ERIC ED345339: Understanding School System Administration: Studies of the Contemporary Chief Education Officer. Educational Policy Perspective Series.

351 Pages·1991·7.5 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
EA 023 903
ED 345 339
LeithWood, Kenneth, Ed.; Musella, Donald, Ed.
AUTHOR
Understanding School System Administration: Studies
TITLE
of the Contemporary Chief Education Officer.
Educational Policy Perspective Series.
ISBN-1-85000-870-1
REPORT NO
91
PUB DATE
358p.; The research reported is substantially based
NOTE
on a project by faculty in the Educational
Administration Department of Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education.
Falver Press, Taylor and Francis Group, 1900 Frost
AVAILABLE FROM
Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007-1598
(ISBN-1-85000-869-8 cloth).
Reports - Research/Technical (143) -- Books (010)
PUB TYPE
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EDRS PRICE
*Administrator Role; *Administrators; *Educational
DESCRIPTORS
Administration; Elementary Secondary Education;
Foreign Countries; *Occupational Information; Problem
Solving; *School Administration; School
Effectiveness; *Superintendente; Work Environment
*Canada
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
This volume presents several distinctive but related
empirical studies and opinion pieces about chief education officers
(CEOs). The collection begins with (1) "Introduction: A Framework for
Understanding School System Administration" (Kenneth Leithwood and
Donald Musella). Section A, "Chief Education Officers' Practices and
Effects," contains the following chapters: (2) "Setting, Size and
Sectors in Ole Work Environment of Cnief Education Officers" (Derek
(3) "Policy Administration as Rhetoric: One Leader and
J. Allison);
His Arguments" (Richard G. Townsend); (4) "The Influence of Chief
Education Officers on School Effectiveness" (Donald Musella and
Kenneth Leithwood); and (5) "Negotiilting the Master Contract:
Transformation Leadership and School District Quality" (Linda
LaRocque and Peter Coleman). Section B, "Why Chief Education Officers
Act As They Do," contains the folloVing chapters: (6) "Components of
Chief Education Officers' Problem Solving Processes" (Kenneth
(7; "The Values and Beliefs of
Leithwood and Rosanne Steinbach);
Ontario's Chief Education Officers" (Mark Holmes);
(8)
"Administrative Artifacts: Inferring Values from the Physical Culture
of the CEO's Office" (Stephen B. Lawton and Joyce Scane); and (9)
"Pride and Privilege: The Development of the Position and Role of
Chief Education Officers in the United States and Canada" (Derek
Allison). Section C, "Fundamental Challenges for Chief Education
Officers," contains the following chapters: (10) "A Delicate Balance:
Leadership or Stewardship" (Mark Holmes); (11) "Centralize,
Decentralize, Control and Liberate: CEO's Views of Restructuring
School Systems" (Stephen B. Lawton and Joyce Scane); (12) "Assessing
Organizational Culture: Implications for Leaders of Organizational
Change" (Donald Musella and John Davis); and (13) "Conclusion:
Preparation for Becoming a Chief Education Officer" (Kenneth
Leithwood and Donald Musella). References follow each chapter, and an
index is appended. (MLF)
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Pomis of ere* of opinions stareo in this dOCu
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ment do not necesSably Pepresent official
OE RI position or policy
Understanding School
System Administration:
Studies of the Contemporary
Chief Education Officer
Edited by
Kenneth Leithwood and Donald Muse lla
The Faimer Press
(A member of the Taylor & Francis Group)
London New York
Philadelphia
UK
The Falmer Press, 4 John St., London, WC1N 2ET
The Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite
U S A
101, Bristol, PA 19()07
© Selection and editorial material copyright K. A. Leith wood
and I). Musella 1991
AU rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
in any .form or by any
stored nt a retrieval system, or transmitted,
me(1ns, ehytronic, mechanical, plwtocopyitw, recording, or otherwise,
without permission in writing front the Publisher.
First published 1991
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Understanding school system administration: studies of the
contemporary chief education officer.
Education. Administration
I.
I. Leithwood, K.A. (Kenneth Arthur)
II. Musella,
1)opald
379.15
ISBN I-8501)0-869-8
ISBN I -85'101)-87o-I (pbk)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Understanding school system dninustrath,n: studies of the
contemporary chlef ('ducation officer/edited by Kenneth
1 eithwood and 1)onald Musella.
cm.
p.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
-- ISBN I-85(HH)-870-I (pbk.):
ISBN I -85(
1. School superintendents
2. School
Canada.
I. Leithwood,
management nd organi7ation
Canada.
II. Musella, Donald F.
Kenneth A
1 132831 72(i.C2L353
1991
371:vourn971
dc2n
90-19766
Britain by Burgess Science Press, Basing.stc!ce
Printed in Great
paper which has a specified pH value on final paper
on
therefore 'acid free'.
manufacture of not In.% than 7,5 and i,
4
Contents
vii
Atlenowledments
viii
Fore;oord
Notes on contributors
Introduction: A Framework for Understanding
Chapter 1
1
School System Administration
Kenneth Leithwood and Donald Musella
Practices and Effects
Section A: Chief Education Officers'
13
Setting, Size and Sectors in the Work
Chapter 2
Environment of Chief Education Officers
Derek J. Allison
Policy Administration as Rhetoric:
Chapter 3
One Leader and His Arguments
C. Townsend
Richard
78
Officers
The Influence of Chief Edur-ation
Chapter 4
on School
Effectiveness
Donald Musella and Kenneth Leithw,
96
Negotiating the N. .ster Contract:
Chapter 5
Transformational Leadership and School District
Quality
Linda LaRo,que and Peter Coleman
Officers Act As They Do
Section B: Why Chief EdPicatiott
Officers'
127
Components of Chief Education
Chapter 6
Problem Solving rrocesses
Kenneth I Atliu,00d and Rosanne Steinbach
1)
Contents
Bdiefs of Ontario's Chief
The Values an
154
Chapter 7
Education Officers
Mark Holmes
Administrative Artifacts: Inferring Values
Chapter 8
175
From the Physical Culture of the CEO's
Office
Stephen B. Lawton and Joyce Scane
Pride and Privilege: The Development of the
209
Chapter
9
Position and Role of Chief Education
Officers in the United States and Canada
Derek Allison
Section C: Fundamental Challenges for Chief Education
Officers
A Delicate Balance: Leadership or Stewardship
241
Chapter 10
Mark Holmes
Centralize, Decentralize, Control and Liberate:
273
Chapter 11
CEO's Views of Restructuring School Systems
Stephen B. Lawton and Joyce Same
Assessing Organizational Culture: Implications
287
Chapter 12
for Leaders of Organizational Change
Donald Musella and John Davis
Conclusion: Preparation for Becoming a
306
Chapter 13
Chief Education Officer
Kenneth Leithwood and Donald Musella
336
Index
Acknowledgments
book is substantially based on a project
The research reported in this
Educational Administration Department of
undertaken by faculty in the
in Education (OISE). Funded for two
the Ontario Institute for Studies
of Canada,
Sciences and Humanities Research Council
years by the Social
six-month period from a series
the focus of the research emerged over a
faculty. Not everyone who
of (sometimes heated) discussions among
the authors of this
participated in these discussions is reflected among
nevertheless.
In
significant,
book, although their contributions were
Alan Brown, Thom Greenfield,
particular, we acknowledge a debt to
Gerald McLeod, and Susan Padro.
considerably by a number of non-OISE
Our work was ,mriched
people are included among the
colleagues, as well. Several of these
Peter Coleman, Linda La-
Allison,
contributors of this book (Derek
with ours was fortunate and its
Roque). The confluence of their work
the book significantly.
inclusion expands the scope and value of
concerned with the CEO's role
Finally, an invitational conference
by SSHRC, in part)
mid-point of our work (also funded
was held at the
of additionally stimulating our
seeking critical feedback and as a way
who gave us the benefit of their
thinking. We are indebted to those
We
although we cannot name all of them here.
r"actions in that context,
who presented
however, those not already mentioned
can acknowledge,
Arthui
Robin Farquhar, Tom Fleming, and
papers at that conference:
Blumberg.
Musella
Kenneth Leithwood and Donald
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
nii
7
Foreword
The work of the Chief Education Officer (CEO) in Canada is
not well
understood; at present it constitutes an enigma, perhaps largely because
is invisible to most. And yet, one suspects that the work
it
must be
important; otherwise, one wonders why it would be
so relatively well
compensated and why so many competent and ambitious educators
would aspire to take it on. Thus, this role would
seem to offer a prime
object for the attention of curious scholars and, given its existence for
several decades, the virtual absence of such attention until recently is
somewhat dismaying.
Fortunately, however, within the past few years this role
seems to
have been discovered by a few serious students of educational administra-
tion, and they are gradually uncovering some of its mysteries (e.g., The
Canadian School Superintendent, OISE Press, 1989, to which the
present
volume is something of a sequel
albeit set largely in Ontario, but with
considerable generalizability beyond that Province). The project which
gave rise to this book was driven primarily by a desire to facilitate the
improvement of CEO practices largely through enhancing understanding
of the role (its nature, causes, and consequences) and the work it in-
volves. The contents collectively represent a significant contribution
to
knowledge of a subject which is important not only in itself but also in its
relationships to numerous associated fields such as school effectiveness,
comparative
administration,
international
education,
organizational
culture, leadership theory, and change processes, to mention but
a few.
There is much here of value,
to scholars and practitioners in
then,
numerous areas, but especially to those with a primary interest in educa-
tional administration.
'rhis volume comprises the presentation of several distinctive but
related empirical studies and opinion pieces.
It constitutes perhaps the
most thorough and wide-ranging presentation of the CEO role ever
published in a single volume; and yet,
it stimulates one's curiosity and
desire to explore the subject further.
is characterized by an unusual
It
Foreword
degree of coherence for such a multiple-author undertaking, thanks to the
common conceptual framework which loosely integrates the interesting-
ly varied perspectives from which the different writers approach their
is not a unified book, but there is considerable articulation
topics.
It
among its several cot. ponents; and it offers a good example of the values
in collaborative, interdisciplinary, coordinated team research which could
not possibly be undertaken by a lone scholar.
Herein the reader will find a remarkably wide-ranging treatment of
from fundamental principle to office furniture, from indivi-
the role
dual idiosyncrasies to international trends, from confusion to certainty,
from trivial to earth-shaking, from thought to action, and from past to
future. Underlying all of this diversity is a sustained respect for theory
and conceptualization as the authors endeavour to describe, explain, and
anticipate the CEO's behaviour, its causes and consequences. The book
represents a bold and comprehensive analysis of an important role and the
behaviour of its incumbents, incorporating consideration of the impact on
CEO practice of interactions between and among internal thought and
value processes and external institutional and environmental character-
presents and tests a number of conceptual models,
istics. As well,
it
provides worthwhile new information and knowledge, yields proposals
for both policy and practice, generates numerous suggestions for future
research, and proposes some crucial needs for professional preparation. It
ranges organizationally from description and analysis to explanation and
projection; and in format the abstracts preceding most chapters permit
informative sampling by the selective reader who prefers not to devour
the entire work, while the appended references demonstrate conscientious
efforts to review, and provide helpful guides to accessing substantial
bodies of relevant literature.
What emerges is the portrait of a role that seems highly complex in
nature, demonstrably irnpactful in important ways, and situationally de-
pendant on both personal and contextual variables. The volume conveys
as well the sheer joy inherent in hard woik to achieve worthwhile results,
thereby offering some encouragement to both those who currently
occupy the CEO role and those thinking of taking it on.
This book, then, should be welcomed as a positive contribution, not
only to understanding of the role, but also to facilitating and encouraging
improvement in its practice. As the authors reveal repeatedly throughout
the volume, there is much more to be learned and done in the interest of
improving the practice of CEOs in Canada. Here we have a significant
step in that direction, and one awaits with some eagerness the promised
third volume in this distinctive trilogy.
Robin H. Farquhar, Presidetif
Carleton University
ix
Notes on Contributors
Derek Allison, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
Peter Coleman, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia,
John Davis, Educational Administration Department, Ontario Institute
for Studies in Education.
Mark Holmes,
Administration Department,
Ontario
Educational
Institute for Studies in Education.
Linda LaRocque, Department of Educational Administration, Faculty
of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.
Stephen Lawton, Educational Administration Department, Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education.
Kenneth Leithwood, Educational
Administration Department and
Centre for Leadership Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education.
Donald Muse lla, Educational Administration Department and Centre
for Leadership Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
Joyce Scane, Educational Administration Department, Ontano Institute
for Studies in Education.
Rosanne Steinbach, Centre for Leadirship Development, Ontario Insti-
tute for Studies in Education.
Richard G. Townsend,
Department,
Administration
Educational
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
x
I ()