Leadership and culture in school-initiated change

This study, which emerged from concerns associated with the role of educators in contemporary secondary school change, examined the influence of school leadership and school culture in a specific change initiated in two secondary schools in a large urban school board. The case study methodology, designed for the study, used multiple data sources including a semi-structured interview format and a teacher questionnaire, developed for the purposes of the research, and relevant school documents. The constant comparative method of data analysis allowed for simultaneous data collection and analysis that refined and shaped the research process. Triangulation of the data facilitated a thorough examination of the phenomena and increased the confidence in the findings. Cross-site analysis, which compared the similarities and differences both within and across the two schools, added to the breadth and depth of the interpretation of the findings. The study confirmed the complexity and uniqueness of the two secondary schools, as social organizations, and the importance of conducting the investigation from the perspectives of the staff who were involved in the change initiatives. The findings revealed that school leadership was an integral part of the culture of each school and that leadership and culture were interactive and interdependent during the course of the changes. Different staff members played different roles at different times during the change initiative, with several more experienced teachers playing active leadership or supportive roles throughout the school change. While the nature and extent of leadership and cultural influences were based on the development of shared behaviours, attitudes, and assumptions, they were mediated by variations in both schools' internal and external contexts. Specifically, the history, traditions, architecture, and organizational structures of the schools, the reasons for initiating the changes, the backgrounds and experiences of the staff members, the composition of the student body, and the makeup of the community were significant contextual components in determining the influence of school leadership and school culture in the school change initiatives. The findings show that meaningful and enduring change took time: time for readiness, planning, preparation, implementation, and continuation. Behaviours, attitudes, and assumptions were influenced over time through social interactions and staff involvement in the change process, with ownership, skill, mastery, and commitment building throughout the change initiative, rather than as something that existed in the early stages. The degree of staff support for the schools' organizational structures, which established the formal patterns of association, facilitated or inhibited opportunities for increased teacher leadership and collaboration in the schools during the course of the change. Although the results of the study are not intended to be generalizable to all school-initiated changes or necessarily representative of all secondary schools, their application rests on their relatability to other similar circumstances as the basis for further research and the springboard for future change initiatives.