Introducing the concept of literacy instructional leadership for school and system wide improvement.
Submitted by:
Larissa McLean Davies
Abstract:
This study investigates the development of leaders in secondary schools regarding Instructional Literacy Leadership. We argue that leaders in secondary schools can drive school wide improvement through the development of their capacity as literacy leaders. Our study identifies the importance of building the leaders’ knowledge and understanding of literacy practices and their classroom application. We also highlight how leaders can lead a program of change in their schools and the specific leadership practices which are required to successfully lead this change.
The data from this study is derived from a substantive on-going system-wide professional learning project involving principals and middle leaders from a network of 11 regional and rural schools in one state in Australia. Each school identified teams of middle leaders to participate in 5 days of professional learning over a 12-month period. A separate 2-day program was in place for the principals. A key part of the program was working with the school teams to identify an area of focus relevant to the specific needs of their context to design and implement a literacy action learning project, gathering evidence along the way.
Embracing a case study research design, a range of data was collected at all stages throughout the program. The data included transcripts of interviews, feedback and reflections from participants and artefacts from the professional learning sessions. This data was collated and subjected to thematic and content analysis.
The findings of this study offer insights into the role of literacy leadership and instruction in the context of school and system wide improvement. Furthermore, we introduce the concepts of literate practices of leaders and literacy instructional leadership.