Linking the models to leadership development
Leadership can be understood as a process of influence based on clear values and beliefs and leading to a ‘vision’ for the school. The vision is articulated by leaders who seek to gain the commitment of staff and stakeholders to the ideal of a better future for the school, its students and stakeholders. Each of the leadership models discussed in this book is partial. They provide distinctive but unidimensional perspectives on school leadership. Sergiovanni (1984: 6) adds that much ‘leadership theory and practice provides a limited view, dwelling excessively on some aspects of leadership to the virtual exclusion of others’. The nine models, adapted from Leithwood et al. (1999) and Bush and Glover (2003), collectively suggest that concepts of school leadership are complex and diverse. They provide clear normative frameworks by which leadership can be understood but relatively weak empirical support for these constructs. They are also artificial distinctions, or ‘ideal types’, in that most successful leaders are likely to embody most or all of these approaches in their work (Bush 2003). This analysis provides a starting point for linking the models to leadership development. Much depends on the nature of the leadership and management role in particular educational systems. If the principal’s role is primarily about the implementation of policy determined outside the school, for example by national, provincial or local government, then leadership development should be primarily focused on developing ‘managerial leadership’. This is the expectation in many developing countries and those in Eastern Europe. Managerial leadership has been discredited and dismissed as limited and technicist but it is an essential component of successful leadership, ensuring the implementation of the school’s vision and strategy. When vision and mis-sion have been defined, and goals agreed, they have to be converted into strategic and operational management. The implementation phase of the decision process is just as crucial as the development of the school’s vision. Management without vision is rightly criticised as ‘managerialist’ but vision without effective implementation is bound to lead to frustration. Managerial leadership is a vital part of the armoury of any successful principal (Bush 2003: 186). A weakness of such an approach, however, is that it is rarely focused on the key task of managing teaching and learning and it does not require sustained engagement with school-level stakeholders. As a result, school and student outcomes may be disappointing and governments may become concerned about their inability to compete effectively in a global economy. This perception is reflected, for example, in the decision of the highly centralized Seychelles’ government to require all their headteachers to acquire master’slevel qualifications in educational leadership. It also influenced the report of the Task Team set up by the South African government shortly after the first democratic elections in 1994: Improving the quality of learning … requires strategies which focus on change at the school and classroom levels … Managers can no longer simply
wait for instructions or decisions from government. The pace of change, and the need to be adaptable and responsive to local circumstances requires that managers develop new skills and ways of working. (Department of Education 1996: 13–14) Improving the quality of learning requires an approach to leadership development, which focuses on ‘instructional leadership’. This means attempting to change the mindset of leaders to regard the processes of teaching and learning as central to their role, rather than simply leaving such matters to classroom teachers. As we noted earlier, however, this model relates to the direction rather than the process of leadership. While encouraging leaders to focus on teaching and learning, it offers little guidance on how they should do so. ‘It says little about the process by which instructional leadership is to be developed. It focuses on the “what” rather than the “how” of educational leadership. In this respect, it is a limited and partial model’ (Bush 2003: 186). To address the limitations of the instructional model, it makes sense to link it to an approach that addresses the process as well as the direction of leadership. Transformational leadership is currently in vogue as it accords closely with the present emphasis on vision as the central dimension of leadership. Successful leaders are expected to engage with staff and other stakeholders to produce higher levels of commitment to achieving the goals of the organisation which, in turn, are linked to the vision. As Miller and Miller (2001: 182) suggest, ‘through the transforming process, the motives of the leader and follower merge’. There is evidence to suggest that transformational leadership is effective in improving student outcomes (Leithwood 199