A comparison of structure and effectiveness of principal leadership between elementary and secondary schools in China

ABSTRACT

Elementary and secondary schools call for different leadership due to their different organizational features. To explore the difference between the principal leadership of elementary and secondary schools with respect to structure and effectiveness, this paper analysed data from 1,313 elementary and 613 secondary schools in China. Based on the factors analysis, this paper uncovered two different leadership structures, i.e. Instruction and Curriculum, Organization and Participation, and External Relations for elementary schools, and Instruction and Curriculum, Visibility and Direct Participation, and Organization and Management for secondary schools. It showed that Instruction and Curriculum is the basic leadership component at both school levels. However, the difference in structure lies in the routine administrative tasks, i.e. elementary school teachers can distinguish between principals’ tasks inside and outside school, but secondary school teachers can tell principals’ direct connection from other tasks. To further explore the effectiveness of principal leadership, we used a hierarchical linear model to examine the relationship between principal leadership and five school outcomes. We found that Instruction and Curriculum is more closely connected to school outcomes than other factors. Moreover, the other four factors all have significant impacts on teachers, but significant impacts on students only appear in elementary schools.

KEYWORDS:

• Principal leadership
• school level
• leadership structure
• school outcomes
• leadership effectiveness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data not available due to ethical restrictions.

Geolocation information

China.

Notes

1. The National Assessment of Education Quality project in China evaluates literacy in Chinese reading, arts, mathematics, physical education, science, and moral education in three-year cycles (for more details, please refer to https://cicabeq.bnu.edu.cn/). The data collected in 2013 specifically focused on Chinese reading and arts literacy. In China, Chinese reading and mathematics are the two subjects that are closely monitored, as they carry significant weightage in comprehensive evaluations and school curriculum hours. They are also considered as key indicators of the outcomes of school education. Therefore, for this study, Chinese reading literacy has been chosen as the outcome variable for students.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China [number 20BGL234].

Notes on contributors

Xiaoyu Zhong

Xiaoyu Zhong is a PhD candidate in the Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University. Her research interests include school leadership, school evaluation, and evaluation quality.

Qiao Zheng

Qiao Zheng is a Ph.D. graduate from the Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University. Her research interests include school leadership, school self-evaluation, and school improvement.

Lingyan Li

Lingyan Li is a professor of the Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, assistant director of National Assessment of Education Quality. Her research interests include school evaluation, teacher development and policy analysis.