Distributing leadership to leaders

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This study aims to contribute to the literature on Distributed Leadership Theory by examining the way in which educational leadership is changing to a more expanded and inclusive approach. Due to the increasing demands placed on the educational systems from state and federal policy makers, researchers have advocated for a change in our understanding and practice of educational leadership. The current study focuses on one such example of this change in leadership approach by examining the collaborative efforts of three assistant principals in a district where collaboration among administrators is not the norm. The goal of the study is to use a phenomenological approach to capture the essence of this collaboration so that it can be analyzed through the lens of distributed leadership. Much of the body of research on DL focuses on the school, specifically the interaction between principal and teacher or principals and others in a formal leadership positions. The rationale for this study is there is little exploration into the role the school district plays in influencing the development of distributed leadership. Finally, by focusing on the collaborative efforts of the administrators it is the researcher's hope that schools, school districts, and states will encourage school leaders to collaborate with one another to develop solutions to complex problems facing their schools and communities.