Purpose: Leadership for the implementation of an educational innovation in Singapore was examined by integrating distributed leadership with an ecological perspective of leadership and analysed using the third generation of cultural-historical activity theory. Research Method: The study adopted the naturalistic inquiry approach of a case study of…

Existing distributed leadership (DL) theories tend to focus on distributing financial, material and human resources in order to enhance school performance. However, their impact appears controversial. Critical scholars assert that using DL to promote trust and democracy can be a self-fulfilling prophecy orchestrated by few formal leaders. When…

This study tested a moderated-mediation model of the processes linking principal ethical leadership and professional learning communities in China, in which teacher obligation is included as a mediator, and teacher participation in school decision making is considered as a moderator. The results from 3374 teachers revealed significant direct and…

Educational leadership is essential to implement information and communications technologies in schools but the leadership practice of information and communications technologies coordinators, a position role that supports teachers to implement information and communications technologies, appears limited. The present study applies a distributed…

Despite the popularity of distributed leadership theory, the investigation of the micro-political aspects of such models have scarcely been explored, and insights on the cultural variety of distributed practices in schools are limited. The present study aimed to explore what micro-political aspects emerge in participative decision making in…

This article explores the nature of leadership in Brazilian complementary schools in the UK. Such schools are typically parent-driven, voluntary and financially vulnerable. Using data from a questionnaire survey (n=14; more than three-quarters of Brazilian complementary schools) and three in-depth case studies, leadership is examined in relation…

Shared instructional leadership may support informed decision making on matters of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Given the various organizational processes and outcomes associated with this construct, it is important to be able to measure the degree to which it exists in schools. In this article we propose the Shared Instructional…

Education leadership literature indicates that relatively little attention has been given to the specific duties and responsibilities of South African deputy principals in comparison with other leadership and management positions in schools. As a result, their roles and responsibilities remain vague. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to…

Distributed leadership focuses on what teachers and school leaders do together, but also on how the situation mediates that interaction. This paper focuses on the importance and function of the situational dimension of practice. By framing situational aspects in terms of local educational infrastructure, it explores organizational components in…

Research shows teacher influence in school decision-making is related to improving individual job satisfaction and professional commitment. However, few empirical studies investigate how different domains of school decision-making may have a distinct relationship with both individual teacher job satisfaction and professional commitment. Using the…

This article describes the development of a teacher leadership scale (TLS) that can be utilized in early childhood education in China. A mixed methods research design was developed to meet the research aim, and both qualitative and quantitative data on the perceptions of teacher leadership from both middle leaders (i.e. vice-principal, key stage…

This study aims to validate Western-based distributed leadership and teacher academic optimism scales in the Malaysian primary school context. This study further examined the relationships between distributed leadership and teacher academic optimism as well as each dimension of teacher academic optimism. Data were collected from 442 primary school…

In 2003, the Jordanian government launched an 'education reform for knowledge economy' leadership programme in Jordanian public schools. The programme transformed school leadership structures by advocating patterns of distributed leadership. However, growing evidence in cross-cultural research shows the influence of local culture on implementation…

Although it is generally known that distributed leadership is relevant for reinforcing teachers' capacity to change, how leadership roles are distributed among teachers largely depends on how principals perceive distributed leadership. Specifying principals' perceptions and how these are related to teachers' capacity to change leads to theories…

The present study is a developmental review that aims to conceptualise, using empirical data, the mediating paths connecting effective school leadership (i.e. transformational leadership and distributed leadership) to teachers' affective and normative organisational commitment. The review is based on empirical studies on teachers' organisational…