The dynamic roles of school principals in leading and improving school improvements in the 21st century: Lessons from Hong Kong

This study aimed to improve our understanding of the dynamic impacts of school principals on changes in student learning through school improvements. We examined principals’ contributions in terms of key staff’s perceptions of their principals’ values and qualities, efficacy, leadership practices such as resources, curriculum, and instruction management, their relative impacts on education policies, and school improvements. Evidence for the study was provided by 168 senior teachers of 41 schools to a survey, along with value-added student achievement data between 2006 and 2008. Path analytic techniques were adopted to address the objectives for the study. In this study, the values and qualities of principals was an important antecedent of their efficacy that directly impacted on their enactment of external policies and school improvements. School leaders’ efficacy also had a strong, positive, relationship with leadership practices found to be effective in earlier studies. As expected, school improvements were the single immediate mediator that led to student achievement. These results suggest that school leaders are most likely to gain recognition among their staff in their values and qualities, build their confidence in his/her efficacy by emphasizing the priority in resources allocation and instructional leadership, providing focus for school improvement efforts.