This article explores different understandings of causality and their implications
for the study of educational leadership. The article first details differences among
three broad methodological traditions in educational research (the quantitative,
qualitative, and mixed methods approaches), especially with regard to causal
explanations. This is followed by a presentation of different methodological
approaches for assessing the impact of educational leadership on school outcomes,
drawing specifically from school effectiveness research. Five propositions regarding
causality issues in studies of educational leadership are presented and then
assessed. The article concludes with a brief description of specific educational
leadership research studies that were guided by the pragmatic, mixed methods
approach advocated throughout this text.
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