ABSTRACT
Leadership is thought critical to innovation in schools. We know that schools matter when it comes to improving student learning and we know a considerable amount about the organizational structures, leadership roles, and conditions of schools that contribute to innovation (Newman and Wehlage 1995, Hallinger and Heck 1996). We know, for example, that schools with shared visions and norms around instruction, norms of collaboration, and a sense of collective responsibility for students’ academic success create incentives and opportunities for teachers to improve their practice (Bryk and Driscoll 1985, Newman and Wehlage 1995). We know that principals’ leadership is important in promoting these conditions (Rosenholtz 1989). Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that principals’ leadership, as mediated through the development of these school-level conditions and processes, has an effect on student learning (Hallinger and Heck 1996).
