Educational leadership is the power of motivating and encouraging others towards achieving education goals. It is a very round and sensitive blend of sight, awareness, competence, and personality. Educational leaders provide a vision for the future of education, create adaptable learning spaces, promote innovative practices and advocate for students.
Features of Educational Leaders
Visionary Leadership:
Creating a vision for the school or district that is clear and inspirational
Articulating the vision to stakeholders
Inspiring and motivating others to pursue that vision.
Instructional Leadership:
Encouraging effective teaching and learning practices
Offering teachers organized sessions and training in relation to their professional growth.
Ensuring quality by monitoring and evaluating instruction.
Organizational Leadership:
Organizing and placing resources.
Fostering Relationships with Staff, Students and Parents.
Developing a healthy environment of schools
Policy Leadership:
Pushing for policies that can make a difference in student learning.
Working with policymakers to influence education policy.
Making policies work.
Week 1: The Issue Educational Leaders Wrestle With
Accountability — High-stakes accountability systems that maintain a focus on student learning
DEI: Having learning environments that cater to every single student
Tech Integration — Using technology to improve the nature of some aspect of teaching and/or learning
Funding: Operating on a limited budget that does not support educational programs
Teacher Shortages: Challenges of hiring and keeping qualified teachers
Educational Leadership in the Future
Several trends that are likely to influence the future of educational leadership include:
Differentiated Instruction: Technology that caters to different students.
Global citizenship: Equipping students with the knowledge they need to become responsible and active global citizens.
Social-Emotional Learning: Supporting students with their social and emotional growth.
Use of Data for Decision Making: How to data inform instructional practice and quad spend
Recognizing these trends, overcoming the challenges brings an opportunity for educational leaders to continuously improve education delivery and to equip students for success in the 21st century.
