01 : 755 (NET)
Dr. Jacqueline Kirk
2021-2022 (Term 2)
Administrative Leadership in Educational Institutions
Course Outline
Course Overview
01:755, Administrative Leadership in Educational Institutions, was another mandatory course in the Master of Education program that I completed in the winter of 2022. Like many of the courses thus far, material was delivered through weekly, 3-hour Zoom classes, interspersed with a variety of readings to be completed each week. The focus of the course went beyond the overview of issues facing educational leaders, and instead focused on varying styles of leadership. Consideration was given as to how these different styles could contribute towards the establishment of positive school culture, relationships, and growth. We were asked to consider what we believed the role of school leaders should be and reflect on our own practices. Assignments included partner work, creating a variety of social media posts connected to a leadership book of our choosing, theory diagram submissions, and a final paper that used a theoretical leadership framework as a lens through which we could explore a particular issue.
LikeIssues in Educational Leadership, which I completed during the previous summer, this was one of my favourite courses throughout the program. It was eye-opening to explore how the purpose and views of school leaders had changed since the establishment of the public school system to what it is today. However, what I found most thought-provoking during this class was the exploration of current theoretical frameworks of leadership, and then consider the benefits, drawbacks, and purposes of each. I appreciated the challenge of looking at different styles of leadership and reflecting on how we could use these frameworks in our own practices. While, at the time, I did not hold a formal position of leadership at my school, this course played a pivotal role in preparing me for my work as a school program leader and the numeracy lead in the following school year. Many of the principles explored in this course shaped how I would lead professional growth conversations and facilitate learning with my fellow teachers in those two roles. Like is so often the case, I had an idea what I might learn when looking at “styles of leadership,” but I was not fully prepared for what I would discover around the bend of my educational journey.
Artifact 1
EXPLORING CAPACITY BUILDING IN TEACHERS THROUGH THE LENS OF DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP THEORIES
For the theory diagrams assignment, we were asked to take the theoretical frameworks of leadership discussed in class and use them to explore a singular issue in education. With each framework, we had to create a diagram that illustrated the impact each leadership style would have on our chosen topic. The theoretical frameworks studied in class included transformational, complexity, shared, appreciative, and transformative leadership. My particular assignment focused on how each of these leadership theories could be used to support teachers with “buy-in” and building their own capacity. Each of the five diagrams visually depicts how each style of leadership could be used to further develop a teacher’s abilities.
I included this assignment for two main reasons. The first was that it was interesting to see how different leadership styles could be used to tackle the same issue. School leaders have a variety of different strengths and styles, and they can all have a positive impact on the school community. The importance of teacher buy-in is crucial when fostering a culture of professional growth and capacity building, thus, how different leadership styles can be used to support teachers is crucial. The second reason was because of how proud I felt when I completed each diagram. No two diagrams are the same and how I used each to illustrate a growth in teacher capacity was unique to the leadership style it represented. Whether I used a scaffold, circle, or line graph, each clearly demonstrates how its leadership theory can be successful. This assignment also served the purpose of helping me recognize that different leadership styles may work better in different situations. There are times when the entire staff, working together towards a single goal in a shared leadership method will work best. Other situations may call for a transformational or complex leadership approach. Strong leaders know how to listen to their staff and adapt their approach based on the needs they identify. This emphasizes the importance of strong communication skills, which I explored in the previous course. Leaders need to effectively communicate with everyone that they work with to best understand which approach to take and when.
Artifact 2
TACKLING LOW TEACHER BUY-IN, OWNERSHIP, AND CAPACITY: AN APPRECIATIVE LEADERSHIP APPROACH
Following our exploration of each theoretical leadership framework and how it could be used to tackle an issue of our choice, we were asked to choose one of those theories and explore it with significantly more depth in a final paper. For this assignment, I chose to use the lens of appreciative leadership theory to explore the issue of teacher buy-in and capacity building. This paper goes into much greater depth than the two paragraphs were able to do in the previous diagrams essay. This assignment explores a brief literature review on the importance of teacher buy-in, why teachers may not buy in, and what happens to the teachers that do. Following the establishment of this potential problem, I explored the theory of appreciative leadership in depth and included the diagram from my previous assignment. The discussion that follows establishes how each of the principles of appreciative leadership (constructivist, simultaneity, poetic, anticipatory, and positive) can support teacher buy-in, ownership of their own learning, capacity building, and positive professional growth.
Of all the assignments completed in my Master of Education program, this is by far the one I am most proud of. It most clearly represents my style of leadership and what I believe my goal as a school leader will be. One of the key components of appreciative leadership is the idea that the talent and answers needed to solve any problem can be found among the staff a leader works with. I believe this to be true and have explored this particular idea many times in the scholarly papers I have written throughout my graduate studies; whether exploring the topic of collective efficacy, collaborative inquiry, leading schools through a crisis, or the importance of communication. When the talents in the room work together to solve a problem, build an action plan, implement it, and then analyze the data that comes from it, a positive culture of professional growth and collective efficacy can be deeply established. At the same time, I can recognize that I am still on an educational journey and that there may be new challenges I face around the next bend that forces me to reconsider how I view myself as a leader. Simply put, we don’t know what we don’t yet know. However, for now, this is the paper that best represents me and my beliefs about educational leadership.
