Educational Leadership Issues - Essay Example

? School Leadership Research School leadership is one of the most important aspects that can be considered essential for the development of the discipline necessary for the achievement of academic excellence within an educational institution. Because of its wide importance, school leadership has been given a prominent position in matters concerning the research on leadership, with specific emphasis on principal leadership. Principal leadership has been a subject of concern for a long time and because of this, there has developed a diverse literature on it that can be considered to be relevant in the modern context. When dealing with school leadership in the Australian context, it is important for the articles by Gurr et al, (2005) and Dinham (2007) to be considered so that a better perspective of the issue under discussion can be achieved. While one would state that there are some areas of agreement between these two articles, especially touching on the various aspects of leadership, how these leadership styles are applied has been found to have some divergence. It is a fact that in Australia, there has developed a vast body of research that has confirmed that the teacher in a classroom has a profound influence on the performance of his or her students. In the abovementioned two articles, there is general agreement that it is important to find out how the quality of teaching and learning can be influenced and improved through the development of good leadership skills among the teachers in the classroom. In both articles, it is stated that educational leadership is of principle importance when determining the quality of teaching and learning and as a result has a pertinent influence on the achievement of the students involved. They argue that leadership in education tends to rely heavily on the relationships that exist between the teachers and students of a given institution and these depend on how the former interact with the latter and how these respond to each other to ensure a successful result. Stephen Dinham states that while there are many qualities which determine whether a teacher can be an effective leader in the classroom environment, these qualities are often very difficult to cultivate and it may take years for the said teacher to master them. It is often essential for the teacher to ensure that they have undergone some kind of leadership training so that they can be better able to handle diverse and unique situations in their classrooms. He further states that it is often necessary for the teacher or school leader to realise that each and every one of their students is unique in many ways and that the behaviour of students should not be categorised in general terms. What one student may be able to understand over a short period of time does not apply to another student who might not be capable of understand over the same time. This means that in order for the teacher to be effective in their classroom, it is often necessary for him to ensure that he treats each of his students in the most flexible way he can in order to cultivate their unique capabilities. Gurr et al (2005) are also of this opinion although they go even further by stating that teachers have to do a self-examination to determine whether they have the necessary qualities that will enable them to become effective leaders so that they can be able to not only strengthen these qualities, but also work towards ensuring that they have acquired those qualities which are most essential in helping in the academic performance of their students. The two articles adopted different methodologies and these have been manifested in the divergent outcomes that resulted from the studies they conducted. Dinham, for instance, chose to pursue two types of research sites with the aim of studying how leadership had an effect in determining the exceptional student outcomes. The first of these was the conducting of studying on departments, which were responsible for the teaching of subjects in secondary schools for years seven and ten, which were approximated to be about eighty percent of the sites selected. The second type of research site that Dinham selected were the teams which had the responsibility of dealing with some of the cross-school programs in years 7 to 10 and these included among others, student welfare, which represented approximately twenty percent of all the research sites studied. These studies were conducted in thirty eight secondary schools in New South Wales across fifty sites and this was done with the aim of creating a sample which was broadly representative hence increasing the credibility of the research. The methodology of the research involved four researchers whose duty was to visit each of the sites selected and it should be noted that some schools had more than one site that had been selected for study. Visits to each site tended to last for four days which enabled the research team to conduct interviews with the principal, faculty heads, other executive staff, teachers, students and members of the community within which the schools were based. In addition to these interviews, the researchers also conducted structured lesson observations through the use of those instruments which were previously used in similar research. The methodology that was adopted by Gurr et al (2005) on the other hand, unlike that conducted by Dinham where studies were conducted in only one state, focussed on studies which were conducted in two Australian states, namely Tasmania and Victoria. These studies were developed on an independent basis from each other and each of the reports that were delivered were done separately hence the reduction of the risk of contaminating the study through the making of generalisations. Among the most prominent forms of data gathering that was part of the methodology of this research was done through the observation of formal and informal school activities and the analysis of documents related to the subject matter. The members of the research team selected for this task were those educators who had years of experience behind them and these were deeply involved in the schools where the research was being conducted and spent hours in discussion, coming up with theories, and writing structured reports after conducting the visits to the schools that were targeted for study. In Dirham’s study, it was found that the leaders of the schools studied, especially the principals, showed a possession and demonstration of two broad characteristics and these included their being aware of the people and events which surrounded them and ensuring that they were responsive to the latter. In addition, these principals often set very high standards not only for themselves but also for those individuals surrounding them so that they gave a lot and expected positive results in return. Their subordinates in the faculties and various programs that were a part of the institutions they headed tended to demonstrate the same characteristics and were often the ones who made them the culture of the schools. On the other hand, the research conducted by Gurr et al (2005) showed that an effectual school leader has to be exceptionally well prepared in order to deal with the unique situations arising at various times. The purpose for this was to ensure that teachers are able to conduct their classes in a way which they can be able to determine that their students have been able to understand what they are discussing. Furthermore, it was found that because of being well prepared, classes would be conducted an organized manner hence improving learning outcomes. In their study, Gurr et al found that school leaders in the schools where their studies were conducted were extremely persistent and this accounted for the high discipline and academic performance of these institutions. Dinham (2007) is also of the opinion that there are certain students who require a teacher’s persistence in order to develop an interest in learning and this has to be strictly observed for there to be an improvement in the learning outcomes of the students involved. In both studies, therefore, the importance of a school leader maintaining his or her persistence in encouraging their students to take an active interest in their education is considered to be paramount in the determination of an improvement in their learning outcomes. Among the biggest impacts of these studies in the education sector is the realisation that teachers have to show leadership through the provision of support for their students in every way possible. It has been found that such support through strong leadership leads to the development of trust between the instructors and their students meaning that the latter are more receptive when in class. As it has been mentioned above, every student has unique abilities and it is important for the teachers to show leadership in encouraging the development of their students’ abilities to ensure that there is more diversity in class. In this way, students with different abilities will be able to share their knowledge with each other and this will bring about a learning environment which is conducive for high academic achievement. References Dinham, S. (2007). How schools get moving and keep moving: leadership for teacher learning, student success and school renewal. Australian Journal of Education, 51(3), 263-275. Gurr, D., Drysdale, L. & Mulford, B. (2005). Successful principal leadership: Australian case studies. Journal of Educational Administration, 43(6), 539-551. Read More