The role of an educational leader is one that is not easily defined. Each administrator has a belief in what his or her job entails. The vision of what educational leadership involves depends on several factors such as the nature of leadership, the relationship between the leader and the followers and the impact he or she has on student learning, school goals and the community. Through scholarly articles, educational leadership pertaining to curriculum and instruction is outlined. John Dewey best describes the nature of leadership in his two articles “Toward Administrative Statesmanship” and “Democracy and Educational Administration.” He explains the three phases or jobs of educational administration: the educational enterprise phase, the personal relations phase and the paperwork phase. Dewey explains how most administrators mainly absorb them the third phase and he reminds readers “an administrator can deal effectively with these various problems only as he is able to unify them all in some comprehensive idea and plan” (Dewey p.346). The three phases must coexist and balanced, similarly to our three branches of government. This statement leads into Dewey’s rationalization that educational leadership is comparable to democracy. He even goes on to say “no man or limited set of men is wise enough or good enough to rule others without their consent” (Dewey p. 218). An educational leader knows that though he leads, it is the job of the followers that make an organization work. Tyler even further accepts this fact in his article. He justifies that though an administrator is a leader it “does not mean that he knows everything about instruction or even that he knows more about the curriculum and instructional process than anyone els... ... middle of paper ... ...cial intellectual responsibilities,” so even if an administrator seems like his or her only job is to do paperwork and worry about “administrative stuff” Dewey is clearing up that every administrator has a duty to behavior and intellect of student no matter what job position (Dewey p.345). Dewey also claims that they way administrators run school eventually trickle down to students indirectly; they way principals are treated are passed down to teachers and then it is passed down to the student. Educational leadership is a task that entails many things. As an educational leader, he or she must have knowledge about everything that has to do with their school and/or district. An educational leader should realize that education is what shapes the citizens and in the long run our society; therefore, how a school is run and what kind of leader runs it is very crucial.
Gorton, R. A., & Alston, J. A. (2012). School leadership & administration: Important concepts, case studies, & simulations. (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. [Kindle Version] (pp. 1-323).
According to Blase, Blase, and Phillips (2010) educational leaders in high preforming schools effectively balance administrative and instructional leadership and provide stability, predictability and support. The current paradigm of educational leadership is management of facility, budget, school safety, and student discipline. Administrators must place more emphasis on methods to balance the responsibility of instructional leadership. It will require effective leadership characterized by their ability to redesign their schools into an effective organization. This can be done by a leader’s willingness to take risk. Risk taking would involve the leaders’ commitment to work collaboratively with teachers to set school wide and classroom goals suited to meet the unique needs of the students. It would require educational leaders to refuse to adopt a manufactured educational program but to make a commitment to their students and teachers to create a learning environment that is unique and relevant. Educational leaders would evaluate teachers on the effectiveness of their instructional practices. Each teacher would be held accountable for data that supports the need for goals developed for their classroom and methods used to track progress, use of instructional strategies, how assessment will be incorporated to drive instruction and monitor learning, and the effective use of assessment
Leading organizations of school administrators offer educators various opportunities to encourage educators to become leaders. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has mandated that leaders be better prepared for the task of providing quality education to all. NCLB “… is forcing all educational stakeholders to face the weakness of contemporary school leadership and is making it impossible to ignore the need for higher quality principals” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). It is believed that all educators can be and are leaders in their own right. A leader is a visionary and has the ability to inspire others to aspire to greatness. Of the numerous opportunities that are offered, those that are most beneficial include but are not limited to leadership training programs, professional development, and creating shared leadership opportunities for teachers to become leaders. The systems “…that produce our nation’s principals are complex and interrelated – and governed by the states. Each state establishes licensing, certification and re-certification” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). States use the ISLLC standards “…as the framework for preparation programs and in service professional development of school superintendents, principals, and other leaders” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.3).
In every institution the type of leadership style is important for a successful environment. In order to establish a successful school environment to compete globally, the leader should comprehend the basic leadership theories and styles (Glickman et al., 2010). The cultures at schools are important to the success of the students and overall of the school, but also can be very difficult to establish and maintain without the proper leadership knowledge (Waite, 1995). In United States many schools could be place in the categories of conventional, congenial, or collegial, because the strategies used for their leadership (Glickman et al., 2010).The chosen school could be classified according to different criteria and could be determine in which area their leadership pertains more. In order to analyzed and classify the leadership, it was imperative to observed the way the leader make decisions, the approached with the stakeholders, how the instruction is delivered, and how they realized their job (Marshall, 2005). In this analysis will be identify the category that this school will be, the school climate, the type of supervision and leadership.
The objective that I have for this paper is to present the integration and synthesis of at least three grounded theories and conceptual principles of the educational leadership field. Then, according with guidelines, I will compare and contrast those theories by using different authors’ perspectives, to critically analyze the body of knowledge achieved by those principles and explain how those theories in educational leadership add knowledge through the implementation of their premises and the interaction among them in the area of education. Subsequently, I will be selecting one of the theories examined previously and provide details on how the theory may or may not contribute to the understanding of the educational leadership. As part of this process I will include a discussion with disagreements or unanswered questions of the selected postulation.
Marzano, R. J., Waters, T. & McNulty, B. A. (2005). School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Principals must provide instructional leadership to facilitate and promote active learning experiences for all students because effective instructional leadership is not something principals achieve by following a checklist or tasks or a step by step program. It can be taught and be learned. (David M.Quinn 2002)
This paper will describe two studies, one quantitative and the other a mixed method, which dealt with aspects of educational leadership. The studies chosen for review were conducted by Bush, et al. (2005), a study that reported participant results in a Leadership Academy, and another by Somech (2005) in which the results of an investigational study of leadership styles, participative and directive, with regard to their impact upon managing school effectiveness. To offer a deeper understanding of the respective studies, a discussion follows that details the design rationa...
The success of the educational setting completely depends on both of the pillars. In some educational settings, the leaders play the role of the manager and vice versa. The management skills are necessary for effective leaders, but they need the other skills of leadership too. Although leadership and management are the interchangeable terms, the two have their own roles and responsibilities. The different models of leadership and management help to understand how leadership and management are different to each other by classifying their factors and features. Further, the contemporary theories of educational leadership give clearer vision of different types of leadership and how they impact on the educational setting and the people relate to the educational setting. The implication of the leadership theories in the educational setting gives a clear picture of how these theories can be applied practically in an educational setting. Thus, the essay helps to identify the two different sides of the same coin clear the confusion of the overlapping of leadership in early childhood with the concept of
In developing my own educational leadership model (MELM) I began with establishing what I believe the goal of education should be, since leaders by definition are leading people towards something. The goal of education is to effectively teach students the essential skills and knowledge they will need to establish a productive, positive, self-sufficient life where they can be active members of their communities. An effective leader, while working towards this goal will need to consider the present conditions and demands of the environment they are a part of. In the field of education, both internal and external factors are of crucial importance when developing a plan to lead for success. However, one must note the variables in education are different than those the business sector face, for example; student performance, ability and cultural differences; availability/condition of supplies and materials; goal; educator’s capability, views and attitudes; conditionality of economic support; openness/hostility of influencing communities; state or government performance mandates. A leader who knows where they (students, school, district, community) are now, can approach goals more clearly and develop more effective strategies to arrive at them.
Individuals who have chosen to take the educational leadership route have a huge responsibility. They are responsible for developing and implementing a vision to meet the needs of the students they serve. The vision, mission, and goal designed must represent what the community intends for the students to achieve. In order for educational leaders to ensure achievement and the success of all students, they must monitor and continuously improve teaching and learning. Leaders are also responsible for maintaining a professional culture in which the learning opportunities are targeted to the vision and goals and differentiated appropriately to meet the needs of all students.
Why the big focus on Teacher Leadership? Contrary to popular belief, teacher leadership is an old idea re-surfacing. Leadership teaching positions dating back to the 80s and early 90s were created to disperse the hierarchy of power within the system. These positions were denounced due to the f...
Educational leadership incorporates anyone in the educational system that has a decision-making function. These individuals are held accountable for the success and failures within their educational system. An educational leader is someone who is approachable, visible, and will listen to what others are saying. The student is the main focus of educational leaders. In addition to the qualities that are acquired by educational leaders, there are specific approaches that provide effective educational leadership: (Bass, Bass, & Bass, 2008, p. 3).
While doing some research on characteristics of a good leader. The article talks about leadership role for educational leaders and their responsibility to being an example for the teachers to help the students be successful in learning. An educational leader is an important role in schools. When parents sent their children to school, they want to be able to know that the kids are in a safe learning environment. The parents also want their children to be provide with the learning material to help them be successful. Educational leaders must know their responsibility to provide the teachers with correct information to create excellent learning environment for the kids. If the learning environment are in good conditions teachers will be able to development a learning strategies to help student. A responsible leader does not only respond to the expectations of authorities but also assumes an active attitude (Mazurkiewicz, G. ,2011, Pg.
Education is a very important aspect in the life of a child. The level of success a student has in the classroom is greatly influenced by their teachers. Students, as well as their parents, depend on the teachers to guide them through their education. But who guides a teacher to perform successfully in the classroom? Principals and teachers play an important role in schools. A good relationship among school leaders and teachers is necessary and play an important role in making improvements in the school. Leadership refers to the “process in which one person successfully exerts influence over others to reach desired objectives”. (Okoji, 2015) Good leadership involves honesty, vision, confidence and commitment. It is the ability to inspire a