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Leading Teacher Learning in China: A Mixed Methods Study of Successful School Leadership

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How School Leaders Contribute to Student Success

Part of the book series: Studies in Educational Leadership ((SIEL,volume 23))

Abstract

A well-documented ‘achievement gap’ in the learning of students in in urban and rural schools has emerged as a significant policy problem both in China and other developing societies. Causes for this problem have been traced to differences in physical, fiscal and human resources. This chapter examines human resource differences related to leadership and teacher learning in urban and rural schools in China. The mixed methods study first analyzes quantitatively leadership-teacher learning processes in a sample of 31 urban and rural schools. After establishing differences in the ‘strength’ of learning-centered leadership and teacher professional learning between the two groups of schools, we present qualitative case studies of an urban and a rural school. The case study descriptions are designed to ‘fill out’ the broad quantitative findings by offering examples of how learning-centered leadership practices were enacted in the very different contexts. The chapter offers useful insights into a key policy issue in China and also contributes to our broader understanding of how context shapes the enactment of school leadership in different settings.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Short video lectures are viewed by students at home before the class session, while in-class time is devoted to exercises, projects, or discussions. ( https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai Shi, China

    Shengnan Liu

  2. College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, 244 Phayathai Rd, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand

    Philip Hallinger

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Philip Hallinger

Authors
  1. Shengnan Liu
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  2. Philip Hallinger
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Correspondence to Philip Hallinger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto, Ontario, Ontario, Canada

    Kenneth Leithwood

  2. University of Alabama, The College of Education University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

    Jingping Sun

  3. Western University, Faculty of Education Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

    Katina Pollock

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Liu, S., Hallinger, P. (2017). Leading Teacher Learning in China: A Mixed Methods Study of Successful School Leadership. In: Leithwood, K., Sun, J., Pollock, K. (eds) How School Leaders Contribute to Student Success. Studies in Educational Leadership, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50980-8_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50980-8_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50979-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50980-8

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