I am so delighted to be able to publish this blog, in Japanese and English! Thank you to Midori and her team for sharing their research into leadership development. What is clear from this blog is that the system and conditions within which headteachers are operating has such an impact on their ability to exercise leadership. I’m heartened to see this research emphasising the importance of resources, including human resources, for headteachers to operate effectively. I wonder how much resonance there is with current thinking about system leadership here in England, for example? It’s encouraging to read that Midori and her team have received further funding to start creating a working model, and I’m particularly intrigued to hear more about the role of social networks. Maybe we’ll get an update from Midori some time in the future?
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– Suzanne
Midori Ueda
For some years now, in many countries including Japan, the need of school education to undergo profound reforms in order to ensure that all children will be able to fulfil their potentials in this fast-changing world has been felt by scholars and practitioners alike. Almost any area of school education will benefit from such reforms but we believe re-examining the role of school leaders and policies for effective leadership development are two of the top priorities. Wide-ranging research on these issues is being undertaken in many countries including Japan. One such example is the research funded by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS[1])and led by Prof. Horohumi Hamada of Tsukuba University. The research team consists of 20 Japanese researchers and six associate researchers from China, Korea, Unites States, and United Kingdom.
Studies on school leadership can tend to take a ‘Personal Approach’, that is to say the research focuses on headteachers’ personal perceptions of professionalism in relation to their position and how to improve their skills. However, we – the JSPS research team – believe that in order for headteachers to excel in their roles, the system in which they work must be able to respond to their needs and aspirations. On this basis, for the JSPS study, we have chosen a ‘System Approach’ and examined in detail headteachers’ job descriptions and work environment. The subjects included in job descriptions are: qualifications; training; selection process; assessment; tenure; and remit. The subjects in work environment are: decision-making systems within school; professional associations; and links with academic organisations. By working with a wide range of practitioners and scholars in the field, we aim to gain better understanding of how existing systems promote or hinder school leaders’ achievement. As the result of the study, we hope to be able to propose a vision of effective leadership development schemes in Japan.
We have asked two questions in this study:
These questions are considered in two parts: first is an international comparison; and second, the focus is on Japan.
For the international comparison, we selected United States, England, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Each country has its own standards and regulations of training and qualifications in regards to headteachers and their work. We looked at the ‘journeys’ through which school leaders in these countries arrived at their current positions.
The issues we examined in this part are:
We analysed relevant policies from the target countries, a number of existing studies in the related field as well as the results of the questionnaire.
In the second part, which focused on Japan, our starting point was to review what systems and organisations were currently in place in regards to state school headteachers’ qualifications and their practice. Questionnaires were sent to headteachers, deputy headteachers, assistant headteachers, and teachers in their mid-career in state schools nationwide. The returned replies indicated that for headteachers to exercise leadership effectively, it is vital that they have a thorough understanding of the system within which their schools operate and the nature of problems their schools experience. We found that headteachers’ ability to make use of external resources available is one of the critical qualities of effective leadership.
On the basis of these findings, we interviewed 17 newly-appointed headteachers using a semi-structured interview method. One of the salient points we identified was the importance of support systems and their availability. The interview results showed that a well-organised network of information sources and human resources is one of the decisive factors if school leaders were to develop their professional competence and become effective leaders (H. Hamada et al, 2020; H. Hamada et al, 2021; M. Asakura et al, 2021).
Whilst this study was due to be completed by the end of March 2022, our next step will be to construct a working model for new and more effective leadership development programs. And we have been granted a new fund by ISPS for our research. We are now able to further our research into school leadership development and will be focusing on the role of dedicated social networks.
学校管理職のリーダーシップ形成
日本を含めた先進諸国では、教育改革を行うために、学校管理職の育成及びそのための研究が実施されている。そこでは、校長の専門性とその育成プログラムに注目した《個人アプローチ》の研究は一定程度蓄積されてきた。しかし、校長が真にリーダーシップを発揮するには、「校長職に関わる制度的条件」（資格・養成・選考、評価、在職期間、権限範囲等）と、「校長の自律的な職務遂行を支える組織的条件」（校内意思決定システム、校長の専門職団体の活動、専門性を支える学術団体等）に切り込む《システムアプローチ》が不可欠である。
そこで本研究（「校長のリーダーシップ発揮を促進する制度的・組織的条件の解明と日本の改革デザイン」は、校長のリーダーシップ発揮の促進要因を、校長職をとりまく制度的条件と組織的条件に焦点づけて実証的に解明し、日本における改革デザインを提示することを目的としている。
本研究のリサーチクエスチョンは次の2点である。
本研究は2つのパートから構成されている。
1つめは国際比較研究である。対象国は、アメリカ、イギリス（イングランド）、オーストラリア、ニュージーランド、韓国、中国、台湾、ロシア、カザフスタンである。これらの国の校長職に関わる制度的条件及び自律的職務遂行を支える組織的条件として、校長職の専門職基準や、大学や学校など多様なプロバイダーが連携した養成、研修システムなどに着目し、各国で学校管理職がどのような“Journey”を経てその職に就き、そこではどのような職能がどのように開発されているのかについて解明した。そして、各国の特徴を学校の自律性や専門職基準の基準性に着目し、相違点や類似点を考察した。
2つめは、日本国内の調査である。1次調査として，全国の公立学校現場における校長のリーダーシップをとりまく制度的・組織的条件の実態を明らかにするために、校長、副校長・教頭、ミドル教員を対象とする質問紙調査を実施した。質問紙調査では、校長のリーダーシップ発揮には，校長が学校の組織的条件や課題状況を見定め，学校経営の外的諸条件を有効な資源として活用できるかどうかが大きく影響することが明らかとなった。その結果を受けて2次調査として、初任期小学校校長（17名）に対するインタビュー調査（半構造化）を行った。調査結果から、校長のリーダーシップ発揮を支え、促すための制度的及び組織的条件として、人と情報などに基づく多様なネットワークがリーダーシップの発揮において重要な条件となっていることが明らかとなった（浜田他2020、浜田他2021、朝倉他2021。
本研究は2022年度が最終年度となる。今後は、国際比較研究及び国内調査から明らかにできた知見から、日本の改革デザインのモデル構築を行うために、政策担当者及び校長会や教頭会、大学関係者と協議しながら、改革デザインを実行するための制度改革の在り方を検討し、提言を行う予定である。
なお本研究は、日本学術振興会科学研究費助成事業（基盤研究Ａ）（研究番号：18H03654、研究期間：2018年～2022年）の資金を受けて実施されている調査研究である。
本研究の研究代表者は、筑波大学教授の浜田博文である。研究チームは、日本国内の20名の共同研究者と、中国、韓国、アメリカ、イギリスなどの国外の研究協力者（6名）で構成されている。
また2022年4月からは、本研究の継続研究として、校長の職務遂行及び職能開発において効果的に機能している社会ネットワークに着目した研究を開始している。前科研の研究成果と併せて、校長の職能開発の改善デザインの制度改革に寄与する研究に取り組む。
＜引用文献＞
Midori Ueda is a Senior Researcher in the Department for Educational Policy and Evaluation Research at the National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER). Her latest research includes ‘Understanding Issues in Workload Reform in Public Education Services and Schools’ (project research of NIER, 2022-2024), ‘Understanding Issues in Making and Implementing Evidence-based Education Policies’ (project research of NIER, 2019-2021), and ‘Japanese-English Comparative Study on Role Function and Professional Growth of School Office Staff’ (JSPS Research (C), research No: 21K02243).
H. Hamada, et al, (2020), Clarifying Institutional and Organizational Conditions Promoting Principals’ Quality Leadership and Reform Design for Japan (1): An Initial Analysis of Work Environment and Culture, Bulletin of Institute of Education, University of Tsukuba, Volume 45, Issue 1, pp.43-68M. Asakura, et al. (2021), Clarifying Institutional and Organizational Conditions Promoting School.
Principals’ Quality Leadership and Reform Design for Japan (2): A Basic Analysis on Principals’ Leadership Practice and Related Factors Supporting the Leadership, Bulletin of Institute of Education, University of Tsukuba, Volume 46, Issue 1, pp. 17-34.
H. Hamada, et al, (2021) Clarifying Institutional and Organizational Conditions Promoting Principals’ Quality Leadership and Reform Design for Japan (3): An Analysis of an Interview Survey with Beginning Elementary School Principals, Bulletin of Institute of Education, University of Tsukuba, Volume 45, Issue 2, pp.1-20.
Midori Ueda, Senior Researcher at NIER of Japan, and the member of JSPS research team, in charge of the international comparison part and conducted a survey in England.
