Factors in hiring educational leaders - Assignment Example

Should Body Demographics be a factor in Hiring Educational Leaders? achievement and performance is significantly influenced by two main variables. These variables are the quality of leadership depicted by school principals and the quality of instructions offered by the teachers. As such, the caliber of teachers and especially principals that schools hire has a direct impact on student performance. High quality leadership in schools usually translated to improved achievement and equity in schools.

However, the selection criteria used to identify the educational leader best suited for a school is still unclear. In my opinion, the student body demographic should not be used as a criterion during hiring of teachers. Rather than focusing on the composition of the school, those tasked with the duty of hiring of educational leaders ought to focus on data that revolve around student performance, such as the curriculum being offered, differences in instruction and the level of assessment (Reeves, 2007).

The influence of the above data on student achievement by far outweighs the influence of school demographic, which will focus on issues of race, gender, ethnic minorities and the number of second language students (Reeves, 2007).An educational leader should not be picked as the better candidate for simply being white, black, Asian or for representing a large part of the student demographic. This will not only ensure that the interviewing panel does not get it wrong in the choice they make, but will also ensure that equality of all candidates is upheld, where no person gets an upper hand for belonging to this demographic or the other (Reeves, 2007).

In my view, all students have the ability to learn, and educational achievement should not be pegged on one’s demographic. Educational institutions and those charged with picking their leaders should not create the wrong perception that the various student demographics have different levels of learning ability (Reeves, 2007). Instead, the education leader ought to be a person who is a uniting factor, with vast knowledge of the various cultures of the different members of their student body. This will enable them to tackle each student individually and not as a member of a certain demographic (Reeves, 2007).

Educational leaders such as principals and college deans who will be more effective at their job are those who focus their attention on the current and previous actions of the institutions they hope to lead rather than the constitution of the student body.ReferenceReeves, D. (2007, May 8). Leading to Change / New Ways to Hire Educators. Educational Leadership, pp. 83-84.