The Quality of Leadership and Management at the School - Report Example

Educational Leadership: Student Name: Name of institution: Lecture; Date: Introduction The well-being and achievement of students in the classroom is dependent on the quality of leadership and management at the school. With effective leadership, the administrative, pedagogical and cultural conditions necessary for students and teachers to excel are created. Leadership in school function as the main pacesetter and establish the expectations for both the teaching staff and the students. Leadership within the school community is the collective responsibility of those in formal leadership positions, teachers and even students. However, some roles of school management are specific to the school’s official manager (the Principal). The principal overseas the day-to-day management of the school in matters of health, property, finance, personnel, safety and collaborates with teachers to design and deliver the curriculum (Southworth 2005). All leaders in the school are responsible for the role of motivation and should empower both students and teachers to develop leadership qualities. Teaching and Learning School leadership has always emphasized on the management of teaching and learning. However, this emphasis on teaching and learning has been criticized as a rather narrow perspective of the role of school administrators. Regardless of this criticism one must always remember that the core function of schools is to deliver teaching and learning. Literature on educational management refers to teaching and learning focused leadership as learning-centered leadership or instructional leadership. It argues that an educational leader should focus on the behavior of teachers during their interactions with students. According to Bush and Glover (2002), teachers are most critical to the delivery of learning and thus leaders influence should focus on them. Learning-centred leadership is practiced at our school as the principal shows the three aspects of leadership behavior identified by Southworth (2005) as characterizing instructional leaders. These aspects are consulting with teachers, promoting their professional growth and fostering teacher reflection. However, Rhodes and Brundrett (2010) argue that good school leadership goes beyond the focus on teachers and involves a broader range of strategies and actions to support learning and learning outcomes. According to Geoff Southworth (2005), leaders in schools should not limit their role to ensuring effective delivery of curriculum. They should also seek to encourage active learning among students. Educational leaders are also called to promote a learning culture in the organization. Southworth (2005) argues that educational leaders must promote organizational learning, pupil learning, staff learning, leadership learning and the learning of networks. Southworth (2005) posit that the school leader has the responsibility of ensuring “organizational learning” is taking place. It is argued that organizational learning lays the foundation for continuous improvement and high performance. Through organizational learning the conditions and climate for collective learning is created and thoughtful use of data can be used to improve instruction and curriculum. In the Sourtworn (2004), learning-centered leadership is focused on the strategies of modelling, monitoring and dialogue. Leaders model the behavior they expect of other and monitor whether progress is being made. Dialogue includes consultations on what should be improved and the correct course of action. Recently, education policy makers have renewed their focus on teaching and learning in an effort to improve student performance and strengthen the education system. Educational leaders are being urged to focus on raising the overall student performance, providing education that is inclusive with consideration for immigrants and special needs students, close the attainment gap between student populations and reduce dropout rates. At our school, focus has been on raising the overall grades of students and closing the attainment gap between different student populations. Teachers are urged to give special attention to immigrants and special needs children who may take longer to learn. Growing student Diversity Educational policy has also been moving towards the individualization of learning and instructions as classroom are more diverse that ever before. Generalized delivery of curriculum in a multicultural environment does little to close the attainment gap between children from different backgrounds. The responsibility of implementing these new sets of teaching and learning policy lies on the educational leader. However, Leithwood et al (2004) argues that traditional educational leaders are not ready to implement these new policies as they were educated in programs that considered generalized learning the most effective way to deliver curriculum. School leaders are also tasked with making school environments more inclusive as the student population is more diverse. Pressure is mounting in schools to offer a more multicultural and inclusive education as heterogeneity in student population increases. Australia is one of the countries where the heterogeneous student population is presenting a challenge. More than ever before Australian schools have to use extra effort and sensitive teaching methods to effectively handle the needs of the more diverse student population. Educations leaders are thus supposed to guide those under them to ensure diverse student’s population are receiving specialized attention in the delivery of curriculum. Changing Pedagogy Research into teaching and learning methods has brought a new understanding of learning and the way instructions are delivered in classroom (Southworth 2005). Radical changes in the conception of learning and instruction, student cognition and learning are forcing schools to change their approach to learning and teaching. Passive rote learning and didactic teacher-centered instruction emphasized by traditional pedagogy have been passed by time (Southworth 2005). No longer can educational systems just measure fact based memorization, deeper understanding and the ability to apply and synthesize knowledge in the real world must also be evaluated. These new requirements force schools to change modes of student learning and instructions. Educational leaders must strive to build a new form of active, constructivist teaching and learning to understand. Unfortunately, not all educational leaders have the skills to change the mode of instruction and learning in their schools. The changes needed are radical and need the leaders to change their mentality on what are effective learning methods. However, many of the leaders in school institutions will find it hard leading the way in adopting the new modes of active, constructivist teaching and learning to understand as they have been used to the passive rote learning and teacher centered education. School leaders are also tasked with leading the way in developing professional learning communities in the school. No longer can teaching be a solo art practiced by the teacher alone in the classroom. According to Stoll and Louis (2007), effective teaching in schools links to the developing professional learning communities in the school. School leaders are key to introducing the new form of pedagogy in the school and they must master it in order to effectively monitor their teachers’ practice. Principals should know that they are leaders of professional learning in school professional communities. As methods of professional development and evaluation become more sophisticated schools leaders must find a way of embedding them in the school system. It is clear school leadership in the last few decades has changed significantly and school leaders are faced with more challenging roles. School leaders today are forced to be more active instructional leaders as they should monitor and evaluate teacher performance, conduct and arrange for coaching and mentoring of students and teachers, plan teacher professional development, orchestrate teamwork and co-operation in instruction delivery (Witziers, Bosker and Krüger 2003). School administrators are also been increasingly tasked with leadership functions within their schools. A good school leader is supposed to provide a vision, initiate strategic planning, develop layers of leadership and build a community of learning in the institution. School leaders are also tasked with the difficult tasks of developing appropriate school cultures that underlie what can be achieved in the school. Cultural Dimension of school management One of the most important roles of school leadership is to develop a school culture that is the backbone of success and student behavior. School culture is defined as beliefs, values, behaviours, attitudes, traditions, myths and ceremonies that define how things are done in the school. According to Barth (2002), school culture carries incredible power that shapes how people think and act while in school and even after leaving school. A school should be a professional learning environment where the cultural norms are geared towards achievement. School management is a crucial determinant of how a school expresses its culture and the aspects of the culture that are dominant. In our high school, we have tried to develop a culture of discipline, hard work and achievement. We have always reminded our students that only discipline and hard work can lead to true achievement. By having disciplined students we ensure that they can focus on achieving their educational goals even without the close supervision of teachers. One of the key areas of cultural management in the school is building respectful relationships between all parties in the school. The principal of our school stresses the importance of recognizing and respecting the diversity of the student population and that of teachers. School cultures can be one of the most difficult challenges for educational leaders. A school leaders hopes to develop a culture that will inspire achievement and desire for lifelong learning in students. However this is not always the case (Leithwood, Harris and Hopkins 2008). In our school the culture of burning books after graduating from high school had taken root for years. This culture has been viewed as pathetic as it shows that students in our school have no hope of continuing education after graduating. A few years ago, a new principal joined our school and after encountering the “academic bonfire” he committed to change this school culture. He hoped that he would change our student’s attitudes towards lifelong learning. However, as with many other aspects of school culture it would take years before attitudes to lifelong learning changed at our school. Changing a school’s culture is one of the most difficult tasks that face principals and other educational leaders. A school culture is defined as the norms that spell out how things are done in the school. Barth (2002) argues that a schools culture is one of the most influential factor on how learning and life is in a schoolhouse. The importance of school culture is emphasized by Barth (2002) who notes that culture is more influential on achievement that the influence of the teachers, parents, principal, school board, state education department and superintendent combined. Good educational leaders should therefore aim to build an effective school culture that can foster the right environment for high achievement and wellbeing of students. Changing school cultures is not the principal’s job only but is a collective effort that involves all leaders, students and teachers in the school. Many schools experience bullying problems among both students and teachers. When I joined the school fresh from college I found it hard to have my views and opinions on issues in the school heard. My attempts to speak at school meeting were always met by resistance by older members of the teaching staff. At one point, a colleague approached me and asked me not to contribute in staff meeting until I was at least one year old in the school. My colleagues would ridicule my contributions in school meetings and which finally led me to take a withdrawn attitudes at staff meetings. My reprieve came when a new principal intent on changing the new school culture joined the school. I found out that I could give my views freely as the new leader abandoned the old culture where new teachers were discouraged from contributing views of school management issues. Unfortunately, bullying in our school was even more widespread among students. Before the school leadership decided to tackle the bullying problem, cases of bullying almost overwhelmed the school discipline system. Everyday several cases of bullying were reported including taunting incidents, pranks and sometimes even physical assault. However, the school was able to fight the bullying phenomenon by starting a campaign we called; “My schoolmate, my Friend for life. The campaign emphasized the importance of respectful friendships. The school brought in several former schoolmates who had gone on to build successful businesses together or even marry to provide examples on why bullying was wrong. The result of culture change campaign was changing attitudes towards co-operation and bullying in the school. Students started helping each other with assignments, games and even in personal life. Educational leaders must know that they have to build a culture that supports student achievement and wellbeing. For administrators who find good cultures their work is easier but those who face toxic cultures have to strive to change them (Barth 2002). Changing school cultures is not easy and needs school leadership to be reform oriented. Educational leaders should know that changing school cultures is an incredibly difficult task that is characterized by resistance. Successful culture change can only be achieved by co-operation between teachers, parents, school administrators and students. Are school leaders prepared for the leadership challenge? It is clear that school need leaders who can effectively lead and manage change in the school. The need for change is apparent in almost all facets of educational management. Pressure for change is coming from policy programs and mandates, diversity in student population and changing conception of effective education practices. Policy can only become results if school leaders effectively manage adoption of new practices in the school and classroom. The process of change needs skilful and intentional leaders that the school system may not have. Can present educational leaders be able to steer their schools through the resistance to change that will occur? Do they have the requisite skills to lead change without disrupting learning all together? Hall and Hord (2005) argue that there is a shortage of leadership skills in the education sector. Many of the changes needed in schools need the leaders to confront and change retrogressive cultures in their schools. However, more technical changes can be implemented by managerial leaders but the need for transformational leaders in schools is apparent. (Heifetz and Linsky, 2002) schools are in dire need of transformational leaders who can effectively manage the change process. Unfortunately schools do not have enough transformational leaders to make the radical changes need. Therefore, educational policymakers are tasked with coming up with leadership development programs that give educational leaders the requisite skills to manage the transformation in schools that is occurring. Conclusion It is clear that leading a school is a difficult and challenging task. Unfortunately, the task of school leadership has become more challenging as student populations become more diverse and the need for change become a priority in schools. The change in the conception of learning and teaching is informed by the fact that the environment is changing rapidly. Application and synthesis of knowledge in the real world is now more important than memorized facts. Pressure for change is apparent in all facets of educational management. Pressure for change is coming from policy programs and mandates, diversity in student population and the changing conception of effective education practices. This sustained pressure means that school leaders are tasked with changing deep-rooted cultures in schools which dictated how things should be done. However, the training of school leaders means they are ill-equipped in the transformational leadership traits they need to effectively lead and manage change that is occurring in schools. It is therefore imperative for school policy makers to ensure that school leaders receive the necessary leadership training that will enable them become better change managers. References Barth, RS 2002, The culture builder. Educational leadership, 59(8), 6-11. Bush, T. and Glover, D 2002, School Leadership: Concepts and Evidence, Nottingham: National College for School Leadership. Hall, G. and Hord, S 2005, Implementing Change: Patterns, Principles and Potholes(second edition), Pearson Education, Boston, MA. Heifetz, R.A. & Linsky, M 2002, Leadership on the Line, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D 2008, Seven strong claims about successful school leadership. School leadership and management, 28(1), 27-42. Leithwood, K., K.S. Louis, S. Anderson, S. & Wahlstrom, K 2004, Review of Research, How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Learning from Leadership Project, Wallace Foundation, New York, NY. Rhodes, C. and Brundrett, M 2010, ‘Leadership for learning’, in T. Bush, L. Bell,and D. Middlewood (eds), The Principles of Educational Leadership and Management. London: Sage. Southworth, G 2005, Learning-centred leadership. The essentials of school leadership, 75-92. Stoll, L., & Louis, KS 2007, Professional learning communities: Divergence, depth and dilemmas. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Witziers, B., R. Bosker & Krüger, M 2003 “Educational Leadership and Student Achievement: The Elusive Search for an Association”, Educational Administration Quarterly, 39 (3), 389-425 Read More