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QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #68
Educational leadership
PREVIOUS TOPICS LISTED AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
The accountability movement in education has increased interest in leadership models as they pertain to classrooms, schools, and school districts (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003; Mulford & Silins, 2004). If we improve the leadership abilities of our teachers and administrators, will it result in better educated students? Can we train individuals as leaders, and will it affect desired outcomes, or are leaders "born, not made?" Can a leader be effective leading any school, or is it first necessary to match the leader with the school? If so, what are the characteristics of each that are important in arriving at a satisfactory match?
Recent decades have seen the expansion of graduate programs in Educational Leadership, and more school districts are recognizing the value of advanced degrees in educational leadership for principals and administrators (Fife & Goodchile, 1991; Hoppe & Spech, 2003). These programs include courses in management, labor relations, and organizational theory, as well as leadership theory.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Leadership
Much has been researched and written on the role of leadership or the qualities of a good leader. Of course there are many books and workshops on the topic. Researchers who try to describe and predict good leaders disagree about many critical elements, however, they agree on many as well. Personal traits are important, acquired skills are important, and the situation for leadership is important. Some of the key concepts that reoccur in leadership research are:
· Commitment, perseverance, dedication
· Risk-taking
· Communication skills with an emphasis on active listening
· Using or learning skills necessary to accomplish the job (tasks and human relation needs)
from http://www.webaim.org/coordination/articles/imp_of_leadership
“The Institute for Educational Leadership's (IEL) mission is to improve education -- and the lives of children and their families -- through positive and visionary change. Every day, we face that challenge by bringing together diverse constituencies and empowering leaders with knowledge and applicable ideas.”
http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/
“This toolkit is a collection of tips and pointers, articles, case studies and other resources for education leaders addressing issues around technology and education.”
“Important work and research are occurring in the field of education leadership. The Education Leadership Resource Library collects resources to support the development of current and aspiring administrators, coaches, researchers, and others. The Library is a tool that provides an efficient, quick way for leaders to seek useful information. It is our hope that this library will allow the lessons being learned to be shared across the education community.”
http://www.sedl.org/change/leadership/history.html#traits
“Initial investigations of leadership considered leaders as individuals endowed with certain personality traits which constituted their abilities to lead. The studies investigated individual traits such as intelligence, birth order, socioeconomic status, and child-rearing practices (Bass, 1960; Bird, 1940; Stogdill, 1948, 1974). Stogdill (1974) identified six categories of personal factors associated with leadership: capacity, achievement, responsibility, participation, status, and situation but concluded that such a narrow characterization of leadership traits was insufficient: "A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination of traits" (Stogdill, 1948, p. 64). The attempts to isolate specific individual traits led to the conclusion that no single characteristic can distinguish leaders from non-leaders.”
Previous editions of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET
#1 – Creating quizzes (and more) online
#2 – Vocabulary builders
#3 – Online discussion groups for English teachers
#4 – Grammar headaches – and how to cure them
#5 – Resources for new teachers
#6 – International Education Week
#7 – Mentoring programs
#8 – Education publications online
#9 – Applied Linguistics
#10 – English for Young Learners
#11 – World AIDS Day
#12 – Online writing guides
#13 – E-mail exchanges
#14 – Free online English courses
#15 – Effective e-mail communication
#16 – Libraries online
#17 – American Studies
#18 – Teaching methodologies
#19 – Internet tutorials
#20 – Using the newspaper – Part I
#21 – Making books
#22 - Using the newspaper – Part II
#23 – Human rights in language teaching
#24 – Blogging
#25 – Poetry and language teaching
#26 – The communicative approach
#27 - Idioms
#28 – Earth Day
#29 – Alternative assessment
#30 – Peer assessment
#31 – Self-assessment
#32 – Portfolio assessment – Part I
#33 - Portfolio assessment - Part II (Online Portfolios)
#34 – Intercultural communication
#35 – Teaching Adults
#36 – Learning disorders / Special needs
#37 – Using computers in reading instruction
#38 – Use of authentic materials
#39 – English for Medical Purposes
#40 – Sources for authentic materials
#41 – Education and technology
#42 – Academic writing
#43 – Teaching and stress
#44 – Back to school
#45 – Motivating students
#46 – Action research
#47 – Internet terminology
#48 – Fluency
#49 – Curriculum design
#50 – Pragmatics
#51 - Podcasting for English teachers
#52 – Critical reading
#53 – Learner autonomy
#54 – Scaffolding
#55 – Holidays
#56 – English for Academic Purposes
#57 – Mixed-level classes
#58 – The brain and language learning
#59 – Book clubs/Readers’ groups
#60 – Teachers and technology
#61 – Using video in the language classroom
#62 – Internet-based classroom projects
#63 – Observing student teachers
#64 – Digital literacy
#65 – Group work
#66 – Giving feedback on student writing
#67 - Vlogging