Leadership Theories, Moral Leadership, And Situational Leadership

As a teacher-leader, I have been assigned a number of wide-ranging and important informal roles in my career thus far that have enabled me to support and contribute towards the success of not only my students, but also my department and my school as a whole. By assuming these diverse leadership roles, I have been able to develop professionally, improve student attainment, positively influence the teaching and learning practice of my peers and contribute towards the culture and ethos of the schools I have worked in.

The importance of effective leadership and its impact on improving student achievement are evident in today’s schools (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom, 2004). While the school principal is traditionally thought to be the school leader, Glickman (1989) proposes that “the principal of successful schools is not the instructional leader but the educational leader who mobilizes the expertise, talent, and care of others” (p. 8). Lumpkin, Claxton, and Wilson (2014) contend that helping “each school fulfill its mission and energize and expand the professionalism and professional contributions of teachers, the expertise of all teachers, especially teacher leaders, is needed” (p. 59). Teachers directly impact student learning, and

Based on reading the article entitled “Overcoming the Obstacles to Leadership” many thoughts were evoked simply by thinking about the various challenges that teacher leaders are likely to face within the classroom or building level. In today’s generation, teacher leaders are often faced with resistance from fellow teachers who perceive teacher leaders as “the designated person that reports to administration.” For instance, many teachers feel a sense of intrusion when teacher leaders unexpectedly walk in and begin to question the level of rigor in the classroom also, some teachers may have the impression that teacher leaders may overstep their boundaries when offering suggestions to enhance student grow.

Leadership and how it is defined or recognised varies amongst many. The term can also be mistaken for management rather than someone who leads an organization, and in this case a school (Quality Leadership in Australian Schools, 2007). Leadership identifies two vital aspects: What style of leadership is executed and how leadership is implemented effectively. Teachers have already committed to becoming effective leaders just by choosing to be teachers themselves (Collay, 2008, p.28). So they naturally develop leadership capacity within their everyday teaching. They support and guide their students through their educational journey and this is flourished through change or transformation. But for teachers and Teacher Librarians to be true

This particular research is an attempt to determine how leadership influences teaching and learning in schools. The collection of quantitative data began at the beginning and the end of the 5-year study. The collection of qualitative data was administered with three rounds in between the quantitative data gathering. The quantitative data included teacher surveys, principal surveys, student achievement data and demographic data. The sampling was conducted in nine states that were randomly selected from four quadrants throughout the United States with variation in organization size, socio-economic status (SES), and achievement status. The sampling design was to represent 180 schools in 45 school districts. The actual quantitative sample included teachers and principals in 157 schools and in 43 school districts. The sample represented equal representation from elementary and secondary schools. This study investigated the data from teachers after the first and second rounds the surveys were administered.

One constant need of all communities, organizations, states and nations is that of quality leadership. Northouse (2007) describes school leadership by stating that it is “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (p. 3). Northouse defines a “process” as a collection of systems in which the leadership and member of the school share in the development and delivery by joining behavior, policies and focus. In this many way an effective leader must embody certain competencies and behaviors.

Within the last 30 years or more there has been a greater shift of emphasis of attention by educational scholars to the role of leadership in schools. This has included examining what is meant by leadership as well as how the influence or power that comes from leadership is used, shared and devolved.

According to Fullan (2001), the more complex society gets, the more sophisticated leadership must become. As society evolves, so must leadership. Leaders must be able to work under complicated and uncertain circumstances. At its core, I believe a great school has a strong leader. Great schools are like winning teams with leaders that have a clear, well-defined moral purpose, intimate knowledge of the skills of staff and students and an understanding of the change that will need to occur to achieve the desired outcome. All principals want their school to have successful students. Like the fans of teams who second-guess a coaching decision, teachers have wondered about the decisions of some by principals, which leads to resistance. It’s

An article about leadership by Forbes magazine sums it up best by saying that leadership is simply “someone who has followers” (Frobes.com, 2013). The school subject is Innovations International Charter School of Nevada (IICSN), and in this facility there is only one administrator. This administrator will be referred to as Dr.M throughout this essay. In the following essay, leadership style and application will be addressed, as well as information on systematic change. Throughout this week, systematic change has been the topic of conversation, so in this essay, there will be a discussion as to

Without leadership, the simplest of things can be frustrating. John C. Maxwell, author of 21 Irrefutable Law of Leadership, once said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Leadership is everywhere. Leadership can start from a plethora of places. From school, clubs, home, church. We can be leaders in everything we do. Leadership is not following the in-crowd. In education, leadership can sometimes be lacking. It is the principals, teachers, or sometimes the students themselves. Anyone can learn to be leaders. It is not going to be easy, but once we, as leaders, or teachers, get to where we are going, it is the most amazing thing ever. There are different laws of leadership to learn, but we are not going to name any of the laws. We are just going to learn the main ideas in all twenty-one laws. Each law can stand alone. If you apply the laws then people will follow you. If you do not apply the laws you will not be able to lead anyone. Once the laws are learned, practice them and apply the laws to your live as a teacher. For starts, we have to get a game plan.

To be an effective teacher leader they need to be able to inspire others, they need to be able to create a vision of the future that is vibrant and captivating to help motivate other teachers and students to achieve their full potential. A teacher leader must have an unusually high level of integrity and honesty. It is important to be honest and transparent. Although not everyone may always like your answers it is important to be honest and not try to hide things. Leaders must be able to foresee and solve any arising problems and help analyze potential issues. As the leader it is their responsibility to take care of your followers and requires strong analytical skills. These educational leaders need to be goal oriented, they must strive for results and realize people are expecting you to make things happen. As the leader you must have a greater level of determination and resilience that can be counted on to get things done.

According to Stewart-Banks, Kuofie, Hakim & Branch (2015), good leadership tends to follow three basic steps (a) setting a direction (b) developing people so that they can head in that direction; and (c) redesigning the institution around instruction. It’s less about leaders possessing a compelling shared vision and more about helping “people figure out the shorter-term goals on the way to achieving that vision and then setting high expectations for people in accomplishing those.” When it comes to school leadership, being willing to change is the name of the game whether it’s (a) restructuring the school day so teachers are able to observe teaching of the highest order or, (b) allocating enough

Brown and Wynn (2007) found that beginning teachers want a capable leader, one with a clear vision, but one who includes teachers in decision-making. According to participants in their study, teachers and principals alike want supportive and shared leadership. Brown and Wynn’s (2007) study shows that principals with a proven track record of retaining teachers are accessible, establish trust, know their teachers, and are proactive. Angelle’s (2006) findings support this work. Angelle found that administrators whose priorities rested with discipline, paperwork, or leaving teachers alone, maximized

Throughout the semester, I’ve been able to define and fine-tune my philosophy of leadership. Multiple activities and assignments have enabled me to create an overarching philosophy that can be applied to professional and personal situations. Through the review of The Center for Urban School Leadership’s 13 Core Competencies and various leadership theories many aspects of an effective leader are evident and necessary. First and foremost, I believe leadership is a privilege. It’s a privilege to guide others and shape thinking and actions around the established vision and mission. Additionally, my philosophy encompasses a team aspect as well. Great leaders surround themselves with quality and effective individuals to aid in a variety of situations (Cockerell, 2008). This idea of a team approach is one that has democratic tendencies. Allowing for others to have a voice in how situations are handled and what outcomes are expected. My philosophy is also build on the three pillars or trust, respect, and integrity. Trusting others with responsibilities. Respecting others opinions. Showing integrity in all situations. Although my philosophy has been much better defined over this semester, I’m also aware that it is an evolving process. As instances in leadership continue in my career, this philosophy will change and be adjusted based on positive and negative experiences. A great leader needs to be reflective and realize when some aspects of leadership may be necessary over others

The concept of leadership is one that has for along time dominated the discussion and literature in the fields of organizational science and management .In the last couples of decades however, leadership as a concept has found its way into educational and school improvement literature and discussions (Bennett et al, 2003; Coleman and Earley, 2005). More specifically, there is a interest in the role that strategic leadership plays in the running of schools. The main focus however is the role of teachers and managers in the communication of organization vision to the stakeholders as well as the alignment of organizational vision with strategy (Davies & Ellison,2003). In this paper, I present a reflective account of my experience and views when it comes to the development of an effective leadership system within the educational sector.