Rethinking Educational Leadership

John West-Burnham offers a radical critique of prevailing models of leadership in education, particularly models of school leadership, notably the British view of headship. For almost a generation, school leadership has been focused on the concept of improvement, within a policy context of improvement and a prevailing culture rooted in incremental adjustment rather than a fundamental reappraisal. Transformation is a particularly evocative concept; it is one of those words that it is almost impossible to raise objections to. However, as is so often the case with such words, its power is often proportionate to the ambiguity with which it is used. In the context of a discussion about transforming schools three broad categories of usage might be identified: transformation as improved performance, transformation as the achievement of optimum effectiveness and transformation as profound change. It is in this latter respect that the book will offer an alternative model of leadership. Transformation is not about improving output or efficiency; it is not about incremental improvement or optimising organizational effectiveness. Transformation is rather about the profound change of every component of the organization following a fundamental reconceptualisation of its purpose and nature. Transformation is a process that ensures that an organization is appropriate to the context in which it operates. Transformation is about questioning the very nature of the school as an organization and the nature of organizations. The distinctive nature of this book is that it will focus on leadership attitudes, values and personal qualities (the elusive and intangible elements of leadership) rather than simply reworking the traditional blend of knowledge, skills and experience. Central to the book will be the notion of the personal ‘mind map' - the model of leadership that determines personal behaviour. The book will focus on helping leaders review and reconceptualise their personal mindscapes. The book will have a strongly practical focus and is designed to be a resource for school leaders who find that their work is increasingly moving beyond traditional boundaries into areas for which there are few precedents and only limited resources.

The charismatic transformational leader, who creates a ′vision′ for the future of their organization and persuades others to follow their path towards it, is now the dominant viewpoint that underpins government policies towards leadership development in the English-speaking world. This book offers a much-needed corrective to this orthodoxy by focusing on current research and thinking about ′leadership′ rather than ′leaders. A wide range of prominent international contributors present a rare self critical look at their own assertions and test alternative leadership models against recent research projects. They also demonstrate how their analysis is relevant to all countries where leadership is an issue. Major features include: ] alternative theories to understanding the nature of leadership ] how leadership could be analyzed ] re-analysis of recent research carried out by contributors in the light of one or more of the alternative theories examined ] implications of the alternative perspectives for leadership training This book is recommended to all staff and students involved in educational leadership, management or administration programmes.

The charismatic transformational leader, who creates a 'vision' for the future of their organization and persuades others to follow their path towards it, is now the dominant viewpoint that underpins government policies towards leadership development in the English-speaking world. This book offers a much-needed corrective to this orthodoxy by focusing on current research and thinking about 'leadership' rather than 'leaders. A wide range of prominent international contributors present a rare self critical look at their own assertions and test alternative leadership models against recent research projects. They also demonstrate how their analysis is relevant to all countries where leadership is an issue. Major features include: ] alternative theories to understanding the nature of leadership ] how leadership could be analyzed ] re-analysis of recent research carried out by contributors in the light of one or more of the alternative theories examined ] implications of the alternative perspectives for leadership training This book is recommended to all staff and students involved in educational leadership, management or administration programmes.

We began, prompted by the late Chris Gonnet, Superintendent of Grande Prairie Public Schools, to explore the question 'What Makes a Great School?'in December 2010 at a meeting in Boston. We concluded that it involved many inter-connected elements, but that the key components were focused teacher leadership enabled by being empowered and resourced to make a difference. Rethinking Leadership sees evidence-informed practice as the fulcrum point for leveraging school improvement, especially if it systematically supported within a systematic way at the jurisdiction and provincial levels to build school leadership capacity. We also concluded that the framing conditions for the work of the school - the provincial/ state policies, curriculum requirements, financial arrangements, assessment regimes as well as the policies of school boards and districts - either enables or impairs the ability of a team within the school to create a great school for all students.

"A seminal collection of work from the foremost scholar of educational leadership of the last half century." -Joseph Murphy, Professor Peabody College at Vanderbilt University "A powerful collection of articles by North America's foremost authority on moral leadership. A comprehensive, coherent and definitive treatment of all aspects of moral leadership: What it is, how to develop it, how to lead in the learning community, and about value-added leadership for the future!" -Michael Fullan, Professor of Policy Studies University of Toronto "With Sergiovanni's customary clarity and focus, he reminds us of the vital role that morality, relationships, purpose, and artistic action play in making schools serve kids and community. A great resource for every principal, teacher leader, and system administrator." -Gordon A. Donaldson, Jr., Professor of Education University of Maine "When you open Rethinking Leadership, you will enter a treasure trove of revolutionary ideas that will stir your soul-and change your concept of leadership forever." -Stephen P. Gordon, Professor and Co-Director National Center for School Improvement, Texas State University Explore the moral craft of school leadership! In the second edition of this revolutionary collection, school leaders are introduced to the craft of moral leadership. Thomas J. Sergiovanni, the leading authority on moral leadership, uncovers how successful leadership practices are often based in values and ideas rather than formal processes. Readers will learn an innovative approach to reframing leadership, while discovering how to build effective learning communities. Written by the best of the best, this groundbreaking work truly redefines school leadership!

Organized around eleven fundamental choices that all secondary schools must make, this book serves as a checklist, an agenda, and a study guide for high school reform.

This book is about the practices of leading and their arrangements in a range of contemporary educational contexts. It seeks to shift the traditional, individual, and role-based educational leadership narrative, to more transformational, shared, and ongoing practices between people, thereby decentring leadership. In this volume, contributors consider leading from a practice perspective across a range of educational contexts. Focusing on leading, rather than leadership, they examine how educational leaders lead through decentring from a range of positions and across a range of educational sectors from schools to higher education. Chapters attend to the practices of leading to ‘decentre’ normative, traditional notions of leadership that focus on the individual leader as the unit of study. They draw on the theory of practice architectures to understand leading as a shared and ongoing process rather than as an individual act. This growing body of work that uses the theory of practice architectures (TPA) is disrupting people’s thinking towards leading as a practice. Focusing on practices and their arrangements shifts the traditional, role-based educational leadership narrative to the more transformational elements of practice architectures in thinking about leading in contemporary contexts. Decentring Leadership will be a key resource for practitioners and researchers of education leadership and policy, educational administration, educational research, educational studies and sociology. It was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Educational Administration and History.

This book, the product of the task force on research co-sponsored by the American Educational Research Association Division A and the University Council on Educational Administration, sets an ambitious agenda for research in educational leadership. Prominent scholars in the field review current knowledge about leadership, frame new questions to generate important research in the field, and direct researchers and policymakers to rethink how educational administration, leadership, and policy should be understood. Covering a broad range of topics, from accountability systems and school?community relationships to the education of students from diverse backgrounds, the authors submit current research to critical scrutiny in order to develop frameworks for new research that can have a significant impact on policy and practice.