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Leadership preparation in dangerous times.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

In this article it is argued that contemporary models of leadership such as shared or distributed leadership, or even discussions of transformational methodologies are based on a compromised vision of the nature of leadership. Specifically, this article calls for the education of administrative leaders to move beyond the currently technical focus on learning how to organize people and resources to accomplish mandated outcomes, to one that builds the capacity for administrators to act with moral purpose and engage in the mediation of values.

Introduction

U.S. education has been battered by increasingly heavy waves of controversy and conflict during the past decade as politicians have sought to reform and retool the public education system. The No Child Left Behind legislation, promoted by a strongly bi-partisan coalition as a potent prescription for equity and increased quality in student achievement, is denounced by others as a "plot" to destroy public education. High stakes tests intended to measure improvement in student achievement instead document the all-too-common failure of students in many districts. Schools are struggling to provide "high quality teachers" in all classrooms, while laboring under the increasing pressure of severe reductions in state and local funding. It would be difficult to name any other single era in U.S. education marked by such a pervasive sense of urgency and crisis; it is also likely that there has never been a greater need for competent leaders to guide U.S. education through the storm it now faces.

What kind of leadership is being called for by researchers of education? The current educational policy environment demands that leaders focus on instructional improvement (Spillane, 2003). This focus calls for a specialized, in depth skill set in curriculum; instructional supervision and support. The great number of demands mandated by legislators, has led to the call for more leaders to engage broad groups of "others" (such as parents, faculty, staff, community) in the work of "shared leadership" (Lambert, 2003). In fact, the scope of administrative responsibilities has grown so greatly that there is somewhat of a trend to divide the administrative role. Some states have created new positions that separate school administrators into managers and instructional leaders. More commonly, many researchers of educational leadership are advocating a model called "distributed leadership" wherein specific leadership functions are spun off onto teacher-leaders, team leaders,...

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