Synthesize Educational Leadership Theory to a school district scenario
1. Identify at least two educational leadership theories that you could use to lead the process of developing the strategic plan with the school principals. 2. Describe how the educational leadership theories would be applied. Provide detailed examples supported by research. 3. Discuss how the selected educational leadership theories would influence your decisions and actions. Provide detailed examples supported by research. 4. Determine the most effective educational leadership theory. 5. Defend your choice of the most effective educational leadership theory. Explain why this theory would be the most effective. Provide a synthesis of the research to support your choice. Scenario You have been recently appointed to a school-district level position in a school district that serves approximately 55,000 students (mid-sized) in a suburban school district. You are excited about the possibilities of this appointment and having the opportunity to make a positive impact on student achievement. As you study the demographics of the school district’s population, you find that the student demographics of the school district are as follows: White—40% African American—15 % Hispanic/Latino—25% Asian—12 % Two or more races—8% In addition, 55% of the students qualify for free and reduced meals, and 25% of the students are identified as being English language learners (ELLs) and are enrolled in English as a second language (ESL) services. As you review the student testing data for the district, you note that no student group in any of the district’s middle schools (Grades 6, 7, or 8) met proficiency in reading on the state test. You discuss the situation with other district leaders. You hear a variety of possible causes, including low teacher morale, over-referrals to special education, an overwhelming number of new district mandates that take teacher time away from instruction, large numbers of students who do not speak English as a first language, large numbers of students being suspended for misbehavior, and poor communication of instructional objectives between principals and teachers. You convene a meeting with school principals to get their input on the causes. They explain that the school district recently switched to a new middle school reading curriculum. Teachers did not receive appropriate professional development on the new reading curriculum, especially in how to provide the instruction to students who are struggling readers or who do not speak English as a first language. They say that teachers are also concerned about student behavior interfering with classroom instruction. Principals say that teachers often send students out of the classroom to the office, and the students are frequently suspended. Everyone is frustrated. Some of the principals admit to feeling that the situation is hopeless.
Sample Solution
One of the educational leadership theories that could be used to lead the process of developing a strategic plan with school principals is transformational leadership. This theory emphasizes the importance of creating positive change by inspiring and motivating members of an organization through strong relationships built on trust, shared values and vision. The leader should be able to communicate a compelling vision for what they want to achieve and engage their followers in taking action towards it by emphasizing personal growth and development within each individual’s own unique context (Humphreys & Pino-Pasternak 2009). This approach can help ensure that each principal feels supported throughout the strategic planning process which will make them more likely to actively participate, contribute ideas, and follow through on implementation tasks.
The second theory is distributed leadership, which focuses on collaborative approaches that redistribute power among members of an organization. It emphasizes shared decision making between individuals at different levels in order to better understand their needs and create solutions together (Spillane et al., 2001). By using this approach when working with school principals during strategic planning, leaders can encourage collaboration between staff while still providing guidance where needed. Additionally, it may allow school administrators from different institutions to come together in developing creative strategies for addressing common challenges faced across districts or regions .
