In 1989, Smith and Andrews suggested that there were ten attributes essential for principals who display strong instructional leadership. The attributes are:
1. Places priority of curriculum and instruction issues;
2. Is dedicated to the goals of the school and school district;
3. Is able to rally and mobilize resources to accomplish the goals of the district and school;
4. Creates a climate of high expectations in the school, characterized by a tone of respect for teachers, students, parents, and the community;
5. Functions as a leader with direct involvement in instructional policy;
6. Continually monitors student progress toward school achievement and teacher effectiveness;
7. Demonstrates commitment to academic goals, shown by the ability to develop and articulate a clear vision or long-term goals for the school;
8. Effectively consults with others by involving the faculty and other groups in the school decision processes;
9. Effectively and efficiently mobilizes resources such as materials, time, and support to enable the school and its personnel to most effectively meet academic goals.
10. Recognize time as a scarce resource and creates order and discipline by minimizing factors that may disrupt the learning process.
Sergiovanni suggested that there are leadership forces for instructional leadership; Bossert, Dwyer, Rowan, and Lee (1982) presented the sequence of variable that impact each other leading to instructional leadership; and Smith and Andrews (1989) suggested that there are ten attributes of the leader that impact instructional leadership. In 2002, McEwan provided a different perspective of leadership suggesting that there are seven steps to effective instructional leadership. McEwan’s perspectives have some bases in the work of Bennis (1989), Nanus, and Sergiovanni. The following are the seven steps proposed by McEwans (2002):
• Establish clear instructional goals;
• Be there for your staff;
• Create a school culture and climate conducive to learning;
• Communicate the vision and mission of your school;
• Set high expectations;
• Develop teacher leaders; and
• Maintain positive attitudes toward students, staff and parents.
McEwan (2002) also proposed an Instructional Leadership Behavioral Checklist that has thirty indicators; there are several indicators for each of the seven steps (See Appendix A for a copy of the Leadership Behavioral Checklist). The checklist can be used in a variety of ways: (1) to self-assess present instructional leadership levels; (2) to gain information from members of the faculty regarding perceptions of leadership; (3) to help the leader to set goals for improving instructional leadership, and (4) to help the leader evaluate progress toward meeting the goals of becoming a true instructional leader.
Zapeda (2003) viewed instructional leadership as instructional supervision aligned with classroom observations and professional development for teachers; she said that it is not a linear, lockstep process. Zapeda (2003) presented a model in which instructional supervision, staff development, and teacher evaluations are unified. In this cyclic process, clinical supervision (pre-observation conferences, observations, and post-observations) is coupled with a differentiated form of supervision. The principle aligned with differentiated supervision is that teachers are granted autonomy in deciding which additional methods (in addition to the classroom observations) will be used to assess the teacher’s performances.
As instructional leaders, school leaders should provide opportunities for teachers to work together on the basis of needs linked to what is observed by school leaders in classroom observations. Study groups, learning clusters, and mentoring are some of the informal mechanisms for teachers to work together. On the basis of observations, school leaders can identify strengths and weaknesses of teachers, which lead to which teachers can serve as mentors and which teachers need mentors. Opportunities should also be provided for formalized professional development (Zapeda, 2003).
The results of the professional development- both formal and informal should be evident in classrooms as school leaders continue the cyclic process of observing classrooms. The additional important principle is that the professional development opportunities that teachers engage in should lead to individual goal setting for teachers which leads to professional development. Schools leaders should engage in conducting teacher observations and professional development opportunities in a cyclic manner; which aligns with the roles of instructional leadership. In this model, the alignment of professional development with the needs of teachers in the classroom is critical.
Culture and Its Implications to Instructional Leadership
The leadership traits, skills, and perspectives discussed throughout this paper address competencies and dispositions necessary for leaders to be effective. Effective leadership in schools in this era is linked to the leader’s ability to facilitate school improvement. The obvious core of school improvement is the role of the leader as an instructional leader; which is such a complex role. The teachers, staff members, students, and pertinent stakeholders have to “buy in” to the vision of the leader and to assist the leader in the implementation of school improvement. A variable that is directly related to school improvement and to the roles, skills, traits, and perspectives of the leader is the culture of the school.
Hoy and Miskel (2008) present several perspectives of culture. The 1968 Taiguiran Typology of Climate embraces culture as an integral part of climate. There are several theoretical perspectives that link culture and climate and/or demonstrate an interrelationship between culture and climate. Taiguri (1968) suggests that ecology (building characteristics, school size); mileu (student and teacher characteristics); social systems (social interactions); and culture (belief systems and values) are the four dimensions of climate. In addition to including belief systems and values of organizations/schools, Hoy and Miskel (2008) suggest that culture includes the norms, shared beliefs, rituals, and assumptions of organization.
An obvious goal for school leaders is for schools to develop and maintain strong cultures. Schools with strong cultures will have effective leadership with exceptional student performance. Deal (1985) identified eight attributes of effective schools with strong cultures:
1. Shared values and a consensus on “how we get things done around here.”
2. The principal as a hero or heroine who embodies core values.
3. Distinctive rituals that embody widely shared beliefs.
4. Employees as situational heroes or heroines.
5. Rituals of acculturation and cultural renewal.
6. Significant rituals to celebrate and transform core values.
7. Balance between innovation and tradition and between autonomy and control.
8. Widespread participation in cultural rituals.
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