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SAILS
Principle 4: Leadership
Learning how to get things done in the world in an effort to
leave it a better place is surely one of the most practical and important
lessons we can take from any education.
- William Cronon, 1999
Theme: Developing skilled agents of change
Leadership involves adopting a role within a multi-faceted educational
system that helps move that system in the direction of meeting the diverse
needs of its students. Candidates must be skilled agents of change who
use these skills to effect the changes necessary to meet the diverse
learning needs of all students. They must also be able to balance the
diverse demands of the needs of students and the wishes of the community
served. Candidates must be open to change, must be aware of how change
occurs, and must be prepared to act to bring about these changes. Candidates
need to become leaders within our educational system, and it is through
this leadership that will bring about the continuous improvement of
the educational systems within which they work.
The American education system must change its curriculum, its instruction,
and its organization if it is to meet the needs of our society in the
21st century. In every state, mass retirements of public educators are
expected in the next few years. This has the potential to lead to a
true renaissance in education, a golden opportunity to truly bring about
meaningful change in how we educate our children.
All educators, regardless of specific position, have the potential to
become agents of change. Research has clearly shown that change is most
effective when everyone in the organization has a sense of ownership
and feels that they have truly been a part of the process. Therefore,
it must be a goal of all our programs, undergraduate and graduate, initial
and advanced, to teach our candidates how to become change agents. This
means exposing them to the latest research in their respective specializations
and, most importantly, teaching them how to translate that research
into effective practice.
Learning Outcomes
The candidate:
- Appreciates the interconnectedness of the relationships of students,
teachers, and parents.
- Engages in critical thinking.
Knowledge Base
Leadership denotes the behavior of professionals who will initiate new
structures of knowledge and skills in interaction with a social system
of organizations, classrooms, schools, and communities (Glickman, 1995).
Leadership begins with a mastery of self (Attitude and Integrity) and
the courage to lead others to places and situations they themselves
would not go alone (Covey, 1991). A leader is someone who understands
that they belong to a community—a community of learners—and
acts in ways to nurture and protect that community and help that community
flourish (Cronon, 1999). Being an educational leader denotes being a
change agent within schools, creating positive learning climates that
promote responsible student behavior, and providing students with multiple,
often creative, paths to new learning (Glickman, 1995; Senge, 1990;
Goodlad, 1994; W. K. Kellogg Foundation, 2000). Teachers can demonstrate
leadership through subject area expertise and pedagogical knowledge,
by designing settings, classrooms and environments that permit natural
demonstrations of what student know, and by using appropriate technologies
to enhance the learning environment (Feiman-Nemser, 2000; Garcia &
Pearson, 1994; Fullan, 1999; Baldrige, 1998; National Foundation for
the Improvement of Education, 1998).
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