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The Effect of Leadership on Student Achievement

Waters, T., Marzano, R. J., & McNulty, B. (2003). Balanced leadership: What 30 years of research tells us about the effect of leadership on student achievement. McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning). http://www.mcrel.org/PDF/LeadershipOrganization
Development/5031RR_BalancedLeadership.pdf

In this report, Waters, Marzano and McNulty (2003) draw on 30 years of research to analyse the effects of leadership practices on student achievement. From an initial collection of more than 5,000 studies, 70 met the criteria of:

quantitative student data
student achievement measures on standardised, norm-referenced tests or some other objective measure of achievement
student achievement as the dependent (outcome) variable
teacher perceptions of leadership as the independent (predictor) variable.

These 70 studies involved 2,894 schools, approximately 1.1 million students and 14,000 teachers. The analysis was also informed by a thorough literature review, as well as the researchers' collective professional wisdom about leadership.

The meta-analysis identified a substantial relationship between leadership and student achievement to the extent that improvement of a principal's leadership abilities by one standard deviation above the norm would translate into a mean student achievement gain of 10 percentile points. Twenty-one leadership responsibilities are identified that are significantly associated with student achievement. These 21 responsibilities provide the evidence base for the creation of a leadership framework that describes the knowledge, skills, strategies and tools leaders need to positively impact on student achievement.

A principal's leadership responsibilities

Culture	Fosters shared beliefs and a sense of community and cooperation
Order	Establishes a set of operating procedures and routines
Discipline	Protects teachers from issues and influences that would detract from their teaching time and focus
Resources	Provides teachers with the materials and professional development necessary for the successful execution of their jobs
Curriculum, instruction, assessment	Is directly involved in the design and implementation of curriculum, instruction and assessment
Focus	Establishes clear goals and keeps those goals in the forefront of the school's attention
Knowledge about curriculum, instruction, assessment	Is knowledgeable about curriculum, instruction and assessment practices
Visibility	Has quality contact and interactions with teachers and students
Contingent rewards	Recognises and rewards individual accomplishments
Communication	Establishes strong lines of communication with teachers and among students
Outreach	Is an advocate and spokesperson for the school to all stakeholders
Input	Involves teachers in the design and implementation of important decisions and policies
Affirmation	Recognises and celebrates school accomplishments and acknowledges failures
Relationship	Demonstrates an awareness of the personal aspects of teachers and staff
Change agent	Is willing to actively challenge the status quo
Optimiser	Inspires and leads new and challenging innovation
Ideals/beliefs	Communicates and operates from strong ideals and beliefs about schooling
Monitors/evaluates	Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their impact on student learning
Flexibility	Adapts his or her leadership behaviour to the needs of the current situation and is comfortable with dissent
Situational awareness	Is aware of the details and undercurrents in the running of the school and uses this information to address current and potential problems
Intellectual stimulation	Ensures that faculty and staff are aware of the most current theories and practices and makes the discussion of these a regular aspect of the school's culture

(Adapted from Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003, p. 4)

Waters, Marzano and McNulty provide a comprehensive discussion of the factors associated with school improvement and student achievement through balanced leadership, including:

directing the focus of change efforts - knowing the right thing to do
recognising the magnitude of change - some changes have greater implications than others, and can be conceptualised as first and second order change.

The authors extend their analysis by aligning each of the 21 leadership practices into a grid of the practices required for effecting first and second order change.

Leadership responsibility	First order change	Practices	Second order change
Culture: The extent to which the principal fosters shared beliefs and a sense of community and cooperation	Promotes cooperation among staff Promotes a sense of wellbeing Promotes cohesion among staff	Develops shared understanding of purpose	Develops shared vision of what the school could be like

(Adapted from Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003, p. 9)

It is argued that, for first order changes, the first three practices may be all that is needed from leadership for successful implementation. However, for second order change, the first three will be insufficient.

Second order changes require leaders to work far more deeply with staff and community. It is possible that second order changes will disrupt cooperation, a sense of well being [sic], and cohesion. Second order changes may confront group identities, change working relationships, challenge expertise and competencies, and throw people into stages of 'conscious incompetence', none of which is conducive to cooperation, cohesion, and a sense of well being [sic]. In these cases, establishing agreement on the purposes of schooling and the proposed changes, along with a truly shared vision of possibilities, will be essential if cooperation among staff, a sense of well being [sic], and cohesion are to be maintained, or re-established, as the change is being implemented. (Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003, p. 8)

The authors argue that the leadership framework is comprehensive and rigorous, and provides a useful tool that can 'help leaders and leadership teams add value to the work of all stakeholders to improve student achievement' (p. 14).