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In this excellent book, Peter DeWitt demonstrates how instructional leadership teams can have a greater impact on student learning. Offering a balance between research and practice, DeWitt shows, for example, how the mindsets both of individuals and of their teams can help them meet challenges and achieve that impact. As an experienced teacher, principal, worldwide consultant, and writer, DeWitt speaks with authority and wisdom.
Collective efficacy has a powerful impact on leaders, teachers, and students, but it is hard to implement. DeWitt teases out the key skillsets and mindsets needed: understanding one another, collaborating, and evaluating impact. He addresses the critics and shows more than a correlation of successful students and teachers; DeWitt proves that actively implementing a culture of collective efficacy leads to higher levels of satisfaction, greater impact on students, and successful implementation across the school.
Insightful and practical—this book is a must read for formal and informal school leaders as well as leadership teams who aspire to improve outcomes for all students. DeWitt combines research and field experience in order to demonstrate specific ways to strengthen commitment, collaboration, and confidence among members of leadership teams in schools. This book is timely, relevant, and an important contribution to the literature on collective efficacy.
Instructional leadership teams play a vital role in supporting learning in schools. They are especially important during this time of rapidly changing expectations. In this book, Peter DeWitt applies the theory of collective efficacy to these instructional leadership teams, outlining eight important contributors. Including student councils as part of a school’s leadership is a fresh new approach.
This book will challenge leaders and make a difference for children. It offers a pragmatic, research-based approach to building the collective efficacy of leaders in all roles in a school with intention and commitment to relationship building, collaboration, data collection, and action research toward measurable outcomes.
Collective leader efficacy is a new concept that Peter proposes to consider how leadership teams can work together to make a difference in the lives of students. While there are many books on the nature and change of school leadership, this book makes a difference with its practitioner-oriented approach. Not only does it propose a new concept that extends our thinking on leadership towards its collective impact, but it sets out the individual dimensions that shape this practice in a very practical way.
DeWitt straddles the ground between collective efficacy, instructional leadership, and distributed leadership. The book is packed to the rafters with practical exercises, tools, and protocols that will help you to get (meaningfully) busy at enhancing the learning lives and well-being of children. You will not be handed silver bullets or magic beans, but you will find much to support deep impact.
We have known for quite some time that collective teacher efficacy is a powerful influence on student learning. Before we can expect teachers to focus on building their capability though, we first need school leaders and leadership teams that believe that: 1) this is possible; 2) it is their responsibility to nurture, and; 3) have the skills and capabilities to do so. Put simply we need Collective Leader Efficacy!
As a researcher, academic and experienced school leader, DeWitt offers a refreshing approach and insight into leadership in schools. The structure of the chapters takes you on the journey of learning, experience and always draws it back to key questions/reflections and actionable steps.
