How Leadership Influences Student Learning. Review of Research

Abstract

This report by researchers from the Universities of Minnesota and Toronto examines the available evidence and offers educators, policymakers and all citizens interested in promoting successful schools, some answers to these vitally important questions. It is the first in a series of such publications commissioned by The Wallace Foundation that will probe the role of leadership in improving learning. As the first step in a major research project aimed at further building the knowledge base about effective educational leadership, available evidence in response to five questions was reviewed. They are: (1) What effects does successful leadership have on student learning? (2) How should the competing forms of leadership visible in the literature be reconciled? (3) Is there a common set of "basic" leadership practices used by successful leaders in most circumstances? (4) What else, beyond the basics, is required for successful leadership? and (5) How does successful leadership exercise its influence on the learning of students? This review of the evidence suggests that successful leadership can play a highly significant--and frequently underestimated--role in improving student learning. This evidence also supports the present widespread interest in improving leadership as a key to the successful implementation of large-scale reform.

Full text

Kenneth Leithwood, Karen Seashore Louis, Stephen Anderson and Kyla Wahlstrom
Review of research How leadership influences student learning
University of Minnesota
Center for Applied Research
and Educational Improvement
University of Toronto
Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education
Commissioned by
The Wallace Foundation
Learning from Leadership Project
Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education at The University of Toronto
The Center for Applied Research and Educational
Improvement (CAREI)
conducts studies that provide empirical
information about challenges confronting
schools and practices that lead to educational
improvement. To do our work evaluating
educational change, CAREI marshals the
resources of the College of Education and
Human Development and those of the
University of Minnesota.
For information on our programs, reports and
resources, visit our Web site:
www.education.umn.edu/carei
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the
University of Toronto (OISE/UT)
is the largest professional school of education
in Canada and among the largest in the world.
It offers initial teacher education, continuing
education, and graduate programs, all sustained
by faculty who are involved in research across
the spectrum of issues connected with learning.
Please visit our Web site for more information:
www.oise.utoronto.ca
The Wallace Foundation
The Wallace Foundation is an independent,
national private foundation established by
DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, the founders
of The Reader's Digest Association. Its mission
is to enable institutions to expand learning and
enrichment opportunities for all people. It does
this by supporting and sharing effective ideas
and practices.
To achieve this mission, The Wallace
Foundation has three objectives:
Strengthen education leadership to improve
student achievement
Improve after-school learning opportunities
Expand participation in arts and culture
For more information and research on education
leadership:
www.wallacefoundation.org
University of Minnesota
Center for Applied Research
and Educational Improvement
College of Education
and Human Development
275 Peik Hall / 159 Pillsbury Dr. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0208
Tel: 612-624-0300
Fax: 612-625-3086
www.education.umn.edu/carei
University of Toronto
Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education
252 Bloor St. West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6
Tel: 416-978-2011
Fax: 416-926-4752
www.oise.utoronto.ca
The Wallace Foundation
Two Park Avenue, 23rd Floor