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Educational Leadership in the Context of Low-Stakes Accountability: The Canadian Perspective

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School Leadership in the Context of Standards-Based Reform

Part of the book series: Studies in Educational Leadership ((SIEL,volume 16))

Abstract

Educational accountability models throughout Canada commonly use low-stakes, large-scale assessment programs to support and inform school improvement efforts. These models provide school board and school administrators with the autonomy to direct their improvement efforts to meet their students’ educational needs, with no direct threat of sanctions or negative consequences. Overviews are provided for the large-scale assessment programs across Canada along with the current accountability programs that use these assessment programs. A thorough review of the Ontario context is provided, highlighting the ministry, school board, and school initiatives and practices intended to develop leadership capacity and increase student achievement. Ontario illustrates the model of distributed leadership commonly found in Canada, in which school leadership has evolved from a managerial role to one of creating shared leadership and professional learning communities to improve students’ educational outcomes. The existing challenges are identified along with the need for directed research to better understand the role of educational leadership to lead school improvement efforts in various Canadian contexts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Don A. Klinger

  2. Ontario Ministry of Education, Toronto, Canada

    Hana Saab

Authors
  1. Don A. Klinger
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  2. Hana Saab
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Correspondence to Don A. Klinger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Education, Brock University, King Street East 1842, Hamilton, L8K 1V7, Canada

    Louis Volante

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Klinger, D.A., Saab, H. (2012). Educational Leadership in the Context of Low-Stakes Accountability: The Canadian Perspective. In: Volante, L. (eds) School Leadership in the Context of Standards-Based Reform. Studies in Educational Leadership, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4095-2_4

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