possible making a positive difference to what happens in classrooms” (Southworth, 2009, p. 108). Singh (2012) adds that “Strong leadershipthroughout the school, in time,will make a difference in eachclassroom” (p. 17). It can be agreed, then, that leadership can in fact improve and contribute to student learning (Harris, 2006); specific to distributed leadership, is how the leadership of many, rather than the leadership of one, can positively impact a school.
Distributed leadership“Offers the realpossibility of looking at leadership using a new and alternative organizational frame thatchallenges the tacit understanding of the relationship between leaders and followers” (Harris, 2006, p. 43). Distributed leadership allows leaders to act and interact purposefully and inclusively, andenrolls and engages the school staff to work together for a common purpose.
Implementing Effective Distributed Leadership
The ideas brought forth by research in distributed leadership revolve around creating a culture of leadership as a team effort rather than an individual pursuit in order to effectively achieve school goals (Harris & Spillane, 2008; Leithwood, Mascall, & Strauss, 2009; Southworth, 2009; Spillane, Diamond, Jita, 2003). The researchers suggest that school reform happens at the instructional level and for this reason a more grassroots approach needs to take place for purposeful implementation.
Spillane et al. (2003) indicate that the most effective way to support educational reform is to use the resources, strengths, and knowledge of various people within a school but also note that actual research is lacking on how this can be done in a more widespread manner. The authors advocate for a shift from focusing on formal leadership roles to anapproach of distributed leadership in schools where the principal, vice-principals, learning coaches, specialist teachers, and classroom teachers can be involved in site-based choices and action plans with a focus on student learning.
Instead of keeping track of how and when individual leaders complete certain tasks, distributed leadership focuses on making a difference through “The interactions among leaders, followers, and their situation” (Spillane, 2006, p. 12). These interactions, however, need to be purposeful and be “Collaborative,dynamic, mutually accountable,and based on a match betweenorganizational need and individualexpertise” (Singh, 2012, p. 16). For example, collaboration in literacy education at Adams school in Chicago, “Typically involves at least the principal, a literacy coordinator, and one or more teacher leaders working together” (Spillane, 2006, p. 15). Adams School also created a breakfast club, where staff met monthly for professional learning in the form of professional learning communities. Elements that made the breakfast club successful included: the creation process involved multiple leaders, including teacher-leaders; varying and often overlapping leadership roles; and co-facilitation of professional development meetings (Spillane, 2006). Harris (2006) also supports the use of collaboration and teams, but warns of usingthis fluid and malleable approach for a one size fits all fix:
Within schools this could manifest itself in the work ofsubject departments, cross curricular groupings, action learning sets and school improvement groups. The important point here is that distributed leadership is not restricted to any particular configuration whether in an individual school or across a group of schools. (p. 41)
Every example of distributed leadership is going to look different as every school has different needs. This ambiguity requires visionary leadership as innovation will allow for people to break through traditional barriers in order to come together.
Singh (2012) builds on this notion of interaction and collaboration and provides anauthentic example of distributed leadership in a high school in Mexico where she was the founding director:
One example of distributedleadership is a group of teachers ina professional learning community(PLC) who are problem solvingabout how they might address theissue of low student performanceon test items related to place valuein math. The principal, a mathcoach, and several teachers areanalyzing student data, exploringbenefits and disadvantages of the textbook and accompanyingsoftware, and discussing types ofassessments used as benchmarksin each classroom. One teacherwho uses music in her lessonsreminds colleagues that learning asong helps students with contentretention, and she offers to createa song on place value and teach itto her colleagues. Another teachersays that he will explore otherinstructional resources such asinteractive Web pages and games. A third says that she is willing toorganize walk-throughs so colleaguescan observe one another'sclassroom to learn new ideas andprovide feedback. The principal offers substitutetime for two walk-through days,and mentions that there may befunds available for instructionalmaterials. He points out an upcomingworkshop on using gamesand music to teach math. Eachmember of the group has steppedup to offer suggestions and, in doing so, has assumed a leadershiprole—organizing walk-throughs,exploring instructional materials,creating teacher-made materialsand sharing them, providing funding,and offering staff development. The group has identified anissue and worked together to addressit. The solutions have comefrom the group, not from ‘above.’(pp. 16-17)
The process described by Singh (2012) would face criticism and skepticism if presented to a staff as a way to introduce distributed leadership. Conversely, I believe that no true teacher or leader would attest that Singh’s (2012) vignette is less effective in comparison to one person analyzing data and solving problems in isolation.
By no means is distributed leadership an easy approach to school improvement; the pieces required for success take time to develop and even then there is no guarantee. Distributed leadership, though risky, is a meaningful and intentional approach to improving teaching and learning.
The Need for Teacher-Leaders
Though formal leaders play a significant role in the success of distributed leadership, the role of the teacher cannot be understated. Teacher-leaders are needed just as much as formal leaders for successful distributed leadership. If teachers are unwilling to be a part of the process, then the perpetual cycle of traditional top-down leadership will ensue. Overall, the research shows that developing teachers as leaders contributes to a greater quality of work life which leads to a better school climate (Leithwood, Harris & Hopkins, 2008). So why aren’t more teachers stepping up to the leadership arena? One reason may be that great teachers are already busy enough and simply feel that they do not have the capacity to give any more. Partial reasoning may also lie in the fact that teachers, generally speaking, have not been allowed the space to contribute in a leadership capacity. Southworth (2009) states that the “Commitment to improving students’ achievements [is what] drives so many individuals to become school leaders. They explicitly seek and want to make a difference to the schools they lead” (p. 92). The role of teacher-leader needs to be encouraged and valued to a greater degree than in the past. It is also important for the teachers to see results of their efforts in a timely manner so the process of distributed leadership can be trusted.
Distributed leadership provides teachers with the opportunity to have “A voice in the organization, impact students' lives, and develop themselves personally and professionally. It changes the way educators are seen and treated within a school, community, district, and profession” (Singh, 2012, p. 19). Again, this is not to confuse distributed leadership with task delegation; instead, teachers are given opportunities to build upon and develop their strengths. Sometimes this requires the teacher to step forward, seek experiences, and offer to help as many leaders have a difficult time asking for such help. “Ultimately, the goalfor teacher-leaders is to enjoyand benefit from the experience [of distributed leadership] as well as to make worthwhilecontributions where it counts—in the teaching-learning arena” (Singh, 2012, p. 15). The idea is not to add more to the daily to-do list of a classroom teacher as the demands are already barely manageable for most; instead, the idea is to add depth to what the classroom teacher is already doing by working with others to reciprocally gain and share ideas, perspectives, assistance, and support.
The Significance of Distributed Leadership in Bridging Formal and Informal Leadership Roles
Distributed leadership leads to overall school improvement. While student learning is at the heart of all school actions, job satisfaction contributes greatly to the school climate. Singh (2012) supports this statement by affirming that: