Educational Leadership
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 06 April 2021
Fundamentals of Educational Leadership
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Policy Forum on Educational Leadership
Participants in the forum believed that educational leadership could be described along four dimensions:- Instructional Leadership
- Management Skills
- Community Building
- Vision
Instructional Leadership
Perhaps the single most important characteristic of an effective educational leader is their ability to provide instructional leadership. Ironically, studies suggest that as many as 75% of current principals are not skilled as instructional leaders. Superintendents and principals are demonstrating instructional leadership when they devote time and energy to improving the quality of teaching and learning. Instructional leaders have a commitment to the academic success of all students, especially those that are struggling to learn.
Management Skills
Educational leadership is in many ways the ability to understand the balance that is needed in a school or district. That's the case when it comes to management skills. Running a district or a school in today's environment is a demanding job. Success depends on balancing the needs of politicians, parents, and other constituents. Success also depends on the management skills of the leaders in the school. While the traditional focus was on budgets, buildings, and facilities; today good managers need to also stay in-tune with the needs of their community and communicate effectively.Community Building
As the role of the educational leader widens, so does the need for these leaders to build relationships with people inside, and external to, the school's internal network. The traditional approach of top-down decision-making no longer reflects the new distribution of power and sources of motivation. The true community in which school systems exist consists of leaders, teachers, students, parents, and other members of the school district's neighborhood. Educational leadership is all about bringing that community together to support the goals of the school, and even helping to achieve those goals. This is one of the reasons why communication skills are so important for superintendents. An effective superintendent must be able to not only understand the school board's point of view, but also able to work with the board towards the pursuit of a common vision.Vision
True leaders are also able to articulate a clear vision of where they see their school system heading, and they have a clear plan for getting there. We've talked about vision in some of the other leadership articles appearing on this website. When it's shared with others, it often becomes a point around which change revolves. Role models for educational leadership understand the importance of having a vision, sharing it, and the importance of taking risks. Followers cannot fear risk, because risk is involved when challenging oneself to do things differently.Developing Leaders
Given all of the above requirements for educational leadership positions in today's school districts, it's no wonder that those types of positions are becoming less and less attractive. High turnover rates, and a lack of qualified applicants, only serve to compound the problem. Unless the public school system can reverse this trend, parents and policymakers will continue to pursue alternatives such as vouchers and privatization of the public school system. The system cannot wait for leaders to appear. They need to restructure jobs, and begin preparing individuals that are skilled and committed.About the Author - Educational Leadership
