Socio Cultural Leadership

While many factors influence the success rate of schools, none are more influential than the impact of effective local school leadership by way of a principal. Socio-Cultural Leadership suggests many aspects that impact effective school leadership; however none are more substantial than the following tenets of Socio-Cultural Leadership: As the instructional leader, the principal must supervise and evaluate instruction to make sure that students are given optimal learning opportunities. As the emotional leader, the principal must ensure that teachers are intellectually equipped, emotionally stimulated, and encouraged to assume decision-making positions of leadership in schools to increase student achievement. As a community leader, the principal must inspire and/or provide incentives for student-centered communal learning. As the facilitator of culture, the principal must also realize the limitations of leadership on student achievement and begin to shape and reshape school culture. Socio-Cultural Leadership is the result of a four-year-long immersion into school improvement efforts from around the world, not to mention my own experiences as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, district trainer, director of school improvement, and adjunct professor.

This book identifies the cultural and moral foundations of country-specific educational governance and school leadership and presents the principles of justice and the diversity of common goods that guide leadership practices in schools. It contributes to an existing research field that studies diversity and ethical leadership in schools. The social dimension of school leadership is not limited to issues related to equality and equity, or social inclusion. The capacity of leaders to promote civic-mindedness and social cooperation, consensus and acceptance of others, the right balance between freedom and duties, and reciprocity of obligations, are essential to maintain democratic rights and facilitate the life together while respecting ethnic and cultural differences. Therefore, the book gathers contributions from a range of international authors capable of reporting these moral and cultural features, while broadening the research perspectives on school leadership.

Challenging and innovative in its approach this book explores leadership development on many different levels in an era of internationalization when societies and organizations are becoming increasingly multicultural and undergoing many changes. The focus is on the correlation of culture, leadership and organization in transition.

An invaluable contribution to the area of leadership studies, the Handbook of International and Cross-Cultural Leadership Research Processes: Perspectives, Practice, Instruction brings together renowned authors with diverse cultural, academic, and practitioner backgrounds to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of all stages of the research process. The handbook centers around authors’ international research reflections and experiences, with chapters that reflect and analyze various research experiences in order to help readers learn about the integrity of each stage of the international leadership research process with examples and discussions. Part I introduces philosophical traditions of the leadership field and discusses how established leadership and followership theories and approaches sometimes fail to capture leadership realities of different cultures and societies. Part II focuses on methodological challenges and opportunities. Scholars share insights on their research practices in different stages of international and cross-cultural studies. Part III is forward-looking in preparing readers to respond to complex realities of the leadership field: teaching, learning, publishing, and applying international and cross-cultural leadership research standards with integrity. The unifying thread amongst all the chapters is a shared intent to build knowledge of diverse and evolving leadership practices and phenomena across cultures and societies. The handbook is an excellent resource for a broad audience including scholars across disciplines and fields, such as psychology, management, history, cognitive science, economics, anthropology, sociology, and medicine, as well as educators, consultants, and graduate and doctoral students who are interested in understanding authentic leadership practices outside of the traditional Western paradigm.

A leader’s role in the management of change is a critical issue for successful outcomes of strategic initiatives. Globalization and economic instability have prompted an increase in organizational changes related to downsizing and restructuring in order to improve financial performance and organizational competitiveness. Researchers agree that a leader’s inability to fully understand what is needed in order to guide their organization through successful change can be a reason for failure. Proper planning and management of change can reduce the likelihood of failure, promote change effectiveness, and increase employee engagement. Yet, change in organizations must be viewed as a continuous activity that affects both organizational and individual outcomes. If change management can be considered as an event induced by socio-cultural factors, the cultural variable gains greater significance when applied to the quality of the relationship between a leader and their team. Many organizations today are on the verge of internationalization. It is here that the cultural context can affect behaviors and, in the same way, leadership style. The research presented in this book by an eminent group of scholars explores the influence of culture – ethnic, regional, religious – on how leaders manage change within organizations.

This book explores the foundations of modern primary education and the role that society and culture has had in shaping it. Dismantling assumptions about what education has been or ‘should’ be, Tony Birch outlines what the core principles are that underpin high quality education to provide a holistic approach. Supporting leaders, practitioners and those studying primary education, this book: - Explains key issues in primary education and what drives them - Highlights the importance of pedagogy and leadership to enrich education - Builds on the existing frameworks in schools to encourage an holistic approach - Emphasises the importance of seeing the range of a child’s potential outside of academic expectations Understanding Primary Education as a Whole is an essential resource for leaders and those studying primary education who want to understand the changing nature of their schools, classrooms and children. “All of those leading primary education at whatever level can learn from Tony Birch’s analysis of history and competing influences on primary education. This book is systematic, comprehensive and thoughtful.” Dr. Alison Borthwick, UK and International Freelance Education and Mathematics Consultant “As well as being wise, this book is also engaging, accessible and essentially practical. Read it!” Professor Emeritus David Hopkins, www.profdavidhopkins.com “Tony reminds us of the complexity and challenge of primary education, the battles that have been fought around it and the changes in systems and practice that have occurred as a consequence.” Michael Tonge MA, Chief Executive Prestolee Multi Academy Trust, UK Tony Birch is Director of Birch Education and a Senior Associate of the Association of Education Advisers. He established Bolton Council's award-winning Curriculum ICT team, was Head of School Improvement and also Assistant Director responsible for Education and Learning.

Leadership is a universal phenomenon that has been consistently identified as playing a critical role in the success or failure of organizations. This book begins with an overview of the history and evolution of leadership studies and traces some of the major “schools” of leadership studies that have attracted the interest of researchers since the 19th century. Also discussed are the various theories and models of leadership that have emerged over that period. The author introduces cross-cultural leadership studies and then discusses cross-cultural competencies of global leaders, which are the practical applications of the information available from the researchers to the day-to-day activities of leaders in business organizations around the world. Finally, the book assesses the research on cross-cultural leadership, culture, and leadership in developing countries.

Effective communication with the African society in the field of missions, church planting, and social development work has been and continues to be a great challenge, particularly to people from western cultural and language orientation. Africans are a "we" rather than "I" and a "depended on" rather than "independent of" society. The worldview of a traditional African in terms of society, relationships, and communication is communal. Certainly, the African perception of communalism affects how they communicate with the people of different cultural orientation. Africa has several cultures and people differ in their communication depending on their cultural orientation. However, there are universal African cultures that act as a framework for understanding key aspects of communication with Africans for successful missions, church planting, and social development work. This book, therefore, provides a strategy of understanding communication with the African society. The discussions in this book provide readers with different cultural orientations unique perception of the African society as s/he may be planning to communicate with the African society for missions, church planting, and social development work, even doing humanitarian ministry in African society. Although literacy levels have improved tremendously in most African countries, most of Africa is not a reading society. It is imperative to understand that most Africans still communicate orally and are not time conscious. Hence, effective communication in African societies ought to be based on storytelling rather than literature distribution, although this is in transition. In fact, Africans are oratory and good listeners. Thus, this book provides an understanding to people of different cultural orientations when they plan to communicate with the people in Africa.