The Essentials of School Leadership (2nd edition)

Citation

Cramp, D. (2010), "The Essentials of School Leadership (2nd edition)", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 48 No. 1, pp. 133-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231011015511

There is a crisis of leadership throughout our society. This is linked to … the dotcom disaster … entrepreneurs misappropriating ordinary people pensions and savings … political leaders who manipulated our fears and lied about the facts … and in the sanctuary of religious leadership, where breaches of the most basic human and spiritual trust have been committed. If it is time to restore the credibility of leadership, there is no better place to begin than public education … (Hargreaves, 2009, p. 184).

Colleges and universities are realizing that authentic educational leadership is imperative to our rapidly changing society. In his book, The Essentials of School Leadership, Brent Davies has introduced a wealth of knowledge for every student who desires to be an effective leader in education – whether from the halls of an elementary school or the corridors of Harvard and Oxford. Davies has asked and received ideas and theories from ten of the top educational philosophers of our time. He has compiled their thoughts of essentials for leaders in education to make a high impact on their students. Davies begins every chapter with “considerations”, questions or statements to ponder as the reader progresses through the chapter. The chapters are all well organized; supporting diagrams and tables, explanations, a short conclusion at the end, followed by further readings and references. The list of references at the end of each chapter is a welcome sight, for it allows the reader to find these references immediately instead of getting lost at the end of the book.

Chapter 1 discusses strategic leadership. Authors Brent Davies and Barbara Davies force the reader to realize that while strategy is often thought of as calculated and detailed, one must recognize that there is a true process involving much observation in order to achieve success. Filled with charts, lists, and diagrams, the authors tackle three major ideas regarding this style of leadership:

1. 1.

   What do strategic leaders do.

2. 2.

   What characteristics strategic leaders display.

3. 3.

   What a strategic leadership model looks like.

Chapter two, written by Kenneth Leithwood and Doris Jantzi, discusses transformational leadership. Within this chapter, the authors provide an excellent depiction of the how transformational leaders must (p. 38) “foster capacity development and higher levels of personal commitment”. The chapter presents a model for transformational leaders that focus on generating a vision in order to gain high acceptance, developing positive and trusting relationships, and redesigning the organization to allow for a stronger and more successful organization.

Invitational leadership is the subject of chapter three. John Novak discusses the importance of a leader working closely with her or his followers in order to gain respect, obtain success, and be effective. Novak explains that this leadership style is not a (p. 60) “quick fix”, but rather equates it to a long distance runner, meaning that with this style success will come after a fair amount of time and dedication. He further presents how a leader can be inviting, my favorite being invite others personally approach. With this approach, the leader is gaining the trust and respect of his or her followers by making the team feel that regardless of their rank or position (p. 61), “we are all in this together”. Finally, his five assumptions are proven to be effective ways of being a trusted leader. Those assumptions are:

1. 1.

   respect for individuals in the organization;

2. 2.

   trust between individuals;

3. 3.

   care in the process of leading people;

4. 4.

   optimism that better futures are possible; and

5. 5.

   intentionality, where individuals take a proactive approach.

From the perspective of this reviewer, chapter four is the most powerful chapter of the book. Not only is the chapter written by one of the highest regarded educational researchers of our time, Robert Starratt, but the title, ethical leadership, speaks volumes as to what we as educators must give our students in a society filled with stories of unethical decision making found on every newsstand and every television screen. The chapter is based on his five levels of ethical enactment. The first level is that of ethical behavior in a relationship. The second level is the human being acting ethically for the good of the public. The third level's topic deals with the educator considering the ramifications of the power of knowledge. The fourth level looks at how the educational leader balances management and leadership to obtain effective learning and teaching simultaneously. The final level discusses the importance of an educational leader ensuring the number one objective for success is the “best interests of the students and the teachers” (p. 79) rather than self‐interests. While Starratt is discussing transformational leaders and their ethical values, the essence of the chapter can be summed up the following statement – that the true ethical leader (p. 79) “… sees the potential of the people in the school to make something special, something wonderful, something exceptional”.

Geoff Southworth contributes his ideas on learning‐centered leadership in chapter five. Southworth firmly expresses that educational leaders have a responsibility to enhance student learning. By using his three‐step approach (i.e. modeling, monitoring, dialogue), an educational leader can create a huge impact in student learning directly through dialogue or indirectly through modeling. It is an excellent approach that reinforces the idea that school leaders must do what is in the student's best interest. Being visible for the students to see us in action, talking with the students so that they understand our actions, and monitoring the students to ensure that their actions are positive allows for a healthy, well‐rounded educational institution.

Chapter six, written by Linda Lambert, focuses on the attributes of constructivist leadership. Lambert uses four terms throughout the chapter to define and express what a constructivist leader must possess:

1. 1.

   Community.

2. 2.

   Purpose.

3. 3.

   Reciprocal.

4. 4.

   Learning.

Throughout the chapter she makes it clear that inquiry and dialogue with others allows us to (p. 113) “… discover and make sense of new ideas, we reshape or incorporate new thinking through a meaning‐making process.” Four vignettes help give the reader examples of constructivist leadership in action.

“Poetic and political leadership” is the title of chapter seven. Written by Terrence E. Deal the first two pages deal with management and organizations. As a science teacher turned educational administrator, I was particularly drawn to his metaphor of an organization being like a jungle. Both have limited resources, competing interests, and conflicts that determine the future. As a school leader, I do not consider myself a poet, however, one of the main points that I truly agree with and feel all leaders would benefit greatly from is point seven on page 143: tell stories. Stories give students and teachers a framework. It gives them something tangible to remember. When I am in the classroom, a concept is always better remembered when a real‐life story accompanies it. Thus, when we are at a board meeting, or discussing with a student a poor decision he or she made, telling a story can speak volumes for educating and making a difference in someone's life.

Chapter eight, written by Gib Hentschke, discusses a newer concept in educational leadership, entrepreneurial leadership. This chapter looks at several different aspects of this leadership style:

• •

  characteristics that must be possessed;

• •

  attributes that must be learned;

• •

  perception of these types of leaders; and

• •

  how change can be good for entrepreneurial leaders.

Finally, there is a section on how to construct a more entrepreneurial atmosphere in an educational setting. Hentschke talks of the stigma that is associated with an entrepreneur and how many feel that making money is not for schools, but rather for the benefit of for‐profit organizations. He quickly dispels that rumor, and for myself having worked in a private school for over a decade it is clear that even in a non for‐profit organization this style of leadership helps keep a private school operating during times of economic instability.

A topic that needs much more attention in our society, leadership development in schools, is presented in chapter nine. Authors Peter Earley and Jeff Jones discuss the five stages of school leadership, followed by suggestions about how to effectively integrate school leadership programs in a school setting. The five stages include: emergent leadership, established leadership, entry to leadership, advanced leadership, and consultant leadership, all tie in perfectly to figure 9.5 (p. 180) that summarizes ten strategies for growing tomorrow's leaders. By appreciating the differences between the five stages, the ten strategies can be implemented with greater understanding thus leading to greater success. Effective leaders have great people who surround them and support them. This chapter helps school leaders create, find, and maintain a great support team.

The final chapter explains how leaders can maintain their effectiveness over long periods of time and develop programs that will be successful long after the leader is gone. Author Andy Hargreaves focuses on sustainable leadership. Hargreaves provides the reader with ten principles of sustainable leadership: social justice, promoter of diversity, and vigilant, just to name a few. He devotes this chapter detailing the significance of each principle, giving examples, and citing research to support his ideas. If a school leader were only able to read one chapter, this chapter is highly recommended. Essentially, leaving a positive legacy that creates programs geared to the best interests of the students must be a primary goal of any school leader.

In conclusion, this book gives great ideas to future leaders while simultaneously reinforcing many of the ideals being taught by educational leadership courses in leadership development and preparation programs. This is evident by the way each author uses current research to effectively get his or her point across. The book is easy to read, contains numerous suggestions and guidelines that help the reader comprehend the material, and the uniformity of each chapter allows the reader to stay focused throughout the entire book. This volume would be an appropriate primary resource to be used in every leadership course offered at the university level, as well as used by practicing school based and district level administrators as a reference guide for effective leadership.