Leadership in Effective Elementary Schools: A Synthesis of Five Case Studies

Administrators in five highly effective elementary schools were studied. These leaders, through acts of will and insight, had given up iconic and heroic leadership status, so that school leadership might be shared. Leadership has a significant effect on student learning. Principals’ influence is often indirect, works through others, and happens best by developing teachers’ efficacy in curriculum and instruction, engaging and motivating staff, fostering a shared purpose, creating conditions for effective teaching and learning, fostering program coherence, encouraging organizational learning, and through feedback, direction, and communication. Significant leadership practices include communicating a clear vision and priorities, focusing time and attention on what matters most, enabling teachers to develop pedagogical and content skills and capacity, providing instructional guidance, empowering others to make significant decisions, addressing supportive structures and resources, developing school improvement plans, providing instructional guidance and coherence, engaging the larger school and district community, acting ethically, and engaging in continuous learning and growth.