The Challenge of Leadership and Pedagogy.

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“Leadership is a word on everyone’s list said Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus…. The young attack it and the old grow wistful for it. Parents have lost it and Police seek it. Experts claim it and artists spurn it, while scholars want it. Philosophers reconcile it (as authority) with liberty and theologians demonstrate its compatibility with conscience. If bureaucrats pretend they have it, politicians wish they did. And everybody agrees there is less of it than there use to be.”

( Abigail Adams in a Letter to Thomas Jefferson, Quoted in: Finger. J. 1993. Managing your school: No-nonsense strategies for today’s school leaders-Vol.1. Kenmore: Ferfawn Publications. p. 88).

In the journey from the pre-service course to the classroom, the teacher regularly encounters terminology that is used so often, in many cases, words that summarize the key issues in education. These are encountered with such repetition and frequency, that they risk being overshadowed or made redundant. It would seem that “Student Engagement” or simply “Engagement” may be such a word.

At issue here is the critical questions of Leadership, Pedagogy and Engagement. The word Education derives from the Latin word Educaré (pronounced Edu-Car-A). It literally means to ‘draw out of’ or to ‘lead out of’. By its very nature, education and thus a true educator is a leader.

“Leadership can be understood as a process of influence based on clear values and beliefs, 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 dream of a better future for the school, its students and stakeholders” (Bush, Glover. 2003, p12).

"To view and see knowledge in this integrated manner is both sophisticated and the hallmark of the mature student."

They lead in a myriad of ways. They lead their colleagues by example, demonstrating best practice in the classroom. They lead parents by embracing their confidence and, to an extent, educate them also, as to why education in the twenty-first century, is so different to when they were at school, most likely last century. Finally, it means leading the students to a full and robust knowledge of the subject at hand and the requisite skills needed to be successful at the study of that particular subject. In leading, a true educator would highlight the fact that knowledge is not discrete. Science can inform Business Studies, Business Studies might well inform the Creative Arts, the Creative Arts might well inform English or History or Geography or even the Design subjects. However to view and see knowledge in this integrated manner is both sophisticated and the hallmark of the mature student. At its essence then, Leadership for learning is defined as “leadership to create a culture and values system focused on the learning of the individual student” (West-Burnham, 2008, p24).

Sergiovanni pinpoints the indicators of success in schooling, additional to external testing. “Pushed a bit further, parents and teachers provide a more expansive view of excellence, which includes developing a love of learning, critical thinking and problem solving skills, aesthetic appreciation, curiosity and creativity, interpersonal competence and so on. Parents want a complete education for their children” (Sergiovanni, 1999, p6). Whilst it is hard to disagree with Sergiovanni’s list, indeed it demonstrates learning but how do you assess areas such as  aesthetic appreciation?

James Kouzes and Barry Posner (2002) in their seminal work ‘The Leadership Challenge’, highlight the fact that leadership is both relational and contextual. They propose a five-part model of exemplary leadership. In their mind, the exemplar leader (or team):

Table 1: The Five Part Model of Exemplary Leadership (See Kouzes, Posner, 2002, p13).

Models the way	Enables others to act
Inspires a shared vision	Encourages the heart
Challenges the process	(See Kouzes, Posner, 2002, p13).

It is when leadership is shared and best practice laid bare, that an approximation of what leadership for learning might look like in the praxis of the classroom occurs.

Distributed leadership and the notion of teachers as leaders of learning is an issue mooted by Smylie, Conley and Marks (2002). “The literature stressed the importance to school improvement of leadership that was distributed and performed across roles.” (Smylie, Conley, Marks, 2002, p172). They highlight three models of distributed leadership.

Table 2: Three Models of Distributed Leadership. (Smylie, Conley, Marks, 2002, p172-176).

Model One	Model Two	Model Three
Based on the work of William Firestone.	Based on the work of Ogawa and Colleagues	Based on the work of Spillane and Colleagues.
‘Leadership is the performance of key tasks. Key tasks are distributed.’	‘Leadership occurs through interactions with others, not through actions. Leadership is unidirectional.’	‘Leadership is distributed in the dynamic web of people, interactions, and situations.’

It would therefore seem reasonable to conclude, even on elementary grounds, that the Pedagogy that a teacher adopts in the classroom, is reflective of their preferred leadership style. Given that the four traditional styles are: Authoritarian, Collegial, Democratic and Laissez-Faire, it is possible to see the nexus between Leadership and Pedagogy. Think of the Laissez-Faire, classroom, in which anything is allowed (except maybe learning!). A preference towards a distributed leadership, in which the web of learning is seen as dynamic, is more likely to give rise to a constructivist approach to Pedagogy, than a belief that Leadership (and ipso-facto pedagogy / learning) is merely a set of tasks to be achieved.

Linda Lambert (2003) focused her attention on the role of teacher leader and linked this to teacher and leadership capacity within the school. “A high leadership capacity school is one in which teachers choose to lead because their environment has allowed them to do so” (Lambert, 2003, p36). An effective way to build capacity amongst teachers, is through the formation of specific Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Based on the notion of ‘Quality Circles’, the Professional Learning Community is more than just a forum for talking about ‘company’ issues. They are, if conducted properly, forums in which the professional knowledge, thinking and overall ability of the teacher is both challenged and if open to it, simultaneously expanded.

"PLCs are forums in which the professional knowledge, thinking and overall ability of the teacher is both challenged and if open to it, simultaneously expanded."

West – Burnham (2008) has also noted the positive impact that distributed leadership can have on learning. “The impact on pupil’s learning is far greater if leadership is seen as a collective capacity across the school rather than as the personal status of a few individuals....One of the most powerful potential benefits of distributed leadership is to increase a sense of personal responsibility and accountability – to remove dependence on school leaders and so create a culture of interdependent learning” (West-Burnham, 2008, p27).

If leadership is known to have such a significant impact on student learning, then it is incumbent upon System Leaders, School Leadership teams and indeed the Teachers themselves, to create the opportunities in which this form of leadership can be developed.

The formation of the Australian Institute for Teachers and School Leaders (AITSL), goes some way towards addressing this. It is a question of time, as to whether the AITSL standards for teachers and the AITSL standard for Principal, set a minimum standard or encourage further discourse. ( see www.aitsl.edu.au ). The dialogue between AITSL and the profession at present is very encouraging. What is needed, is the refinement and rethinking of Pedagogy and the various pedagogical models currently in play. A new paradigm for the twenty-first century. In forming the leaders of tomorrow, we are also forming the educational communities of the future. At the very essence of that, is how our students learn.

Reference List:

Bush T Glover D (2003) School Leadership: Concepts And Evidence. A Summary Report. Retrieved on 22 February 2010 Accessed From: http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/docinfo?id=17370&filename=school-leadership-concepts-evidence-summary.pdf

Finger. J. 1993. Managing your school: No-nonsense strategies for today’s school leaders-Vol.1. Kenmore: Ferfawn Publications. p. 88).

Kouzes, J. M., Posner, B. Z. (2002). The leadership challenge. San Francisco: Jossey – Bass.

Lambert, L. (2003). Leadership capacity for lasting school improvement. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Sergiovanni, T. J. (1999). Rethinking leadership. Glenview: Lesson Lab Skylight.

Smylie, M. A., Conley, S., Marks, H. (2002). “Building leadership into the role of teachers” in Murphy, J. (Ed). (2002). The educational leadership challenge: Redefining leadership for the 21^st century. Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education.

West-Burnham, J. (2008). Leadership for personalising learning. Retrieved 2 April 2010 From: http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/docinfo?id=17239&filename=leadership-for-personalising-learning.pdf

      © Copyright 2013. David John Ivers. Sydney (Metropolitan) Australia | Twitter: @edu_ivers

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