Educational leadership redefined and reimagined

When major changes occur, such as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of new educational standards, the implementation of new technologies, and the shifts in politics that directly impact educational reform, educational leaders are faced with critical shifts in a school’s structural foundation and must, therefore, quickly and effectively work towards solidifying the foundation on which the previous structure stood, through research, financial resource identification, community building and administrative collaboration among educators, and organizations representing students’ educational interests.

Defining Educational Leadership
While each school requires different types of leadership, there remains common areas within the leadership spectrum of each school that are fundamental to ensuring that effective educational leadership is being exercised. These factors include establishing a culture of trust, leadership integrity, effective communication, and decisive decision-making procedures.

Ultimately, educational leadership is far more than a job or the management of educational systems and people working within a school.  It is a way of being, forward-thinking, and solution-oriented.  The keyword here is “being” because educational leadership articulates the true essence of the person and the responsibilities the leader holds as a caretaker of policies, opportunities, and solutions.

The Privilege of Educational Leadership
To be an educational leadership practitioner is a privilege. The educational leader must be scrupulous, thoughtful, solution-oriented, and reflective in nature to be a person who is worthy of the role they hold to lead. The educational leader who fails to embody the personal values and qualities that perpetuate continuous growth and improvement will reveal themselves through their actions and behaviour to the detriment of the students, teachers, and families. 

Reimagining Educational Leadership
An adaptive leader is not afraid of leading cultural change.  They possess the necessary qualities to mobilize teams through the dark valleys and turmoil of organizational dysfunctions, policy implementation, and shifts in organizational structures.  The educational leader should be ready to guide teams of educators through instructional alternatives and create an atmosphere of trust for all members, even in the face of a crisis.  To achieve this goal, the leader may establish systems of change in the school’s administration policy that becomes embedded in the school’s culture and structures that may be triggered when needed.  Educational leaders are tasked with the responsibility as adaptive leaders to establish these kinds of fail-safe systems long before crises or major reformation happens.  These systems may be formed through school leadership and community partnership collaborations within a school cultivating leadership on all levels.

Leadership Change Casualties
Educators across the country and the world have seen and experienced the struggles over the past thirteen months due to the pandemic.  School systems faltered and momentarily collapsed under the pressure of brick-and-mortar classroom closures.  Many teachers were forced into retirement as well as became obsolete, due to their lack of experience with online teaching technology that had not been a part of most teachers’ continuous educational growth plan in schools. 

Many of our educational leaders are now beginning to gradually learn about instructional technologies that have been in existence for more than a few years.  Unfortunately, the lack of vision and forward-thinking on the part of their educational leaders to integrate these technologies into teachers’ professional development training resulted in mass chaos.  By educational leaders learning from this example, they can avoid future casualties by creating an environment in schools changing them to learning organizations for staff as well as for students.  This will influence continuous learning and development in different skill-sets for staff members so that they become educational leaders in their own instructional practice.

Achievement through Education Leadership
In summary, Educational leadership requires more collaborative teams and the development of a multitude of informed leaders throughout the school.  In this way, the school thrives with the establishment of a succession plan that constantly forms great leaders to assure that the established school structure and culture from within the school environment remains planted on a strong, forward-thinking, educational leadership foundation.

Dr. Dwayne Dyce is a Jamaican-born US national and educator based in Washington, DC. He is also a published author, a motivational speaker and the Chair of the Jamaica Diaspora Education Taskforce (JDETF). Send feedback to education@jdtan.org or editorial@oldharbournews.com