Leadership for Organisational Learning and Improved Student Outcomes—What Do We Know?

TLDR

The LOLSO project seeks to deepen understanding of school reform initiatives that aim to improve student learning. The study investigates how organisational learning is defined in Australian secondary schools, which leadership practices promote it, and how both academic and non‑academic outcomes relate to leadership and other factors. The findings suggest four implications—distributive leadership, development, context, and a broader view of student outcomes—and highlight concerns about overemphasis on transactional leadership.

Abstract

The Leadership for Organisational Learning and Student Outcomes (LOLSO) Research Project addresses the need to extend present understandings of school reform initiatives that aim to change school practices with the intention of supporting enhanced student learning. In this article results from LOLSO's teacher surveys ('teacher voice') and student surveys ('pupil voice') are organised around six of the project's major research questions: how is the concept of organisational learning (OL) defined in Australian secondary schools (teacher voice)? What leadership practices promote OL in schools (teacher voice)? What are some outcomes of schooling other than academic achievement (pupil voice)? What are the relationships between the non-academic and academic outcomes of schooling? Do school leadership and/or organisational learning contribute to student outcomes? What other factors contribute to student outcomes? The answers to these questions lead to four clear implications relating to distributive leadership, development, context, and a broader understanding of student outcomes. The answers also raise concerns about the current emphasis on transactional leadership, that is school leadership that overemphasises the managerial or strategic.