“Leadership has a significant effects on student learning, second only to the effects of the quality of curriculum and teachers’ instruction” (Leithwood & Riehl. 2003, p. 2). School leaders must have a toolbox full of ideas, strategies and support to move their school and the organization forward. Effective leaders communicated often about their upcoming plans and seek advice or counsel on how to be successful (Kirtman & Fullan, 2016, p. 17). Leaders need to be focused to create sustainable change and they need to know when to push people beyond their comfort zones and when to pull back to help people clarify their own thinking so they can move forward. The demands of the principal continue to increase with additional standards, state …show more content…
Zone of Proximal Development is the area close to current practice and knowledge, and this is the place where an individual is most likely to learn. “The zone of proximal development...is the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). Three diverse theoretical positions were reviewed by Vygotsky: (a) “processes of child development are independent of learning” (p. 79), (b) “learning is development” (p. 80), and (c) the final position, which “attempts to overcome the extremes of the other two by simply combining them” (p. 81). Vygotsky explained the ZPD as the relationship between learning and development. The points offer that learning happens before development, and it is dependent on social interaction. Learning stimulates various internal developmental processes, which only begins operating when the child interacts with those in his environment and cooperates with peers. After the processes become internalized, they become part of the child’s independent developmental achievement (Vygotsky, 1978, p. …show more content…
The theoretical underpinnings for this study are designed around on Vygotsky’s theory of social interaction, ZPD, and the utilization of coaching for developing leadership capacity. Coaching offers an applied skill used to construct a functional path to innovative performance, enhanced skills, and transformational leadership. Reiss (2004) stated that during the forward thinking and reframing process for individuals, coaches will acknowledge, question, empower, clarify, focus, validate, champion, and prioritize to skillfully support the leader for the goal. Since coaching is a relatively new and rapidly growing area, there is the need to develop the theoretical underpinning of practice or a theoretical evidence-based approach (Brock, 2008). This study will seek to identify leaders’ perceptions of coaching for achieving desired outcomes. This case study will learn about principals’ perception of the value of coaching in building leadership
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.
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
Furthermore, Vygotsky declares that knowledge is constructed by social interactions with people who surround the child. The author also presents the concept of “zone of proximal development” as the distance between what children do without any supervision and what they are not able to achieve unless a more knowledgeable person guides them through it. In other words, the zone of proximal development refers to activities children cannot do, though they manage to fulfill with certain level of difficulty by following their better skilled fellows' suitable guidance. In the educational field, teachers play an essential role on their learners’ developmental process. Educators serve as models and provide a vast range of learning opportunities that enable their students reach their next level of development and become more autonomous each
The last issue to address is leadership. This role is challenging, but with commitment and determination it can be done. Strategies that I can take to encourage great leadership is to first build trust and confidence by fulfilling the school’s mission, vision, policy, and working environment (Drexler, 2007) on a daily basis. To be involved in school activities, in the classroom, at PTO meetings, and community affiliations will establish strong leadership skills. Providing valuable feedback, strategically planning to improve the school, and encouraging community support are other strategies that can be used to enhance leadership.
...S. (2005). Literature review: Coaching effectiveness - a summary. Retrieved from Research into Leadership website: http://literacy.kent.edu/coaching/information/Research/NHS_CDWPCoachingEffectiveness.pdf
Wells, Gordon. “The Zone of Proximal Development and Its Implications for Learning and Teaching.” Sep. 1996. http://cite.ped.gu.se/network/zpddiscussion.html (31 Mar. 1999).
School administrators are important in setting the path for a successful school (Glickman, et al., 2014). The principals could play a dynamic leadership depending on how they exercise their beliefs of the organizational and social environment (McNair, 2011). The principals are the primary facilitators for developing the foundations in learning that will last, to manage the student’s performance at schools, and seeking the improvement at school that will cause great impacts in school‘s education (Gordon,1989). In the recent years in the U.S., education has change in a more cultural diversity population, it is imperative that school supervisors, are trained to encounter this cultural issues, but also assisting others with the opportunities to develop appropriate abilities to deal with different cultures (Glickman, et al., 2014).
Coaching via Coaches help all sorts of people move forward in life as they specialize in meeting the needs of a wide variety of people with their own unique challenges and opportunities. Coaching makes a lasting impact on people’s lives because the coaching relationship developed between the Coach and the Client leads to constant growth and change in the Client. Coaching relationships brings to light what the person being coached already knows, but may not know they know, and then helping the person to make decisions and take action so they can move forward to accomplish a dream or goal they want to achieve. The continuing evolvement of leadership requires coaching.
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.
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
Often referred to as the Mozart of developmental psychology, Lev Seminovich Vygotsky’s work has created ripples within the field. Developmental psychology itself offers explanations as to how and why adults and children grow and develop, shedding light on their cognitive processing (McLeod, 2012). By conducting research, developmental psychologists help individuals to reach their fullest potential, growing in understanding of life’s biological, social, emotional, and cognitive processes (American Psychology Association). Though it would seem that the science has been in existence as long as human themselves have been, this is simply not the case.
Zone of proximal development basically refers to the skills in which children can do only if they are under the guidance of an adult. For example, if a task is too difficult or dangerous for a child to perform then the assistance of a parent or teach can make that task possible for the child. Object permanence is also another important concept which states the child knows an object is still in existence even if another person hides it behind their back for example. Next there is conservation which says that just because the appearance changes, the amount and quantity does not change. This concept has been shown through children as researchers will place objects, such as playing cards, in front of children then reorganize the object and the child is able to observe that there are the same number of objects as there were before. Also there is the concept of scaffolding. Scaffolding goes back to a teacher or parent assisting a child in which case the adult matches guidance to what the student needs. This can be seen in schools where a teacher will explain a problem-solving process then will step back in order for the child to conquer this problem on their own. The cognitive development theory plays a huge role in the human life showing step by step how we develop
As mentioned before, leadership styles take an important role in running a school. Unfortunately, many principals have not yet defined their leadership style and struggle to administrate their school. They are responsible not only of teachers and students, but of every employee in the school. They have the power to control all the resources available to improve and meet academic goals. Despite their power, principals need to identify appropriate leadership styles to succeed as