While the principal or dean is typically the head of a school, other administrative staff benefit from integrating the principles of educational leadership into their jobs. Educational leadership is concerned with the development and execution of rigorous curriculum that challenges students to reach their maximum academic potential. Additionally, educational leaders need to be able to effectively manage a staff including teachers, licensed professionals, specialists and a hierarchy of administrators. They represent their school to the district and state, and work closely with parent organizations and school committees.
The responsibility of educational leadership is not for the faint-hearted. Yet, with the demand for education reform America has seen in recent decades, dynamic school leaders are needed more than ever. Schools are expected to make annual progress, as outlined by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, based on the performance of students on standardized tests. While teachers are responsible for making sure their students learn a set of standards mandated by the state, it is the administration of a school that trains the teaching staff in the execution of those standards.
A school is only as good as the staff supporting it. Hundreds of top universities have responded to the need for competent school administration and now offer programs in educational leadership. Accredited schools offer masters and doctoral degrees as broad as Harvard’s Doctor of Education Leadership. Alternatively, future leaders can obtain online degrees as focused as the Community College Executive Leadership Program offered by Argosy University. Educational Leadership makes the difference in student success.
Brief History of Educational Leadership
The American system of educational leadership evolved in response to a need for practical, organized structure in schools that were independently operated. As schoolhouses in the early nineteenth century were simply extensions of the knowledge of a particular community, they were often operated with a certain lack of administrative skill.
Schools began to formally organize into districts in the 1800s. Annually, every district held a town meeting in which a school agent was elected. Every town nominated a Superintending School Committee comprised of at least three people. One school officer oversaw each county, and all of those county school officers composed the state’s Board of Education.
The district school agent had the responsibility to keep the schoolhouse outfitted with supplies and in good repair, hire teachers, and return once a year to the town’s assessors, or scholars. If the school could not open due to weather or other concerns, the school agent provided a school room, generally in his house.
In 1826, a breakthrough in school administration occurred when Massachusetts granted authorization for city and town councils to require an appointment of a superintendent of public schools. Under the direction of the school committee, the superintendent would care for and supervise the schools in a district as his full-time occupation. Massachusetts, therefore, set the precedent for the structure of education in America, evidence of which we still see today.
During the mid-1800s, the training Massachusetts enforced specifically for educators began to spread until it became the norm throughout the nation. By 1879, William H. Payne of the University of Michigan designed the nation’s first groundbreaking teacher-training curriculum, including the first program dedicated to educational administration. Townspeople had realized that proper education was important enough that it needed to go beyond the scope of the local town or village and be released into the charge of the federal government.
Early educational training programs taught about the nature of education and schooling, as well as the how to apply professional knowledge to expand and enhance the educational system. By 1905, Teachers College Columbia University graduated its first set of doctorates in Educational Administration.
What is Educational Leadership?
An educational leader needs to be the eyes, ears, brains, and occasionally brawn of the school under his or her supervision. Once you’re in charge of a school, you must be able to juggle the tasks of determining the educational needs of your pupils. That means having a solid grasp of curriculum design as well as a sharp eye for potential improvements.
However, school management also implies a responsibility for managing the development of the staff. Class observations, program evaluation, and both overseeing and participating in professional development will be under your control as you work to improve the individual and group leadership skills in your school. Training for educational leadership will encompass all of these areas, and candidates for degrees in school administration and management will be tested on their expertise in five areas.
1. Determining Educational Needs
This encompasses student assessment, the influence of race and gender in education, decision making, and awareness of the national expectations for education.
2. Curriculum Design and Instructional Improvement
You’ll be expected to know about effective teaching, instructional techniques, and learning theory.
3. Development of Staff and Program Evaluation
You will be assessed on the principles of staff development and methods of evaluation.
4. School Management
You will be trained in knowledge of student services, staff hiring procedures, business and financial aspects of managing a school, and legal obligations as they concern educational institutions.
5. Individual and Group Leadership Skills
When you run a school, you will need to create a positive environment where open communication maintains relationships within the school and community. Knowledge of group dynamics and problem-solving will be indispensable.
The Future of Educational Leadership
The relatively recent enforcement of outcome-based accountability for students and schools has resulted in a new set of challenges for educational leaders. Reformers and policymakers have not determined a strategy for turning schools with a history of low performance into successful, high performing institutions. As such, it is up to the individual leaders and committees running a school to improve the structure of a school so that it promotes student academic success.
The future of educational leadership depends on the future of education itself. Advances in curriculum development, including the wise application of emerging technologies, will require an examination of past and current instructions. Still, some things never change. A major duty of educational leaders remains the facilitation of programs enhancing staff development and student engagement.