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This inquiry is a theoretical analysis that attempts to identify the features of school structure that efficiently promote positive outcomes of organization, while limiting negative consequences that are often associated with bureaucratic structures. To that end, the concepts of enabling structures and mindful organizations are developed, contrasted, and synthesized. Then, the research and practical implications of enabling and mindful school structures are proposed and discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of leader-member exchange on school bureaucratic structure and teachers’ proactive behavior.

The study was carried out in elementary schools in Turkey. Classroom teachers proactive behavior was measured using the taking charge scale developed by Morrison and Phelps (1999), school bureaucratic structure was measured using enabling school structure scale developed by Hoy and Sweetland (2000), and LMX quality was measured using the seven-item LMX scale developed by Graen ve Uhl-bien (1995).

It was found that school bureaucratic structure had both directly and indirectly effect on teachers proactive behavior via leader-member exchange.

This study contributes to complete proactive behavior literature by investigating how such behavior is related to the quality of LMX relationships and school bureaucratic structure. The investigation of these relationships is likely to advance understanding of the consequences of teachers’ proactive behavior.

This research combines prior research streams by jointly exploring bureaucratic school structure and the quality of LMX relationships as predictors of teachers’ proactive behaviors.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how principals, deputy principals, heads of departments (HoDs) and teachers as leaders exercise their agency within and through the organisational structure of their schools to improve academic quality.

A case study was conducted in the wider context of school-based leadership. Principals, deputy principals, HoDs and teachers selected by means of purposive sampling from six primary and secondary schools in Harare Province of Zimbabwe participated in the study.

Leaders in schools in Harare Province were found to have the capacity to use their agency within and through the organisational structure to improve pass rates. They were able to use their agency to work within the supposed rigid bureaucratic organisational structures to enable bureaucratic organisational structures, or, in participants’ views, democratic structures.

Some limitations of the research ought to be considered. The research scope and site had its limitations. The research site was limited to a few primary and secondary schools in Harare Province (one out of ten provinces) of Zimbabwe. Although the sampling procedures were implemented to ensure good representation of participants’ views, the sampling was limited to a few schools. Owing to time and financial constraints, a larger sample could not be selected to conduct the interviews. These limitations are acknowledged, but they do not undervalue the significance of the study, as they can provide potential avenues for further research. For example, the study may be replicated in rural provinces of Zimbabwe. Such further research could help improve school leadership in Zimbabwe.

Principals, deputy principals, HoDs and teachers as leaders can exercise their agency in the structure of their schools to improve academic quality, expressed as and measured by pass rates. School leaders who have a positive attitude and requisite experience are able to change the rigid bureaucratic structures of their schools to enable bureaucratic structures, which are similar to democratic structures.

This paper provides a critical perspective on how leaders exercise their agency in the context of the organisational structure of their schools to improve academic quality.

The construct of enabling school structure is empirically analyzed in this qualitative study of high schools. First, the theoretical underpinning of enabling school structure is developed. Then, six high schools, which were determined to have enabling structures in a large quantitative study of Ohio schools, were analyzed in depth using semi‐structured interviewing techniques. The inquiry fleshes out the specifics of the performance of principals and teachers in such organizations and describes the dynamics of enabling school structures in terms of their formalization, centralization, and functioning. Finally, the research demonstrates a natural and symbiotic relation between quantitative and qualitative approaches to the study of schools.

The Content Theories of Motivation — those of Maslow, Herzberg and Alderfer — yielded four criteria by which alternate promotion structures in N.S.W. High Schools could be evaluated. The four criteria are the extent to which the promotion structure: 1. Acts as a source of intrinsic motivation; 2. Is a source of job enrichment; 3. Allows for and encourages participative management; and 4. Offers non‐administrative career paths. The four criteria were used to evaluate the existing promotion structure in N.S.W. High Schools, the structure proposed in A Discussion Paper, the proposal of the N.S.W. Institute of Inspectors, and the promotion structure policies of the N.S.W. Teachers Federation. It was concluded that the existing promotion structure failed to satisfy any of the criteria. The proposal contained in A Discussion Paper advocated measures to meet all of the criteria except non‐administrative career paths, yet did not incorporate practical means of achieving such objectives. The policies of the N.S.W. Teachers Federation cannot be fully appraised until they are formulated into a concrete proposal. The proposal of the Institute of Inspectors went closest towards satisfying all criteria except that of participative management.

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework that explains structural responses to external organizational shocks. The authors illustrate framework dynamics with one district's secondary schools' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conceptual framework imagines structure as emergent, dynamic and responsive to external pressures, as the authors posited in an earlier publication. From an open systems perspective, the authors focus on restructuring for more effective sensemaking and bridging and buffering.

The framework in this paper shows promise for its descriptive power. Interview participants' recollections of their responses to COVID-19 revealed an emergent structure and displayed evidence of crisis management, sensemaking and bridging and buffering.

The intent of this article, consistent with the special issue, is to propose a set of concepts that, together, shed new light on how researchers and leaders might think about structural adaptations to external influences. The conceptual framework shows promise, but has yet to be put to the test with systematic empirical research.

The conceptual framework the authors develop here may serve to guide empirical research that expands knowledge of how school and district structures adapt to external influences. Viewing structure as supportive of adaptation to changing circumstances also informs preparation for and practice of education leadership.

Capturing school and district leaders' recollections shortly after their schools' return to in-person learning is rare in the literature, and examining their reactions from an open systems perspective sheds new light on leadership under stress.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the instructional leadership practices and structure in Singapore primary schools.

The study employs a qualitative approach. Data were collected from interviews of 30 Singapore primary school principals and 25 working-day observations of five principals. A grounded theory method was utilized to analyze the qualitative data.

The instructional leadership roles of principals can be categorized into four key themes: vision development and implementation, physical and organizational structure, professional development, and leading and managing instruction. Importantly, the study illuminates a hybrid structure of instructional leadership in which both hierarchical and heterarchical elements exist.

The current study expands the global knowledge base on instructional leadership by providing indigenous knowledge of how instructional leadership is enacted in Singapore schools. Simultaneously, this study suggests an agenda for future research on instructional leadership.

The purpose of this research is twofold: to test a theory of academic optimism in Taiwan elementary schools and to expand the theory by adding new variables, collective responsibility and enabling school structure, to the model.

Structural equation modeling was used to test, refine, and expand an organizational path model of student achievement first developed in the USA.

The proposed organizational model was supported in Taiwan and was consistent with the initial studies done in the USA. Further, two concepts were added to the model, enabling structure and collective responsibility, both of which had significant indirect effects on student achievement through academic optimism. Moreover, the theoretical foundations (efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis) of the latent construct of academic optimism were confirmed again in this sample of schools in Taiwan.

The findings support an organizational model of student achievement, which has application in both the USA and Taiwan. The original model was supported, refined, and extended. Academic optimism is at the center of the model and explains student achievement for all students. Collective responsibility and enabling school structure both predict academic optimism directly and student achievement indirectly.

Despite the widespread use of teams and extensive research regarding school‐based teams, there is a paucity of research regarding team‐theory applied to high school administrations. This paper aims to explore the team structures and conditions of a public high school administration that has demonstrated success with a heterogeneous student population.

This is a case study employing multiple approaches within a qualitative particularistic case study methodology. The participants were the members of a public high school administration, plus the employees of the school. The study used surveys, semi‐structured interviews, and coded observations to examine the structures and conditions of the administration as a team.

The findings suggest practical strategies of value to school leaders seeking to increase the likelihood for administrative team success. A qualitative case study of a public high school administration revealed the presence of five enabling conditions and structures of high performance teams (HPT): real team, compelling direction, proper work structure, supportive context, and expert coaching.

This case study is limited to one participant school and the size limits the findings and may not be representative of the population of all public high schools. In addition, the findings warrant additional research that includes a broader, more extensive, and diverse population.

The findings in this research are of practical value to school leaders seeking to increase the likelihood for administrative team success.

This paper extends a model examined in other industries to education, and has both practical and theoretical value. The exploration of critical structures within a high school administrative team is new and its practical applicability increases its value.

The pupil control ideology (PCI) studies originated at The Pennsylvania State University under the direction of Professor Donald J. Willower. Describes the beginning and evolution of the PCI studies and the role of theory in their development. PCI inquiry is now in its fourth decade and the concept of pupil control ideology and its measure (PCI form) continue to be useful to researchers as they analyze behavior in school organizations.