Faith Leadership
- Submitted by: mhore
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- Date Submitted: 05/04/2011 12:15 AM
- Pages: 25
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Educational leadership continues to be re-defined in the contemporary age. There are, seemingly, many reasons for research into this field and, undoubtedly, the complexity of the subject allows an equal array of disentanglement, analysis, interpretation and subsequent models of best practices or distinguishing characteristics.
Research over the past decades has centred on advocating for the need for a shift in meaning, perspective and scope of leadership and the likes of Hargreaves and Fink, (2004) and Lambert and Crowther (2002), Duignan and Covey amongst a pyramid of others support this interest. Professional experience, the abundant amount of literature passing across the desk daily, reflection, and professional learning also confirms the research need. Furthermore, there is an acknowledgement that a diverse range of leadership frameworks and styles do exist and providing a simplistic model of leadership is challenging if not unrealistic. As Sergiovanni states, “even leaders who do the same things don’t always turn out to have the same effects.” (Sergiovanni, 2001, p. 20)
Accordingly, scholars and educationists realise that educational leadership is beyond simply ‘keeping the school as a system running smoothly” (Treston, 2005, p. 68) and there has been a redefinition of the assessment of needs in relation to educational leadership. Notably, leadership of the past
demonstrated a hierarchical nature that has relied on sanctions to bring followers into line is defunct. The ‘Great Man’ theory appeared well suited to educational leadership. (Sergiovanni, 2001, p. 20.) However, leadership is no longer domination, or power but rather is understood as “an influencing relationship that supports a community of believers pursuing a transactional cause.” (Duignan, et al, 2003, p 2.) The emergence of more females to educational leadership roles is one area that is worthy of acknowledgement and, arguably, may account for greater relational leadership as opposed...
Research over the past decades has centred on advocating for the need for a shift in meaning, perspective and scope of leadership and the likes of Hargreaves and Fink, (2004) and Lambert and Crowther (2002), Duignan and Covey amongst a pyramid of others support this interest. Professional experience, the abundant amount of literature passing across the desk daily, reflection, and professional learning also confirms the research need. Furthermore, there is an acknowledgement that a diverse range of leadership frameworks and styles do exist and providing a simplistic model of leadership is challenging if not unrealistic. As Sergiovanni states, “even leaders who do the same things don’t always turn out to have the same effects.” (Sergiovanni, 2001, p. 20)
Accordingly, scholars and educationists realise that educational leadership is beyond simply ‘keeping the school as a system running smoothly” (Treston, 2005, p. 68) and there has been a redefinition of the assessment of needs in relation to educational leadership. Notably, leadership of the past
demonstrated a hierarchical nature that has relied on sanctions to bring followers into line is defunct. The ‘Great Man’ theory appeared well suited to educational leadership. (Sergiovanni, 2001, p. 20.) However, leadership is no longer domination, or power but rather is understood as “an influencing relationship that supports a community of believers pursuing a transactional cause.” (Duignan, et al, 2003, p 2.) The emergence of more females to educational leadership roles is one area that is worthy of acknowledgement and, arguably, may account for greater relational leadership as opposed...