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Why is leadership in education important
Importance of leadership in education
Importance of leadership in education
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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).
Participative Leadership The participative leadership, is also known as democratic leadership. This type of leadership is one of the most effective leadership styles. These leaders provide direction
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This type of leadership style is adopted by leaders that are hands-off (Straker, 2004). The OC principal used this style of leadership. This individual delegates the decision making processes to members of the group. However, the Laissez-faire leadership style is not successful in situations where individuals of the group lack the knowledge or experience that is needed to successfully complete tasks and make decisions (Straker, 2004). This might explain why there were three new teachers at her school. The OC principal did not choose the reading program for her school, it was chosen for the school by other administrators (Mackey, Pitcher, & Decman, 2006, p. 44). She depended on the master teacher 's direction for making program decisions. Laissez-faire leadership is characterized by not giving guidance, allowing followers the freedom, to make decisions (Straker, 2004). The OC principal could not remember or did not know the name of some of the Open Court materials and she relied on the master teacher to answer the ethnographic interviewers ' questions. These Leaders provide the tools and resources needed, the OC principal allowed the literacy program to provide the tools and resources (Mackey, Pitcher, & Decman, 2006, p. 44). Group members are expected to solve problems on their own. While the responsibilities are given to followers, the leader will take responsibility for the group’s decisions
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).
DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION OF A SHARED VISION: Education leaders facilitate the development and implementation of a shared vision of learning and growth of all students, (1C) Implementing the Vision connection to my action plan. I collaborate with key stakeholders with the intention of fostering a shared vision, one that is proactive in nature. Proactive interventions, such as the development of a BIP will aid in a shared vision of learning and growth for all students regardless of ability levels. INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP: Education leaders shape a collaborative culture of teaching and learning informed by professional standards and focused on student and professional growth (2C) Supporting Teachers to Improve Practice (2D) Feedback on Instruction, directly relates to my action plan as I will engage in open collaborative conversations with teachers, administrators, and essential staff members. I will conduct informal classroom observations with the intension of providing feedback, constructing classroom materials, dispersing information. EXTERNAL CONTEXT AND POLICY Education leaders influence political, social, economic, legal and cultural contexts affecting education to improve education policies and practices (6A) Understanding and Communicating Policy correlates with my action plan. I will inform all essential members of the current legal mandates established by federal law, as safeguarding student
Lewin, Leppit, and White were cautious in the conclusions the drew from this study. They noted that autocratic leadership does get results and is preferred over democratic leadership. However they observed that autocratic leadership can create tension, apathy, frustration, and dependence by the group on the leader. Further, the researchers found that some of the differences in the behaviors of the children were associated with the presence or absence of the leader. Specifically, constructive effort declined in the autocratically controlled children groups. Finally, they observed very little value in laissez-faire control ---an essentially “no-leader” approach to leadership.
p. 96). Hypothesis The hypothesis presented by the researchers is that one effective way for schools to address the shortage of candidates qualified to fill leadership positions is that they implement leadership sessions that will afford potential leaders formation activities with the purpose of informing them about the reality of school leadership roles. These same activities are proposed to create a heightened awareness of individual leadership abilities. Sample Participants It is unclear what type of method was used to select the sample and whether the sample was a simple random sample. The participants are the individuals of three different cohorts.
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...
Building Leadership Capacity in Schools by Linda Lambert touched on a number of key ideas. Lambert provided examples from different schools, principals, and her experiences on obtaining and sustaining leadership capacity while developing her character. Lambert points out that to build leadership capacity in schools there should be participation by parents, students, and staff. Also these are the same characteristic as to becoming a great character in society. In this paper I will talk about the staff and there level of participation. Lambert points out that conversation with individuals about their roles as a leader should take place as individuals take on the task of leadership and character development. One key element in the text was the level of participation and degree of skillfulness for leadership capacity while trying to discover your character. Another element in the text that I found key was to break the dependency relationships on staff and the principal. As we work toward building leadership capacity and charcter, it will take time and time is a big factor on building leadership capacity because there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done that we would like to do without strategically planning leadership meetings.
Throughout my life, I have been fortunate to have many opportunities to take on leadership roles, and to use these roles to influence others in very positive ways. After taking the leadership quizzes or survey, I was able to determine that my personal leadership style is Participative. Participative style is the leadership style where a leader gives team the opportunity to wholly take part in
According to Manion (2014), a leader is a person who is able to positively influence a group of people and develop their ability to accomplish a goal (Manion, 2014). According to this definition of leadership, it suggests that every individual has a likely chance to become a leader. Every time one voices an opinion or an idea, they influence others in some form of way, therefore, they function as a role of a leader. Lewin, Lippitt and White (1939) suggest that there are three types of leaders: authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire (Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939). Authoritarian, or autocratic leadership, is a leader that dictates all the decisions within a group of individuals (Lewin et al., 1939). On the other hand, the Laissez-faire leader allows the group members complete freedom without the leader’s participation in any of the decisions (Lewin et al., 1939). The type of leader I aspire to be is the
First, a person must possess leadership ablilties to be considered educated. Leadership abilities show that you 're not afraid to take charge. To be a leader you need to be able to speak up and take charge in any situation you 're in. For example, if you are on a job and your boss says that you and a team need to figure out everyone 's strengths and weaknessess, you will have to take charge and speak up to get the information your boss wants. To be a leader you also have goals in mind. If you have goals in mind you have a
York-Barr, J. & K. Duke (2004) what do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of educational research 74(3), 255-316.
A society with the absence of leadership will lead to chaos. Recently, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died and this has caused his followers to be in disarray. Currently in Palestine the followers are trying to ameliorate life and figure who will replace Arafat. For when there is an absence of leadership it causes followers to panic. The panic of the people leads to the confusion of their everyday life. Leadership implies that a person must posses certain qualities. There are many traits that must be shown to be a good leader. If a leader is noncommittal and callow then a society will fail. However when trying to restore order in a society one person may try to accomplish it by themselves but this rarely works. When working alone or in a small group, three things can happen and lead to more disarray. These things are isolation, too much authority, and control.
Authoritative leadership: This style of leadership mainly has high integrity and self-respect and expects the followers to follow him irrespective of the views of individuals. These followers at times can be used as participants in discussions to gather required information but not given a chance make a decision making hence the ultimate power of finalizing the decision is in the hands of authoritative leader. They act stubborn commanding followers to do what he
Participative leaders or better known as democratic leaders include team members and others, but making the final decision is up to the participative leader. Participative leaders build confidence and knowledge within team members because their inputs matter within decision making. It helps team members think their opinions help with decisions. If there is change that needs to be implemented a participative leader helps team members understand the change in positive way. I would definitely consider myself a participative leader because I love gathering as many opinions from people just in case I don’t see the situation from another point. It helps me put everything in a good perspective.
Leadership is one of the most important facets in organizations. In most cases, leaders act with respect to organizational culture as well as the codes of conduct that determine the manner in which leaders relate with subordinates. Leadership entails the use of effective communication skills to get activities done in the workplace and to ensure that employees shelve their individual interests for the sake of their organizations’ shared targets. It is the role of leaders to ensure that consumers attain high quality products and services by making certain that members of their firms’ workforce are fully motivated to work effectively and utilize resources in an efficient manner (Bass, 22). With the increasingly sophisticated nature of the corporate world, leadership should not be based solely on the desire to control and coordinate affairs within the workplace, but leaders should also exhibit positive examples and continually monitor the changing trends in corporate governance to initiate the most relevant guidelines. Competitiveness can only be attained when leaders are in a position to set the right standards in their firms and coordinate affairs appropriately by understanding consumer and employee needs.
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