New Explorations for Instructional Leaders


Book Description

The existing literature on instructional leadership mainly examines the components, procedures, and mechanisms of instructional leadership and its influence on school performance and student academic results. The application of instructional leadership is insufficiently discussed. Moreover, despite longstanding efforts to campaign for instructional leadership’s prioritization, several studies have shown that the time devoted by principals to instructional leadership activities is inadequate. These disappointing statistics make the research on instructional leadership application most necessary. Why do principals find it difficult to put instructional leadership into action? What can help them overcome the challenges involved in applying instructional leadership? What functions of instructional leadership do school leaders tend to sidestep? New Explorations for Instructional Leaders: How Principals Can Promote Teaching and Learning Effectively answers these questions and addresses the need for additional research-informed literature on instructional leadership application. The findings of Haim Shaked’s studies, conducted over the past five years among principals working in the Israeli school system, are presented in this book in a way that can be used by researchers, policymakers, school leaders, and educators in different countries.




Professional Standards for Educational Leaders


Book Description

Unpack the standards and build a plan for leading learning Professional Standards for Educational Leaders introduces the foundations of the recently revised professional educational leadership standards and provides an in-depth explanation and application of each one. Written by the primary architect of PSEL, educational leadership expert Joseph F. Murphy, this authoritative guide to understanding and applying the standards explores the new emphasis on: Leadership of learning, school culture, and diversity Values, ethics, and professional norms of educational leadership Teacher quality, instruction, and caring support Written for higher education faculty, professional development providers, and school and district leaders, the author truly brings the standards to life. This comprehensive manual will power the educational leadership profession through the challenges of the next decade and beyond. "Murphy offers an exploration of the kind of leadership that matters most for each and every student. Let us hope the thinking reflected in this book and the new PSEL standards redirects our attention to what it really means to lead in education." Michelle D. Young, UCEA Executive Director, Professor of Leadership University of Virginia "Joseph Murphy debunks myths about standards for educational leaders and skillfully unpacks the moral, foundational, and experiential basis for the revised professional standards to guide effective leadership of our nation’s schools. This book is a must read for those interested in leadership for learning and the academic success and wellbeing of students, because these standards will shape our field for the next quarter century as the ISLLC standards have done since 1996." Martha McCarthy, Presidential Professor Loyola Marymount University




The Leader in Me


Book Description

Children in today's world are inundated with information about who to be, what to do and how to live. But what if there was a way to teach children how to manage priorities, focus on goals and be a positive influence on the world around them? The Leader in Meis that programme. It's based on a hugely successful initiative carried out at the A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina. To hear the parents of A. B Combs talk about the school is to be amazed. In 1999, the school debuted a programme that taught The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleto a pilot group of students. The parents reported an incredible change in their children, who blossomed under the programme. By the end of the following year the average end-of-grade scores had leapt from 84 to 94. This book will launch the message onto a much larger platform. Stephen R. Covey takes the 7 Habits, that have already changed the lives of millions of people, and shows how children can use them as they develop. Those habits -- be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw -- are critical skills to learn at a young age and bring incredible results, proving that it's never too early to teach someone how to live well.




Principal Recruitment and Retention


Book Description

Every year, an average of 20% of schools replace their principals. This book will inform and enhance the process of recruiting new personnel with its insights and practical suggestions for a successful search. This book also offers current thinking and research to help school boards and policy makers retain the professional leaders they have. This book is a must-read for principals and board members alike. While the departure of ineffective principals can be beneficial for schools, frequent turnover negatively impacts students’ achievements. Today, when effective and powerful educational leadership is critical for quality teaching and student achievement, the numbers of principal candidates are diminishing and of incumbents waning. This book explores the central issues of principal development, appointment, and retention policies and practices. Its chapters ask what school boards, policymakers, and principals can do to ensure accountability, transparency, responsiveness, stability, equity, and inclusiveness to assure the longevity of school leaders within the system. Principal Recruitment and Retention presents the research findings of seventeen international scholars in the field over ten chapters. These scholars survey their respective situations from their home countries of United States of America, New Zealand, Israel and Turkey. The problems are similar; the solutions will be edifying.




Leaders of Their Own Learning


Book Description

From EL Education comes a proven approach to student assessment Leaders of Their Own Learning offers a new way of thinking about assessment based on the celebrated work of EL Education schools across the country. Student-Engaged Assessment is not a single practice but an approach to teaching and learning that equips and compels students to understand goals for their learning and growth, track their progress toward those goals, and take responsibility for reaching them. This requires a set of interrelated strategies and structures and a whole-school culture in which students are given the respect and responsibility to be meaningfully engaged in their own learning. Includes everything teachers and school leaders need to implement a successful Student-Engaged Assessment system in their schools Outlines the practices that will engage students in making academic progress, improve achievement, and involve families and communities in the life of the school Describes each of the book's eight key practices, gives advice on how to begin, and explains what teachers and school leaders need to put into practice in their own classrooms Ron Berger is Chief Program Officer for EL Education and a former public school teacher Leaders of Their Own Learning shows educators how to ignite the capacity of students to take responsibility for their own learning, meet Common Core and state standards, and reach higher levels of achievement. DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.




Creating a Culture of Excellence


Book Description

School leaders are busy, overwhelmed, and may not always be cognizant of the latest cutting-edge theories and practices in the field of instructional improvement. Drawing from research, Creating a Culture of Excellence is a resource that serves as a guide to the best practices in teaching, curriculum, professional development, supervision, and evaluation. Attending to these five processes, utilizing best practices in the field of research and practice, will ensure high-quality instruction in any school. This book is replete with engaging learning activities and vignettes to reinforce ideas and concepts.




The Emerald Handbook of Wellbeing in Higher Education


Book Description

Scholars from around the globe discuss initiatives, practices, and structures that can provide a positive outlook and flourishing in higher learning, and offer lessons from efforts to promote positive emotional and social aspects for students, leaders, and faculty.




Bridging Leadership and School Improvement


Book Description

Principals wear many hats, but the most significant role they have is improving teaching and learning so all students are successful. Bridging Leadership and School Improvement: Advice from the Field features narratives of successful principals across multiple states in the US, who have not only improved their schools but have created supportive and inclusive learning communities for both teachers and students. Each practitioner-author discusses an improvement practice that they successfully implemented in their school and key theories that support their practice. This book highlights how successful school leaders bridge theory and practice to improve school cultures, teaching, and learning.




The Changing Nature of Instructional Leadership in the 21st Century


Book Description

This third book in the Information Age book series, International Research on School Leadership, focuses on the changing nature of instructional leadership in the 21st century. Our goal is to examine instructional leadership from multiple educational and international perspectives. Unlike many leadership books that focus on conceptualizations and personal narratives, the seven chapters provide empirical evidence of how instructional leadership is evolving in the 21st century. From the effective schools research of the 1980s to today’s relentless calls for improved student performance, attention has focused on the instructional leadership roles and responsibilities of school principals, headteachers, and educational system leaders. The emphasis on student performance has gone global as evidenced by highly-publicized international studies, such as the Trends in International Math and Science Studies (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), comparing student achievement in different countries. These developments have had substantial effects on school leaders, especially building-level principals and headteachers. Rather than being the only ones overseeing school improvement aimed at increasing student learning, many school administrators are distributing leadership responsibilities to other administrators and teachers on their campuses. To fully understand instructional leadership in the 21st century, the book examines three important dimensions of instructional leadership: (1) the current context for turning around low-performing schools, increasing teacher effectiveness, and providing equitable outcomes for all students, (2) international perspectives of instructional leadership development, particularly the value of teacher coaching and leadership development for aspiring and practicing school leaders in a developing country, and (3) the obstacles instructional leaders confront as they deal with fiscal constraints, political pressure, diverse student populations, and high-stakes standards-based reforms.




Mindful Educational Leadership


Book Description

Mindful Educational Leadership unpacks the literature of mindfulness as it applies to K12 school leadership. Crossing disciplinary and theoretical boundaries, scholar and mindfulness coach Sharon Kruse explores mindfulness in three complementary research and philosophical traditions—contemplative, cognitive, and organizational—and applies it to school leadership. This book explores how these perspectives complement and inform each other and the ways in which understanding each can inform decision making, school/community engagement and responsiveness, and advancing equity in school organizations. Full of authentic examples, stories, and models of mindful leadership from real educators, this volume helps readers become more mindful and effective in their practice. An exciting resource for aspiring educational leaders, each chapter also includes supporting resources for study, practice, and reflection on key concepts.