School district leadership matters / by Bruce Sheppard, Jean Brown and David Dibbon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheppard, L. Bruce (Lloyd Bruce), 1950-

Contributor:

Sassoon, Jean Brown, 1927-

Dibbon, David.

Series:

Studies in educational leadership ; v. 8.

Studies in educational leadership ; v. 8

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

School districts--Canada--Administration.

School districts.

Educational leadership--Canada.

Educational leadership.

Administration.

Canada.

Physical Description:

x, 143 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

[Dordrecht] : Springer, [2009]

Summary:

School District Leadership Matters challenges policy makers, administrators, and academics in the field of educational leadership to reassess their traditional approaches to learning, working, and planning. The authors believe that government restructuring, standards-based reforms, and centrally imposed strategic planning have been painfully ineffective. As a consequence, student learning has become increasingly superficial and inauthentic.

This book bridges the traditional divide between the generalizations of social science theory on the one hand and the world of educational practice on the other. It argues that a more promising approach to education reform is through effective school district leadership. Sheppard, Brown and Dibbon draw on their collective experience both as educational leaders and researchers of leadership, having spent five years researching and working in one school district. Here, they show how a district superintendent can successfully navigate the paradoxes and challenges of facilitating collaborative leadership in a school district with a traditionally hierarchical organizational structure.

As a conclusion to their work, the authors highlight what they call five 'recognitions' that deepen readers' understanding of school district leadership. They illuminate, too, ways that senior level practitioners can apply theory to practice in order to break down the traditional hierarchical bureaucracies that inhibit learning, and create professional learning communities.

School District Leadership Matters urges researchers, graduate students, practitioners, and policymakers to focus on improving authentic learning for all students and argues that the best hope rests with effective school district leadership. This empirically-based yet practical book provides new insights and questions for academic researchers and will inspire policy makers and practitioners to imagine what could be and to work towards it.

Contents:

1 Where Theory Meets Practice 1

Our Case Study Methodology 3

The District Case 5

The Sociopolitical Context of Discovery School District 8

Charting a New Course 10

2 Leadership and Organizational Learning 15

Confronting the Challenge 18

How Can Formal Leaders Facilitate Collaborative Leadership and Organizational Learning? 20

Study 1 20

Study 2 21

Study 3 23

Study 4 24

Study 5 25

Implications for the Implementation and Practice of Collaborative Leadership 26

3 Meeting the Challenges of Hierarchy Through District Leadership 33

Overcoming Resistance to Collaborative Leadership Through District Leadership 34

My Voice 39

Through the Lens of Critical Friends 43

4 Establishing Collaborative Structures 49

My Voice 52

Nurturing Collaborative Leadership at Discovery School District 52

Collaboratively Defining Shared Decision-Making 57

Through the Lens of Critical Friends 61

Analysis of the Structural Changes 61

Teacher Perceptions of Collaboration 63

5 Strategic Thinking and Adaptive Learning 69

My Voice 72

Strategic Planning in Discovery School District 72

Developing a Shared Vision for Teaching and Learning 78

Personal Reflections 80

A Final Observation 80

Through the Lens of Critical Friends 81

6 Professional Development and Capacity Building 85

Professional Development in Discovery School District 88

My Voice 91

Adopting a New Approach to Professional Development 92

Through the Lens of Critical Friends 96

7 Systems Challenges to Growth and Sustainability of Meaningful Educational Reform 101

Toward Meaningful School Reform 102

Systems Thinking in Discovery School District 105

Systems Challenges to the Discovery School District Reform Agenda 106

Challenge 1 Government Control of Financial and Human Resources 106

Challenge 2 The Difficult Transition from Purpose to Practice 109

Challenge 3 Localized Education in a Globalized World 110

Challenge 4 A Market-Oriented Approach to School District Restructuring 113

8 Recognizing What Makes Effective School Districts 121

Recognitions: Discussion, Implications, and Recommendations 124

Final Thoughts 131.

ISBN:

9781402097461

1402097468

OCLC:

297148297