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Transformational leadership in school
Transformative leadership in education
Transformational leadership in school
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Introduction
Schools are influenced by varied internal and external factors in a constantly changing environment (Navickaite & Janiunaite, 2012). There is a growing consensus among stakeholders that the current progression of education must change drastically. Educational policy makers and leaders are examining an array of school improvement efforts, including rigorous curriculum; alignment of state and national standards and organizational restructuring. According to Fullan (2001), the more complex society gets, the more sophisticated leadership must become. School leaders wrestle with the intricate challenge to implement reform efforts, increase student achievement, serve the individual needs of all students and meet community demands (Goldring & Schuermann, 2009). Leading a change process is an essential and difficult process of school leadership. Effective school leaders are expected to manage and transcend a rapidly changing environment. Hence, leadership requires abilities such as being team-oriented, strong communicators, team players, problem solvers, change makers and transformation leaders (Balyer, 2012).
The past decade has given an emergence to conceptual models in educational leadership; two of the most prevalent models include instructional and transformational leadership. The distinguishing factors between the two models are the methods in which administrators and teachers improve teaching and learning. Instructional leaders emphasize school goals, the curriculum, instruction, and the school environment. Instructional leaders use strategies of coordination and control to align the school’s academic mission with strategy and action; hence, the duality of instructional leaders focusing on leading and managing (H...
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...iers of School Principal’s Transformational Leadership in Change Process: Case Study of Lithuanian Schools. SOCIALINIAI MOKSLAI, 2012(77), 52-64. Retrieved from dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ss.77.3.2771
Northouse, P.G. (2001). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Reisner, R. (2011). A Leader’s Guide to Transformation Developing a Playbook for Successful Change Initiatives. Retrieved from IBM Center for The Business of Government website: http://http://transformationstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IBM-Reisner-Playbook.pdf
Sebring, P.B., & Bryk, A.S. (2000). School leadership and the bottom line in Chicago.
Phi Delta Kappan, 81(6), 440-443.
Stewart, J. (2006). Transformational Leadership: An Evolving Concept Examined through the Works of Burns, Bass, Avolio, and Leithwood. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, (54), 2006.
Ms. Hall has had many years of public education experience and higher education training in which to hone her leadership style and framework. She started her career as a teacher in the Kirkwood School District. She then served as an assistant elementary principal at both Ritenour and Pattonville School Districts before being selected to serve as the assistant superintendent of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in 2008. Throughout her career she continued to pursue her education as a means o...
Dr. Tanisha L. Heaston, principal of Treadwell Elementary talks to me about educational change. In my first meeting and interview with her, she displays many if not all the leadership benchmarks of a Change Master and Facilitator. Defined by McEwan (2003), a Change Master is a highly effective principal who is flexible and futuristic. A realistic leader who is able to both motivate and manage change in an organized, positive, and enduring fashion. As a Change Master, she uses a situational approach since every school community requires somewhat different skills. Dr. Heaston respects change resisters, procures resources for her school, and trusts her teams which aligns with ISLLC Standard Six.
Standard 1 of the Florida Principal Leadership Standards (2011) describe the priority of the school leader as, “effective school leaders demonstrate that the student learning is their top priority through leadership actions that build and support a learning organization focus on student success”. Our number one priority and focus is and always should be our students. They are the reason behind our professions. It is the faculty the ones who should be supported by the administrators. The leaders should celebrate their success, encourage them, support their assertive instructional decisions, and motivate them each day to create the right conditions for learning. The principals must plan to project growth the most accurate possible, employing all the help that they could get for this challenging task. Students should not be affected because qualified teachers are not available. Strategic schools use the resources at had to relocate, and alleviate the human resources problems.
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).
Frank, V. V. (2009, September). Framework for Improvement: Effective School Leadership Translates into Increased Student Learning. The Learning Principal: National Staff Development Council , pp. 2, 6-7.
The concept of transformational leadership relies on appropriate leadership approaches for mission success. AFDD 1-1 describes three leadership competencies: person, people/team, organization Effective leaders (tactical level) need to build face-to-face and interpersonal relationships that directly influence behavior and values. Effective leaders (operational level) need to build team dynamics for small groups and squadrons. Effective leaders (strategic level) need to build strategy and provide direction in a broad spectrum.
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
In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss the many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individual throughout the change process. School Leadership that Works In School Leadership that Works, Marzano introduces twenty-one responsibilities of a school leader (see Appendix A). These leadership responsibilities are used in the two change orders discussed by Marzano, McNulty and Waters (2005).
Transformational leadership is one of the most popular leadership styles. According to Kendrick (2011), “Transformational leadership involves four factors: 1. idealized influence, 2. inspirational motivation, 3. intellectual stimulation, and 4. individual consideration.” These four factors make transformational leadership have an impact on followers. The goal of transformational leadership is to cause a positive change in individuals, help motivate them, and develop a leader within each individual.
With the passage of NCLB, many school reform efforts have been initiated using top-down model in which each school leaders have been charged with initiating bold administrative changes to address the legislation. With the number of leadership theories and models, researchers have become interested in studying those to determine which might bring forth the most significant results for leading such change. Due to the lack of highly qualified administrators and the increasing demands for administrators, Bush, O’Brien & Spangler (2005) studied a program, the Southern Tier Leadership Academy, a collaborative of the New York Education Department. The study included three separate cohorts who completed an eight month program. Whereas, Somech (2005) chose to investigate directive and participative leadership approaches, and which would more significantly impact school effectiveness. Perhaps Somech’s reflect Scherer’s (2009, p.7) understandings as described in Educational Leadership, ‘broom-wielding leadership can indeed be beneficial’ as is putting advocates into positions of power and influence and building teams, both of which are seemingly contrasting opposites.
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
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.
Effective leaders recognize that they cannot accomplish great things alone (Dufour, Marzano, 2011). By adopting this definition of leadership it is necessary that principals within schools, “foster a climate of collegial support and community through which the complex task of administering the school might be accomplished” (Ubbenn, Hughes, Norris, 2016, pg. 3). Ubben, Hughes and Norris (2016) go on to say that the principal is the pivotal point – the catalyst – for what happens in the school. Being a principal is a challenging, yet rewarding, task for those willing and prepared to accept the position (Ubben, Hughes, Norris, 2016, pg. 4). JOB TITLE AND DECRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION
The Characteristics of a Successful Transformational Leader I Have Experienced. A transformational leader in education I experienced used several leadership approaches to form a team of teachers to change the school’s culture due to gang intrusion (See Table 2). How I would Use Four Leadership Approaches Within an Educational Setting of Interest I am a transformational leader. As a substitute after retirement, I had the opportunity to work in an alternative school to fill a position for six months due to the pregnancy of the teacher.
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