TRANSFORMING SECONDARY GRADING AND ASSESSMENT PRACTICES: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ON DEPARTMENT CHAIRS’ LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCES
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2023-06
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Grading and assessment practices in high schools are often inconsistent within a school and include a mix of academic and nonacademic factors. Redefinition of grading and assessment practices is needed to ensure that grading and assessment lead to accurate reporting of student learning. To understand how new practices are implemented at the teacher level, it is important to understand how school-based leaders work with teachers to implement changes. This study explored the lived experiences of department chairs at the high school level in the study area. This study employed a transcendental phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of the department chairs to determine which leadership attributes and which servant leadership behaviors emerged as being beneficial to enacting changes to grading and assessment. Thirteen high school department chairs participated in interviews as part of this study and the interview transcripts were analyzed using the modified van Kaam method. The following leadership attributes emerged as themes: becoming a leader; having a strong personal philosophy; leading by example and influencing teachers; building trust and fostering relationships; being reflective; coping with difficult emotions; and navigating district context and culture. The following servant leadership behaviors emerged as themes: conceptualizing; emotional healing; helping followers grow and succeed; and empowering followers. Additional themes emerged in the areas of revising practices in instruction, assessment, and grading; encountering barriers to change; and building collective efficacy. This study contributed to the literature on revising grading and assessment practices, and leaders can examine the findings of this study to develop policies and practices for implementing change.
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