LEADERSHIPeALIGNMENT:eTHEeCHALLENGEeOFeDISTRIBUTEDeLEADERSHIP
M.eCeciliaeMartineze
WilliameFirestonee
MelindaeMangineT
errieePolovsky
RutgerseUniversitye
March,e2005
PaperePresentedeatetheeAnnualeMeetingeofetheeAmericaneEducationeResearcheAssociationeMontrea
l,eCanada
Papereavailableeat:ehttp://www.cepa.gse.rutgers.edu
DRAFT
ManyethanksetoeCarolinaeDaCosta,eTerrieHawkeseandeNobuhikoeHamamotoewhoehelpedeusewitheth
eecoding,esuggestedestrategieseforedataeanalysiseandetheeanalysiseofetheedistrictedocuments.
1
, LEADERSHIPeALIGNMENT:eTHEeCHALLENGEeOFeDISTRIBUTEDeLEADERSHIP
Theebulkeoferesearcheoneeducationaleleadershipehasefocusedeonetheeschool,eandeineparticular
onetheeprincipal.eWeeareemovingeawayefromeheroicemodelsethatefocuseonetheeprincipaleinefavoreofeth
e
eorieseofedistributedeleadershipe(Spillane,eHalvorson,e&eDiamond,e2001)ewhereetheeworkeisespreade
acrosseaenumbereofeindividuals.eInetheory,edistributingeleadershipeshouldeaddetoetheelaboreavailablee
toeprovideeleadershipeandetheeexpertiseetoeengageeinetheemanyetaskserequiredeofeleaders.eMoreover,e
thiselineeofethinkingeiseinfusedewitheaespiriteofedemocraticeoptimismethategoesehand-in-
gloveewitheothereeffortsetoeempowereteachersesucheasemovesetoecreateeformaleteachereleadershipepo
sitionse(York-Barre&eDuke,e2004)eandesite-basedemanagemente(Malen,e1994).
Inepractice,ehowever,eleadershipemayebeedistributederatheredifferentlyefrometheewayethateadv
ocateseofethiseperspectiveeassume.eForeinstance,emostethinkingeaboutedistributedeleadershipetoedateeh
asefocusedeonetheeschoole(Pounder,eOgawa,e&eAdams,e1995;eSpillaneeeteal.,e2001).eYet,eschoolsearee
embeddedeineaelargeredistrictecontext,eanderelevanteleadershipemayewellecomeefromedistrictesources.e
Ineaddition,eteachers’eopportunitiesetoeprovideeleadershipemayebeeconstrainedebyebotheprincipalseand
theirepeerse(Smylie,eConley,e&eMarks,e2002).
e
Drawingeonecaseestudieseofeschoolseparticipatingeineaeschool-
universityepartnershipetoeimproveematheandescienceeteaching,ethisepapereexploresetheeconfigurati
onseofedistributedeleadershipeinefiveeschoolseinefouredistricts.eToeexamineehoweleadershipeisedistri
buted,eweeexamineehoweaeseteofechange-
relatedeleadershipetaskseareeaccomplished,eandeineparticularewhatecontributionseareemadeebyedistri
cteleaders,eprincipals,eformallyeidentifiedeteachereleaderseandeothereteachers.e Weeconcludeethatet
heedistributioneofetaskseandetheeleveleofeconsensuseonethe
2
,visionegiveeplaceetoedifferentetypeseofealignments.eWeeidentifyefouretypeseofeleadershipeal
ignments.eEachetypeeinvolveseaeparticularepowererelation.
Literature
Leadershipehasebeenenotoriouslyedifficultetoedefinee(Leithwoode&eDuke,e1999),ebuteuntilere
cently,emosteanalystseassumedeitewaseaecharacteristiceorebehavioreofeaneindividual.eByethee1990s,ee
ducationaleresearchersewereebeginningetoeexamineeleadershipeaseaneorganizationalequality.eTwoem
aineconceptualizationsehaveebeenedeveloped.eOneedrawingeoneorganizationalepsychologyeviewsele
adershipeasetheeaggregateeofeinfluenceeexertedeineaneorganizationeateanyegivenetimee(Ogawae&eBos
sert,e1995).eWhatehasebecomeetheedominanteperspectiveeusesetheeanalogyeofedistributedecognitionet
oesuggestethateleadershipeiseaeseteofepracticesestretchedeovereleaders,efollowers,eandetheesituationeine
whicheleadershipeiseexercisede(Spillaneeeteal.,e2001).
Whateunderliesebotheofetheseetraditionseandetheegrowingebodyeofeempiricaleworkeisetheeideaethatelea
dershipeiseseeneaseaekindeofeworkeandethateitecanebeeidentifiedewitheaespecificeseteofetasksethatemuste
beeaccomplishedeforetheeorganizationetoebeesuccessfule(Camburn,eRowan,e&eTaylor,e2003;eHellere
&eFirestone,e1995).
Thisefocuseoneworkeraiseseaeseteofequestionsethateneedetoebeeaddressed.eTheseeinclude:ewhatea
reetheeleadershipetasks,ewhoe(orewhat)eaccomplishesetheseetasks,ewhateisetheerelationshipeamongeindi
vidualsecarryingeoutetheetasks,eandewhateareetheeconsequenceseofesuchedistributioneofetasks?ePatterns
ofeleadershipedistributionevaryewithecontenteareae(Burche&eSpillane,e2003)eandeweecenteredeoureanal
e
ysiseoneleadershipetoeimproveemathematics.eOuredataeshowethiseineaneareaewhereemultipleeleaderseex
ertestrongeinfluenceseandethus,etheeconfigurationeofeleadershipeallowedeusetoeexploreeleadershipealig
nment.
3
, LeadershipeTasks
Theefocuseoneleadershipeaseworkecomesefrometheeobservationethateinedifferentesettingseandeu
nderevaryingecircumstances,eleadershipetoeaccomplishetheesameeendecanecomeefromeaevarietyeofesou
rcese(Firestonee&eCorbett,e1988).eWhatehasenotebeenesoecleareisehowetoelookeateleadershipework.eTho
seegroundedeinetheedistributedecognitioneapproacheargueethateaemoreefineegrainedeanalysiseiserequire
deofetheeinteractioneandeprocessesethroughewhicheleadershipeisecarriedeoute(Spillaneeeteal.,e2001).e T
heemoreecommoneapproachehasebeenetoeuseesomeemixeofeobservationeandepasteresearchetoeidentifyeae
likelyeseteofetaskseandecollecteinformationeonewhoeaccomplishesethemewithewhateeffecte(Camburneet
al.,e2003;eHellere&eFirestone,e1995).eIteseemselikelyethatetheefirsteapproachewilleyieldemoreeinforma
e
tioneaboutehowetheeworkeisedoneewhileetheesecondewilleofferemoreeinsighteintoewhateworkeisemostecri
tical.
Wheneusingetheesecondeapproach,etheetasksechosenebecomeeimportantebecauseedifferenteta
skseareeassociatedewithetheesuccessfuleaccomplishmenteofedifferenteoutcomese(Poundereeteal.,e199
5).eSinceethiseiseaneanalysiseofeaneeffortetoeimproveematheteaching,eweefocusedeonetheefollowingeta
sks:esettingeaevision,eselectingeaecurriculum,eprovidingematerials,eprovidingeopportunitiesetoelear
n,eteachingeteachers,emonitoringeandeprovidingeencouragement.
Settingeaevision
Theevisioneandemissioneareetheeperceptioneofetheewayethingseandepeopleeareeandetheeprescript
ioneofetheewayepeopleeshouldeacteandethingseshouldebee(Rossman,eCorbett,e&eFirestone,e1988).eAedis
trictevisioneofemathematicseinstructioneinvolveseestablishingedirectionseandewayseofehowemathemati
cseshouldebeetaughteandeexpectationseofestudenteachievement.eIneaddition,etheevisioneincludeseaneapp
roachetoechangee(Bulkley,eFairman,e&eMartinez,e2004)eandeaneassumptioneabouteaewayetoeimplemen
tetheevision.e Settingeaevisioneinvolveseprovidingeaesenseeofepurpose,
4
M.eCeciliaeMartineze
WilliameFirestonee
MelindaeMangineT
errieePolovsky
RutgerseUniversitye
March,e2005
PaperePresentedeatetheeAnnualeMeetingeofetheeAmericaneEducationeResearcheAssociationeMontrea
l,eCanada
Papereavailableeat:ehttp://www.cepa.gse.rutgers.edu
DRAFT
ManyethanksetoeCarolinaeDaCosta,eTerrieHawkeseandeNobuhikoeHamamotoewhoehelpedeusewitheth
eecoding,esuggestedestrategieseforedataeanalysiseandetheeanalysiseofetheedistrictedocuments.
1
, LEADERSHIPeALIGNMENT:eTHEeCHALLENGEeOFeDISTRIBUTEDeLEADERSHIP
Theebulkeoferesearcheoneeducationaleleadershipehasefocusedeonetheeschool,eandeineparticular
onetheeprincipal.eWeeareemovingeawayefromeheroicemodelsethatefocuseonetheeprincipaleinefavoreofeth
e
eorieseofedistributedeleadershipe(Spillane,eHalvorson,e&eDiamond,e2001)ewhereetheeworkeisespreade
acrosseaenumbereofeindividuals.eInetheory,edistributingeleadershipeshouldeaddetoetheelaboreavailablee
toeprovideeleadershipeandetheeexpertiseetoeengageeinetheemanyetaskserequiredeofeleaders.eMoreover,e
thiselineeofethinkingeiseinfusedewitheaespiriteofedemocraticeoptimismethategoesehand-in-
gloveewitheothereeffortsetoeempowereteachersesucheasemovesetoecreateeformaleteachereleadershipepo
sitionse(York-Barre&eDuke,e2004)eandesite-basedemanagemente(Malen,e1994).
Inepractice,ehowever,eleadershipemayebeedistributederatheredifferentlyefrometheewayethateadv
ocateseofethiseperspectiveeassume.eForeinstance,emostethinkingeaboutedistributedeleadershipetoedateeh
asefocusedeonetheeschoole(Pounder,eOgawa,e&eAdams,e1995;eSpillaneeeteal.,e2001).eYet,eschoolsearee
embeddedeineaelargeredistrictecontext,eanderelevanteleadershipemayewellecomeefromedistrictesources.e
Ineaddition,eteachers’eopportunitiesetoeprovideeleadershipemayebeeconstrainedebyebotheprincipalseand
theirepeerse(Smylie,eConley,e&eMarks,e2002).
e
Drawingeonecaseestudieseofeschoolseparticipatingeineaeschool-
universityepartnershipetoeimproveematheandescienceeteaching,ethisepapereexploresetheeconfigurati
onseofedistributedeleadershipeinefiveeschoolseinefouredistricts.eToeexamineehoweleadershipeisedistri
buted,eweeexamineehoweaeseteofechange-
relatedeleadershipetaskseareeaccomplished,eandeineparticularewhatecontributionseareemadeebyedistri
cteleaders,eprincipals,eformallyeidentifiedeteachereleaderseandeothereteachers.e Weeconcludeethatet
heedistributioneofetaskseandetheeleveleofeconsensuseonethe
2
,visionegiveeplaceetoedifferentetypeseofealignments.eWeeidentifyefouretypeseofeleadershipeal
ignments.eEachetypeeinvolveseaeparticularepowererelation.
Literature
Leadershipehasebeenenotoriouslyedifficultetoedefinee(Leithwoode&eDuke,e1999),ebuteuntilere
cently,emosteanalystseassumedeitewaseaecharacteristiceorebehavioreofeaneindividual.eByethee1990s,ee
ducationaleresearchersewereebeginningetoeexamineeleadershipeaseaneorganizationalequality.eTwoem
aineconceptualizationsehaveebeenedeveloped.eOneedrawingeoneorganizationalepsychologyeviewsele
adershipeasetheeaggregateeofeinfluenceeexertedeineaneorganizationeateanyegivenetimee(Ogawae&eBos
sert,e1995).eWhatehasebecomeetheedominanteperspectiveeusesetheeanalogyeofedistributedecognitionet
oesuggestethateleadershipeiseaeseteofepracticesestretchedeovereleaders,efollowers,eandetheesituationeine
whicheleadershipeiseexercisede(Spillaneeeteal.,e2001).
Whateunderliesebotheofetheseetraditionseandetheegrowingebodyeofeempiricaleworkeisetheeideaethatelea
dershipeiseseeneaseaekindeofeworkeandethateitecanebeeidentifiedewitheaespecificeseteofetasksethatemuste
beeaccomplishedeforetheeorganizationetoebeesuccessfule(Camburn,eRowan,e&eTaylor,e2003;eHellere
&eFirestone,e1995).
Thisefocuseoneworkeraiseseaeseteofequestionsethateneedetoebeeaddressed.eTheseeinclude:ewhatea
reetheeleadershipetasks,ewhoe(orewhat)eaccomplishesetheseetasks,ewhateisetheerelationshipeamongeindi
vidualsecarryingeoutetheetasks,eandewhateareetheeconsequenceseofesuchedistributioneofetasks?ePatterns
ofeleadershipedistributionevaryewithecontenteareae(Burche&eSpillane,e2003)eandeweecenteredeoureanal
e
ysiseoneleadershipetoeimproveemathematics.eOuredataeshowethiseineaneareaewhereemultipleeleaderseex
ertestrongeinfluenceseandethus,etheeconfigurationeofeleadershipeallowedeusetoeexploreeleadershipealig
nment.
3
, LeadershipeTasks
Theefocuseoneleadershipeaseworkecomesefrometheeobservationethateinedifferentesettingseandeu
nderevaryingecircumstances,eleadershipetoeaccomplishetheesameeendecanecomeefromeaevarietyeofesou
rcese(Firestonee&eCorbett,e1988).eWhatehasenotebeenesoecleareisehowetoelookeateleadershipework.eTho
seegroundedeinetheedistributedecognitioneapproacheargueethateaemoreefineegrainedeanalysiseiserequire
deofetheeinteractioneandeprocessesethroughewhicheleadershipeisecarriedeoute(Spillaneeeteal.,e2001).e T
heemoreecommoneapproachehasebeenetoeuseesomeemixeofeobservationeandepasteresearchetoeidentifyeae
likelyeseteofetaskseandecollecteinformationeonewhoeaccomplishesethemewithewhateeffecte(Camburneet
al.,e2003;eHellere&eFirestone,e1995).eIteseemselikelyethatetheefirsteapproachewilleyieldemoreeinforma
e
tioneaboutehowetheeworkeisedoneewhileetheesecondewilleofferemoreeinsighteintoewhateworkeisemostecri
tical.
Wheneusingetheesecondeapproach,etheetasksechosenebecomeeimportantebecauseedifferenteta
skseareeassociatedewithetheesuccessfuleaccomplishmenteofedifferenteoutcomese(Poundereeteal.,e199
5).eSinceethiseiseaneanalysiseofeaneeffortetoeimproveematheteaching,eweefocusedeonetheefollowingeta
sks:esettingeaevision,eselectingeaecurriculum,eprovidingematerials,eprovidingeopportunitiesetoelear
n,eteachingeteachers,emonitoringeandeprovidingeencouragement.
Settingeaevision
Theevisioneandemissioneareetheeperceptioneofetheewayethingseandepeopleeareeandetheeprescript
ioneofetheewayepeopleeshouldeacteandethingseshouldebee(Rossman,eCorbett,e&eFirestone,e1988).eAedis
trictevisioneofemathematicseinstructioneinvolveseestablishingedirectionseandewayseofehowemathemati
cseshouldebeetaughteandeexpectationseofestudenteachievement.eIneaddition,etheevisioneincludeseaneapp
roachetoechangee(Bulkley,eFairman,e&eMartinez,e2004)eandeaneassumptioneabouteaewayetoeimplemen
tetheevision.e Settingeaevisioneinvolveseprovidingeaesenseeofepurpose,
4
