Dissertation Prospectus
A Reciprocal Investigation of Charter School Leadership Qualities and Style
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Dissertation Prospectus
Introduction The leaders or administrators of any school are supposedly responsible for the academic successes of their forts. Modern academic trends demand that they also be up to date with curriculum application processes, discipline handling means and the public relation tools necessary to deal with ever demanding parents (Marlow, 2007). Marlow (2007) observes that charter schools’ heads have a responsibility to all stakeholders to make clear and concise communication. Involvement with the community is also crucial as is having character traits like decency, perseverance, honesty, respect and empathy (Marlow, 2007). The distinguishing factor in charter schools is their innovativeness in teaching techniques and learning methods, as opposed to the regulation bound public schools. Charter schools introduce a new dimension in as far as control and freedom in creativity and curriculum development is concerned (Zimmer & Buddin, 2007). The skills possessed by the leaders in these schools have significance in that they are not leaders in only instruction methods but will also fill in as financial and operational managers of their respective institutions. By the mere fact that these schools are mostly start-ups, there exists no set system that they must follow, thus, the onus of developing and maintaining the financial, operational and instruction modules to be adhered to mainly falls with the leadership. Zimmer and Buddin (2007) observe that the leaders, thus, have to shoulder the responsibilities of management, principal and leader of instructions. The profiling of the techniques and qualities of leadership style among charter schools in Florida is the main goal of this study. This profiling is necessary owing to the high turnover rates for students, low test scores in National and state tests as well as high levels of parent dissatisfaction. The profiling will enable the development of a best-practices guide to act as a benchmark for future charter school leaders.
Background of the Study According to the Texas Education Agency (2005), a third of the students in public schools in Texas who had previously been considered to be at risk and were in Charter schools passed the Texas skills and knowledge Assessment Test. By 2006, December, out of 249 charter schools, 56 had had their charters revoked or considered in an otherwise unfavorable manner. This is an indication of the mixed results emerging from charter schools. Marlow (2007) attributes this to the different leadership styles applied by the schools’ leaders. Though both charter schools and public schools are funded through public means, the major difference between the two is that more flexibility in curriculum development is enjoyed by the charter schools and that an individual or group of individuals can start a charter school. The charter schools may develop around various focus areas; particular teaching methodology e.g. the Montessori method, specific subjects e.g. the arts, math etc., aimed at a particular demography such as students ‘at risk’, theme based curricula’s e.g. the environment or personnel policies e.g. merit based pay for teachers. The leaders of these schools are only tasked with an extra obligation of ensuring better results in exchange for more freedom and are also required to seek charter renewal every five years (Griffin & Wohlstetter, 2001). The main reason behind the establishment of these schools was the provision of more educational options to the students. Due to the fact that they are not limited geographically, they provide potentially better performing options for low income families. The TCER report of 2007 informs that even with these advantages, charter schools only enroll 2% of the student population, and this is attributed to their low capacity and tendency to be small in size. Leaders in charter schools are likely to have time limitations, and as such spend less time in instructional leadership and guidance to teachers. Peebles (2007) notes that such time constrictions eventually cause weak organizational culture development and hence Objectives, goals and timelines in teaching become hazy with time constraints and the teachers do not find time to prepare for learning activities. Though this is mostly a universal problem in school leadership, the ideal situation would be where leaders and teachers would have ample time not only to deal with student’s issues but also address leadership and cultural organization issues (Peebles, 2007).With all these challenges, charter school leaders enjoy a unique position where they could act both as coaches and life mentors. They are capable of being more active as participants in teacher’s professional advancement than their peers in other schools (Zimmer & Buddin, 2007). They also enjoy the discretion of deciding the time load for each subject as well as the durations for school days and terms. They also exercise discretion on how long a subject is to be studied (Zimmer & Buddin, 2007).
Problem StatementWhat constitutes a successful and well-rounded leader for efficient running of a charter school is not well known, the issue is further worsened by the many variant hurdles the leadership has to overcome in creating and implementing such a school. The roles of the school heads are ever expanding, and their duties and tasks continue expanding making it a hard task to meet all the daily demands to their time (Rutherford, 2006). Specifically, the closure of charter schools by the state is of utmost concern. Thus, the leaders and other stakeholders need developed guides from the experiences of peers who have implemented successful curricula for their students. This study will investigate the leadership skills and styles employed by some of the more successful leaders of charter schools in Florida.
Purpose of the Study The purpose of the qualitative research study will be to gather, sort, analyze and present interpretations on data collected about skills in effective leadership among leaders of various chartered schools in Florida. The research will employ a qualitative approach since the hypothesis involves a human scenario which is open ended and as thus will open broader perspectives (Creswell, 2005). Interviews will be the most ideal data collection means.
Research Questions and Phenomena The study will more specifically seek to answer the following Questions. This is from the observation that charter schools are faced by the problem of scarcity in materials, personnel, support, space and poor anticipation of various needs from all stakeholders (Downing, Spencer and Cavallo, 2004, P.18). Zimmer and Buddin (2007) observe that the major benchmark for charter schools is the continued renewal of their charters for long consecutive periods. This is mainly because the charter committees have well established scales through which they measure all aspects of the schools performance. For this research, the successful school will thus be considered as those who have been in existence for long periods and have been consistent in their performance rating by the charter committee.
Research Questions and Phenomena Description
R1: What are the leadership skills employed by successful charter school leaders in effectively managing their schools.
R2: What issues or concerns influence the thinking of these school leaders once they have functional organizations?
Significance of the StudyA reciprocal analysis of the leadership qualities exhibited by the leaderships of various charter schools will assist in formulating the best practice guideline. The guideline will be applicable to future and current leaders in assessing their decisions. Knowing what caused failure or success will also aid in firewalling against possible shortcomings that could lead to deregistration or school collapse. Further, the trend of under par performance by students in these schools could be significantly reduced with school leaders formulating blue prints based on best practices.
Preliminary Review of the LiteratureAccording to a 2004 report from the U.S. department of education, a charter school is a public school operated and designed by private person(s) and/or organizations. They have the leeway to operate within or outside the public school programme but with monitoring from state or local school authorities (Estes, 2006). They give more opportunities to students, choice to parents and flexible innovativeness to teachers. Leadership is crucial in this sector since leaders provide managerial skills and act as educators. Successes in these schools as businesses and educational facets could be directly attributed to the leaders (Zimmer & Buddin, 2007). Qualitative study is the most appropriate mode since the aim is to understand the skills necessary to increase creativity and innovativeness leaders might apply to broaden methods in instructional delivery. The following will be broadly analyzed.
What is the most effective combination of leadership skills for effective management of a Charter school?
Do these sets of skills occur naturally to some and are absent in others? Could these skills be learnt and internalized as a set of best practices in all schools?Research MethodologyThis qualitative study will involve the use of questionnaires and person-to-person interviews in trying to achieve its objectives. It is seen as desirable to use qualitative methods since it describes the incidence from the participant’s viewpoint (Creswell, 2005). This can be contrasted to quantitive techniques that use narrow lineation to assign numeric values to experiences. The research can further be defined as non-experimental in that the aim is not to test or set out to define a relationship between different variables.
Research DesignThe research will seek to interview leaders of successful charter schools in Florida that can be considered to have ‘at risk’ students. These students are those with more probability of dropping out of school due to various factors. Geographically, the research will be within the boundaries of Florida. Consent will be sought from the participants with complete information being supplied to them. Confidentiality of their response will be fundamental, and anonymity will be assured where sought.
Sources of Data
The interviews will be conducted in real time through person to person interviews, where resources cannot allow, the researcher will arrange to interview the principals over the phone or on the various online channels that allow for video calls. The interview questions will be open ended, and an introduction letter together with a consent form will be provided to the respondents. The researcher will seek permission from the respondents to record these conversations for further analysis and where such permission is not granted, simple note taking will be carried out. The researcher will arrange follow up meetings to get more clarification if an issue so demands.
Data Collection Procedures
The study will seek to interview at least ten principals of successful charter schools with ‘at risk’ students within Texas. The interview questions will be formulated in a way that gathers sufficient information on the leadership skills that might lead to success in charter schools. The researcher will use a self administered questionnaire to guide the data collection process.
Data Analysis Procedures
The questionnaires will be reviewed exhaustively and coding of key phrases and words done. The QSR international made NVivo8 software will be used to analyze the data.
Ethical Considerations
The research will follow the informed consent approach to research. All respondents will be informed of the use of the information that they will provide. The respondents will have the discretion on whether to provide their names, the name of the institution, and position held. All information given will be handled with utmost confidentiality.
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Brouillette, L. (2002). Charter schools: Lessons in school reform. Mahwah, N.J: L. Erlbaum Associates.Top of Form
Buddin, R., & Zimmer, R. (June 06, 2005). Student Achievement in Charter Schools: A Complex Picture. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 24, 2, 351-371.Bottom of ForBottom of FormTop of FormTop of Form
Bulkley, K. E., & Wohlstetter, P. (2004). Taking account of charter schools: What’s happened and what’s next?. New York: Teachers College Press. Top of Form
Fuller, B. (2000). Inside charter schools: The paradox of radical decentralization. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.Top of Form
Gerstner, L. V. (1994). Reinventing education: Entrepreneurship in America’s public schools. New York: Dutton. Top of Form
Griffin, N. C., & Wohlstetter, P. (April 01, 2001). Building a Plane While Flying It: Early Lessons from Developing Charter Schools. Teachers College Record, 103, 2, 336-65.Bottom of FBottom of Form
Lynch, S., & Colorado. (2008). Colorado charter schools special education compliance plan guidelines: Negotiating new and renewal charter contracts for Colorado charter schools. Denver, Colo: Colorado Dept. of Education, Exceptional Student Leadership Unit.
Marlow, E. (2007). Preparing school administrators. Reading Improvement, 44, 149-152.
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Rutherford, D. (2006). The Cambridge companion to early modern philosophy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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