the role of school leaders

7/27/2019 The Role of School Leaders

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Role of School Leader How Should I spend my time?

What do students, teachers and board

members expect of me? What should be at the top of the to do list?

Discuss the quality of leadership required to fulfill

tasks.

Character or personality traits required as a

school leader.


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Role of School Leaders Theoreticians and analysts have

repeatedly dissected the job and its place

in the larger social and educationalcontext, urging principals in one decade

to be "bureaucratic executives" followed

ten years later by "humanistic facilitator"and then "instructional leader" (Lynn

Beck and Joseph Murphy 1993).


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The Role of SchoolLeadersFor effective functioning of a variety of

tasks. These include administering

school operations, the budget,assignment of students to classes,

teacher evaluation, problem solving,

curriculum leadership.


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Wide in scope, the role is said to assume

professional, ethical, moral, legal, and

supervisory responsibilities andaccountability with the primary task being

to create a school culture or environment

in which children can achieve their fullpotential.


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The Role of SchoolLeadersPartnership and voice

Vision and values. Knowledge and daring.

Savvy and persistence.

Personal qualities.


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Defining SchoolLeadership-ISLLC facilitating shared vision

sustaining a school culture conducive

to student and staff learning

managing the organization for a safe,

efficient, and effective learning

environment


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Setting directions, which includes identifying andarticulating a vision, fostering the acceptance ofgroup goals, and creating high performance

expectations. Developing people, which involves offering

intellectual stimulation, providing individualizedsupport, and providing an appropriate model.

Redesigning the organization, which includes

strengthening school cultures, modifyingorganizational structures, and building collaborativeprocesses.


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Current Education Reform Environment-Leithwood and Rielh

creating and sustaining a competitive school

(market accountability)

empowering others to make significantdecisions (decentralization accountability)

providing instructional leadership

(professional accountability)

developing and executing strategic plans

(management accountability)


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Common Challenges Providing focused instructional leadership

Leading change

Developing a collaborative leadership

structure

Providing the moral center

Responding to the challenges


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collaborating with families and

community members

acting with integrity, fairness, and inan ethical manner

influencing the larger political, social,economic, legal, and cultural context


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The Importance of School Leadership

School leadership is second only to classroom

teaching as an influence on pupil learning;

almost all successful leaders draw on the same

basic repertoire of leadership practices (the

main elements are: building vision, developing

people, redesigning the organisation,

managing teaching and learning); and thatschool leadership has a greater influence on

schools and students when it is widely

distributed.


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Advantages Improved emotional intelligence and

heightened respect for the jobs staff do

Taking small/immediate and strategic/long-term actions in relation to school systems and

procedures with a view to improving staffmorale and the way the school operates.

Sometimes allows one to empower others toimprove things for themselves. This is part of

distributed leadership, but it is done withoutthe need of an action plan, performanceindicator or a vast system of monitoring andevaluation


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Effective management of schools throughimproved leadership models.

distributing leadership roles among a broader range ofstaff and developing wider skill sets for the future, withincreased expertise in areas such as finance, human

resources, collaboration and project management

modifying the existing system of pay and reward,although without making radical changes

reviewing governance considering further theinteraction of leadership and governance andaddressing issues such as the size and composition of

governing bodies


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adopting a new approach towards leadershipqualifications and programmes

mainstreaming innovative, experienced-basedcontinuous professional development (CPD) activities

measuring and managing the change, ensuring that the

national steering arrangements for school leadershipreform are based on up-to-date, insightful managementinformation and that there is clear ownership of allrecommendations being taken forward as the result ofthe study.


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By necessity, then, todays leaders must define themselves aslearners, not just doers, constantly scanning the environment fornew ideas, tools, and solutions, and reflecting on the implications.Linda Lambert (2002) argues that this search for learning isbecoming a dominant narrative for school leaders:

Today, leaders attend to the learning of all members of theeducational community. Together, they explore current practice,beliefs, and assumptions that serve as a basis for posing inquiryquestions. These questions are the signposts in the hunt forevidence and the struggle with dissonance. Dissonance is tackledin dialogue, thereby lowering defenses and increasing sharedunderstanding. This journey results in new approaches to student

and adult learning, internal school accountability and sharedresponsibility, and a commitment to the decisions made for schoolimprovement.


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Conclusion

The manager administers; the leader innovates The manager is a copy; the leader is an original

The manager maintains; the leader develops

The manager focuses on system and structure; theleader focuses on system

The manager relies on control; the leader inspires thetrust

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has along-range perspective

The manager asks how and when; the leaders askswhy and what


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The manager imitates; the leaders originates

The manager accepts the status quo; the leaders

challenges it

The manager is the classic soldier; the leader is his

own person

The manager does things right; the leader does the

right thing (Bennis,1989:45)


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the role of school leaders

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