Leadership

Leadership Theories in Education

Sabrina Juan

Grand Canyon University: EDA-575

March 13, 2010

Leadership Theories in Education

In order for any school to be successful, they need to be led by effective and proper leaders. Because all administrators come from different backgrounds and carry a variety of personalities, not all administrators will encompass the same leadership strategies. In addition, some leaders may need to alter the strategies used based on the current school environment. Everything from communication to collaboration may change the way a leader decides to lead. The way that one chooses to lead his or her staff can greatly alter the climate and attitude in a school setting. If a teacher feels threatened or judged, they may shut down and not want to apply themselves as well as a teacher who is comfortable within their environment. A successful leader will know how to inspire the staff and allow the students to thrive throughout their schooling. The chosen school setting for this paper, Hinman Elementary, currently incorporates three major leadership styles: the coaching leadership style, the participative leadership style, and the collaborative leadership style.

Today’s teachers often face a multitude of challenges that leave them feeling hopeless and stressed out. Although the coaching leadership style is fairly new to arrive in the educational setting, teacher mentoring and teacher coaching have been around for many generations (Wise & Hammack, 2011). The purpose of a teacher coach is to assist new teachers or teachers that are struggling with aspects of the educational process. Leadership coaching includes the same type of ideology. According to two recent studies mentioned in Wise and Hammond’s research, the coaching sessions usually took place a few times a month at the school. The sessions took place in an environment built on openness and trust between the leader and the teachers. The purpose of the coach is to...