Philosophy of Educational Leadership

Running Header: Critical Element #1: My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

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Critical Element Paper #1

Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education

University of Northern Iowa

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the

Master of Arts in Education or Advanced Studies Certificate

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by

Deborah F. Humpal

AEA PD Online

Johnston, Iowa

11/15/2012

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Dr. Charles McNulty

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Critical Elements: My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

The principal plays an important role in supporting the learning that occurs

in a school. Liethwood, Day, Sammons, Harris, and Hopkins (2006) conclude that,

“School leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil

learning” (p. 4). Yet how does a principal do this? What “things” must a principal

tend to in order to positively impact student learning? How does a principal

prioritize the thousands of issues that come to him or her on any given day? Perhaps

the answers to these questions can be found by looking at leadership decisions

through five important leadership lenses. These lenses include:

Vision Culture Capacity Instructional Leadership Collaboration

None of these lenses exist independent of each other and in many situations a leader

should use more than one lens to frame his or her decisions or actions.

Vision

According to Robbins and Alvy (2009), a shared vision is, “A purpose that can

be witnessed in the daily activities of the school” (Why have a vision and mission,

para. 2). A principal must work to build a shared vision in a school. He or she must

collaborate with faculty, staff, families, and community members to decide what

they want the school to look like (Wilmore, 2002, p. 21). Once the vision is created,

it can be used to set direction, create goals, and identify strategies to help

stakeholders accomplish the vision. The principal must also work to implement and

sustain the vision over time. In today’s world, where ideas and information fly by at

a rapid pace, it is easy for an individual to become distracted by the newest and

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greatest thing. One way to prevent the fragmentation of efforts and/or resources is

for the principal to keep the vision in front of the stakeholders who are making the

decisions. The principal must intentionally build relationships with stakeholders

that deepen their ideology. In practice this means that the principal must

rigorously vet and align the goals, strategies, actions, and activities of the work

against the larger political aspirations and societal transformation. (“The Five Core

Practices ,” n.d.).

Culture

“The inner reality or culture of a school influences its productivity,

professional development, leadership, practices, and traditions (Robbins and Alvy,

2009, Leader as shaper of school culture, para. 1). The culture of a building

influences everything that happens in a school. It can be seen in everything from the

types of learning opportunities students experience in classrooms to the way the

students and faculty treat the facilities. It is because culture is so present and

powerful in a school that a principal must pay special attention to how they are

shaping the culture. To shape the culture of a school the principal should begin by

discovering or learning about the current culture. He or she should learn the

institutional history of the school and how it has shaped the culture in the building.

Once information has been gathered, the principal can then begin to make decisions

and take action to change the culture so that it reflects the vision and mission of the

school. While some principals might advocate for a “shock and awe” approach,

Robbins and Alvy advocate for gradual change over time. Their approach includes

finding the vision, leveraging those individuals whose values align with the vision,

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dealing with issues that are negatively impacting the culture, communicating the

culture through everyday routines and procedures, sharing stories that illustrate the

type of culture that is being desired, and cultivating the traditions in a school to

reinforce culture (Robbins and Alvy, 2009, Reading, transforming, or shaping

culture, para. 3).

Capacity

“Leadership serves as a catalyst for unleashing the potential capacities that

already exist in and organization” (Leithwood and Louis, 2012, p. 5). This statement

gets to the idea that leaders should be in the business of understanding and

developing people. Principals should empower faculty and staff to leverage their

strengths and abilities to improve student learning. Building capacity is more than

just providing staff with the knowledge and skills necessary to help students learn.

A principal must listen to the values and beliefs of the faculty. He or she must rally

around those whose beliefs help improve student learning and address those beliefs

that interfere with learning. The principal must motivate and inspire the faculty to

implement the knowledge and skills that they possess. Inevitably there will be days

when the work is grueling. The principal must support teachers so that they stay

highly motivated and committed to the work. Fullan (2011) also supports these

ideas, he states, “Lead drivers must get at the motivation and competency

development of the vast majority of educators” (p. 8).

Instructional Leadership

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Leithwood and Seashore (2012) state, “When principals serve effectively as

instructional leaders, student achievement is likely to increase” (Implications for

Policy and Practice, para. 1). The principal must act as an instructional leader. To be

an instructional leader the principal must create the culture of continuous

improvement and professional growth. He or she must set an expectation that

everyone must be striving to improve his or her own practice. Perhaps one of the

best ways to set this expectation is for the principal to engage in his or her own

cycle of continuous improvement. The principal must also actively participate in

providing supports that are focused on improving instruction. Leithwood and

Seashore (2012) state, “These practices include:

Staffing the program

Providing instructional support

Monitoring school activity,

Buffering staff from distractions to their work,

Aligning resources” (Improving the Instructional Program, para.1)

This involvement in professional development will ultimately set a principal up to

provide teachers with feedback about their instruction and the implementation of

their learnings.

Collaboration

O’Neill and Conzemius report in “Four Keys to a Smooth Flight”, “schools

showing continuous improvement in student results are those whose cultures are

permeated by shared focus, reflective practices, collaboration and partnerships;

and an ever increasing leadership capacity (as cited in Robbins & Alvy, 2009, The

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case for collaboration, para 1). In the United States today, the education climate is

complex and evolving. It is no longer possible for educators to do this work in

isolation. Educators must collaborate with each other and with agencies outside of

the school. It is the role of the principal to foster collaboration inside and outside of

the school. He or she must create structures and opportunities for people to

collaborate (Leithwood and Seashore, 2012, Table 5.1). The principal must provide

time for people to build trust among each other and structure the time so it is

focused on a specific purpose. Improving collaboration among stakeholders will

transform the power of human capital (the amassed knowledge and skills that an

individual has developed) into social capital (the combine knowledge of the

collective). Ultimately, it is the social capital that can transform a school (Fullan,

2011, p 12).

Vision, culture, capacity, instructional leadership, and collaboration are the

lenses that a principal should use when leading a school. Since many of these lenses

overlap and depend on one another, the principal must constantly be manipulating

each lens so that when they are laid on top of each other they create a crystal clear

picture of the conditions for learning. Conditions that will allow all students to fulfill

their potential, achieve self-actualization, and improve the overall conditions of

society through their contributions.

References

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Center for Strategic Education. Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform. (2011). East Melbourne, Victoria: Fullan, M.

Leithwood, K. & Seashore, K. (2012). Linking Leadership to Student Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

National College for School Leadership. Seven strong claims about successful school leadership. (2006). Nottingham, NGB: Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A., and Hopkins, D.

Robbins, P. & Alvy, H. (2009). The principal’s companion: Strategies for making the job easier. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Social Justice Leadership. (ND). The Five Core Practices of Effective Leadership for Social Justice. Retrieved from http://www.sojustlead.org/resources/five-core-practices

Wilmore, E. L. (2002). Principal leadership: Applying the new educational leadership constituent council (ELCC) standards. Thousand Oaks, CA; Corwin Press, Inc.

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Philosophy of Educational Leadership