Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Development of Leadership Capability in a Self-Managing Schools System: The New Zealand Experience and Challenges

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
International Handbook of Leadership for Learning

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE,volume 25))

Abstract

Developing a leadership for learning capability throughout a system where schools exercise considerable autonomy challenges policymakers to work with principals and researchers to develop coherent approaches. This chapter outlines the shift in New Zealand from a focus on the principal as the school chief executive, to a current focus on the principal’s pivotal role in leadership of the ways teachers work together to improve student learning. Instrumental in this shift has been the development of a leadership framework that is owned by principals as well as policymakers, underpinned by a best evidence synthesis of the relationship of school leadership and student outcomes. This work has also led to a powerful new tool for schools to use in reviewing their school leadership, as well as informing policymakers about the overall school leadership capability in New Zealand. These developments hold considerable promise, so long as the policy emphasis on capability and joint work can be maintained, and supported rather than undermined by changes in school accountability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 669.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 849.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 849.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, C. (2009). The New Zealand principal’s experience of the school board as employer. Auckland, New Zealand: School Governance Solutions. www.sgsl.co.nz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardno, C. (1999). Appraisal policy and implementation issues for New Zealand schools. The International Journal of Educational Administration, 13(2), 87–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, P. (2008). In search of effective principal appraisal (M.Ed thesis, Victoria University, Wellington).

    Google Scholar 

  • Elmore, R. F. (2008). Leadership as the practice of improvement. In B. Pont, D. Nusche, & H. Moorman (Eds.), Improving school leadership (Case studies on system leadership, Vol. 2, pp. 37–67). Paris: OECD.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, E. B., & Ladd, H. F. (2000). When schools compete. A cautionary tale. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, T., Youngs, H., & Grootenboer, P. (2003). Bureaucratic control or professional autonomy? Performance management in New Zealand schools. School Leadership and Management, 23(1), 91–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, J. (2005). Catching the knowledge wave? The Knowledge Society and the future of education. Wellington, New Zealand: NZCER Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goren, P. (2009). How policy travels: Making sense of Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: the Mäori Education Strategy 2008–2012. Wellington, New Zealand: Fulbright New Zealand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hattie, J. (2009). Horizons and Whirlpools: The well-travelled road of national standards. Cognition Institute, Auckland. www.cognitioninstitute.org/files/docs/horizons-whirlpools-the-well-travelled-pathway-of-national-standards.pdf

  • House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee. (2010). School accountability. London: The Stationery Office Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langley, J. (Ed.). (2009). Tomorrow’s schools 20 years on. Auckland: Cognition Institute. www.cognitioninstitute.org.

  • Lee, J. (2008). Is test-driven external accountability effective? Synthesizing the evidence from cross-state causal-comparative and correlational studies. Review of Educational Research, 78(3), 608–644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. (2010). Trick or treat: New ecology of education accountability system in the USA. Journal of Education Policy, 25(1), 73–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2007). New Zealand country report on improving school leadership. OECD Background Report. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2008). Ka Hikitia. Managing for Success. Ma-ori Education Strategy. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2009). Kiwi Leadership for Principals. Principals as educational leaders. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2010). Effective governance. Working in partnership. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of the Auditor-General. (2008). Ministry of Education Monitoring and supporting boards of trustees. Wellington, New Zealand: Office of the Auditor-General.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piggott-Irvine, E., & Youngs, H. (in press). Aspiring principals development programme evaluation in New Zealand: What made it work? Journal of Educational Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pont, B., Nusche, D., & Moorman, H. (2008). Improving school leadership (Policy and practice, Vol. 1). Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, V. M. J., Irving, S. E., Eddy, D., & Le Fevre, D. (2008). Capability in the leadership of teaching and learning in New Zealand. In M. Brundett & M. Crawford (Eds.), Developing school leaders – An international perspective (pp. 155–172). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, V., Hohepa, M., & Lloyd, C. (2009). School leadership and student outcomes: Identifying what works and why. Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration [BES]. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoop, G. (2009). ERO Priorities for 2009. Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand Symposium, Auckland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunderman, G. (Ed.). (2008). Holding NCLB accountable. Achieving accountability, equity, and school reform. Thousand Oask, CA: Corwin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, S., & Watson, L. (2011). Quality and accountability: Policy tensions for Australian school leaders. In T. Townsend & J. MacBeath (Eds.), International handbook of leadership for learning (pp. 189–208). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tymms, P., & Merrell, C. (2010). Standards and quality in English primary schools over time: The national evidence. In R. Alexander, C. Doddington, J. Gray, L. Hargreaves, & R. Kershner (Eds.), The Cambridge primary review research surveys. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wylie, C. (2007). School governance in New Zealand: How is it working? Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wylie, C. (2009). Getting more from school self-management. In J. Langley (Ed.), Tomorrow’s schools 20 years on… (pp. 135–146). Auckland, New Zealand: Cognition Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wylie, C. (2010). Principal vacancies and appointments 2008–2009. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wylie, C. (2011, forthcoming). New Zealand: Challenges around capability improvements in a system of self-managed schools. San Francisco: WestEd. Available at http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/turnaround-policy-FINAL.pdf.

  • Wylie, C. & Hodgen, E. (2010). Educational leadership practices survey baseline 2009 overall profile for the Experienced Principals’ Development programme schools. Wellington: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyse, D., McCreery, E., & Torrance, H. (2010). The trajectory and impact of national reform: Curriculum and assessment in English primary schools. In R. Alexander, C. Doddington, J. Gray, L. Hargreaves, & R. Kershner (Eds.), The Cambridge primary review research surveys. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington, New Zealand

    Cathy Wylie (Chief Researcher)

Authors
  1. Cathy Wylie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cathy Wylie .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Education, University of Glasgow, Eldon Street 11, Glasgow, G3 6NH, United Kingdom

    Tony Townsend

  2. , Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Hills Road 184, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, United Kingdom

    John MacBeath

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wylie, C. (2011). The Development of Leadership Capability in a Self-Managing Schools System: The New Zealand Experience and Challenges. In: Townsend, T., MacBeath, J. (eds) International Handbook of Leadership for Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 25. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1350-5_37

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation