This book contributes significantly to our understanding of successful school leaders by describing similarities and differences in the work of such leaders in countries ranging from England to Australia, the United States to Norway, and Sweden to Hong Kong. Bringing together case study research, the book helps explain what all successful principals do and the ways in which context shapes some of their work.
This book is for administrators, aspiring administrators, and those who are interested in how schools operate on a day-to-day basis. Many principals will recognize the stressors that are described and that typify a shared-leadership school. Chapter 1 focuses on communication as the foundational skill for all principals, a skill that entails as much listening as it does speaking. Chapter 2 emphasizes the need for principals to trust themselves and to trust others, both of which are important in a job that tends to isolate. The next two chapters focus on the need to be receptive to change and the need for principals to recognize that the classroom is not the only place to learn and that all of a school's resources should be used to provide a practical, real-life learning environment. Chapter 5 examines the need to be prepared for large-scale changes, whereas chapter 6 provides advice on mediating the inevitable conflicts that visit all schools. The last few chapters discuss the importance of exercising the power of the principal's office; how to assess students, staff, and schools; and the need to maintain balance in one's life. A final section offers anecdotes and tips for thriving in the difficult job that is called the principalship. (Contains 59 references and an index.) (RJM)
Unlike other books on the subject, this exploration of the principal asleader -- rather than as manager -- offers avariety of perspectives by well-known education authorities. It explores the dimensions of school leadership both in theory and in practice and demonstrates how principals can substantially improve instruction. Discusses the nature of leadership and new challenges that must be faced; the effective use of computers as a management and instructional tool; and how principals can help improve instruction -- based on their own behavior, the climate of the school, and the improvement of instructional practice. Covers a multitude ofissues -- e.g., the decentralization of decision-making to school sites, restructuring the curriculum to become more responsive to children's needs, the implications that demographic shifts have on school programming, human resource development, and the legal and ethical framework surrounding the issues. Includes a case study or application in each chapter. For those preparing to be school executives.
Successful School Leadership identifies the characteristics, behaviours and practices of successful and effective school leaders through the adoption of a systemic view of the quality of school organizations. Edited by Petros Pashiardis and Olof Johansson, chapters explore the similarities and differences between successful and effective school leaders and across various socioeconomic contexts. Capitalizing on the experiences of the international contributor team, this book will inform the preparation and further development provided to school leaders in an era where ministries of education, universities and multinational organisations (such as the OECD) are increasingly interested in the leadership of our schools. Systematic analyses of multi-perspective data provided from around the world and offers the readers a comprehensive picture of the key behaviours and practices central to successful and effective school leadership. An original contribution to the theoretical perspectives on the subject is derived through insights from empirical research, case studies, and bibliographical literature from the field.
Various definitions of leadership have transformed the way that educators around the world think about teaching, administration, and policy over the years. This title investigates the changing face of educational leadership from comparative and international perspectives.
Lead for efficacy in these disruptive times! Just as the digital landscape is constantly evolving, the second edition of Digital Leadership moves past trends and fads to focus on the essence of leading innovative change in education now and in the future. As society and technology evolve at what seems a dizzying pace, the demands on leaders are changing as well. With a greater emphasis on leadership dispositions, this revamped edition also features New structure and organization emphasizing the interconnectivity of the Pillars of Digital Leadership to drive sustainable change Innovative strategies and leadership practices that enhance school culture and drive learning improvement Updated vignettes from digital leaders who have successfully implemented the included strategies New online resources, informative graphics, and end of chapter guiding questions Now is the time to embrace innovation, technology, and flexibility to create a learning culture that provides students with 21st century critical competencies!
While considerable evidence indicates that school leaders are able to make important contributions to the success of their students, much less is known about how such contributions are made. This book provides a comprehensive account of research aimed at filling this gap in our knowledge, along with guidelines about how school leaders might use this knowledge for their own school improvement work. Leadership practices known to be effective for improving student success are outlined in the first section of the book while the remaining sections identify four “paths” along which the influence of those practices “flow” to exercise an influence on student success. Each of the Rational, Emotional, Organizational and Family paths are populated by conditions or variables known to have relatively direct effects on student success and also open to influence by effective leadership practices. While the Four Path framework narrows the attention of school leaders to a still-considerable number conditions known to contribute to student success, it leaves school leaders the autonomy to select, for improvement efforts, the sub-set of conditions that make the most sense in their own local circumstances. The approach to leadership described in this book provides evidence-based guidance on what to lead and flexibility on how to lead for purposes of improving student learning.
This work represents a publishing event in education research. Genuinely groundbreaking, it is the result of longitudinal research from five nations over five years. The authors set themselves an unprecedented task: to analyze how it is that successful school principals sustain positive outcomes over a significant period of time. To find out, they initiated the International Successful School Principal Project (ISSPP) assembling 30 multinational case histories and numerous comparative analyses. In doing so, they recorded fresh perspectives on the influence school principals can have on their schools, the quality of teaching in their classrooms, and student outcomes. Revisiting the subject schools in 2007, they found many principals still in place, having steered their organizations through various minefields of political, governance and educational reform. As the most penetrating longitudinal investigation of the subject, this research has unearthed fascinating new insights into school leadership that add real substance to the sum of our knowledge. It incorporates data from educational systems in Australia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, England and the USA. One key finding is that while all principals delegate a range of leadership tasks, successful ones distribute responsibility on a case-by-case basis founded on personal assessments of their staff as well as on organizational and policy contexts. The research also demonstrates that successful principals maintain close communication with their staff and the wider school environment, and that they are adaptive, maximizing the opportunities presented by new political contexts and expectations, yet without losing sight of their school’s core moral and ethical principles. The volume’s international thematic analysis has allowed comparative conclusions to be drawn on what the principals do to sustain and foster pedagogical and institutional success.
