This paper examines how principals and school leaders can leverage research — both scientific and action research — to improve educational outcomes. It discusses the roles of school leaders in shaping the learning environment and influencing classroom instruction, then turns to the use of research in identifying non-traditional funding sources such as grants, foundations, and community partnerships. The paper further explores how research supports data-driven decision-making, helps principals understand student strengths and deficiencies, and enables proactive approaches to school improvement. Key scholarly sources by Johnson (2011) and Mertler (2014) ground the argument in established educational leadership literature.
Principals and school leaders play critical roles in the learning environment given their responsibilities in creating a suitable learning environment for all learners. As they focus on creating such an environment, principals and school leaders influence classroom instruction and student learning. However, the role of principals and school leaders extends to other aspects of education, including funding. They explore various sources of funding, including both traditional and non-traditional sources.
Research plays an important role in the effectiveness of principals and school leaders as they explore opportunities for funding. Principals and school leaders can utilize research to explore non-traditional sources of funding, including grants, foundations, and community partnerships. Research provides insights into the available models of funding, including non-traditional sources. Through such insights, principals and school leaders can identify available non-traditional funding sources, funding models that fit their learning environments, and how to access these sources of funds.
As they seek school improvement, it is increasingly important for principals to utilize research — both scientific and action research. The significance of using research is demonstrated in its impact on improving professional practice, providing immediate and timely results on teaching practice, and offering alternative ways of viewing and approaching school improvement practices (Johnson, 2011). Therefore, research enables principals to take a proactive approach to overcoming challenges by providing alternative ways to address school improvement. Principals can evaluate these alternatives to identify the most suitable and effective measures for achieving improvement.
In addition, research helps principals take proactive approaches to school improvement by providing quality information for decision-making. Quality information supports and justifies decision-making in diverse school settings by establishing the premise for data-driven decision-making. Such information ensures that professional practice is based on identified student strengths and deficiencies (Mertler, 2014). Furthermore, quality information can support decision-making by ensuring that curriculum and instructional practices reflect the actual performance of students.
Johnson, C. S. (2011, October). School administrators and the importance of utilizing action research. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(14), 78–84.
Mertler, C. A. (2014, August). Introduction to data-driven educational decision making. Retrieved December 7, 2020, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/sf114082/chapters/Introduction_to_Data-Driven_Educational_Decision_Making.aspx
"Quality data informs curriculum and instructional decisions"
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