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The role of the leader in any organization is a vital one, but in the education sector, it is especially important. Cameron Gonzalez, an education specialist with years of experience in the field has written a dissertation focusing on successful principal leadership, so is well-positioned to discuss the leadership styles that work best in this demanding sector.
“Educational leaders have an integral role to play in the creation of a positive school environment and culture.” Cameron says “they can have a major influence on student achievement and learning. Effective school leaders are increasingly being viewed as the most important thing when it comes to achieving educational transformation. When leaders take the right approach, even the most average school can become a highly successful one. The key is knowing which approaches work best in this sector.”
The Instructional Leader
There is a school of thought which believes that the most effective school management comes from instructional leadership, schools that have an instructional style of leadership can outperform the rest. By taking a coaching style approach, school leaders concentrate on the learning outcomes of their students by improving the quality and skills of the teachers working in the institution. To this end, school leaders take responsibility for their staff’s professional development.
Instruction leaders plan, evaluate, coordinate and improve learning and teaching in their schools. They define the mission of the school, manage its instruction program, provide student and teacher incentives and promote higher expectations. By working directly and closely with teachers, an instructional leader will evaluate each teacher’s performance and advance their abilities and skills through coaching and mentorship.
“Instructional leaders solve pedagogical problems and take action so that teachers’ instruction is improved. They also hold their staff accountable for boosting their instructional skills.” Cameron says. “This requires leaders to understand pedagogy themselves.”
The Transformational Leader
“Transformational leaders take a collaborative approach to leadership”. Cameron Gonzales says. “They empower their staff to have their say when it comes to goal-setting and decision making and, by role modelling, they create an innovative culture of improvement as well as a shared sense of purpose to set the foundation for success and growth.”
A transformation leader can influence the outcomes of their school by outlining expectations of high performance and by offering individual and instructional support. Transformational leaders inspire motivation, stimulate the intellect and instil admiration, respect, loyalty and trust in their teams. This, in turn, creates motivated teachers with high performance and morale. As a result, student outcomes are boosted.
The Constructivist Leader
Constructivist leaders facilitate the process of learning instead of trying to direct it. At the heart of this approach is the understanding that the learner can control their learning instead of relying on their teachers. By acknowledging that each learner process and understands lessons in their way, a constructivist leader prioritizes the customized teaching approach that bears individual learning needs in mind.
“A school leader who embraces this model of leadership will change the focus in their school to knowledge as a process instead of as a product,” Cameron says. “Curriculum design and instruction under this type of leadership encourages ideas to be shared and perspectives to be challenged. Classrooms become places where co-construction and inquiry dominate.”
Cameron also says that constructivist leaders expect their staff to reflect on their processes and practices along with their peers and students so that previous assumptions that have been made about learning and teaching can be challenged. With this type of leadership, teachers are immersed in a learning culture that enables them to take new risks and embrace new challenges. Teachers aren’t told how to deliver their lessons – rather they are educated that they are still learning too.
The Strategic Leader
Strategic leaders base their success on long-term planning. By analyzing, evaluating and monitoring, a strategic leader will assess the current performance of their school and then take all of the steps necessary to improve results in the future. This type of leader won’t just set the school’s direction through their organizational vision, but they will also create a framework, allocate resources, maintain systems and establish interventions so that these reforms can take place.
“Strategic leaders work to 7 guiding principles,” Cameron says. “Instead of placing all of their focus on day-to-day problems, they are future-oriented, preparing for a destiny that is, as yet, uncertain. They base all of their decisions on research and clear evidence. By drawing on the data that shows the school’s learning outcomes, a strategic leader will always respond with the most appropriate approach – perhaps a policy review, more staff training, or a change of culture.”
“Strategic leaders put innovation at the center of their mission. They constantly seek out ways of improving their school environment through building relationships, creating parent partnerships and embracing diversity. They invest in better partnerships throughout their school community and harness the power of collective thought to create a school based on values of ethics, accountability and transparency.”
The Importance Of Leadership In The School Environment
Having a strategy in place for the management of any educational establishment lies at the heart of creating a successful school in the long run. Aligning processes, organizational structures, people and culture behind this strategic focus couldn’t be more important when it comes to achieving success.
“Excellent school leadership forms the foundation of any great school,” Cameron Gonzales says. “When I wrote my dissertation I researched successful principal leadership in high achieving Title I schools and this helped me to understand the importance of effective leadership in creating learning environments in which every student can access outstanding educational opportunities.”
