UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATOEDUCATIONAL

LEADERSHIP CENTRE

BIMODALITY, DUALISM OR

PLURALISM IN

PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENT

JEREMY KEDIAN

INCREASING PRINCIPAL EFFECTIVENESS

Effective schools are run by effective principals.

There is an educational, social, and financial benefit in increasing the effectiveness of principals.

Principal effectiveness is an international issue.

CHARATERISTICS OF PRINCIPALSHIP

Complexity

Simultaneity

Immediacy

Ambiguity

SOME ASSUMPTIONS

There are qualitative differences that distinguish highly effective principals from competent principals.

Highly effective principals possess identifiable capacities that “make a difference”.

The differences can be isolated and described.

ISSUES

Current educational vocabulary is a limiting factor.

“It is hard to think of things except in the way we have always thought of them” (Handy, 1990)

ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Leadership can be described by the styles of behaviour of people in leadership positions.

Leadership involves varying degrees of directive and non-directive behaviour, depending upon a given context.

Leadership involves people in organisations rather than merely organisations

MORE ASSUMPTIONS!

Choice of leadership styles and behaviours is governed by their contextual effectiveness.

There is no single, universal “best practice” that will be highly effective in all contexts.

The ultimate beneficiary of effective leadership in schools is student learning.

SOURCES OF PRESSURE FOR PRINCIPALS

Children’s learning Personal perceptions of effectiveness Maintaining personal credibility in the

eyes of colleagues Development of the school as a viable

organisation

SOURCES OF PRESSURE FOR PRINCIPALS

Accountability to parents and the community for the performance of the school, primarily in terms of students learning

Accountability to a legislated governing authority

THE DOMAINS

Skills Domain

Conceptual/Perceptual Domain

THE SKILLS DOMAIN

Knowledge of the curriculum Effective management of school

resources Appropriate staff relationships Effective budgeting and financial

recording Appropriate planning ability Effective property maintenance

THE SKILLS DOMAIN

Knowledge, and appropriate application, of education legislation and school rules

Managing effective discipline systems Manage the school roll effectively Ability to run staff meetings well Build and maintain effective

relationships with the community

THE OTHER DOMAIN:WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Concepts Characteristics Perceptions Wisdoms Craft Traits “Charatraits”!

CRAFTED WISDOMS

Resilience Interpersonal ability Motivation Professionality and professional

knowledge Personal integrity

CRAFTED WISDOMS

Futures/strategic orientation Contextual awareness Personal and professional wisdom Leadership Reflexiveness

FINAL WORD

“So the urgent drives out the important; and the future goes largely unexplored; and the capacity to act rather than the capacity to think and imagine becomes the sole measure for leadership.”Hamel and Prahalad (1994)