This article discusses the leadership practices and theories in schools with a case study of Ellenbrook Primary School. It describes the school community, Principal MacNeill's leadership style, and the pedagogic approach used at the school. The article also evaluates the impact of leadership on school performance.
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Running head: LEARDERSHIP1 Leadership in Schools Name: Institution: Date:
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LEADERSHIP2 School leadership Question 1 Describe the school community that is Ellenbrook Primary School in terms of its ICSEA, staffing formula; student numbers, traits and attendance rates; location and level of funding. Ellenbrook primary school has a population of 579 students with a 34 teachers and 20 non teaching staff. The ICSEA value of the school is 998. The school has students from different backgrounds, a fifth of the school population consists of students from Indian and Middle Eastern countries, these students do not have an English background(Broadbent, Boyle & O’Brien, 2015).. This is a public school hence it is funded by the government. According to Dr. Neil Macneil who joined in a the new principal, the school was like a wild west. There were many children that came from troubled families and they consequently were involved in bullying. the success of the leaders depends on the ability with which they understand the causes underlying problems that are found, depending on the context as an indispensable element to improve their schools.Educational leadership does not rest only and exclusively in the figure of the principal but it must be distributed in all the school and in the working modes and professional relationship between its members(McLeskey, Billingsley & Waldron, 2016). Elmore (2010: 81) gives a step further affirming "after observing several schools in the process of improvement school, these are not limited to distributing the leadership -that is, to give greater influences to people with expertise- they also develop leadership, it is say, they create a common body of knowledge and associated skills with the practice of leadership and provide
LEADERSHIP3 opportunities for people to incorporate it into their work ".leadership practices affect the goals set and the development of the organization, personal development, management of the teaching and learning programs to achieve the improvement of the results of the students. These distinctions in leadership actions are perceived as a strategic response, since they used to be based on the size, complexity and culture of the respective organizations(Williams, 2017).. For me, I would form a good team so that as a principal to exert an influence that helps to encourage the work of all for a common goal and achieve good performance for the school. A good leader makes decisions, inspires team members, sets common goals and has the respect and support of the group. In addition, the democratic leader neither imposes nor remains in the background, but relies on the debate and exchange of opinions of the team to make decisions. Question 2 Describe Principal MacNeill's leadership and align it to one of the theories of educational leadership that most suits his style. Analyse the merits and pitfalls of MacNeill's leadership style and evaluate whether it is a good fit for the recent and current needs of Ellenbrook Primary School. The leadership of Neil is Firmness and flexibility. Innovation implies changes and requires that the entire educational community leave their comfort zone and embark on an exciting but demanding adventure. In some instances, Macneil remain firm in the decisions made and involve his team to carry them out, but also allow some flexibility to adapt erroneous or overly ambitious plans, redirect problems and assume unexpected setbacks. In that balance
LEADERSHIP4 they have achieved. Principal Neil came and found a school that was performing dismally but through decisions such as zero tolerance to bullying ,the principal has managed to make some improvements in the school. The leadership of Principal Neil aligns with the road to goal theory. In this theory , a leader is mandated to assist his followers in achieving their goals by providing them with support and / or direction to ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the school. The term road to goal is derived from the belief that a leader is supposed to to help his followers from where they are towards achieving their goals for them to be considered as effective.A leader is supposed to make the path easier and decrease obstacles and other dangers(Hargreaves & Ainscow, 2016). This allows the followers to know what is expected of them, the schedule of work and how to accomplish tasks. Merits and demerits of this leadership To answer this question I will build on the associated behaviors that the dictionary of key competences attributes to leadership, adapting it as far as possible to the reality of a classroom, and which are distributed in four levels: Level 1: Communicates and guides to group 1. Lead well the classes or sessions: plan what is going to work and the specific objectives, control the time, assign the speaking turns, etc. 2. Make sure that the group has all the information they need to do the tasks. 3. Explain the reasons that led you to make a decision that affects the group or part of the group. 4. Maintains a close relationship with the group and knows what is happening. Level 2: Promotes excellence and motivation of the group 1. Use complex strategies to keep the motivation of the group high and to achieve good levels of productivity: assignment of work and task teams, distribution of the classroom space, use of the spaces of the center in
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LEADERSHIP5 relation to tasks, etc. 2. Listen and promote participation and the contribution of ideas. 3. Worries about facilitating a good work climate. 4. It ensures that the group's needs are met: it gets the resources and information it needs. 5. Give instructions or demonstrations, along with the underlying reasons, as a learning strategy. Question 3 In the Fogarty case study, Principal MacNeill said, "we realised that a constructivist approach to pedagogy wasn't delivering the goods that our kids needed" (2016, p. 2). What type of pedagogy is now being used at Ellenbrook? Do the unit readings support, or counter, MacNeill's new pedagogic approach as the right one that will lead to school improvement in a primary school? Leadership is the essential quality of principal, if they wish to design and develop programs for the integral improvement of their institutions, based on the advancement of the aforementioned group of competencies, with special emphasis on the development of diversity programs, bilingualism, attention to cultural plurality, etc., deepening in the domain of the human, turned into the axis of the most relevant for all people(Njenga, 2015). and singularly for the directors of the educational centers. emphasizes that the leader must promote the coordination and consolidation of the groups with which he interacts, managing to improve the culture and promote the maximum commitment of all the people involved; the value of allophilia is highlighted, which fosters favorable attitudes towards all team members. For his part, believes that the role of leaders should be based on the promotion of mutual trust and the development of positive relationships between all the people involved in the program and in educational institutions. The leader must stimulate the emotional potential and achieve
LEADERSHIP6 an adequate balance between the performance of the tasks he performs and his emotional base, which serves as a continuous support against possible uncontrolled impacts of the program. The complexity of the development of innovative programs in educational centers requires managers to put "Distributed Leadership" into action , and to become involved in the program as co-responsible and builder of the innovative project itself. The vision of distribution of functions and tasks in the development of a program requires the attunement of the manager with each and every one of the people who constitute the active group of the program and requires a special closeness among collaborators with projection in the whole training community. The relationship between educational leadership and school performance (school outcomes), in various contexts, has been the subject of numerous contributions, including Sammons, Gu and Day and Ko (2011), Horn and Marfán (2010), and Leithwood and Jantzi (2009), whose research shows that the preparation, involvement and collaboration between school leaders, teachers' teams and communities marks the potential and quality of the school results achieved by students and the future impact on the sustainable development of school environments. paradigms of school leadership, proposes three paradigms of school leadership, which guide the actions and improvement of educational institutions, analyzing them from the most relevant dimensions, synthesized in: First paradigm Second paradigm Third paradigm Role of the Leader - Internal, focused on internal development to achieve goals(Hargreaves & Ainscow, 2015).. Interactive, interface, focused on competition, on the market and on the satisfaction of workers. - Future, focused on facilitating multiple developments of students, teachers and schools. Concepts related to leadership - Instructive - Curricular - Structural - Human - Micro political - Strategic - Contextual / Community - Public relations Triple leadership. - Multilevel learning. - Sustainable development. - Changes Strategic interest in leadership This vision of leadership depends on the idea ofconceiving society as an
LEADERSHIP7 organization This paradigm focuses on the need for accounting and accountability and the tendency to reforms Emphasizes the emphasis on the quality of the education, (it starts in 2000) The difference between teacher and pedagogical leader lies in the origin of the authority of each one, since it constitutes the premise of the relation dominion - subordination. The authority of the teacher comes from the higher levels in the educational institution, in relation to the level that it occupies with respect to the students. It is official authority.The authority of the pedagogical leader always comes from the students with whom he interacts and with whom he shares his position, norms and values. It is moral authority. Question 4
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LEADERSHIP8 From the moment Dr. Mac Neil came to Ellen Brook Primary school there has been improvement in the average number of students who have improved for example in Spelling, the average number of students from 2012 to 2015 who have improved are 424 in 2012 and 439 in 2015. Likewise in narrative writing the improvement from 2012 to 2015 is 431 to 436. These are some of the few example of how the school has improved and it goes to show that the school is a cruising effect and the school is effectively creating what is called an efficient and successful school. Question 5 leadership of Principal MacNeill and his staff at Ellenbrook Primary School? Would it be favourable or not and why do you draw this conclusion? Principal MacNeill is a good leader having transformed Ellenbrook primary school in three years to be a school that pperforms very well. In conclusion, the most effective style of leadership is that which adapts to the collaborators in each situation, that is, exercises an adequate leadership to the needs of the team. Situational leadership is based on an interaction between (a) the amount of direction a leader provides and (b) the amount of emotional support the leader gives the follower and (c) the level of readiness toward the task that followers exhibit in a specific task, function, activity or objective that the leader seeks to achieve through the individual or group(Connolly & James, 2014).
LEADERSHIP9 REFERENCES Broadbent, C., Boyle, M., & O’Brien, S. (2015). Transforming 33 teaching and learning practices in schools through effective leadership, partnerships and career sensitive professional learning.Teachin for Tomorrow Today, 237. Connolly, U., & James, C. (2014).Effective change in schools. Routledge. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Hargreaves, A., & Ainscow, M. (2015). The top and bottom of leadership and change.Phi Delta Kappan,97(3), 42-48. McLeskey, J., Billingsley, B., & Waldron, N. L. (2016). Principal Leadership for Effective Inclusive Schools. InGeneral and Special Education Inclusion in an Age of Change: Roles of Professionals Involved(pp. 55-74). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. McLeskey, J., & Waldron, N. L. (2015). Effective leadership makes schools truly inclusive.Phi Delta Kappan,96(5), 68-73. Njenga, A. V. W. (2015).Assessment of head teachers’ leadership practices in enhancing transition from Preschool to lower primary in public primary schools in Limuru sub county, Kiambu County, Kenya(Doctoral dissertation, Mount Kenya University). Williams, R. (2017). Leadership for school reform: Do principal decision-making styles reflect a collaborative approach?.Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, (53).