Program Overview

Since the early 1970's, many thoughtful, experienced, and competent scholars and practitioners have offered theories, anecdotes, and personal perspectives concerning effective leadership. However, few could offer guidance for school leaders based on scientific evidence. In October 2003, McREL (the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) released preliminary results from a groundbreaking meta-analysis of research on school leadership, which has the potential to create a new science of educational leadership.

Research

The Balanced Leadership Framework is based on findings from two separate studies conducted by McREL between 2001 and 2004. Briefly, McREL's leadership research began in 2001 with a review of more than 5000 studies published since the early 1970s that purported to examine the relationship between school leadership and student achievement. Seventy of these studies met McREL's criteria for inclusion in a meta-analysis. These studies represent a sample of 2894 schools, approximately 14,000 teachers, and 1.1 million students. This is one of the largest–ever samples for an examination of research on leadership practices.

For the second part of the study, 652 school principals responded to an online survey developed by McREL to collect data on their responses to leadership practices identified in the initial study. The results of the survey served as the basis for a factor analysis that offered additional insights on leadership practices.

During this time, McREL also engaged in an extensive review of the theoretical literature on change, leadership, and the adoption of new ideas.

Results

McREL found that leadership matters and that school principals can have a profound effect on student achievement. The results of the study indicate that :

Principal leadership is significantly correlated with student achievement.
Twenty-one specific leadership responsibilities and 66 associated practices have significant relationships with student achievement.
Just as leaders can have a positive impact on student achievement, they can also have a negative impact on achievement.
Different types of change are positively associated with some responsibilities and negatively with others. 

Implications

Through leading edge research on school leader and teacher effects on student achievement, McREL is advancing a new science of school leadership, one which provides leaders with concrete, research-based guidance about how they can become more effective leaders and improve student achievement in their schools. By combining the results of these robust studies with their professional experience and deep understanding of leadership theory, McREL has developed a Balanced Leadership Framework that provides leaders with guidance on not only what school improvements are most likely to raise student achievement, but also how to effectively guide and sustain these change efforts.

The Balanced Leadership Framework is featured in the new book, School Leadership That Works, authored by Robert Marzano, Timothy Waters, and Brian McNulty.