Best 2020 Guide | Everything You Need to Know about
Transformational Leadership in Schools
Which school leadership styles promote the best school leadership
qualities? What are the most important characteristics of
educational leadership?
We’ll explain how the types of school leadership styles you use have a
significant impact on the success of educational objectives and go through
transformational leadership examples in education.
By the end of this article, you should have a good idea of the different school
leadership models and styles, and a good grasp of the benefits of
transformational leadership in higher education and elementary education.
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School Leadership and The Educational Leader’s Role
School leadership can be defined as the act of guiding teachers, students,
parents, and administrators to promote and achieve academic success.
Effective school leadership has multiple tiers, which include both
administrators and teachers.
The educational leader role for a principal or vice-principal will look a little
different than the educational leadership definition for a teacher. Still, both
are equally important to the educational institution and its mission.
Administrators may be looking at the entire school leadership framework to
keep teachers, staff, and students productive and satisfied. They’ll also
interface with policymakers at the district level. Their job is to ensure effective
school leadership practices are in place throughout the entire organization.
What is Transformational Leadership in Education?
Teachers, on the other hand, look at leadership in school setting environments
as how they lead and guide their students and interface with parents. Some
teachers may also exhibit qualities of an effective school leader and mentor
other teachers who may be new to the profession.
Educational leadership qualities are important because they can separate the
“good” leaders from those that may have shortcomings. There are also
different school leadership styles that can impact how effective a leader is in a
given situation.
The Importance of Educational Leadership
The educational leadership meaning for schools is as a driving force for
structure, continuous improvements, and enabling the mission of providing
quality education.
The school leadership definition includes the ability to:
Create a strategic vision for others to follow
Ensure all students have equal opportunity for academic success
Nurture and train teachers on leadership skills in schools
Work to continually improve curriculum and the educational experience
Improve areas in schools that are underperforming
Delegate duties with a goal of improving school leadership
Promote and champion change
To help define educational leadership importance in schools, we found this
quote from Kenneth Leithwood, professor at the University of Toronto. Mr.
Leithwood stated, “Indeed, there are virtually no documented instances of
troubled schools being turned around without intervention by a powerful
leader.”
Leadership development in education over the years has found that
transformational leaders can often better transform schools to serve students
and teachers, than can those using more authoritarian types of school
leadership styles.
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Leadership in Higher Education vs Primary
Educational leadership challenges at their core are similar in all levels of
education. Both leadership in elementary and high school grades and
leadership in educational institutions of higher learning, all strive to operate
efficiently and provide the best education possible for students.
The foundation for leadership in education has administrators performing
similar functions, whether they’re at a college or elementary school. Where the
effective leadership styles in schools may differ more, is with the teachers.
Because the students are quite different between primary and higher
education institutions, some effective leadership styles in education at a
university, such as those that are more democratic, may not work as well at
lower grades.
For teachers evaluating effective leadership qualities in education and
wondering which styles are best for their classroom, considering the student
level is important. Younger students may require more structure than older
students, which can change the leadership styles in education that one is
considering adopting.
What is Distributed Leadership in Education?
What is educational leadership when it comes to distributed leadership in
education?
Leadership in higher education and primary grades may use what’s known as
distributed leadership in education. This is when leaders band together to
share overall leadership duties, everyone is seen as having equal input and
importance.
Distributed leadership in education is used to create a “brain trust” where a
team can work together to identify areas of improvement in a school and share
responsibilities leading and implementing change.
Effective school leadership using distributed leadership is seen as a team effort
where everyone is pitching in to help and do what’s needed to support the
mission of the school.
Benefits of Distributed Leadership in Education
The advantage of using distributed leadership in education is that schools can
have a collective team spirit that comes from leaders working together towards
a common goal. The mix of each different educational leader role can also
provide a nice balance of different styles.
Drawbacks of Distributed Leadership in Education
Educational leadership challenges with using this model can include
personality conflicts between the different leaders that can get in the way of
positive forward motion. Rigid organizational structures can also make it
difficult to use distributed leadership in education.
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