ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Social Inquiry and Social Action: Priorities for Preparing School Leaders
Author: Gale, Trevor
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Democracy,Social Action,Role,School Personnel,Inquiry,Role of Education,Democratic Values,Self Determination,Leadership Responsibility,Citizenship Education,Instructional Leadership,Principals,Administrator Role,Individual Characteristics,Administrator Education

Schools are uniquely placed in democracies. Among other things, they are sites of learning about things democratic, including learning "through" as one (important) way of learning "about." There are other sites in which to learn about and through democracies but schooling's uniqueness is that it is a site through which all must pass. So positioned, schools also provide models of democracy for other sites. They are formative of bodies: of young hearts and minds, and of what those hearts and minds (will) make of institutions. And yet, in democratic terms, the universal imposition of schooling on the young can be seen as its greatest shortcoming. There is much to learn about the enactment of democracy through compulsory school attendance, as there is from compulsory voting (which is less widespread). This is democracy's greatest conundrum: the legitimacy of imposing an ideal when the ideal is self-determination, albeit determined in collectives. Leaders are strategically positioned in schools. They are positioned as leaders "of" schools while some are also leaders "in" schools. For the most part, they do not come to their position through some democratic process even though some adopt a democratic stance. In this respect, they are democracy's instruments. They have a moral contract with society, not just with those in their school, to be leaders of learning about and through democracy. They have a responsibility to produce the citizens that democracies need and desire in a context of what is possible, and to balance this with the needs and desires of their students, also in relation to what is possible. They can carry the official title of leader--of principal or head teacher--or they may go by other names (e.g., deputy principal and even teacher, teaching assistant, school counselor, etc.). They have a sense of where they are going and carry others with them, which defines their leadership. In this article, the author discusses two major priorities that should guide the preparation of school leaders in democratic societies: (1) Cultivate a "researcherly" disposition: educate leaders for social inquiry; and (2) Cultivate a "teacherly" disposition: educate leaders for social action.
Educational Leaders or Compliant Bureaucrats? Reflections on "Leadership" Preparation
Author: Reitzug, Ulrich C.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Democracy,Administrator Effectiveness,Instructional Leadership,Leadership Training,Tests,Scores,Compliance (Psychology),Principals,Administrator Education,Administrator Role,Educational Policy

There is a commonly held conception that being able to raise a school's test scores as a principal is the hallmark of effective educational leadership. As a professor involved in the preparation of leaders for democratic schools, this author strongly contests this notion, stating that wrenching higher test scores from a group of students and teachers does not constitute educational leadership. Rather, it may constitute nothing more than the successful manipulation of a school's instructional program to comply with the wishes and pressures of educational bureaucrats and political power brokers. Following the dictates of others is hardly leadership; it is compliance and falls far short of the sense of compelling vision that is often articulated as a key characteristic of leadership. The author contends that to be an educational leader in a school striving to be a democracy, a principal must, in a sense, be a prophet. Brueggeman (1978) has noted that the role of a prophet is to "nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the dominant culture." Most schools currently are not democratic. They neither function as democracies nor do they prepare students for democracy. Principals must remember that they ultimately serve students--not policy makers and bureaucrats. Their leadership role is about establishing a loftier vision and standard than the currently dominant one and working with people to embrace and reach that vision. The author suggests that in order to develop educational leaders for this monumental challenge, those involved in the preparation of leaders must prepare them for the schools they enter as well as for the schools they leave behind.
Responsibility and Accountability in Educational Leadership: Keeping Democracy and Social Justice Central to Reform
Author: Larson, Colleen L.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Justice,Democracy,Academic Achievement,Leadership Training,Educational Change,Accountability,Educational Opportunities,Scores,Educational Policy,Disadvantaged Youth,Administrator Role,Leadership Responsibility

There has been, without question, a persistent demand for holding both leaders and teachers accountable for increasing test scores in schools, particularly in schools serving impoverished children and youth. This concern for increasing test scores and holding educational leaders and teachers accountable for student achievement is central to government education policy and it is dramatically reshaping policies and practices in schools across the country, particularly, in schools serving impoverished children and youth. This concern for increasing educational achievement and demanding greater accountability is, also, forcing change in many educational leadership preparation programs. Professors all over the country are redesigning their curriculum to address the new instructional demands being placed on school leaders. The author believes that a good society is a quest that must actively involve all its members; this is a quest for a society that is both democratic and socially just and it must be pursued by the men and women who lead the government as well as by those who head public institutions, especially schools. In schools, this quest can only be achieved if leaders understand the critical role they play in enhancing democracy in their school communities and the enormous power they have to work toward greater social justice through education. The author believes that the women and men who lead schools bear a greater responsibility for the moral state of schools and classrooms. She also believes that they have a moral obligation to use their position of leadership to increase educational equity and advance educational opportunity for all children in a democratic society. These beliefs have strong ramifications for designing leadership preparation programs that prepare leaders who understand their democratic responsibilities, appreciate the limitations of their expertise in a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse and divided nation, and value inclusive processes for effective decision making.
The Question in Educational Leadership: For Whom and for What Are We Responsible?
Author: Carlson, Dennis
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Democracy,Educational Change,School Personnel,Teacher Leadership,Instructional Leadership,Public Education,Administrators,Administrator Role,Teacher Responsibility,Teacher Role,Educational Philosophy

Jacques Derrida wrote about democratic leadership in educational institutions throughout his later work, but in this article the author notes the importance of Derrida's essays published as "Eyes of the University" (2004). Derrida begins by returning to questions raised by Immanuel Kant two centuries earlier with regard to the founding of the modern public university, questions having to do with the responsibility of the faculty to assume leadership within the university. Faculty are, for Derrida as for Kant, the eyes of the university, engaged in "thinking" and teaching the university into existence, and they assume primary responsible for its leadership. Public schools can begin to be reconstructed democratically by returning to discourses and practices of faculty leaderships. Among other things, this means moving from a notion of the principal as administrator to a notion of the principal as head teacher or teacher leader. This may seem insignificant, but it would signify a fundamental shift in thinking, and in the organization of schools, that is potentially quite radical. Derrida raises a number of questions that confront educational leaders. "What do we represent? Whom do we represent? Are we responsible? For what and to whom?" These are not questions that educational leaders can hope to answer by referring to a management textbook or an administrator's manual, yet they strike to the very heart of what it means to be a democratic leader. Sometimes it is easy to forget these questions, which must foreground democratic educational leaders. They call for a response, Derrida would say, to assume responsibility for a promise--in this case the promise of what a democratic education could be. Democratic educational leadership in this sense is a response to a call to keep alive a promise, one that may be extinguished if the current reform agendas in public education go unchallenged. This means that effective democratic educational leadership at this point in time is working against the grain more often than not, and involves developing a reputation as a troublemaker. To remain effective as a democratic leader consequently requires learning how to negotiate the boundaries of compliance and resistance, and how to cross the borders that separate the school and the community in building alliances and coalitions of support.
21st-Century Priorities for Leadership Education and Prospective School Leaders
Author: Mullen, Carol A.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Justice,National Standards,Epistemology,Instructional Leadership,Leadership Training,Administrator Education,Educational Needs,Needs Assessment,Administrative Principles,Administrator Responsibility,Leadership Effectiveness,Leadership Qualities

What are the major priorities for preparing educational leaders for their work in school communities? Clues to this question are nestled within higher education curricula. Prevalent 21st-century priorities that governing standards specify, such as innovation, assessment, distributed leadership, and technology, must be vigorously shaped into social justice praxis. Highly qualified administrators must help teachers prepare students for careers, higher education, citizenship, and global readiness. This is how the national standards in educational leadership read, as well as much of the current literature. But this goal can be integrated into the kaleidoscope of social justice work or can be treated in isolation. Clearly, priorities for leadership must be nurtured within a morally centered social justice framework. For example, future-ready leaders need to know how to innovate by collaborating with partners to facilitate change, remove barriers from learning, and understand global connections. They create a culture that embraces change and make decisions in collaboration with parents and other stakeholders. They also model the use of multiple and authentic assessments to target the skills and knowledge students should learn. High-quality standardized testing is, at minimum, balanced with alternative assessments that inspire creative student learning. These leaders enact a distributed leadership strategy that support teachers' growth through professional learning communities and positive school climates. They understand leadership activity not as the work of single leaders so much as communal participation enacted in complex, interconnected ways. A distributed perspective occurs as principals influence teacher practice as instructional leaders. Cutting-edge technologies not only support teaching and learning but also ensure safety for all, as well as the protection of human dignity. Priorities for school leadership anchored in a social justice epistemology can enhance administrator advocacy and responsibility. Set adrift of this focus, priorities amplify the inequities and injustices that plague school communities.
Leadership Education Priorities in a Democratic Society
Author: Page, William Tyler
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Democracy,Leadership Training,Educational Change,Leadership,Public Education,Teaching Methods,Educational Policy

Is there still an effort to include democratic ideals in public education? Some claim that it is no longer a priority, the result of a lack of common definition or perceived benefits. In today's policy driven climate, school leaders must transition to new and more effective approaches to enhancing learning and teaching. Aspiring principals/leaders should recognize by now that underperforming students and schools may result in significant reprisals, including dismissal, if improvement is not specifically quantified in state assessments. As reforms evolve, research consistently suggests that a key component to effective school change is the democratic process of educating and involving core constituents. However, the tension between collaboration and policy is a reality that often mitigates against a people-centered process. Thus, the leadership base in knowledge, skill sets, practice, and dispositions must target a collective/collaborative effort that recognizes and works through policy demands. This balancing act between constituent involvement on the one hand, and policy expectations on the other, has never been greater. As a result, it has become evident that leadership training must combine creative schemes that are people/constituent inclusive, with an approach that recognizes and balances policy expectations.
Struggling for the Soul of the Nation: Educational Policy, Democratic Leadership, and Radical Democracy in Neoliberal Times
Author: Torres, Carlos Alberto
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Democracy,Democratic Values,Educational Policy,Leadership,Political Attitudes,Leadership Training

Two conditions are crucial in preparing radical democratic leaders for a democratic society. In this article, the author argues against instrumental rationality and for radical democratic leaders with a critical perspective in education and schools.
Preparing Democratic Education Leaders
Author: Young, Michelle D.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Democratic Values,Instructional Leadership,Leadership Training,Administrator Education,Educational Quality,Administrator Qualifications,Educational Practices,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Educational Improvement

Although it is common to hear people espouse the importance of education to ensuring a strong and vibrant democracy, the assumptions underlying such statements are rarely unpacked. Two of the most widespread, though not necessarily complimentary, assumptions include: (1) to truly participate in a democracy, citizens must be well educated; and (2) a strong democracy is dependent on a strong economy, and thus, schools must ensure a well-educated workforce. Tethered to each assumption are very different ideas about what counts as a quality and appropriate curriculum, how the curriculum should be taught and how classes should look. A move toward preparing leaders to enact democratic leadership and support a democratic education has implications for a variety of contexts and practices at the university, district, and school levels. The design and implementation of high-quality preparation (including recruitment) is a complex undertaking. It is complex because to do it well requires institutional communication and collaboration in articulating the kind of leadership the program intends to develop, a theory of action for how that will be accomplished. Moreover, it requires expertise with leadership standards, research, and theory as well as with the principles of adult learning. Importantly, university faculty and their district partners are engaging in this work, cooperating in the development of purposeful, coherent, and comprehensive leadership development, making certain that candidates have concrete opportunities to connect research and theories concerning concepts like democracy, democratic education, and democratic leadership to their practice. This is essential to candidates' ability to later transfer their learning into practice in other environments. Coupling a commitment to quality preparation with democratic educational leadership holds the potential to focus and strengthen university preparation as well as to enhance educational leadership practice.
The Way in Which Leadership Is Conceived
Author: Ryan, Jim
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Democracy,Leadership,Theory Practice Relationship,Power Structure,Democratic Values,Leadership Effectiveness

There are many important priorities for leadership education in a democratic society. In this article, the author concentrates on just one--the way in which leadership is conceived. This is an important issue. Indeed, the way in which potential leaders perceive leadership will shape the way in which they eventually practice it. The problem to date has been that the prevalent ways in which leadership has been perceived, conceived, and conveyed have not been consistent with principles of democracy. The dominant view of leadership as a generic, individualistic, and hierarchical practice that strives to "build capacity" or focus on effectiveness or efficiency violates many democratic principles, particularly those associated a view of democracy that values the equitable and meaningful inclusion of everyone in the cultural, institutional, and economic lives of schools and communities. If potential leaders are to be properly equipped to participate in leadership practices appropriate for a truly democratic society then they need to understand the dynamics associated with the various conceptions of leadership. Among other things, the future leaders of schools will need to understand the genesis of the term, its connection to power, and its moral basis in way that will enable them to work with others as strategic advocates so that they can see to the life chances of all students. Understanding the various conceptions of leadership and the ways in which they either promote or inhibit democratic practices is important. But it is also important to take these understandings and put them into practice. Unfortunately, it may not always be easy to put democratic-friendly leadership approaches into practice. This is because members of school communities routinely resist such efforts. And so those involved in leadership activities must approach their tasks strategically. That is, they will need to understand the political environment in which they are working, put these understandings into practice, and routinely monitor their actions. Only in this way, the author contends, will they be able to make headway in promoting meaning democratic practice in their schools and ensure that all students will have the opportunity to engage in learning that optimizes their life chances.
Preparing School Leaders to Serve as Agents for Social Transformation
Author: Brown, Kathleen M.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Inclusion,Democracy,Equal Education,Leadership Training,Criticism,Adult Learning,Social Change,Social Environment,Teaching Methods,Consciousness Raising,Activism,Intervention,Advocacy,Social Structure,Teacher Education Programs,Power Structure,Educational Policy

The major priorities that should guide leadership education in preparing leaders for their work of leading schools in a democratic society are: (1) Teaching leaders to understand the inequities of society; (2) Teaching leaders to serve as agents for social transformation; and (3) Teaching leaders to help each and every student learn and succeed. In the context of preparing such leaders, efforts by preparation programs to involve students in consciousness-raising activities and democratic-defining strategies can lead to reflective analysis and activist intervention. It is important for such programs to bridge theory and practice, to make connections between course material and the broader social context, to explain to pre-service leaders how they might take an active part in bringing about social change, and to validate and incorporate adult learners' personal knowledge and experience. People rarely change through a rational process of analyze-think-change. They are much more likely to change in a see-feel-change sequence. As such, the exploration of new understandings, the synthesis of new information, and the integration of these insights throughout personal and professional spheres can lead future educational leaders to a broader, more inclusive approach in addressing issues of student learning and equity. Respect for diversity and culturally inclusive education entails advocacy, solidarity, an awareness of societal structures of oppression, and critical social consciousness. Preparing educational leaders to accept this challenge necessitates both a close examination of personal beliefs coupled with a critical analysis of professional behavior. Through critical reflection, rational discourse, and policy praxis, preparation programs must implement ways for future leaders to grow in awareness, acknowledgement, and action! According to Giroux (1992), "If students are going to learn how to take risks, to develop healthy skepticism towards all master narratives, to recognize the power relations that offer them the opportunity to speak in particular ways, and be willing to critically confront their role as critical citizens who can animate a democratic culture, they need to see such behavior demonstrated in the social practices and subject positions that teachers live out and not merely propose."
Educating School Leaders for Democracy
Author: Moos, Lejf
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Justice,Outcomes of Education,Educational Administration,Democratic Values,Instructional Leadership,Leadership Training,Minimum Competencies,Educational Objectives,Educational Practices,Leadership Effectiveness,Leadership Styles,Administrative Principles

In order to be able to discuss, in meaningful ways, how school leaders should be educated one needs to sketch the context in which they are going to lead, that is the visions and purpose of education and the schooling, which is dominant in society. In most societies one sees clashes of many discourses and cultural/political fights. In order to simplify the discussion a bit, the author describes two very important discourses of contemporary school visions, an outcomes-orientated and a process-orientated discourse. The outcomes-orientation is an outline of a neo-liberal, New Public Management (NPM) version of social justice through education that focuses on outcomes of education. The process-orientation is a professional conception of how schools should work for social justice through inclusion. Not ignoring the NPM orientation the author concentrates on concepts of inclusive education, as this is where people find better arguments for democratic education. In order to lead teachers and schools in a deliberative, democratic direction, school leaders can choose from several forms of influences/leadership: (1) direct leadership; (2) strategic leadership; and (3) reciprocal leadership.