The effectiveness of cohesive schools

This paper presents the findings of research into leadership and management of secondary education using configuration theory. Based on data from almost 100 secondary schools (school leaders and department heads), three different styles of management are distinguished. These leadership or management styles are based on the extent to which school leaders and departments heads make use of a set of six coordination mechanisms based on Mintzberg's configuration theory. Multilevel analysis has been used to determine the extent to which these leaderships styles affect student performance. Results show that one leadership style fits the definition of an effective type of management. In schools with such a leadership style, students reach higher achievement levels in mathematics than students in the other schools