Strategic leadership - Davies and Davies

I like the way this article paints a picture of the strategic leader. The following factors are outlined:

• the ability to be strategically oriented

This is about considering both the long term future and the current contextual setting of the organisation/school. It is linking visions with daily work. It is about creating the strategy with others and not merely communicating it to others - this is of the utmost importance (in my opinion).

• the ability to translate strategy into action

Converting strategy into operational terms. This requires maintaining current features and leading others in defining the future of the school.

• the ability to align people and organisations

This involves encouraging a commitment to shared values. The leader's personal ideas and values are highly important here. A connection between thinking and action needs to be built. Leaders need to inlfuence through creating meanings and setting goals. This is also about altering attitudes, values and beliefs.

• the ability to determine effective intervention points

This is about not only knowing what to do but when to intervene and change direction.

• the ability to develop strategic capabilities

Rather than testing to measure short term goals, the emphasis should be on understanding teaching and learning, problem solving, assessment for learning.
* fundamental understanding of teaching and learning rather than delivering the latest curriculum innovation
* problem solving culture rather than a blame culture
* assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning

• leaders having dissatisfaction/restlesness with the present

Senge 'restlesness = creative tension'. This is acting as advocates for change.

• leaders having absorptive capacity

Essentially this is absorbing new information, learning from it and applying it. Leaders need to hav eth ability to learn.

• leaders having adaptive capavity

Having the ability to change.

• leaders having leadership wisdom

Taking action at the right time. Sternberg identifies wisdom as 'balancing interests/time frames/responses to the environment, applying knowledge for common good, infusing values. This is about all levels of intelligence - practical, analytical, emotional and social.

Strategic leaders and strategic capabilities

Reading through this article has meant that Assignment 2 is starting to make sense. Phew!

With NAPLAN happening the next week, I was struck by the section about leaders having the ability to develop strategic capabilities. This discussed the focus on testing and the short term targets it achieves.

This has become a bit of a sticking point with me since commencing this course and becoming acquainted with the concept of information literacy. NAPLAN is not allowing teachers to develop students because, let's face it, most schools are 'teaching to the test'. One of the Year 5 teachers at my school was saying that she can't wait for NAPLAN to be over so that she can start doing some 'meaty' tasks.

In the staffroom only yesterday we were discussing how rather than following the education systems of countries such as the US and the UK, Australia should be looking towards Finland, Korea (at least I think that was the one mentioned!) - those countries where the standard of education is recognised for it excellence.

We need strategic leadership to start with the government - it's hard to be a visionary, strategic leader when we are 'teaching to the test'. A test, might I add, that anyone and everyone uses as a basis for judging individual schools. To me it all seems to be the polar opposite of what tls are working towards with information literacy.

Organisational theory

Initially I was confused about the idea of schools as organisations. I viewed this as a very corporate term.

After the readings I can see that schools are definitely an organisation. There is heirachial leadership, a mission and vision statement in place to reflect the philisophy, it has clients - that being the students, their parents and the wider community, structures are defined and there is a budget in place.

However schools ARE different to other organisations because:
1.  students HAVE to be there - legally
2. the people who run these organisations are not necessarily qualified in the field, that being education. They are politicians who are answerable to the general community, which always have something to say about the state of education today and how it has gone downhill since their days of schooling .... years ago
3. changes in schools are dictated by those running it - the same ones with no educational qualifications - and extras (personal development, social development, driver safety .... the list is endless!) which take away from the educational objectives that the school has set and are trying to work towards

The myschool website goes to the heart of these points. It is all too aften inaccurate, as is the case at the moment with regards to funding. I would never feel that I was in a position to tell a bank how to run their organisation - I leave it to those who are experts in that particular field. I wish the general community would extendthe same courtesy to those in the educational field and let us get on with the business of creating lifelong learners.

ETL 504 - Introduction

That time of year is here again - the beginning on another uni year. Having read all the module titles and assessment items, I must say I am really quite nervous. This subject sounds REALLY hard. I just spent last weekend reading the text and didn't get a whole lot out of it. Quite a waste of money. (Should I even write that given that the author is the lecturer??)

I have made a start and read through the introduction. The other two subjects I have so far completed have made reference to the TL as leader, but I didn't really get the idea of that. To me a leader was one of the executive, and I had never heard of a TL on the executive team. Even with the little bit of reading done so far I now have a completely different view. Phew - something is sinking in :)

Donham reading - 'Leadership'
A recurring theme is collaboration - not just in this article but in this course so far. There is good news and bad news here. The good news is that there is a focus at school at the moment in working collaboratively (Although poor TL not included - just collaboration between grade partners is the focus. The bad news is that during staff meetings on this topic I have completely tuned out and taken very little in). I'm sure someone on staff will have the name of the 'expert' that Dr G continually refers to.

I like the information of internal/external locus of control. We all have the external locus in us at times - some more often than others!

It was a relief to read that TLs cannot be expected to excel in every facet of their role. However, at HS the TL role is very much about resources and how quickly they can be placed in our hands. There is an expectation that library skills will be taught. But information literacy? Not the domain of the TL - at least this is what the general opinion of the staff is. As a result, the teachers at school think our TL is the queen of all TLs. She can name practically resource available for every unit of work in every KLA in every grade. Information literacy is pretty much either a. not taught or b. taught by classroom teachers. This is why, as excellent as I think our TL is, there is a lot lacking in her daily role. I know that she is frustrated by this, but as she is heading towards the end of her career she has said that she really can't be bothered fighting a losing battle. I guess this is an example of external locus of control. God bless you HC - you are a great TL and this isn't meant as a criticism of you but more of how your role is perceived.

Leading from the middle is a new concept to me. Essentially it means that you have no recognised leadership role as such, but very much are a leader through the very nature of your role. Donham makes mention that TLs lead through influence - and this is based on establishing expertise, collaborating with others, maintaining a good 'say-do' ratio and reflection and assessing. Communication is essential - an TLs need to articulate information literacy curriculum and how it can be measured.

Strategic leadership is also highlighted. I think this is the basis for assignment 2 - the vision statement. It compares a library as a 'resource-filled centre for teaching and learning' as opposed to a 'storehouse for educational resources' and an 'academic centre for the school' as opposed to 'an academic support programme'. In both instances I believe that the staff at HS see the library as the latter. And to be completely honest, until a year ago I did too! This to me highlights the need for the TL to communicate their role and responsibilities.

Action strategies highlighted include

• learning and teaching - identifying expertise and using this to develop the library
• information access and delivery - making the library more visible via school's web page and a library homepage that can be easily navigated
• programme administration - involve others in strategic planning for the library programme, which to me = collaboration

My learning journey continues. My head is hurting and I have only just started :-o