The Role of Effective Leadership in Promoting Inclusion - Essay Example

The Role of Effective Leadership in Promoting Inclusion The Role of Effective Leadership in Promoting Inclusion Introduction Leadership is of critical importance in determining the success of any institution. Schools are not an exception, in this case. Although the American schools system and curriculum is governed by evident policies that seek to promote inclusion, it is impossible to achieve inclusion without effective leadership. In an article titled ‘Effective leadership makes schools truly inclusive’, the authors have described some the most significant aspects of leadership that determine the succession of inclusion. According to the article, schools have sought to implement effective leadership in an effort to ensure that the commitment to the extensive legislation in the education sector presents positive outcomes. This paper will highlight the main ideas discussed by McSleskey and Waldron in the article. Discussion The article highlights that the No Child Left behind Legislation served to establish new standards in the educations system. The policy introduced new measures in the education system as well as performance standards that each public school must attain. The main objective of the Act was to ensure that all the children including those with special needs have an opportunity to access quality education. In the past, many schools did not give attention to the learning needs of children with disabilities (McLeskey & Waldron, 2015). However, the act has made it clear that schools must ensure that all the groups of students in each school are able to attain a remarkable performance. The Act has strict measures in place taken against schools that do not make the yearly progress standards. However, the article reveals that leadership can play a critical role in helping schools meet the expected standards. The authors compiled their findings from case studies involving three different schools. The first aspect described in the article is the fact that school principals should adopt a leadership style that promotes the commitment to core values. School principals who promote a commitment to shared values are able to ensure that teachers and administrators exhibit a high level of determination in ensuring that all the students irrespective of their learning capacities. The core values in any learning institution should be the demonstration of an undying commitment to ensuring that students achieve positive learning outcomes (p. 69). However, Waldron and McLeskey have mentioned that school principals need to introduce the shared values. It is impossible for shared values to begin at the lower level of the school hierarchy. Therefore, shared values in a school can only present the expected outcomes if principals are the ones who introduce the values from the top office in the school. The fact that teachers have confessed that they often feel incompetent enough to address the learning needs of students translates to a reason why they fail to support inclusion. However, the authors have the conviction that principals who introduce shared values into a schools system may play a positive role in helping the 70% of teachers who feel insufficient to handle diverse learning needs of students with disabilities. Shared values give all the teachers and administrators a common vision that makes it possible for teachers to exhibit a higher level of confidence in their ability to handle students with various learning needs. However, the success of the shared values depends on the ability of the principals to establish trusting relationships with teachers. Notably, the stubbornness of principals and the intentions to compel teachers to exhibit high levels of commitment has not been able to bear any positive results (p. 70). Without doubt, teachers only respond positively when principals initiate trusting relationships. With such relationships, it is easier for principals to communicate the shared vision to all the teachers. According to the article, teachers have highlighted that such relationships introduce platforms of shared decision-making and power balance. Therefore, such relationships introduce the possibility of participative decision-making. Participative decision-making serves to empower teachers, a factor that makes them more motivated in their work. In addition, there is a salient need for schools to improve student outcomes by developing reliable data systems. Worth noting is the fact that inclusion requires schools to promote improved performance for all the students. However, improving performance requires a comparative analysis of the results of students over a given period. Developing a reliable data system is one of the preconditions of ensuring that schools can improve student outcomes. Schools that the authors considered in this case revealed that they were able to develop their own standards and data systems that help them determine whether they are making the required progress. The data systems capture the outcomes of individual students. These data systems promote high levels of accountability internally. The schools also mentioned that the data systems helped in the determination of expectations for both teachers and students. With such data systems, it proved possible for the schools to develop more appropriate instruction strategies (p.72). Instead of wasting time focusing on the state testing, the teachers choose to spend more time examining the outcomes of instructional strategies and making analyzes of student outcomes. The third aspect outlined in the article is professional development. Notably, there was an evident need to bridge the existing gap by promoting the professional training. Many teachers lack the capacity to handle students with diverse learning needs. Therefore, many schools recognized that teachers needed to acquire new skills and competencies. Although the Act recommended professional development for teachers, schools have chosen to take increased measures and allocation of funds to training and empowerment of teachers. When teachers have the required skills for handling students with different learning needs, they are more likely to deliver positive outcomes. Promoting professional development is a critical aspect of transformative leadership, which is the most effective leadership theory of the 21st century. Therefore, schools that were considered in the case study focused on training teachers on how to use a student-centered approach in delivering content. The student-centered approach has outstanding benefits in promoting performance because the teacher identifies the needs of the students and designs strategies for addressing those needs. The learner-centered approach has proven to be an effective approach to promoting student performance (p. 74). The role of effective leadership in schools cannot receive any form underestimation because it can help schools achieve the defined standards defined under the Act. Effective leadership is highly transformative, and it empowers teachers to deliver outcomes that are more positive. The positive relationships established between the school administration and the teachers serves to promote better decision-making processes in the schools. When teachers have a measure of power and an opportunity to make certain decisions, it becomes easier for them to share the values and visions attached to the achievement of the state standards in education. Effective leadership creates the appropriate platforms for schools to establish a favorable environment for the learning outcomes to be achieved (p.71). Conclusion Evidently, the article makes it obvious that without effective leadership, schools will be unable to achieve the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. Since the implementation of the Act, some schools have made a measure of progress in promoting performance in schools. However, other schools have not been able to register the expected outcomes. The impact of effective leadership can serve to help schools achieve the state standards. As highlighted above, effective leadership can create the favorable environment for decision-making processes while also empowering teachers through advanced training. Effective leadership is also critical in establishing data systems that can play a significant contribution to the monitoring of performance. The right type of leadership can transform schools, and enable them to make the yearly progress defined under the educational policies. Reference McLeskey, J., & Waldron, N. L. (2015). Effective leadership makes schools truly inclusive. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(5), 68. doi:10.1177/0031721715569474 Read More