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1 – 10 of over 11000Numerous Chinese management studies have demonstrated significant differences between Chinese and Western management. This exploratory paper investigates the impact of Chinese…
Abstract
Numerous Chinese management studies have demonstrated significant differences between Chinese and Western management. This exploratory paper investigates the impact of Chinese culture and Western traditions on China's contemporary school leaders' views of leadership and management, particularly in the areas of relationship building, delegation, and promotion. Data were drawn from questionnaires completed by school leaders and individual interviews with principals from different parts of China. The findings indicate that the differences between Chinese and Western management practices in Chinese schools are not static and should not be over-stressed. To different extents, the respondent school leaders of China were affected by both Chinese and Western values and practices in school leadership and management. Specifically, they were more influenced by Chinese culture in the areas of school management and organization and by Western values and practices in the areas of relationship building, staff performance, and promotion. Their leadership and management preferences were also influenced by other factors, including gender, domestic politics, and development.
Helen Wildy, Simon Clarke and Carol Cardno
Our chapter examines the ways national developments in Australia and New Zealand over the past two decades reflect distinctively antipodean understandings of educational…
Abstract
Our chapter examines the ways national developments in Australia and New Zealand over the past two decades reflect distinctively antipodean understandings of educational leadership and management. Our interest is twofold. We are concerned about the extent to which these understandings are reflected in strategies designed to enhance the quality of school leadership. We are also concerned about the extent to which these strategies represent progress towards achieving ‘sustainable’ school leadership. We define sustainable leadership in terms of both building leadership capacity within the organisation and embedding lasting organisational change (Fink & Brayman, 2006; Hargreaves & Fink, 2006; Spillane, 2006). The concept used here implies both models of distributed or shared leadership and leadership succession.
Serafín Antúnez, Patricia Silva and Charles L. Slater
Directing schools of high complexity in disadvantaged social contexts with high rates of emigration requires skills for emotional leadership. Directors with self-managing…
Abstract
Directing schools of high complexity in disadvantaged social contexts with high rates of emigration requires skills for emotional leadership. Directors with self-managing capacities are needed to manage their own emotions. They also need to mobilise people (teachers, students and families) by focussing on their feelings of satisfaction, identification with the group, belonging, joy, success, unity and cohesion.
The content of this chapter presents the study of the emotional management of directors who perform their work in two highly complex schools in Catalonia, Spain. The views of these directors as well as teachers and families examine: (1) the construction of their professional identity, (2) their social and ethical commitment to the community, (3) the orientation towards the values of social justice and (4) their emotional leadership practices focussed on personal attention towards all of the actors in the school community.
The chapter concludes with 10 suggestions that can be useful to improve the professional practice of school directors. These should also be taken into account when designing and implementing initial and ongoing training programmes for school leaders and to inspire ideas for future research.
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The growing knowledge society has caused a change in the meaning of knowledge and learning. In Dutch schools, this creates a demand for evidence-based innovation and school…
Abstract
The growing knowledge society has caused a change in the meaning of knowledge and learning. In Dutch schools, this creates a demand for evidence-based innovation and school development and a need for working with data. This chapter focuses on leadership in changing schools including the difference between management (organizing, structuring, and budgeting things that already work); leadership (adapting things that do not run smoothly, stimulating, motivating and empowering people, and communicating vision); and relationship with interactional and transformational leadership. Consequently, inquiry-based leadership is becoming the center of interest internationally (Geijsel, Krüger, & Sleegers, 2010; Luo, 2008). The author presents a conceptual framework for deeper understanding of school leadership in the 21st century – that to be effective in their roles, they must learn how to create inquiry-based cultures in their schools and to continuously learn from data. Finally, the author identifies some challenges for school leaders in coming years and proposes ways that help strengthen their leadership including the professionalization for all leaders oriented to instructional leadership, inquiry-based leadership, higher order thinking and distributed leadership.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a significant phase of educational marketization reform in several countries. Schools began to operate within a ‘market’, and ‘marketing’ became more…
Abstract
The 1980s and 1990s saw a significant phase of educational marketization reform in several countries. Schools began to operate within a ‘market’, and ‘marketing’ became more important. Research showed that teachers and school leaders were largely hostile to this ‘alien’ area of schooling. School leadership in this environment became more complex and stressful. Literature began to identify leadership tensions, conflicts and dilemmas. This chapter ‘revisits’ some of the more significant research at the time and examines some of the dilemmas posed by the need to market the school. The dilemma framework offered by Wildy and Louden (2000) is used to explore three key areas: accountability, efficiency and autonomy. The chapter offers insights into how this topic can be revitalized and explored within the operation of ‘new’ leadership paradigms such as ‘distributed leadership’ and ‘destructive leadership’. The chapter concludes by discussing how the topic of dilemmas can be taken forward.
Jose M. Coronel and Marisa Fernandez
As the people responsible for guiding the efforts toward school improvement, principals must juggle the tricky balance of their combined position as managers and educational…
Abstract
As the people responsible for guiding the efforts toward school improvement, principals must juggle the tricky balance of their combined position as managers and educational leaders. Achieving this balance is not easy when the demands of day-to-day administration coupled with loyalty to employers draws principals’ learning toward system initiatives, priorities, and policies. In this sense, this chapter articulates the importance of integrating both management and educational leadership in principal preparation. We illustrate the importance by referring to the Spanish context, notable for its recent historical development in terms of the problems, dilemmas, and challenges in the principalship. Despite the lack of consolidated pre- and in-service programs for the principalship in Spain, this context offers an example of attempts to articulate a delicate balance between the two roles in principal preparation. The emergence of an increasingly competitive international economic reality, combined with rapidly changing social conditions and external pressures for accountability, increases the urgency for more focused attention on the tension between problem solving and administration required in organizational leadership and the knowledge and skills associated with pedagogical and educational leadership.