Effective Educational Leader - Literature review Example

Ineffective leaders, on the other hand, were found to lower students’ performance in the same period (seven months) of assuming leadership (p. 63). Such findings hence raise the question: What do effective ELs do that their ineffective counterparts fail to do? It is worth noting that effective educational leadership takes some hard work and some strategic decisions. Such decisions develop into policies, which with the acceptance of teachers and other stakeholders, are implemented for purpose of attaining a desirable learning environment that is intended to enhance students’ academic achievements.

As indicated in chapter one above, this paper will seek to find out if parental engagement is critical to becoming an effective educational leader. Notably, effective leadership in the educational sector requires the leader to consider different aspects of the education delivery system. Teachers, for example, need to be motivated and well-managed. Students on the other hand need to be well-inspired, motivated, instructed, and directed (p. 65). The question that remains largely unanswered in the extant literature is whether parental engagement is one of the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the educational leader especially in the formative years of education.

Parental Engagement and Academic Achievement The role that parents play in facilitating their children’s studies at home cannot be refuted. Emerson et al. (2012, p. 6), for example, note that teachers fully understand that education goes beyond the hours that are spent in school. At home, children have school assignments to work on, and depending on the level of study, they may also be required to engage in extra studies. In the home environment, only parents and in some select cases guardians can facilitate such.

As Bergin and Bergin (2009, p. 145) indicate, however, not every parent understands the importance of facilitating a learning environment at home when a child needs it. Some parents have no idea that how they relate with their children has an effect on their academic achievement. Feinstein, Duckworth, and Sabartes (2008, p. 12), for example, observe that some parents do not provide a home environment that stimulates learning. Some fail to provide such an environment out of ignorance, while others simply lack the time or emotional goodwill to do so.

Others are not involved in their children’s activities and have never expressed their expectations or aspirations for their children (the children). That is despite studies showing the importance of student-parent attachment to academic achievement as noted by Bergin and Bergin (2009, p. 146). Other authors like Feinstein et al. (2008, p. 11) have found evidence that connects parents’ attitudes and behaviors towards their children’s education and the educational achievement of those same children.

Parents who value education, for example, are more likely to express the importance of learning to their children through word and deed. The children are therefore likely to perceive education as an important aspect of their life and may, therefore, be motivated and inspired to attain and retain knowledge.