Instructional Leadership — Quadrant D Leadership Practices
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Quadrant D Leadership is the International Center for Leadership in Education’s framework for school leaders. It is an effective blending of vision and empowerment, involving an adaptive process by which leaders, staff, and students take action to improve teaching and learning in their school.
Leadership is key to every school’s success, but there is no rigid prescription of practices, skills, or behaviors that will create effective school leadership; rather, leadership is situational and adaptive. School leaders must work effectively over time with staff and students to build organizational leadership that reflects high levels of empowerment and vision. |  |
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Instructional leadership requires a combination of practices that are used together to improve instruction. Before initiating any practices, leaders need to attend first to the context of instructional leadership as defined by school climate, relationships, collaborative structures, and goals and expectations. Second, leaders must define the target for instructional change. Improvement must have a clear agenda and focus.
The leadership practices that are consistent with the Quadrant D Leadership model are:
Effective instructional leadership results from understanding how each set of practices complements the others to move a school toward its goals. Chapter 1: Lessons About Leadership is a thorough study of current research from the fields of neuroscience and social science, along with a review of historical and contemporary leadership lessons from the business world and observation and analysis of best practices from successful schools. Chapter 2: Quadrant D Leadership lays out an adaptive framework foundation for leadership action that can guide leaders as they develop plans, strategies, practices, systems, and a collaborative and supportive culture that will lead to rapid and sustainable change — change that includes improvements in student performance The framework guides leaders in their daily actions and encourages them to reflect on the role of school leadership in sustaining school improvement and student achievement. Chapter 3: Conversations with Quadrant D Leaders presents excerpts from conversations with successful Quadrant D leaders — real-life examples for aspiring Quadrant D leaders to consider as they learn about the theories and models they can apply to their own efforts. Chapter 4: Creating a Context for Instructional Leadership focuses on context or looking at the school environment, particularly the staff, in the way they work together, and what they think about teaching and learning. Challenges that require sustained vigilance are considered “adaptive challenges,” while those issues that are resolved through quicker, more definitive action are called “technical challenges.” Chapter 5: Target for Instructional Leadership provides the agenda for making improvements in instruction, or the basic list of items on which instructional leadership is focused. Six agenda suggestions are offered: align with priority standards; strive for rigor, relevance, and relationships; use “begin with the end in mind” planning; focus on literacy; personalize instruction; and engage students. When school leaders focus on these aspects of instructional leadership, they can have profound impact on teaching and learning. Chapter 6: Management Practices outlines a typical authoritarian approach to management, which is considered Quadrant A leadership in the Quadrant D Leadership Framework. Management practices include: policies and procedures, personnel and budgets, school master schedule/teacher assignments, staff reviews and evaluations, balanced assessments, and student achievement data analysis. Chapter 7: Empowerment Practices embodies the leadership practices that are most closely associated with Quadrant B leadership in the Quadrant D Leadership Framework. Empowerment practices include: leadership teams, mentoring, co-teaching and team teaching, teacher incentives and rewards, teacher observations and study tours, and individualized professional learning. Chapter 8: Vision Practices features Quadrant C leadership in the Quadrant D Leadership Framework. These practices may reflect high levels of knowledge of leadership and creativity, but they are weaker in their focus on empowerment. Vision practices include: vision, mission, and goals; instructional technology; the Rigor/Relevance Framework; needs assessment and strategic planning; classroom walk-throughs; and professional development workshops. Chapter 9: Culture Practices describes various leadership practices, organized by the four quadrants of the Quadrant D Leadership Framework, which assist school leaders in taking a comprehensive and balanced approach to significant and sustainable improvement. Culture practices include: academic intervention, instructional coaching, peer review of student work, grading practices, celebrations, and professional learning communities. Chapter 10: Data-Driven Instructional Leadership summarizes some important leadership practices and strategies involved in making instructional improvement a data-driven process. Suggestions are offered to help schools become more effective as they collect and analyze student data. Chapter 11: District Role in Instructional Leadership describes functions and initiatives that a school district should undertake to build Quadrant D Leadership for instructional improvement in its schools. Districts using the Quadrant D Leadership philosophy take responsibility for instructional leadership functions related to personnel and employee contracts, infrastructure for technology support and student data, curriculum content expertise, and professional development for administrators and staff. The Appendix has an overview of the Rigor/Relevance Framework and a list of resources referenced in the kit. A CD provides all of the tools presented in the resource kit plus other items that may be useful for handouts, etc. Four DVDs are included for viewing by school leaders and for use in professional development.
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