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Containing ideas on key topics such as professional learning communities, distributed leadership, strategic thinking about ICT and sustainability, this title informs school leaders about current thinking, showing them how to lead schools in the 21st century.
The book covers the values and principles tomorrow's leaders will live by, the conflicts they will face and the outcomes they will expect.
Sponsored by the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA), the British Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration Society (BELMAS), and the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM), this is the first book to provide a comprehensive and comparative review of what is known about the preparation and development of primary and secondary school leaders across the globe. It describes current issues and debates and offers an assessment of where the field of leadership development is headed. Key features include the following: Global Focus: this book provides the first comprehensive look at leadership preparation and development across the globe. The chapter authors are distinguished scholars, drawn from the US, UK, Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, and Africa. Topical & Geographical Focus: provides researchers and policymakers with critical descriptions and assessments of both topical and geographical areas. International Expertise: chapter contributors are drawn from a variety of theoretical perspectives and represent all major continents.
An Intellectual History of School Leadership Practice and Research presents a detailed and critical account of the ideas that underpin the practice of educational leadership, through drawing on over 20 years of research into those who generate, popularise and use those ideas. It moves from abstracted accounts of knowledge claims based on studying field outputs, towards the biographies and practices of those actively involved in the production and use of field knowledge. The book presents a critical account of the ideas underpinning educational leadership, and engages with those ideas by examining the origins, development and use of conceptual frameworks and models of best practice. It deploys an original approach to the design and composition of an intellectual history, and as such it speaks to a wider audience of scholars who are interested in developing and deploying such approaches in their particular fields.
Tomorrow’s schools will need new forms of leadership. The old hierarchical models of leadership simply do not fit any longer. We need to develop new leaders at all levels of the system if we are serious about sustaining improvement and change. But, how do we go about this? The book focuses on the why, how and what of distributed leadership by offering a practical insight into what it looks like in schools. It argues that our new system leaders are already in schools and that the main challenge is to develop them and maximise their collective capacity to make a difference. Drawing on the ‘Developing Leaders Programme’, which aimed to develop young leaders in schools, it provides practical examples and case-study evidence of distributed leadership in action. The main aims of the book are to: provide a clear account of more widely distributed leadership offer evidence about its positive impact on organisational and individual learning give case-study exemplars and practical illustrations of how it works in practice. The book also considers the leadership of networks and the new forms of partnership schools are engaged in. It looks at how lateral capacity is built and the part distributed leadership plays in generating leadership capacity between schools. It will be of interest to headteachers, aspiring school leaders, teachers and educational professionals.
Research has shown that school leadership is second only to classroom teaching in its effect on pupil learning. As the demands on management teams become ever more complex, this volume offers a fresh and expansive view on the challenges to be met in developing a leadership career. With contributions from some of the most accomplished commentators on school leadership and management from around the world, this book moves away from the simple ‘how to’ of becoming a principal, focusing instead on the wider issues of becoming a successful leader. The central aim has been to assemble powerful statements from international authorities that encapsulate leading-edge thinking on a group of interconnected themes based on the notion of developing successful leadership in, and beyond, schools. In so doing the text examines strategies for existing leaders developing their full capacity as well as enhancing the skills of those new to, or aspiring to, a leadership role. The chapters contributed by a carefully selected group of leading educationalists present insights on a number of central themes, including: developing new skill sets in leadership, the ethical and moral dimensions of leading an organisation, Leadership for instructional and pedagogical success, developing leadership capacity and capability through strategic activity. Rather than taking a technical approach of how to undertake the managerial or administrative tasks, the authors seek instead to develop critical leadership perspectives and skills, with chapters on vitally important topics such as strategies for maximizing the potential of the leadership team as a whole. They draw not only upon the literature in the field of educational leadership but also a wider literature in the field of business and management. This diversity of perspective ensures this book’s appeal to a broad international readership.
Many countries face a crisis in recruitment to the most senior positions in schools at a time when arguments rage about the best way to develop our school leaders. Focusing on leadership development in ten diverse cultural contexts, this book brings together some of the most senior commentators in the field of educational leadership development to provide a global perspective on leadership development programmes and practices. The rise of leadership development programmes has presented opportunities for some and challenges for others. These challenges are both practical and conceptual and relate to a series of questions that are unpacked in the book including: What is the appropriate balance between the academic and the practical in leadership programmes? Should provision be located in higher education institutions, in other government sponsored organizations or commissioned from the private sector? Are models of leadership studies derived from the business and industry relevant to schools? How can research into impact inform leadership development policy and strategy? Should programmes be integrated into higher degree provision or should new and innovative forms of accreditation be developed? This book should be fascinating reading for all those engaged in educational research and teaching, and working, in educational leadership.
One of the more common causes of school system failure is the absence of effective leadership. Ideally, school leaders are supposed to be the change agents and facilitators whose primary mission is to improve school culture and bring about the effective transformation that leads to a model Professional Learning Community (PLC). School leaders must focus on developing human capital by working collaboratively with teachers, students, and all who are involved within the system. Effective school leadership has been examined from a variety of perspectives, with the focus ranging from the principles of servant leadership to moral imperatives and distributed perspectives. The debate on what constitutes effective school leadership continues to be wide-ranging and complex. Today’s research scholarship will be the groundwork for how tomorrow’s schools develop a new breed of leadership. Upcoming leaders will face new, unforeseen challenges, so they must re-evaluate strategies and re-work standard processes, in order to promote sustainable development within their respective school systems. Tomorrow’s leaders will be expected to lead a diverse collective of students and teachers, to foster an enduring and empowering culture among students, teachers and other stakeholders committed to build a successful learning community.
Mentoring in educational contexts has become a rapidly growing field of study, both in the United States and internationally (Fletcher & Mullen, 2012). The prevalence of mentoring has resulted in the mindset that “everyone thinks they know what mentoring is, and there is an intuitive belief that mentoring works” (Eby, Rhodes, & Allen, 2010, p. 7). How do we know that mentoring works? In this age of accountability, the time is ripe for substantiating evidence through empirical research, what mentoring processes, forms, and strategies lead to more effective teachers and administrators within P?12 contexts. This book is the sixth in the Mentoring Perspectives Series, edited by Dr. Frances Kochan former Dean of the College of Education at Auburn University. This latest book in the series, co?edited by Linda J. Searby and Susan K. Brondyk, brings together reports of recent research on mentoring in K?12 settings for new teachers and new principals. The book has already garnered accolades from mentoring experts: "You will want to add this high?quality volume on mentoring to your library! What a terrific resource for teachers, leaders, administrators, and mentoring scholars alike. Having first?hand knowledge of mentoring practices and programs for P?12 teachers and administrators can help with the national need to retain teachers and principals through such means as excellent, proven methods, programs, and processes of mentoring" ~ Carol A. Mullen, Educational Leadership Professor, Virginia Tech, U.S. Fulbright Scholar; Kappa Delta Pi Presidential Commissioner "This volume, Best Practices in Mentoring for Teacher and Leader Development, forwards principles of effective mentoring, including the role and importance of talk in mentoring, using tools that make mentoring talk more purposeful, analyzing practice, involving mentors in opportunities to share their practice, providing space for mentees to have a voice in mentoring conversations, and promoting learning at all levels as part of instructional leadership in schools. Much research is still needed to build a sense of urgency that mentoring can matter, and ideas promoted within this book can contribute to this important conversation." ~ Randi Nevins Stanulis, Professor, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, and Director of Launch into Teaching. "This book is a huge first step in a field where best practices have not yet been agreed upon, and it is sure to be a leading voice in research on teacher and principal mentoring. As such, this book helps to bring together a variety of beliefs, evidence, and practices in teacher and principal mentoring, and gives a clear pathway for others trying to establish best practices in their mentoring fields. For those in the K?12 fields, and in all mentoring practices, this is a thought?provoking, must?read." ~ Nora Domínguez, International Mentoring Association, President and CEO
