Four Dimensions of Principal Leadership, The

Description

The Four Dimensions of Leadership offers readers an invaluable guide to the latest reforms and modifications to school systems. Comprehensively incorporating each major leadership principle advocated for modern school leaders, the text not only gives the opportunity to read and study leadership principles, it also provides inventories, activities, and real life scenarios that turn theory into practice.

A companion text to Practicing the Art of Leadership: A Problem-based Approach to Implementing the ISLLC Standards, this book confronts the challenges currently facing leadership roles in schools: standards, accountability measures, and the connection between school leaders and overall student achievement.

Features

• Provides a set of inventories that the reader can use to assess his or her values, beliefs and behaviors–a fundamental step in establishing a foundation for leadership.
• Contains thirteen research-based core competencies that describe the requirements for leaders of modern-day schools, define their responsibilities, and assess the extent to which they have mastered those skills.
• Includes a series of scenarios throughout the book that transform theory into practice and allow readers to assess their skills in implementing standards and attaining competencies.
• Features “Implications for Leadership” boxes at the end of each chapter that examine causes and effects in relation to leadership and leadership skills.

Reginald Leon Green is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Memphis where he teaches courses with a focus on instructional leadership and participatory governance and change. He received the Ed. D. in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He served at the teacher, principal, deputy superintendent, and superintendent levels of K-12 education.

As schools progress, evolve, and change, the ways in which educational professionals lead and organize must also change. The Four Dimensions of Leadership provides readers with an invaluable guide to the latest reforms and modifications to school systems and comprehensively incorporates each major leadership principle advocated for modern-day school leaders at all levels. The text not only gives readers an opportunity to read and study leadership principles, it also provides tools to operationalize those principles and enhance their capacity to lead through the use of inventories, activities, and real life scenarios.

 

Applicable to courses in general leadership, instructional leadership, participatory governance, and organizational behavior, this companion text confronts the challenges of the recent redefinition of leaderships roles in schools: how it is being informed by competencies, standards, and accountability measures and how this movement forges a connection between school leaders and overall student achievement. Furthermore, the book presents a leadership preparation program that confronts the challenges and complexities of these new standards using a multi-dimensional approach: 1) Understanding Self and Others; 2) Understanding the Complexities of Organizational Life; 3) Building Bridges through Relationships; and 4) Engaging in Leadership Best Practices.

 

The book is a companion text to Practicing the Art of Leadership: A Problem-based Approach to Implementing the ISLLC Standards.

As schools progress, evolve, and change, the ways in which educational professionals lead and organize must also change. The Four Dimensions of Leadership provides readers with an invaluable guide to the latest reforms and modifications to school systems and comprehensively incorporates each major leadership principle advocated for modern-day school leaders at all levels. The text not only gives readers an opportunity to read and study leadership principles, it also provides tools to operationalize those principles and enhance their capacity to lead through the use of inventories, activities, and real life scenarios.

Applicable to courses in general leadership, instructional leadership, participatory governance, and organizational behavior, this companion text confronts the challenges of the recent redefinition of leaderships roles in schools: how it is being informed by competencies, standards, and accountability measures and how this movement forges a connection between school leaders and overall student achievement. Furthermore, the book presents a leadership preparation program that confronts the challenges and complexities of these new standards using a multi-dimensional approach: 1) Understanding Self and Others; 2) Understanding the Complexities of Organizational Life; 3) Building Bridges through Relationships; and 4) Engaging in Leadership Best Practices.

The book is a companion text to Practicing the Art of Leadership: A Problem-based Approach to Implementing the ISLLC Standards.

• Provides a set of inventories that the reader can use to assess his or her values, beliefs and behaviors in the process of developing an understanding of self that is fundamental in establishing a foundation for leadership.
• Contains thirteen research-based core competencies that describe what leaders modern-day schools need to know and be able to do. From these core competencies, readers are able to develop a deeper understanding of their responsibilities and assess the extent to which they have mastered those skills.
• Includes a series of scenarios located throughout the book that transform theory to practice and allow readers the opportunity to assess their skills and attributes in implementing standards and competencies embedded in the content of the text.
• Features “Implications For Leadership” boxes located at the end of each segment that draw connections between cause and effect in relations to leadership and leadership skills.
• Include reflective practice questions located at the end of each chapter that give students the opportunity to seek deeper insight into the chapter’s content.
• Contains chapter essentials located at the end of each chapter that provide a condensed summary of the most crucial information and concepts for study and review.
• Includes a companion website that contains ancillary support materials for both students and teachers in the form of PowerPoint presentations, classroom activities, exercises, suggested course syllabi, and other referential information.

CONTENTS Page

Preface i

Introduction Viii

Part I Establishing a Foundation for Leadership in Schools 1 Chapter 1: Preparing Leaders for Twenty First Century Schools 1

Introduction 1

Twenty-First Century School Leadership Defined 3

Standards, Competencies, and Accountability Measures 6

The Competencies 12

Styles of Leadership for 21^st Century Schools 15

Accountability Measures 22

Making the Connection: The Remaining Chapters 24

Implications for Leadership 27

Reflective Practice 29

Chapter Essentials 30

References 31

Part II Dimension 1: Understanding Self and Others 34

Chapter 2: Leading with an Understanding of Self 35

Introduction 35

The Value of Understanding Self 38

Observing the Effects of Leader Behavior 44

Scenario: The Leader Behavior of Principal Carter 45

Processes for Acquiring an Understanding of Self 53

Outcomes from Acquiring an Understanding of Self 62

Implications for Leadership 63

Reflective Practice 64

Chapter Essentials 65

References 66

Chapter 3: Leading With an Understanding of Others 69

Introduction 69

Developing an Understanding of Others 70

The Benefits of Understanding Others 78

Implications for Leadership 85

Reflective Practice 87

Chapter Essentials 88

References 89

Part III Dimension 2: Understanding the Complexity of Organizational Life 91

Chapter 4: The Social Interaction in Schools 92

Introduction 92

Organizations Defined 93

Scenario: Harpo Allen Middle School 94 Elements Contributing to the complexity of Organizational Life 97

Implications for Leadership 116

Reflective Practice 117

Chapter Essentials 118

References 119

Chapter 5: Perspective on School Structure: Chaos or Efficiency 121

Introduction 121

Organizational Structure Defined 122

The Different Types of Structure 124

Elements of Organizational Structure 84

Two Models of Structure Impacting Schools 89

The Mechanistic Bureaucratic Model 125

The Organic Humanistic Model 131

Structural Configurations for the Twenty-First Century Schoolhouse 133

Scenario: Superintendent Chooses First Year Principal to

Lead Fresh Start School 138

Implications for Leadership 151

Reflective Practice 152

Chapter Essentials 153

References 154

Chapter 6: The Principal’s Role in Establishing and Retaining a

Quality Teaching Faculty 158

Introduction 158

Teacher Recruitment, Selection, Induction, and Placement 159

Instructional Supervision 165

A Mentoring Program for Teachers &nbs

Reginald Leon Green is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Memphis where he teaches courses with a focus on instructional leadership and participatory governance and change. He received the Ed. D. in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He served at the teacher, principal, deputy superintendent, and superintendent levels of K-12 education. Dr. Green is the author of Teaching in the Inner City and Liking It and Practicing the Art of Leadership: A Problem-Based Approach to Implementing the ISLLC Standards (Pearson Education, 2008), as well as a number of articles on contemporary educational issues such as educational restructuring, primary grade restructuring, and gang violence.