Impact of Middle Leaders' Strategies on Students' Attainment and Development
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Introduction: Analyzing Leadership Strategies and Their Impacts on Student Achievement
Background:
Leadership skills are an important aspect of a leader's personality that impact the followers and other relevant people in achieving related goals. This research project will study the impacts of different leadership strategies on the students attend mental and their development during school considering the role of middle leaders. There will be the identification of appropriate and relevant sources to collect information regarding the topic and reach an efficient conclusion by maintaining an effective Research Design. In this proposal, there will be introductory information regarding the topic along with the proposed Research Design to conduct the overall study and the related timetable and practical issues that will impact the project. Leadership skills are an important aspect of a leader’s personality that impact the followers and other relevant people in achieving related goals.
This research project will study the impacts of different leadership strategies on the student’s attainment and their development during school considering the role of middle leaders. There will be the identification of appropriate and relevant sources to collect information regarding the topic and reach an efficient conclusion by maintaining an effective Research Design. In this proposal, there will be introductory information regarding the topic along with the proposed Research Design to conduct the overall study and the related timetable and practical issues that will impact the project.
This research project is important to conduct because it will analyse and evaluate the impact of different leadership strategies utilised by middle leaders for supporting better education development and individual growth of each student during the school phase. This research project is important to conduct because it will analyse and evaluate the impact of different leadership strategies utilised by middle leaders for supporting better education development and individual growth of each student during the school phase. This research study will increase the understanding and knowledge of leadership strategies that can help middle leaders in improving the growth and development of students during school.
Aims & Objectives:
This research study aims to analyse the impacts of middle leaders' leadership styles and strategies on the progress and attainment of students in school.
Objectives
To identify the different strategies of leadership utilised by middle leaders in schools.
To analyse the impact of different leadership Strategies of middle leaders on the development and attainment of students.
To strengthen the knowledge of leadership styles for improving their application in schools by middle leaders to improve student development.
Research Questions:
What are the different leadership strategies utilised by middle leaders in schools?
What are the impacts of leadership strategies on the students used by middle leaders?
How can the application of middle leadership strategies improve for the betterment of students?
The different leadership strategies utilised by middle leaders in schools:
According to De Nobile, (2018), The concept of leadership approaches and the approach of managing the development of students by middle leaders in the education sector has been involved and continuously emerging. The different educational organisations utilise different management and leadership approaches to help middle leaders in shaping and managing the curriculum and the individual development at the extensive range within premises. The study demonstrated that the utilisation of collaborative leadership has a positive impact on the relationship between middle management and individual development as it creates trust in relationships and cultivates motivation and persuasion within the sector. The importance of middle leadership is improving continuously because it has an increasingly dynamic impact on the development and orientation activities of students.
In the views of Edwards-Groves et al (2019), The educational researchers played important role in identifying the different factors that influence the development and leadership practices in the educational sector. The study suggested that learning and developing middle leadership strategies such as situation understanding and critical thinking have a positive impact on the professional development of teachers that improves the ability and capacity of learning and shared responsibility. Middle leaders need to utilise different learning styles and leadership approaches for achieving the desired outcome from their job position and performance. The middle leadership also focuses on removing the resistance to change for influencing the eleventh people positively and longer-term. The combination of leadership approaches and strategies is utilised by middle leaders to work effectively.
Saleem et al (2020), stated that educational leadership or middle leadership is important for improving educational effectiveness and working on long-term skill development. The middle leaders utilise leadership approaches and strategies for improving the interest and engagement of students in the development procedures. The middle leaders mainly focus on developing team ethos in individuals while ensuring inclusive learning. Distributed leadership is one of the dominant principles utilised by middle leaders that helps in involving and developing educators and students for achieving good different levels of grades and expertise in different subject areas with the help of collaborative working approaches and leading positive change School-wide. However, the study identified that school leaders also utilize hierarchical and democratic styles of leadership to improve educational impacts on pupils.
The impacts of different leadership Strategies of middle leaders on the development and attainment of students:
Hermawati et al (2020), believes that middle leadership is an important management aspect in schools and requires ongoing focus for increasing the benefits from a sophisticated environment and theoretical implications. The study suggested that network leadership is appropriate for school management because it provides a positive structural change and improves the attention by using different leadership models and strategies such as autocratic management, democratic leadership, coaching model of leadership, etc. The autocratic leadership in the education sector allows middle leaders to make decisions quickly and better communicate with others but it leads to micromanagement that reduces the professional ownership. Democratic leadership improves learning and development by allowing middle leaders to solve Complex issues effectively and encouraging a creative environment for better development. However, the middle leaders require major practice and experience because it creates negative emotions and leads to procrastination.
According to Harris et al (2019), The middle leadership has positive and negative impacts on the curriculum activities and education environment based on its efficiency and appropriate application. The different approaches of middle leadership have a different impact on the overall system that requires major attention from leaders and management together for utilising appropriate leadership approaches for appropriate situations. For example, the non-participating leadership by middle leaders provide better benefits when there is a dogmatic SOPs office system and ambiguous tasks. On the other hand, other types of middle leadership such as task orientation and autocratic leadership are appropriate for increasing student performance with a strictly professional attitude.
In the words of Sousa and Rocha, (2019), The Ecology leadership utilised by middle leaders is appropriate for improving school performance by enhancing organisational culture. The utilisation of ecology leadership allows middle leaders to increase attention and the sensitivity of students towards climate and environment that promotes mental and physical benefits for students to sustain their future and planet together. However, the middle leaders face significant challenges while utilising Ecology leadership for developing students as the measurement of exposure is inappropriate and it can create systematic differences in the data. The differences in measurement and data can lead to bad actions from schools and students that will harm the development of students and the sector drastically.
The application of middle leadership strategies for the betterment of the students:
Drigas et al (2021), The effectiveness of middle leadership Strategies and approaches is based on the appropriate application in the proper place. There are different approaches and strategies utilised by middle leaders to implement a better learning environment and encourage long-term development among students in school. The game-based learning is one of the significant and universal leadership approaches that gain the attention of overall School management and improved the performance of middle leaders and students efficiently. The game-based learning approach is applicable by including fun methods of improving the knowledge and understanding of students powered by different games that support better learning outcomes. Although the school management and Middle leaders are required to develop a gaming environment within limits for increasing the interest and engagement of students and not making them distracted from other ways of learning.
The research analysis of Bouko et al (2021), suggested that it is very important for middle leaders to manage emotional balance and develop emotional intelligence to lead a positive impact on the education and development of students and also enhance their self-development and efficacy within themselves. For developing emotional intelligence and balance with the education sector to increase the effectiveness of middle leadership the meta emotional and metacognitive training strategies are most appropriate. This strategy is to provide self-understanding and actualization among middle leaders to implement behavioural and emotional strategies to achieve self-improvement and lead to better development among students. The effective application of different emotional intelligence skills is based on appropriate critical thinking analysis. There is a significant impact of cognitive biases in the role and performance of middle leaders which are required to be addressed specifically to achieve desired outcomes in the learning environment.
The study of Geesa et al (2022), suggested that the collaborative model is one of the significant and efficient teaching models that allow educators and teachers to provide better learning and development among Students by providing educational training resources. The collaborative teaching model has positive impacts on the learning environment as it stimulates social and emotional development and manages individual performance to meet required standards and competencies. This model improves the learning of students in both online and physical classrooms. This model is effective in the current educational environment which is highly dependent on online learning environments. This model supports middle leaders with required resources and guidelines to improve learning and development among students eventually improving the learning environment and individual development of each student in school.
Research Design Methodology:
The research methodology and design are the important aspects of successful and systematic research procedures. The research methodology is a systematic procedure that is utilised by researchers for appropriately conducting their research. The Research Design allows researchers to understand each step required to be processed for conducting the research successfully, and the research methodology formulated by researchers to address the research problem and achieve research aims and objectives. The Research Design is not only essential for conducting the research but also important for collecting relevant data in the appropriate method and analysing it effectively (Abutabenjeh and Jaradat, 2018). The purpose of developing a Research Design methodology is important to provide an efficient plan of conducting a research study that permits the assessment of Information and relevant knowledge regarding the research problem and topic accurately to define the relationship between different variables in terms of dependent and independent aspects. The Research Design work on analysing data research problem with different resources and collecting data and providing the general judgement to confirm or deny the statement. The research methodology also aims to broaden the understanding of researchers and relevant audiences regarding the topic and help the related communities to be well-informed.
The overall Research Design is divided into three main steps which include Data Collection methods measurement methods and analysis & interpretation methods. There are two types of Research Design methodology is known as quantitative research and qualitative research design (Mirkazemi et al, 2019). Quantitative research focuses on collecting data mainly from primary sources however it utilizes secondary sources for understanding the concepts at the primary level. The quantitative Research Design is based on representing the results of analysis and research study in the form of numerical and Statistics such as graphs tables and numbers. On the other hand, the qualitative research design utilizes a secondary source of data collection and represents the Conclusion and result in descriptive form i.e., non-numeric.
There are several research philosophies available for the researchers to conduct research study according to their perception and requirement of the topic. The research philosophies comprise pragmatism, realism, interpretivism and positivism design. The pragmatism research philosophy is based on the concept of accepting relevant information if it is actionable or applicable in a real-life setting. The philosophy believes that data and information can be interpreted in different ways and the development is based on the different realities and experiences of different people or audiences (Ryba et al, 2022). This research philosophy requires a large number of activities to conduct a study and takes longer to complete than the traditional Paradigm. The realism philosophy is based on the idea of independence of reality regarding the concepts and topics from the different human perspectives. The realism philosophy work on scientific assumption and approach for developing knowledge and is divided into critical and direct groups. The realism philosophy does not have a place for meditation and intuition and it also ignored perceptions and emotions of conception in human life that making it ineffective in humanistic studies.
The positivism research philosophy relies on the concept the actor's factual knowledge should be gained from real observation and that it is always trustworthy and measurable. This philosophy believes that the role of researchers is only important in collecting data and not in other parts of conducting a research study. Hence, the interpretive philosophy is selected for conducting the respected study. The interpretive philosophy of research will be utilised as a research design in this project. The interpretive philosophy relies on the research principle that the researcher has an important role in conducting the research by observing the related area and social world during data collection (Frechette et al, 2022). This research philosophy is appropriate for research study because it allows the interest of researchers to be explored and analysed deeply and efficiently. By utilising interpretive research philosophy, the research will focus on disclosing the meaningful activities analytically and also work on the configuration of practices for generating observable outcomes. This research philosophy will support identifying the impacts of middle leadership and strategies utilised by middle leaders in school for better attainment and progress of students. This philosophy will support in analysing of the different hypotheses and previous information regarding the topic and the achievement of objectives properly.
While utilising interpretive research philosophy in this research project the researcher may face subjectivity of nature and cognitive biases to meet the approach requirement. As the primarily collected data cannot be generalised because it is highly impacted by the different viewpoints and values of four different people which can impact the outcomes and conclusion of this research project among the audience. For addressing the challenges may face by the researcher while using an interpretive approach the humanistic qualitative method will be accompanied. The humanistic qualitative research philosophy will support the research to analyse the personal values and self-fulfilment approach of individuals that will increase the significance of collected data and provide genuine insight into Holistic information and behaviour (Gunbayi, 2020).
The research standards or strategies are divided into two parts are known as quantitative and qualitative strategies. Quantitative Data Collection refers to the information that is available in numeric forms and leads to statistical data analysis. Whereas that qualitative Data Collection work on sub-economic and psychological human Behaviour for proving the hypothesis and working on research topics in non-numeric form. The qualitative research strategy will be applied in the study for analysing the information regarding the beliefs, attitudes, interactions, experiences, and behaviour of related people such as middle leaders and students in terms of overall development and attainment in school by utilising leadership strategies (Basias and Pollalis, 2018). The qualitative research strategy is selected for this research project because it provides a deeper understanding of conceptual and increases the attention of relevant audiences towards essential disciplines with the integrated process.
The qualitative research study generates data in a non-numerical form which help in understanding the concepts and the relevant experiences and perspective of people to use and apply them correctly in their working environment. The narrative style of the search will also utilise qualitative strategy as it improves the understanding of disciplines and also provides better data coding of historical experiences and ideal lifestyles in terms of different concepts and managing achievements (George and Selimos, 2018). The qualitative research method is easier to select because it enables researchers to understand the different attitudes and perspectives of relevant people regarding the relevant concept. It is also cost-effective and leads content generation by providing insights into the specific industry with the creative driving force. However, the qualitative is an open-ended process but it positively incorporates the human experiences to develop reliable conclusions.
Data Collection is the most important part of research studies because the research problem and issues are addressed by using the collected data sourced from appropriate and reliable resources. The secondary data collection is based on different types such as internal data sources and external data sources. The internal data sources refer to the sales reports, HR data, business reports, etc. Published by companies and organisations and accessible to the researcher. On the other hand, the external data sources include government statistics, mass media, free accessibility of journal articles, (Martins et al, 2018). In this research study, the data will be collected from external secondary sources. The data collected in this study will be accomplished by utilising a secondary approach. The data will be collected on the different leadership styles and strategies utilised by middle leaders for improving the attainment and progress of students in a school by considering the relevant previous studies conducted on a similar topic. Different opinions and perspectives of previous research will be collected by utilising the Peer-reviewed journal articles available online for addressing the research topic and accomplishing aims and objectives. The Data Collection through the secondary approach is selected because it provides easy accessibility and it is cost-free (most of the time). It is also time-saving and allows the generation of new perspectives and insights by analysing the previous studies with new concepts. However, it is a longitudinal analysis but it provides a wide variety of information from a wide range of sources.
Data analysis is a critical process in research studies because the conclusions and outcomes are based on the efficiency of analysed information and data. The best approach for analysing the qualitative data collected from secondary sources is narrative analysis. The narrative analysis utilizes a set of analytical methods that demonstrates the information in visual or interpreting text and provides summaries in story form. The narrative analysis works on the common assumption that the information should be collected based on individual perception and analysis for making the data purposeful and functional in a real-life setting (Roesler, 2018). The structural narrative analysis type of narrative analysis will be utilised for analysing the research data in this study that purposes representation of data in a systematic structure. The Analysis of data will be narrative in 6 parts that will include the abstract, introduction, issues, evaluation, resolution and reporting. The major effectiveness of narrative analysis in qualitative design is that it imposes the order of experiences and perceptions of the articles resourced from secondary sources to comment on the relationship between two variables such as the impact of middle leadership strategies on the performance and progress of students in school.
Ethical considerations
Ethical considerations are important to the set of values and principles utilised by researchers for guiding the positive and ethical practices and use of Research Design in the research study. The respective research project also has a set of values and principles that will be followed throughout the research project as ethical considerations, depicted below-
Autonomy: according to the autonomy principle each individual involved in the research project has the right to take their decisions based on their personal beliefs and values with no pressure from others.
Beneficence: This principle bounds research to conduct the study for benefiting of the relevant people with moral rules and practices that will not harm any audience in any direct or indirect way and will Defend the originality of the concept along with modern analysis (Head, 2020).
Justice: the research study will work according to the principle of justice in which all the information and benefits of this research will be distributed among the relevant audience fairly without any burden.
Non-maleficence: according to this principle there will be no harm to any entity or audience from this research study and the overall research project is based on exploring the middle leadership concept and it will not harm anyone in any form.
Timetable and practical issues:
Time-table:
The timetable is important to look at in the research projects as it provides the guideline of each step to be accomplished for successful research. The following timetable includes the activities involved in this research study along with the starting date and duration to provide a track of time and quality of information and data applied in the research by the investigator. The timetable is important for this research project to accomplish each task in a proper sequence and represent it timely to the audience.
Activities
Start date
Finish date
Duration (in weeks)
Research topic
10 June 2022
16 June 2022
1 week
Deciding aims, objectives & RQs
17 June 2022
23 June 2022
1 week
Literature review
24 June 2022
7 July 2022
2 weeks
Design research methodology
8 July 2022
21 July 2022
2 weeks
Making time-table
22 July 2022
28 July 2022
1 week
Collecting data
29 July 2022
11 August 2022
2 weeks
Analysing data
12 August 2022
25 August 2022
2 weeks
Reporting the draft
26 August 2022
1 September 2022
1 week
Feedback & improvements
2 September 2022
8 September 2022
1 week
Final reporting & submission
9 September 2022
15 September 2022
1 week
Potential practical issues:
There are chances of difficulty in obtaining specific information regarding the topic as required by the researcher. This will make the researcher explore more and more resources thoroughly and it is a time-consuming process.
The narrative research design may limit the impact of information and data in its applicability in different areas of political and social aspects.
The potential practical issues that may face by the researcher in conducting qualitative research include confidentiality and the instrumentality of data collection by the researcher.
References-
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Basias, N. and Pollalis, Y., 2018. Quantitative and qualitative research in business & technology: Justifying a suitable research methodology. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 7, pp.91-105.
Bouko, C., Krempaská, A. and Kucinska, A., 2021. Making students more resilient to extremist content online: critical thinking skills and self-awareness of cognitive biases.
De Nobile, J., 2018. Towards a theoretical model of middle leadership in schools. School Leadership & Management, 38(4), pp.395-416.
Drigas, A., Papoutsi, C. and Skianis, C., 2021. Metacognitive and Metaemotional Training Strategies through the Nine-layer Pyramid Model of Emotional Intelligence. International Journal of Recent Contributions from Engineering, Science & IT (iJES), 9(4), pp.58-76.
Edwards-Groves, C., Grootenboer, P., Hardy, I. and Rönnerman, K., 2019. Driving change from ‘the middle’: Middle leading for site based educational development. School Leadership & Management, 39(3-4), pp.315-333.
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George, G. and Selimos, E.D., 2018, May. Using narrative research to explore the welcoming of newcomer immigrants: A methodological reflection on a community-based research project. In Forum: Qualitative social research (Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 119-138). Freie Universität Berlin.
Gunbayi, I., 2020. Knowledge-constitutive interests and social paradigms in guiding mixed methods research (MMR). Journal of Mixed Methods Studies, (1).
Harris, A., Jones, M., Ismail, N. and Nguyen, D., 2019. Middle leaders and middle leadership in schools: Exploring the knowledge base (2003–2017). School Leadership & Management, 39(3-4), pp.255-277.
Head, G., 2020. Ethics in educational research: Review boards, ethical issues and researcher development. European Educational Research Journal, 19(1), pp.72-83.
Hermawati, R., Sugiyarti, L., Handayani, R., Sunarsi, D., Alfiah, S. and Maddinsyah, A., 2020. The Effect of Trilogy Leadership Style and Organization Culture on School Performance: Evidence form Indonesian Senior High School. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 17(6), pp.8512-8537.
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Ryba, T.V., Wiltshire, G., North, J. and Ronkainen, N.J., 2022. Developing mixed methods research in sport and exercise psychology: Potential contributions of a critical realist perspective. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 20(1), pp.147-167.
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