...developing instructional program that are needed for every classroom. As different as the approaches to school reform are, it lies on their success on the motivations and capacities of leadership. Change of improving student learning is quite complicated unless school leaders agree with its purposes and appreciate what is required to make it work. Instructional leaders must also, for example, be able to help their colleagues understand how the reform might be integrated into local improvement efforts, provide the necessary supports for those whose practices must change . In the hectic environments of schools, with the array of demands on leaders, principals and other leaders are generally viewed as unprepared to lead instructional improvement efforts (Levine, 2005). The ultimate goal of instructional leadership was to improve teaching, and meaningful supervision became the instrument to assist teachers in developing and growing in their professional knowledge, skills, and abilities. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Leadership is described as power granted with the will of the followers. It is authority readily invested in a trusted person and thus qualifies as a kind of moral and transformational power over the organization. Effective school leaders are the key to large-scale, sustainable education reform. Focusing on school leadership relations between principals and teachers, this study examines the potential of their active collaboration around instructional matters...
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...specific aspects of teaching and learning. Effective instructional leaders are intensely involved in curricular and instructional issues that directly affect student achievement (Cotton, 2003). The writer of this paper acknowledges that school principals should play the role of instructional leaders, not just a school manager. The reality is that are many demands on a principals time and management skills making it difficult for most of them to spend time in classrooms, when performing teacher evaluation. Principals often make sure that teachers have the opportunities for professional developments, since they themselves rarely have any time to directly affect their teacher’s growth. The approach of sharing instructional leadership with teachers can present some organization challenges. The writer understood from this course that Communication is critical in a principal’s job. A leader must be clear, consistent in communication with students, staff, parents and community which, is imperative to the role of a principal. Similar to the teaching and reinforcement of math and reading skills, policies, procedures, and expectations need to be taught, practiced, and reinforced to students and staff. The writer acknowledges that the reinforcement of policies and procedures with discussions regarding their purpose also helps in communicating expectations with students and staff members. When communicating with staff, technology provides leaders s with the tools and ease to communicate with...
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...Leadership responsibilities for heads of educational institutions play a key role in addressing the problems that face these institutions. The learning process in most high schools fails to deliver the expected results due to poor leadership. Today, many educational institutions seek to implement the evaluation process for public school principals based not only on leadership skills, but responsibilities, accountability, and professionalism (Szczesiul and Huizenga 166). The evaluation system seeks to address increasing issues of high school dropout rates, discipline, academic performance, and development of interpersonal skills among students. Appropriate leadership should be based on student growth and development, unlike earlier systems that rated students based on their academic performances. High school principals need to have the right skills required to address emerging issues such as the curriculum and teacher-student relationship evaluations (Katterfeld 344). Strategic high school leaders understand the needs of the students, teachers, and the non-teaching staff. The evaluation process seeks to determine whether high school principals adopt strategic measures to engage in professional dialogs with the teachers concerning teaching and learning process that occurs in classrooms. Transformational leadership remains critical due to changes in technology, globalization, and diversification, which play a crucial role in the success of modern learning processes. Leadership...
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...Directing Instructional Goals Since the primary purpose of schooling is learning, then deciding what should be taught, how much of it should be taught, and how it should be organized for teaching are the paramount goals for effective instructional leader. Thus, according to McEwan (1998), it is the ultimate responsibility of the instructional leader to guide the development and implementation of instructional goals or the broad general outcomes that define what students should know and be able to do when they exit the school. In her authoritative work on instructional leadership, she proposes guidelines in directing instructional leadership in school. First, the leader must involve teachers in developing and implementing instructional goals and objectives. Teachers may be encouraged to identify significant, meaningful data to be compiled for the school portfolio; interpret the data, request more data, and identify areas of concern; focus areas of concern on a few priorities and developing goals; participate in study groups to further analyze improvement concerns, select indicators of improvement and recommend validated strategies, affirm the completed school improvement plan; participate in staff development to learn the use of new strategies and assessments; and discuss evidence of progress with implementation and goal attainment (Holcomb, 1999). Second, the school leader must incorporate the designated government and/or system curricula in the development...
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...According to Avery’s (2014) dissertation, School district professional learning: Teachers' perceptions of instructional leadership, teacher practice, and student learning, evaluates a school district’s model of professional development that is specifically geared towards improving school administrators' instructional leadership skills and teacher practices with the intention of positively impacting student learning. The model for professional development used was a formative assessment of administrator and teacher practices. Throughout the study Avery (2014) used a survey instrument that measured professional learning standards. The study was quantitative. There were 281 participants in the study. Avery’s (2014) research study included descriptive...
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...leadership. In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a catalyst and servant whose leadership style is support, advocating, and empowerment, while in an ineffective leadership situation; the leader is a pushover, whose leadership is abdication and fraud. Human Resource Leaders believe in people and communicate that belief; they are visible and accessible; they empower, increase participation, support, share information, and move decision making down into the organization. Scratch the surface of an excellent school and you are likely to find an excellent principal. Peer into a failing school and you will find weak leadership. That, at least, is the conventional wisdom. Leaders are thought to be essential for high-quality education. But is this indeed true and if so, exactly how does leadership work? Amidst the seeming certainty that leadership matters, there is much that we do not yet understand about effective educational leadership. However, the knowledge base about leadership is constantly growing. This knowledge can be used with confidence to guide leadership practice, policy, and research. It also can provide a good starting point for dialogue with diverse audience about the future of educational leadership. Like other complex human activities, leadership is difficult to pin down. It might even be unwise to narrow it unnecessary. Nonetheless, a working definition can provide a useful frame of reference. Leaders do not merely impose goals on followers, but work with...
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...History of Leadership Research Researchers have examined leadership skills from a variety of perspectives. Early analyses of leadership, from the 1900s to the 1950s, differentiated between leader and follower characteristics. Finding that no single trait or combination of traits fully explained leaders' abilities, researchers then began to examine the influence of the situation on leaders' skills and behaviors. Subsequent leadership studies attempted to distinguish effective from non-effective leaders. These studies attempted to determine which leadership behaviors were exemplified by effective leaders. To understand what contributed to making leaders effective, researchers used the contingency model in examining the connection between personal traits, situational variables, and leader effectiveness. Leadership studies of the 1970s and 1980s once again focused on the individual characteristics of leaders which influence their effectiveness and the success of their organizations. The investigations led to the conclusion that leaders and leadership are crucial but complex components of organizations. Traits Model of Leadership: Leaders versus Followers Initial investigations of leadership considered leaders as individuals endowed with certain personality traits which constituted their abilities to lead. The studies investigated individual traits such as intelligence, birth order, socioeconomic status, and child-rearing practices (Bass, 1960; Bird, 1940; Stogdill, 1948, 1974)...
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...Leading the School: Culture and Effective Instruction Principals of Education Administration As I have started to uncover in this course; being a Principal is a wonderful job that carries much weight. It is hard to believe that the attitudes, actions, and beliefs of one individual can have such an impact on an organization. As the Principal your actions directly correlate with the culture of your school. As a school leader you also have the incredible responsibility of overseeing instruction at your school and the tools that teachers use to facilitate instruction. You must be familiar with the newest and best materials and practices for effective instruction as well as someone who can motivate and facilitate effective staff development. These are just some of the areas in which you must be aware and knowledgeable. However, these days Principals are not alone, they are surrounded by talented people who bring a great deal of experience to the table and Principals need to be ready and willing to utilize those talents, “The principal of a successful school is not the instructional leader but the educational leader who mobilizes the expertise, talent, and care of others. He or she is the person who symbolizes, supports, distributes, and coordinates the work of the teacher as instructional leader” (Mednick, 2003). School Culture What is meant by the term school culture? One of the definitions I found in my research sums school culture up nicely, it says school culture...
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...Kelly Grand Canyon University 551: Supervision and Instructional Leadership Dr. Gary McDaniel July 31, 2013 Classroom Observation Instruments 1 As a principal, there are many challenges one may face. The challenges range from scheduling to disciplining students. However, one of the most demanding areas is the ability to provide effective instructional leadership. “Recent research shows that high-performing school districts actively seek to establish a clear expectation that the principal will be the instructional leader and the primary architect of instructional improvement at the school (Togneri & Anderson, 2003). Making sure that teaching materials are high- quality and readily available for teachers along with scheduling appropriate professional development are two roles of an instructional leader. In order for these to take place the principal needs to be aware of what is going on within the classrooms. Conducting classroom observations is key in guaranteeing the right tools are provided to teachers. An approach that has becoming increasing popular is the learning-walk or walk- through. When administrators complete a walk through, it gives them the opportunity to gather information about the classroom and help frame collaboration. “The walk-through can be defined as a brief structured, nonevaluative classroom observation by the principal that is followed by a conversation between the principal and the teacher about what was observed.” (Learning...
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...it provides success for all stakeholders in a learning environment? That is a question that many try to figure out since the beginning of education as it is known now. Instructional leaders have experimented with a variety of leadership styles to maximize teacher performances and give every child a quality education while achieving student success. Effective leaders adjust there styles to the task at hand. They do not remain the same at all times. Martin, Wright, and Danzig (2003) proposed six leadership styles that they considered appropriate to use when describing educational leaders. The six leadership styles consist of Directive, Participative, Collaborative, Coaching, Affiliative, and Laissez-Faire. The school that I work at is located in Brownsville, Texas. My city is considered one of the poorest in the nation, and the school I work in is in the poorest side of town. The instructional leaders in my area have to be ready and able to adapt to a whole array of different situations. Within my school I have detected various styles of leadership. They change depending on the circumstances and situation at hand. Within my school environment I have experienced several different leadership styles, including the directive, participative, distributive, and collaborative theories. My instructional leaders have to adapt to the current issues at hand. The Directive approach This approach is not used very often, but I have seen it used in my educational setting. I have seen...
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...Are they meeting objectives and are they focused student needs or SOL's? * As students get older and move through school, is it more difficult to develop a relationship with them? Why do so many kids feel that they are not cared for by teachers? * What are some instructional tactics that you or your school uses to allow for authentic learning and alternate assessment? Is this feasible, authentic instruction and alternate assessment? * Is being a positive role model enough? What can school principals do to make school more meaningful? Instructional Focus at School Level * Does your school allow for collaboration with grade level/subject area teachers? Is it successful, why and how? * *Principals are asked to be saviors (p. 53-54). The term over-burdened is used due to demands and other tasks required of principals. Is this leading to what is viewed as poor principal leadership because many principals acts as mangers opposed to instructional leaders? ***Is the current climate of education causing principals to be managers? Is this truly make a principal a poor leader? The Principal and Change * Change is only one area that requires a principals attention. What are ways that a principal or school system can focus and sustain change? How...what would this look like?...
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...the top”. This program was developed to give school districts financial incentives to improve failing schools and motivate educators about attaining these expectations. In addition, this “race to the top” initiative will increase the emphasis of accountability on teachers and school leaders. More than ever, in today’s climate of heightened expectations, principals are in the hot seat. They are being scrutinized on their ability to improve teaching and learning. They need to be educational visionaries, instructional and curriculum leaders, assessment experts, disciplinarians, community builders, public relations experts, budget analysts, facility managers, special programs administrators, and expert overseers of legal, contractual, and policy mandates and initiatives. They are expected to broker the often-conflicting interests of parents, teachers, students, district office officials, unions, and state and federal agencies, and they need to be sensitive to the widening range of student needs. A principal is usually held accountable in formal and informal ways for school outcomes by their superintendent, the school board, the staff, and the parents. The primary administrative role of a principal is hiring, supervising, and evaluating faculty and staff; providing...
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...A Vision for Instructional Supervision: Mission Impossible? by Elizabeth M. Gensante The standard model for supervising instruction in most school districts is a deficiency model, whereby supervisors take on the role of "snoopervisor," visiting classrooms to judge what they observe. As a beginning teacher, I grew accustomed to token visits from my principal whose standard advice was that if I kept an orderly room and maintained student behavior, all would go well for me. Never was there any dialogue about the substance of my lessons. Since he rarely visited my classroom, I assumed I was doing all right. Toward the end of my 15 years as a teacher, circumstances changed. The new principal assigned to my building believed the time spent on instructional supervision should benefit not only me, but also my students and the principal himself. Post-observation talks with this principal were just that--talks. He encouraged conversation by asking me open-ended questions about specific aspects of my lesson--why I chose certain strategies over others, what went through my mind during the planning stage of a particular lesson, and so on. All teachers in my school realized this principal expected us to reflect on our teaching and that we could expect him to engage us in post-observation talk that was collegial and nonjudgmental. We also realized that working with teachers on instruction was important to this principal, yet none of us ever felt threatened because we sensed his genuine interest...
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...Reading #1 Keeping Quality Teachers The Art of Retaining General and Special Education Teachers Building a Framework: The Role of the Administrator in Teacher Retention Working conditions cannot improve without a commitment from district and building level leadership. Superintendents, principals and special education administrators are key personnel in retaining teachers. In addition, the role of administration in retention and support for special educators is particularly crucial given a history of exclusion and isolation from general education that many special educators have experienced. Section One in this document summarizes the critical importance of administration in teacher retention.School leaders at all levels of education can use the resources and strategies in this document to strengthen their efforts to ensure that students learn with high quality teachers. It should be noted that the term “school leader” extends beyond the role of superintendent or principal. Often, assistant superintendents, vice principals, or others are responsible for certain areas and this needs to be acknowledged when reading the strategies that are recommended. Further, some issues discussed here are building level, while others are district level. The categories described in Section Two touch on most aspects of effective school leadership. Therefore, this section will describe administrative strategies specific to those categories. A more in-depth and complete description of...
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...al, stressed that effective school leaders must be knowledgeable of the ISLLC/ELCC Standards. Cite specific factors, according to the dispositions of these authors that effective school leaders will adhere to and are responsible for in promoting the success of students in addressing Standard 5. How will this information keep you off of “Three on My Side” and avoid disgracing the field of educational leadership? Due to the seriousness of every school’s mission to educate all students, creating a culture of ethics and integrity is extremely important. Therefore, every decision a school leader makes should be guided by Standard 5 of the ISLLC Standards. This standard requires that school leaders promote the success of all students...
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