Problem StatementWhat constitutes a successful and all rounded leader for efficient running of a charter school is not well defined. The issue is further worsened by the many variant hurdles the leadership has to overcome in creating and implementing such a school. The roles of the schools head are ever expanding, and their duties and tasks continue expanding making it a hard task to meet all the daily demands to their time (Rutherford, 2006). Specifically, the closure of charter schools by the state is of utmost concern. Thus, the leaders and other stakeholders need developed guides from the experiences of peers who have implemented successful curricula for their students. This study will investigate the techniques and means employed by some of the more successful leaders of charter schools in Florida.
Purpose of the Study The purpose of the qualitative research or phenomenological study will be to gather, sort, analyze and present interpretations on data collected about skills in effective leadership among leaders of various chartered schools in Florida. The research will employ a qualitative approach since the hypothesis involves a human scenario which is open ended and as thus will open broader perspectives (Creswell, 2005). Interviews will be the most ideal data collection means.
Research Questions and Phenomena The study will more specifically seek to answer the following Questions. This is from the observation that charter schools are faced by the problem of scarcity in materials, personnel, support, space and poor anticipation of various needs from all stakeholders (Downing, Spencer and Cavallo, 2004, P.18).
Research Questions and Phenomena Description.R1: What are the necessary leadership skills in running a Charter school?
R2: What issues or concerns influence the thinking of these school leaders once they have operational institutions?
Significance of the StudyA reciprocal analysis of the leadership qualities exhibited by the leaderships of various charter schools will assist in formulating the best practice guideline. The guideline will be applied by the future and current leaders in assessing their decisions. Knowing what caused failure or success will also aid in firewalling against possible shortcomings that could lead to deregistration or school collapse. Further, the trend of under par performance by students in these schools could be significantly reduced with school leaders formulating blue prints based on best practices.
Preliminary Review of the LiteratureAccording to a 2004 report from the U.S. department of education, a charter school is a public school operated and designed by private person(s) and/or organizations. They have the leeway to operate within or outside the public school programme but with monitoring from state or local school authorities (Estes, 2006). They give more opportunities to students, choice to parents and flexible innovativeness to teachers. Leadership is crucial in this sector since leaders provide managerial skills and act as educators. Successes in these schools as businesses and educational facets could be directly attributed to the leaders (Zimmer & Buddin, 2007). Qualitative study is the most appropriate mode since the aim is to understand the skills necessary to increase creativity and innovativeness leaders might apply to broaden methods in instructional delivery. Information will be analyzed with respect to the existing literature and as such libraries both public and private will be used. These books will include journals, handbooks, dictionaries, indexes, electronic references, abstracts and other databases. The following theories will be broadly analyzed.
•What is the most effective combination of leadership skills for effective management of a Charter school? Does this set of skills occur naturally to some and is absent in others? Could these skills be learnt and internalized as a set of best practices in all schools?
•What is the role of technology in the success of charter schools?
Research MethodologyThis qualitative study will involve the use of questionnaires and person to person interviews in trying to achieve its objectives. It is seen as desirable to use qualitative methods since it describes the incidence from the participant’s viewpoint (Creswell, 2005). This can be contrasted to quantitive techniques which use narrow lineation to assign numeric values to experiences. The research can further be defined as non experimental in that the aim is not to test or set out to define a relationship between different variables.
Research DesignThe research will seek to interview leaders of charter schools in Florida that can be considered to have ‘at risk’ students. These students are those with more probability of dropping out of school due to various factors. Geographically, the research will be within the boundaries of Florida. Consent will be sought from the participants with complete information being supplied to them. Confidentiality of their response will be fundamental, and anonymity will be assured where sought.
Sources of Data.Charter school leaders will be sent through the mail or e-mail. Where time and resources allow face to face interviews will be conducted at the convenience of the respondents. The interview questions will be open ended, and an introduction letter together with a consent form will be attached. Where necessary, follow up meetings will be conducted to further understand any answer that is seen as complex. Data Collection Procedures.The study will seek to interview at least ten leaders of charter schools with ‘at risk’ students within Florida. The interview questions will be formulated in a way that gathers as much information as possible on the leadership skills that might lead to success in charter schools. Posted questionnaires will be accompanied by self addresses envelopes with stamps. Where necessary, polite reminders will be sent to those respondents who appear to delay in returning their questionnaires.
Data Analysis Procedures.
The questionnaires will be reviewed exhaustively and coding of key phrases and words done. The QSR international made NVivo8 software will be used to analyze the data.
References
Fuller, B. (2000). Inside charter schools: The paradox of radical decentralization. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
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Gerstner, L. V. (1994). Reinventing education: Entrepreneurship in America’s public schools. New York: Dutton.
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Griffin, N. C., & Wohlstetter, P. (April 01, 2001). Building a Plane While Flying It: Early Lessons from Developing Charter Schools. Teachers College Record, 103, 2, 336-65.
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Lynch, S., & Colorado. (2008). Colorado charter schools special education compliance plan guidelines: Negotiating new and renewal charter contracts for Colorado charter schools. Denver, Colo: Colorado Dept. of Education, Exceptional Student Leadership Unit.
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Rutherford, D. (2006). The Cambridge companion to early modern philosophy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
