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School Leadership
Handbook for Excellence in Student Learning

Fourth Edition
Edited by:

Foreword by Joseph Murphy



August 2006 | 520 pages | Corwin
Joseph Murphy calls this 'finely crafted and beautifully written' book 'the most comprehensive and extensive treatment of the school leadership literature available to date' - from the Foreword by Joseph Murphy

A set of key leadership behaviours can help create the right kind of conditions in schools for learning to occur. How can school leaders excel in those behaviours?

An important and trusted resource for 25 years, this fourth edition of School Leadership: Handbook for Excellence in Student Learning emphasizes the school leader's role as champion of student learning. Integrating theory and practice, the editors introduce school leadership from five perspectives: the person, the values, the structure, the mission, and the skills.

This expanded edition draws from a variety of viewpoints on educational leadership to give school leaders - and those preparing for the role - insight and wisdom to meet the challenges of helping all their students learn.

Updates include:

o Expanded coverage of instructional leadership and the principal's role in student learning

o New chapters covering the headship, accountability, effects of leadership, distributed leadership, political leadership, and engaging the public

o New chapters on data-based decision-making and allocation of human, financial, and physical resources

o Eight completely reworked chapters that tie back to student learning

o End-of-chapter reflection questions for group discussion

This is the ultimate guide for all headteachers and administrators; a simultaneous life-preserver and indispensable coach for the important work of school leadership.

Joseph Murphy
Foreword
 
Preface
How This Book Was Written

 
Intended Audience

 
Method of Citation

 
Scope and Organization

 
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Editors
 
About the Contributors
 
Introduction: Leadership for Excellence in Learning
The Mission Is Student Learning

 
What Is Leadership?

 
Assumptions About the Nature of Leadership

 
Conclusion: A Passion for Learning

 
 
PART I. The State of School Leadership
Larry Lashway
1. The Landscape of School Leadership
The State of the Principalship: A Snapshot

 
The Supply and Demand Challenge

 
What Is the Principal’s Proper Role?

 
Conclusion: What’s Over the Next Hill?

 
Reflections

 
Larry Lashway
2. The Effects of Leadership
The Search for Leadership Effects

 
Syntheses of the Evidence

 
Essential Acts of Leadership

 
Conclusion: A Compass, Not a Road Map

 
Reflections

 
 
PART II. The Person
Larry Lashway, JoAnn Mazzarella, and Thomas Grundy
3. Portrait of a Leader
The Characteristics of Leaders

 
Personality

 
Competence

 
Mastery of Self

 
Interpersonal Competence

 
Character

 
Leadership Behaviors

 
The Genesis of Leadership

 
What We Don’t Know About Leadership

 
Implications

 
Conclusion: A Sketch for Each Leader to Complete

 
Reflections

 
Larry Lashway
4. Leadership Styles and Strategies
Dimensions of Leadership Style

 
Unanswered Questions About Style

 
The Importance of Style

 
Leadership Strategies

 
Hierarchical Leadership

 
Transformational Leadership

 
Facilitative Leadership

 
Is There a Best Strategy?

 
Choosing a Strategy

 
Conclusion: The Need for Clarity of Purpose

 
Reflections

 
Larry Lashway
5. Developing School Leaders
A Developmental Perspective

 
The Phases of Principals’ Careers

 
The Special Case of the Assistant Principal

 
Assessment Tools for Developing Leadership

 
Conclusion: A Pathway Uncertain Yet Sure

 
Reflections

 
 
PART III. The Values
Larry Lashway
6. Ethical Leadership
The Virtuous Leader

 
Making Ethical Decisions

 
Leaders as Advocates

 
Conclusion: A Question of Destiny

 
Reflections

 
Larry Lashway
7. Visionary Leadership
The Nature of Vision

 
The Impact of Vision

 
The Problem With Vision

 
The Leader’s Role

 
Developing Personal Vision

 
Tailoring the Vision to the School

 
Institutionalizing the Vision

 
Beyond Vision: The Learning Organization

 
Conclusion: Change as a Driving Force for Excellence

 
Reflections

 
Stuart C. Smith
8. Cultural Leadership
The Power of a Strong Culture

 
The Perspective of This Chapter

 
The Heart of the Matter

 
The Meaning of Culture

 
Three Levels of Culture

 
Principles for Shaping School Culture

 
How Leaders Construct Culture

 
Shaping the Student Subculture

 
Fostering a Sense of Community

 
Conclusion: Having the Heart to Persevere

 
Reflections

 
PART IV. The Structure

 
Larry Lashway
9. Accountable Leadership
The Many Faces of Accountability

 
The Leadership Challenge

 
Using Accountability to Improve Learning

 
Conclusion: A Core Leadership Responsibility

 
Reflections

 
Wendell Anderson
10. Site-Based Management
History and Structure of SBM

 
Participants

 
Site Councils

 
SBM and Academic Achievement

 
Role of the Principal in SBM

 
Role of the Superintendent and Other Administrators

 
Conclusion: Leaders’ Commitment Drives Change

 
Reflections

 
Larry Lashway
11. Distributed Leadership
Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?

 
An Alternative Conception: Distributed Leadership

 
The Continuum of Leadership

 
Distributed Leadership in Schools

 
Varieties of Distributed Leadership

 
Making Distributed Leadership Work

 
Expanding Leadership Through Work Teams

 
Conclusion: Why the Effort Is Worthwhile

 
Reflections

 
Larry Lashway
12. Political Leadership
The Two Worlds of School Politics

 
Acting Politically

 
Conclusion: Being Political, Remaining Ethical

 
Reflections

 
 
PART V. The Mission: Student Learning
Ronald A. Beghetto and Julie Alonzo
13. Instructional Leadership: Supporting the Learning Process
What Is Learning?

 
Clarifying the Goals of Purposeful Learning

 
Selecting Instructional Strategies

 
Conclusion: Collaboration Is the Route to Success

 
Reflections

 
Ronald A. Beghetto and Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller
14. Instructional Leadership: Progress Monitoring
What Is Progress Monitoring?

 
Using Multiple Sources of Information to Monitor Progress

 
Improving the Interpretation and Use of Information

 
Communicating Progress

 
An Example: Progress Monitoring in a School District

 
Conclusion: A Career-Long Practice

 
Reflections

 
Ronald A. Beghetto
15. Instructional Leadership: Cultivating a Learning-Focused Community in Schools
What Is a Learning-Focused Community?

 
Why Do Students Engage in or Avoid Achievement-Directed Behavior?

 
How Do Learning Communities Influence Students’ Achievement Behavior?

 
How Does the Learning Environment Influence Teachers?

 
Cultivating a Focus on Learning in the School Community

 
Conclusion: The Need for Creativity and Resolve

 
Reflections

 
 
PART VI. The Skills
Wendell Anderson
16. Communicating
Principles of Organizational Communication

 
Communication and Student Learning

 
The Communication Process

 
Communication Skills

 
The Silent Language

 
Administrative Writing

 
Conclusion: Perseverance Pays Off

 
Reflections

 
Wendell Anderson
17. Engaging the Public
A New Way of Doing Business

 
Connecting With the Community

 
Creating a Community-Relations Plan

 
Delivering the Message

 
Working With the News Media

 
Evaluating Community-Relations Efforts

 
Conclusion: Engaging for Mutual Benefit

 
Reflections

 
Gerald Tindal, Luke Duesbery, and Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller
18. Managing Data for Decision Making: Creating Knowledge From Information
Principles of Data-Driven Decision Making

 
Developing an Infrastructure for Managing and Interpreting Data

 
Getting Accurate Data From All Students: Technical Adequacy and Universal Design

 
Reference for Interpreting Results: Using Graphic Displays to Evaluate Performance

 
Conclusion: The Goal Is Progress for All Students

 
Reflections

 
Faith E. Crampton and Randall S. Vesely
19. Allocating Human, Financial, and Physical Resources
Human Resources: Creating and Sustaining Human and Social Capital

 
Fiscal Resources: Making the Best Use of Existing Financial Resources

 
Physical Resources: Maintaining and Enhancing the Physical Environment of Schools

 
Conclusion: Comprehensive Planning Is Best Practice

 
Reflections

 
 
References
 
Index

“Smith and Piele have written a practitioner's guide that is a 'must read' for administrators at all levels of education. The authors did an exceptional job of writing with clarity about a very important subject.”

John Casper, Supervisor of Instruction
Nelson County Public Schools, Bardstown, KY

“The most comprehensive and extensive treatment of the school leadership literature available to date. School Leadership is a gift to all of us in education.”

From the Foreword by Joseph Murphy

Sample Materials & Chapters

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1


For instructors

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