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Author’s note: This article provides a preliminary summary of the Alberta findings from a national study conducted by the Canadian Association of Principals and the Alberta Teachers’ Association. The forthcoming national publication, The Future of Principalship in Canada, is to be published later this summer in collaboration with the Council for School Leadership of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
“You can’t change the past. You can’t even change the future, in the sense that you can only change the present one moment at a time, stubbornly, until the future unwinds itself into the stories of our lives.”
—Larry Wall
Experts in educational change (eg, Fullan 2009; Hargreaves 2009) agree that successful change stems from strong school leadership. A recent review of research on school effectiveness concludes that, among all school-related factors, school leadership is second only to classroom instruction as an influence on student learning (Leithwood, Mascall and Straus 2009). Therefore, it is not surprising that principals—the main source of leadership in schools (Dayand Gu 2010)—are no longer expected to just perform administrative and managerial functions. Rather, they are also viewed as champions of change and innovation and as leaders of teaching and learning.
Recent studies suggest that many factors influence the work of Canadian school leaders, including an increased focus on transformational leadership, an increased focus on external relationships, changes in approaches to leadership, and a decrease in family or personal time. This emphasis on transformational and instructional forms of leadership has led to leadership frameworks and performance standards in some provinces (Leadership Standards for Principals and Vice-Principals in British Columbia, Principal Quality Practice model in Alberta, and Ontario Leadership Framework).
Heightened expectations and multiple roles increase the complexities associated with principals’ work. To help principals in their demanding and important positions, it is necessary to better understand how their work has been changing and what kind of supports they need in order to successfully deal with those changes. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), including the Council for School Leadership, partnered with the Canadian Association of Principals (CAP) to identify what principals perceive as the forces influencing their work.
The Future of Principalship in Canada (to be published later this summer) is an ambitious study that aims to meet two objectives:
- Supporting the work of principals as school leaders
- Building the capacity of principals to achieve their aspirations as school leaders
Gathering Principals’ Perceptions
For the collaborative project, 500 school leaders from across Canada (nine provinces and two territories) participated in focus groups facilitated and sponsored by individual CAP member organizations. In an effort to foster consistency across the groups, a research team provided inservice support.
The goals for these sessions were:
- To gather data on participants’ perspectives about the future of their work as principals
- To provide participants with the experience of sharing their view on the current and long-term societal trends that are changing the role and work of school principals
- To gather input on the sources of support that would enhance the work of school principals in the short- and long-term
Participants in the study completed a workbook and drew from two resources to stimulate reflection for focus groups.1 The workbook and focus groups invited principals to contextualize their work in relation to current and anticipated trends that affect leadership in their schools. School leaders were also encouraged to broaden their purview to consider how global trends shape public education and the role of principals, both now and in the future.
Preliminary findings from participants’ responses reveal key issues that school leaders face across Canada. The main categories that emerged from the responses comprise
- Diversity of students
- Changing family
- Teaching and learning conditions
- Technology
- Economy
- Social and cultural influences
While the complete national study fully develops these themes, a preliminary analysis of the Alberta sample offers some important insights.
Trends in the Principalship in Alberta
As part of the study, 180 Alberta administrators identified societal change factors that influence their work and the supports necessary to address these factors.2 Preliminary findings suggest that Alberta’s principals consider market-model education, excessive accountability expectations, teacher preparedness to address diverse student needs, limited resources and technology as factors shaping their work. Notably, Alberta’s respondents were more likely than other regions to comment on the first three of these factors.
Nationally, some principals worry that social values are eroding, with individual needs, wants and entitlements being prioritized over community and collective interests. The emergent market-model of education to which Alberta school leaders attend reflects this concern. One Alberta administrator describes a “culture of consumerism” in which “[s]tudents and parents do comparison shopping before making decisions.” The focus has shifted to marketing the school and its programs, with principals becoming “marketing manager[s].” Further, the choice model, argues one respondent, legitimizes the claims of parents with “personal agendas” and unrealistic expectations.
Excessive accountability expectations dominate Alberta respondents’ attention, with 58 per cent of the Alberta sample addressing the issue. One respondent found it particularly challenging to “balance putting more pressure on the teachers while at the same time trying to take care of their needs.” Teachers are encountering diverse student needs ranging from English as an additional language (EAL) to mental health issues and they need to be better prepared for and supported in managing the complexities that they now face in the classroom. Principals want to offer that support but with “limited opportunity or time to increase teaching or instructional leadership” and a lack of funding and resources, some Alberta school leaders find it difficult to support their teachers.
Overall, like administrators across Canada, Alberta’s school leaders stress the increasing responsibilities of principalship. An Alberta respondent captures the multiplicity of the roles that the principal and the school assume: “The greatest societal change is that the school has become the venue to be all things to all students. We are the parents, doctors, nurses, social workers and educators. The responsibility is becoming too much.”
Anticipating Futures, Moving Forward
To respond to the changing forces affecting Canadian principals’ work, respondents identified professional development, specialists in school and wraparound services as necessary short-term supports. In the long-term, principals suggest that systemic reforms, political “vision” and support and stable, predictable funding are necessary to ensure the success of our education system. Drawing from the responses of school leaders, the study proposes five “ways forward”:
- Teach and learn for diversity
- Collaborate and build professional capacities in school staff
- Build family and community relationships
- Use technology for creative learning and good citizenship
- Promote continuous leadership learning
Because there are multiple forces affecting schools, the strategies to address the areas of concern raised by this study must be constructed and implemented thoughtfully; strategic action is necessary.
Like their colleagues across Canada, Alberta principals and their professional organizations need to work to ensure that their voices are heard and that governance takes daily realities into account. Envisioning the future while burdened with present realities is not always easy. Nonetheless, school leaders must maintain their commitment to advocate on behalf of students and their hope for students’ futures.
References
Cranston, J. 2011. “Relational Trust: The Glue that Binds a Professional Learning Community.” Alberta Journal of Educational Research 57, no 1: 59–72.
Day, C, and Q Gu. 2010. The New Lives of Teachers. London and New York: Routledge.
Fullan, M. 2009. “Large Scale Reform Comes of Age.” Journal of Educational Change 10: 101–13. http://resolver.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/resolve/13892843/v10i2-3/101_lrcoa (accessed May 21, 2014).
Hargreaves, A. 2009. “A Decade of Educational Change and a Defining Moment of Opportunity—An Introduction.” Journal of Educational Change 10: 89–100. http://resolver.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/resolve/13892843/v10i2--‐3/89_adoecaadmooi (accessed May 21, 2014).
Lanier, J. 2013 Who Owns the Future? New York: Simon & Schuster.
Leithwood, K, B Mascall and T Strauss. 2009. Distributed Leadership According to the Evidence. New York: Routledge.
Lindsay Yakimyshyn is a member of intermediate staff with the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
1 These resources were Changing Landscapes in Co-Creating a Learning Canada (a brochure that explores seven trends impacting education in Canada) and an accompanying student video.
2 Only 55 of Alberta’s participants were included in the full study in the interest of better balancing provincial representation.
