Abstract
This paper attempts to identify leadership practices of school principals as they engaged in exploring and exploiting possibilities in and around the school contexts to build teacher capacity for change. Based on interview data of school principals, this paper shows that principals from different schools engaged in qualitatively different practices when they led their schools in building teacher capacity for school improvement. Three approaches to teacher development are identified, namely deficit approach, interactive-growth approach and participatory-growth approach, each delineating a unique set of teacher capacity building practices, teacher learning activities and contextual conditions in which they occur. Implications for developing efficacious principal leadership in teacher capacity building are discussed.
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The research reported in this study was supported by a grant from the Education Bureau of Hong Kong SAR government. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Education Bureau of Hong Kong SAR government.
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Lai, E. Principal leadership practices in exploiting situated possibilities to build teacher capacity for change. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 15, 165–175 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-014-9314-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-014-9314-0