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Challenges of leadership in the educational system
Challenges of leadership in the educational system
Organizational change as a concept
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Organizational change is entwined in an organization’s culture in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Organizations have to continually adapt to stay abreast of societal demands and changes and meet the needs of its customers. Educationally, schools must continually evolve to meet the growing demands and needs of its students. Lichtenstein (2000) noted that the need for change induces a high level of stress. However, stress and discomfort can be a catalyst for organizational change. In education, the stress can come from a number of accountability measures.
The ability to manage change and adapt to a globally competitive environment are intensifying (Cao and McHugh, 2005). The paradigmatic structure of leading effective schools is constantly evolving in response to societal changes. Essentially, educational change can be categorized into two distinct categories: piecemeal change, which involves making adjustments to the current educational model, and systemic change, which involves transforming the current model ( ). The effort to leading change takes a systematic approach to promote collaborative problem solving that includes reviewing data to determine existence, scope and magnitude of the problem (Senge,1990)
Senge’s The Fifth Discipline
Senge (1990) characterized the learning organization as one where “people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn together”.
Senge developed five essential discipline of learning organizations by helping its members learn. The five disciplines are essential to leading organizational...
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... and promoting collaborative inquiry.
Works Cited
Senge, P.M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday.
Senge, P. M. (2000). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. New York: Doubleday.
Quinn, R. E., Spreitzer, G. M., & Brown, M. V. (2000). Changing others through changing ourselves. Journal of Management Inquiry, 9(2), 147-164.
Raven, Bertram H. "Power, Six Bases of." Encyclopedia of Leadership. Ed. . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2004. 1242-49. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.
Owens, R. (1998). Organizational behavior in education. Boston: Alyn & Bacon. Sixth Edition
Cao, G., and M. McHugh. 2005. “A systemic view of change management and its conceptual underpinnings”. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 18(5), 475-490.
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.
Hazel, M. "Change is crucial in a person’s life." N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2008. .
A learning organization is a developmental model leaders use to help their organization do three key things: (a) know what to do, (b) do what it knows, and (c) expand its capacity to learn new things and act on that new knowledge (Garvin, 2000; Senge, 1990)
Clawson, J.G. (2009). Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (p.85)
Only now is evidence emerging testifying to the fact that much of the criticism leveled at public schools is exaggerated and misplaced. It is easy to forget that schools reflect what is happening in society, not cause it. Schools of today have recently shown that they are performing better than ever. Unfortunately, the traditional challenges confronting schools have increased dramatically and broadly as the world and students have changed. Now schools are facing drastic change -- necessary change that must take place quickly so students are able to cope in a dramatically changing world of the future. All of the criticism creates fear in teachers and administrators rather than a desire to embrace change.
Senge, P. M. (1990). The leader's new work: Building learning organizations. Sloan Management Review, 32(1), 7-22. doi: 812347
Change is a double-edged sword (Fullan, 2001). Change is a word that might inspire or put fear into people. Leadership is challenging when it comes to dealing with change and how individuals react within the organization to the change. Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2005) discuss two orders of change in their book School Leadership that Works: First and Second. Fullan (2001) also adds to the discussion in his book Leading in a Culture of Change, with regard to understanding change.
Chapter 11 of Peter Senge's book, The Fifth Discipline, talks about the idea of Shared Vision, and how this concept has transformed organizations, and individuals working for them, into a cohesive unit of long-term innovative achievement.
Senge, P. M. (1990) The Fifth Discipline. The art and practice of the learning organization, London: Random House.
Senge, P.N. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organisation London: Century Business
Sadker, D.M., Sadker, M.P., and Zittleman, K.R.,(2008) Teachers, Students, and Society (8th ed.).New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and Practice of the learning organization (1st ed., Rev.). New York, NY: Doubleday.
The learning organization is the opposite of the traditional organization. It believes that there is always a better way to do things, it listens to those who work within the company, utilizes a systems approach, is orientated towards people and ideas, prevents problems, quality and customer-service is essential, and accountability to the team is essential (Anderson, 2003). The lear...
In a learning organization, individuals are the key where they are acting in order to learn, or where they are acting to produce a result. All the knowledge has to be generalized and crafted in ways in which the mind and brain can use it in order to make it actionable (Argyris 1993)
Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J. & Kleiner, A. (2012). Schools that Learn (pp. 32-69). Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.