Drivers for Change: A Study of Distributed Leadership and Performance Adaptation During Policy Innovation Implementation

ABSTRACT

Scaling up innovation in the instructional core remains a vexing proposition. Such disruptive innovations require teachers to engage in performance adaptation. Schools vary in their capacity to support changes in teachers’ day-to-day work. By comparing distributed instructional leadership practices of “odds-beating” schools with those at “typically performing schools,” this study identified four qualities of distributed instructional leadership that drive teacher performance adaptation: collective goal setting, instructional feedback, collective guided learning, and trusting relationships. These findings reiterate the need for policy to go beyond standards and accountability mandates to focus on the right drivers of change: capacity building, and opportunities for collaboration in tandem with pedagogical improvement.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the New York State Education Department (MOU #013-046).

Notes

1. Lower-performing schools were not sampled as they were undergoing state reviews that would have made participation in this research burdensome and they were not necessary to meet the recommended procedure for replication in this type of research design.

Additional information

Funding

New York State Department of Education