PRINCIPAL LEADER BEHAVIOUR AND SHARED DECISION MAKING
| Published date | 01 January 1979 |
| Date | 01 January 1979 |
| Pages | 39-50 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009804 |
| Author | COLIN R.J. MOYLE |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XVII, NUMBER
1
MAY, 1979
PRINCIPAL LEADER BEHAVIOUR AND SHARED
DECISION MAKING
COLIN R.J. MOYLE
The study from which this article is derived was carried out in eight diversely located
primary
schools
in the United States of America. Each had implemented the system of
Individually Guided Education (IGE) several years previously; and each was chosen
from among 42 schools that had already been randomly selected and studied by
researchers from the Wisconsin Research and Development (R
&
D) Centre because
they met several predetermined operational criteria. One of the several questions
investigated in the study concerned the impact of the principal's leader behaviour on
the decision-making processes used in the schools, each of which was typified by the
principal sharing leadership responsibilities with a representative cabinet type leader-
ship committee, called the Instructional Improvement Committee (IIC). Field
methodology incorporating interviews, observations and questionnaires was used to
collect the
data.
In this article the background
to
the study is presented, the theoretical
considerations of educational leadership relevant to the question explored
are
outlined,
the research methodology is described, the pertinent collected data are tabulated and
analysed, the major findings concerning the leader behaviour of the principal are
reported, and the implications for practice set down. The conclusion is drawn that the
leadership of the principal is a crucial factor in the functioning of the IIC.
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Individually Guided Education (IGE), an educational change of
considerable magnitude, was started more than a decade ago. Time and
effort was required on the part of the developers and the early adopters to
demonstrate its efficacy as a viable alternative to the existing age-graded,
self-contained classroom form of school organization. A major milestone
in the spread of IGE was its selection by the United States Office of
Education for nationwide implementation in 1971. The Wisconsin
Research and Development Centre was funded by federal agencies to
carry out a comprehensive implementation effort from 1971 through
1974 and to a lesser degree from 1974 through to the present by the
National Institute of Education.
As a complete educational system for the elementary school, IGE is
complex, being based on theoretic and pragmatic ideas about schooling,
children's learning, and the professional roles of school staff members.1
IGE presumes to alleviate several deficiencies and ineffective practices
Colin R.J. Moyle, B.A. (Melb.), B.Ed.(Monash), Ph.D.(Wisconsin-Madison), is the
founding Director of
the
Institute of Educational Administration which has been established
by the Victorian government to give training in educational leadership to principals and
potential principals of both government and non-government
schools.
Dr. Moyle has taught
in primary and high schools, has lectured in English at the State College of Victoria
Melbourne), and has been an Inspector of Schools and a Regional Director of Education.
To continue reading
Request your trial