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Leadership styles
Examples of different leadership styles
Similarities between leadership styles
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Thomas Sergiovanni (2015) describes three essential dimensions of leadership as “the heart, head, and hand of leadership.” The heart describes those characteristics within the school leader that reflect personal “beliefs, values, and dreams.” The head of leadership refers to the practice of teaching and educating. The hand of leadership reflects actions taken by school leaders with respect to management behaviors. (p. 5) Within these elements, there is room for personal choice in how leadership is practiced and it is incumbent on new principals to find an individual leadership style that responds to the uniqueness of each school. 1. Describe Principal Pettis’ Heart Principal Pettis believes in strong academic programs that address the needs …show more content…
5. Strengthen the School’s Heartbeat Sergiovanni suggests that schools with strong heartbeats are “stronger and more resilient,” (2015, p.11), collaborative in nature, and led cooperatively. Principals and teachers are constantly learning and finding solutions for areas of need. At Tri-State High School, strengthening the heartbeat begins with a more equitable distribution of resources. Collaboration between the principal and teachers allows the team to develop a common vision for the success of the students and a plan for equitable distribution of resources to meet the purpose of the school. Principal Pettis has to come to the realization that it is not possible to “have all the competence, all the time, and all the information needed at any one time to get the job done.” (Sergiovanni, 2015, p. 12). She will have to empower and cultivate leadership skills in teacher-leaders to give her an equitable perspective on the needs of her school. In this way, learning is ongoing for all, making the important connection between leadership and learning that is so powerful in successful schools. With these few changes, the heartbeat of the school is
The first four weeks of CR510 have prompted this student to reflect on her years of teaching in the public school setting. Having experienced many similar complexities to the ones in the text, this student is sympathetic to the challenges facing those in the education system and is eager to find opportunities to offer a better solution for all involved. CR510 has strengthened this student's belief that a third party neutral can provide valuable benefits to educational systems at all levels. Gorton and Alston (2012) pointed out in Chapter One that effective leaders “provide direction and meaning, generate and sustain trust, display an eagerness to take action, and spread hope”, through motivating and empowering others to reach the desired goals (pp. 1). 7-9).
I had the pleasure of being able to shadow Superintendent Shirley Hall of the Maplewood School District. Ms. Hall took the reins of the district over in 2012 from a very popular superintendent who was credited with making great strides within the district. Although Ms. Hall had very large shoes to fill, she seems to be doing it with grace and enthusiasm. She credits the previous superintendent with making systemic changes and establishing the overall forward momentum of the district, but recognizes that she cannot rest on past success. Her goal is to take the district to the next level of educational excellence by focusing her and her administrative team's efforts on the P.E.L.P. coherence model from Harvard University. This model focuses the leadership's attention on the interdependence of the various aspects of their school district and how they reinforce one another to support the implementation of an improvement strategy. One of Ms. Hall's mantras was change, but not just for change sake, deep change for sustained improvement. Therefore, although Ms. Hall's predecessor was able to put the district on the right path, Ms. Hall has taken the baton and run with it; establishing her own style and path to excellence.
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).
The School Leadership Team (STT) has a huge responsibility to lead, including instructional coaching duties, and mentoring the new teachers. Parameters were set in place by the principal, offering a clear vision, including clearly-defined values and teachers are becoming empowered through leadership opportunities, which have been devoid in the past. Therefore, I think the leadership style is effective, because the administrator is willing to share the leadership, and I have witnessed firsthand the impact an instructional coach is having on the school, and the individual growth of that coach is becoming immeasurable. 2. The principals current practice is to have her “office” on the go. At the practicum site, there is a spot in the school, which is centrally located at four corners of the building, and this is where the principal can be found during the day, most of the time. She is setup with a cart, her laptop, cell phone and a daily planner, and likes to be out in the building, rubbing shoulders with teachers and kids. I believe the leadership style is effective because the principals mobile cart has created a transparent environment where teachers and scholars can easily interact with the building administrator and the leader is able to accomplish essential tasks while keeping close contact with stakeholders, which contributes to a
One regular factor in most of the effective schools research is an emphasis on strong, instructional leadership (Edmonds, 1979ab, 1982; Purkey & Smith, 1983; Weber, 1971; Brookover& Lezotte, 1979). Leadership theories, such as trait, behavior, contingency, and charismatic, provide a theoretical framework for viewing the total development of instructional leadership. Instructional leadership has many different definitions and models that intellectualize it starting from the early 1900’s. The current study synthesizes the many meanings and models of instructional leadership using theoretical and empirical contemplations. The instructional leadership construct is defined in terms of principal behaviors that lead a school to educate all students to higher student achievement.
This type of relationship is essential in the educational arena; everyone must be a leader and accountable for their roles, because the principal’s success is contingent on the teacher’s success (Gardner, 2013; Murphy, 2013). Good leaders understand that they must depend on their followers for success and share their power to propel the organization towards the organizational goals (Murphy, 2013). Similar to a football coach, principals set the tone for the school (Tschannen-Moran, 2013). A true leader understands that they are only a component of the process. Unfortunately, when leaders believe that they are the most important part of the system, they do not value the opinions and suggestions of others (Murphy, 2013). I have worked for leaders with this type of mentality, and I contemplated leaving the profession due to the stressful working conditions. Leadership is most effective when they are able to get the most out of each person. An effective leader will assess the situation and make the correct decision to push the person forward or back off. To accomplish this, it begins with a trusting relationship; when a leader shows genuine concern for the constituent’s well-being as much as the task that is desired (Tschannen-Moran, 2013). In conclusion, I aim to be an inclusive leader who allows my constituents to have a “voice” within our organization. I want to provide them with adequate support so they feel appreciated and a part of something bigger than
Newspaper articles and websites about those organizations and the people connected to them instructional leadership. Examples of organizations such as Michelle Reed, Teach for America, and The New Teacher Project are a few (Rigby, 2014). The focus was on three out of the eight Dimensions when writing the memo notes. Number one focused on the underline assumption that all leaders share a commitment to bring educational opportunities to all students. Number two, leaders focused on the practice of instructional leadership. The third Dimension is the role of the teachers. Teacher’s characteristics have the biggest or largest impact on student learning inside of schools. The research shows that school leaders influence teachers such as with their type of their instructional leadership style they should develop trust and professional community. Majority of principal’s instructional leadership action is focused on the teachers through direct interaction such as observations and feedback (Rigby, 2014). The three largest instructional leadership research found that there was an assumption that the primary role of the principle is that of instructional leader how it is conceptualized and what it looks
The entire community plays an essential role in the growth and development of children within our community. As a school leader, building an inclusive school culture that is open and friendly to all stakeholders using a variety of effective methods is crucial. There is no magic formula to incorporating a positive school culture, much depends on the leadership of the campus. The leadership on campus cultivates the climate providing support and respect for everyone invested in the student’s education.
What does leadership mean in the context of educational leadership? Many definitions of leadership in education co-exist, attesting to the complexity and multi-faceted phenomena of the concept (Elwell & Elikofer, 2013). Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood organizational and psychological areas of study. Despite volumes of research and numerous theories, no one theory of leadership emerged as the sole predictor of the success of educational leaders. The current body of knowledge about leadership consists of narrow definitions of leader effectiveness that are disconnected from their context (Latham, 2014). Educational leadership influences and affects every dimension of the educational process from the
The stories and resilience I’ve seen and heard remind of the importance of civic engagement and leadership. I recognize that without the support of mentors such as Mr. Bravo, I would not be writing these words today. At age 22, I have returned to the community that shaped the individual I am today. My way of giving back for the opportunities I have had in life is by serving as a resource, mentor, and tutor to the youth in my community. I work closely with 11 at risk eight grade students at Carver Middle School, a school in South Los Angeles. My purpose in serving in this community is because my students deserve a quality education that will allow them to develop the skills to be civically engaged citizens. Therefore, building brave spaces for my students is crucial to me; because, I am aware of the importance of social and emotional support of one’s personal and professional development. I want my students to know that they matter and that they are not
Leadership styles begin to emerge the day a teacher enters the classroom. Although the leadership is generally confined to leading and developing students at that time, teachers are hard at work trying out methods of management and taking note of what does and does not work. The effective methods become part of the teacher’s leadership style. Although the ineffective methods are generally discarded, they also assist in shaping the teacher’s leadership style.
Since August of 2015 I have had the privilege of working with an incredible leader in Andrea Williams, principal of Theresa Bunker Elementary School. She is the epitome of a well-rounded leader who exemplifies all of the qualities of a leader as described by House’s path-goal theory of leadership. Mrs. Williams works diligently each day to create a productive work environment. She is direct when she needs to be and is extremely respected by her faculty as a fair leader. As I have observed her over the past two years I have seen her leadership skills in action. I have been extremely impressed with her drive, passion, fairness, supportiveness and ability to create a positive climate and culture that makes work a positive
Teachers and leaders work and communicate together to initiate changes that’s needed to build new ways of learning, sharing and accessing knowledge, then putting it to work in the lives of all students. At my school we have learned education, science, technology and hardworking devoted staff members are the key to preparing our students for a great global education and future.
With the proper guidance and support, teachers can achieve academic excellence in the classroom. They follow their principal’s vision and share their goals. Teachers also serve as leaders in their classroom. They share their vision and goals with their students promoting positive attitudes in the classroom. Just like it is important for principals to respect and understand what their teachers need, students also need the support, understanding, respect and empathy from their teachers. When teachers demonstrate commitment in the classroom and set high expectations they raise the level of learning in the classroom. Teachers that work with the students and their parents to understand and meet their needs will achieve positive academic outcomes. Students engage in learning with positive attitudes and strive for high achievements. Teachers work together with their leaders to improve their teaching
...inction between the roles and actions of leaders and managers. Principals are capable of adopting each approach and proper implementation would benefit staff and ultimately, student performance. As found in the case study and literature, currently most principals undertake a managerial role, but neglect to be leaders. Therefore, most principals should emphasize leadership behaviour to bring balance to the position.