Reflection and Improvement

New Forms of Leadership

Transformational leadership is schools is deemed the driver of change and transformation needed in most of the learning institutions. The teacher among other stakeholders is critical to the transformation process hence needs to employ a leadership approach that not only empowers but also seeks to promote the autonomy of the learners (Yu, Sackett & Kuncel, 2016). Typically, transformational leaders are considered captains who trust in the subjects in designing and carrying out improvement. The current schools need a transformation that empowers and promotes innovativeness and problem-solving abilities of the learners. Such goals are aimed at by the new form of transformational leadership.

The traditional model of leadership in schools is centered on a hierarchy where decisions are made based on a top-down approach. The teachers and the learners are put in a situation where they feel their inputs do not matter. Their work is to implement and follow orders without being involved in decision-making processes. However, transformational leadership means that the voices of the teachers and the learners matter. Collective performance is undertaken where all stakeholders are encouraged to participate and take an active role. It notes a participative form of leadership where the leaders are required to inspire and motivate other stakeholders into involvement in learning activities, mainly in the decision-making process.

Transformational and participative forms of leadership are the new approaches to leadership that is deemed competent in enabling transformation. Teachers and learners need to be involved in the various learning activities in a bid to make them feel valued and important to the learning processes. The leader or the central authority must establish enough platforms for encouraging the teachers and the learners to take part and provide their viewpoints and perceptions (Yilmaz & Boylan, 2016). The shared decision-making process brings all the stakeholders on board, thus making better decisions that owned by every person. Also, a framework for promoting collective performance needs to be put in place.

On the other hand, the two forms of leadership are being adopted to encourage more involvement of parents and the communities. Today, learning processes are deemed as inclusive and collective activities that need to take into consideration the efforts of the surrounding communities. Besides, there are local authorities and administrative units that have formulated policies for schools and should also be involved in school-running activities and programs (Thompson, 2014). In light of this, these forms of leadership are meant to ensure the current needs in education are being met.

The participative form of leadership resonates with a personal leadership style. In and outside the classroom environment, learners and their parents are involved in the learning activities. It is an individual effort to ensure that every party has a role to play and make their contribution. For instance, the parents of a learner can tell about a trait of a learner that can be exploited with the aim of improving the learner’s educational outcomes. In essence, every party has a role to play, which is an approach that should be taken by the school districts. Every party should make its contribution to the learning processes and activities.

Three Ways for Improving Personal Leadership Style

In the last few decades, the cultural diversity in the classroom has rapidly grown due to factors such as immigration and urbanization. A teacher needs to attend to the needs of all learners regardless of their cultural and social backgrounds (Parkhouse, Lu & Massaro, 2019). In response, participative leadership is not deemed enough. There are additional skills and competencies that a teacher needs to acquire so that he or she can meet the needs of all learners. The following three efforts will be put in place.

Social and interpersonal skills need to be acquired through training and experience. A teacher should be able to establish and maintain personal relationships with learners and other external stakeholders. There are training seminars that equip the trainees with the said skills and competencies. They will be accessed and the skills acquired. They are critical to the interactions between teachers and the learners as well as other external stakeholders.

Cultural competence needs to be acquired. It refers to the ability of a person to relate to other people effectively regardless of their cultural and ethical backgrounds. Learners, parents, and other stakeholders come from varying backgrounds, and linking effectively with them will call for a teacher to have cultural competence (Parkhouse et al., 2019). The skills enable a teacher to respect and value the diversity of other people.

Finally, a teacher will need to acquire and develop skills relating to team building. It was earlier noted that a teacher must create a team of stakeholders who will make contributions to the learning processes and activities. The teacher will be the center of the organization hence must show competence in managing the stakeholders in a manner that gets the best out of them. The skill is also important in the management of the interactions between the team members.

Three Suggestions for Professional Development of Teachers

Not all teachers employ participative leadership style. It indicates one way through which they can promote their teaching in line with the demands of today. The teachers can access training that will equip them with new leadership styles. The style will make them meet the needs of the learners in a manner that makes them part of the process. Ideas and decisions should not be imposed on learners as that serves as a source of demotivation.

The teachers need to adopt a framework that will bring together a team that will contribute to the needs of all learners. The modern teaching instruction requires stakeholders to be part of the process. It is an approach for promoting the performance and involvement of the learners. For instance, the teachers can have a guideline that will be adhered to by the other parties to enable productive interactions between the members.

Further, for collective performance in the classrooms, the teachers need to design instructional strategies that promote teamwork and cohesion. The teacher is responsible for the design of instruction hence he or she should focus on guidelines that will allow for collective performance. It should also encourage learners and other parties to take part. The effort will promote interactions between the various parties and stakeholders.

Ways of Promoting Accountability and Priorities

To promote accountability, teachers need to set goals and objectives that need to be met within a particular time frame. The teacher will report on the progress to be accountable. All the set goals must be attained within the set time. Goals and objectives should be set at the beginning of a learning program and should be communicated to the learners, parents, and other stakeholders. The process of goal setting needs to be undertaken through a planning process where priorities are set. The curriculum goals should be prioritized in order to ascertain that the desired quality is achieved.

The schools can set policies and guidelines that teachers need to follow as a means of promoting accountability. The policies will set forth what the teachers need to do in the course of the learning programs. They will also identify the reporting methods and mediums that all teachers should use. The policies will require the teachers to ensure they have reported on the progress of each learners and the difficulties being experienced. The effort will foster an environment where the teachers are accountable. Additionally, there should be an assessment system to monitor the achievements made towards realization of the set goals and objectives.

A Theory of Action to Sustain School Transformation

A theory of action entails the establishment of a framework that will enable the realization of collective performance. All parties will make their contribution to the learning process. There should be a forum or a medium that will ensure that all parties can interact and engage each other in the design of learning programs. It is a practical approach for promoting the autonomy of teachers as well as the problem-solving skills and innovativeness of the learners. The teams will make contributions that will encourage the creation of a positive learning environment.

Two problems may suffice. One, much time will be spent involving the various team members. It is a common issue when various members have to take part in the process. The problem can be addressed through prioritization of activities and scheduling where time will be allocated on the urgent activities. An additional concern is conflict of interests. It should be addressed through brainstorming where the parties will arrive at the best decision or the action (Ohaka2017). The teams will choose the best response that will provide the greatest benefits to the learners. However, the merits out ways the challenges that may be encountered. All the stakeholders owns the decisions made, thus making them personally liable for any consequence that might arise as a result of a decision implementation. Additionally, it equips and prepare the learners to be better and responsible leaders.

References

Ohaka, N. (2017). Conflict Management in Schools. the Role of the Teacher as an Inloco-Parentis. Munich, Germany: Grin Verlag .

Parkhouse, H., Lu, C. Y., & Massaro, V. R. (2019). Multicultural Education Professional Development: A Review of the Literature. Review of Educational Research 89(3), 416-458.

Thompson, F. T. (2014). Effective Multicultural Instruction: A Non-Color-Blind Perspective . SAGE Open 4(1), 1-19.

Yilmaz, F., & Boylan, M. (2016). Multiculturalism and multicultural education: A case study of teacher candidates’ perceptions. Journal of Cogent Education 3(1), 122-147.

Yu, M. C., Sackett, P. R., & Kuncel, N. R. (2016). Predicting College Performance of Homeschooled Versus Traditional Students. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice 35(4), 31-39.