Segment 9: Leadership within a learning community
This segment reading started with Stronk and Bloomberg reminding us the type of leadership needed in school planning. We need to put in place a certain rhythm in ensuring that everyone involved in the process and not “top down”. The suggested framework is very useful especially the emphasis for total involvement, team building and putting peers together in the teaching and learning journey.
The leadership function continues beyond the planning to shaping a covenantal learning communities as learning had been structured to a private and personal journey in most schools. The ingredients of covenant learning community ie need for vision, atmosphere of love and trust and ethos of leadership for service are important focus for the leadership to emphasis and work on to ensure that school can be transformed into such learning communities.
With postmodernity, leadership is evermore needed to bring about changes “because of the human carving for stability especially on the part of those in power positions and those who benefit most from the existing order, nothing will give way in the fabric of existing institutions until the strife and discontent build beyond some threshold” (Lambert, 2004). Leadership in this brave new postmodern world demands that we encourage our learning communities to play with ideas and pray for grace to be faithful in obedience to the heavenly vision, whether as maverick or monk.
And to do so effectively and refreshingly, leaders must make time for self care. The ability to “make time” or time management is very well explained by Rush. He reminded us that “Time is our most important resource. It cannot be saved or stored. It can only be used.” And we must use it intentionally to ensure that our lives are moving toward the God given mandate as followers, leaders and teachers. Brain explained how the importance of self care can benefit pastors. Leaders can share in the benefit too as schooling is very much the same as ministry in that both are very people intensive and Godward focus.
Servgiovanni ended this segment reminding us that context played a key role in deciding whether certain approaches to leadership will be effective or not. There is a real danger of blind adoption of past successful model into the school context.
School needs special leadership and that could be found in moral leadership framework because it emphasises bringing diverse people into a common cause by making the school a covenantal community. Leadership in such context is neither hierarchical nor interpersonal but cognitive which draws its authority from shared goals, purposes, values, commitments and other ideas that provide the basis for followership. Linking leadership directly to the construction of meaning, facilitation of learning and the development of collective responsibility links leadership directly to the lifeworlds of schools. That is very important as it helps to achieve the balance of having the lifeworld driving the systemsworld of school.
Finally the leadership within the learning community needs to be ethical lest it becomes manipulation rather than empowering and enabling.
This segment reading started with Stronk and Bloomberg reminding us the type of leadership needed in school planning. We need to put in place a certain rhythm in ensuring that everyone involved in the process and not “top down”. The suggested framework is very useful especially the emphasis for total involvement, team building and putting peers together in the teaching and learning journey.
The leadership function continues beyond the planning to shaping a covenantal learning communities as learning had been structured to a private and personal journey in most schools. The ingredients of covenant learning community ie need for vision, atmosphere of love and trust and ethos of leadership for service are important focus for the leadership to emphasis and work on to ensure that school can be transformed into such learning communities.
With postmodernity, leadership is evermore needed to bring about changes “because of the human carving for stability especially on the part of those in power positions and those who benefit most from the existing order, nothing will give way in the fabric of existing institutions until the strife and discontent build beyond some threshold” (Lambert, 2004). Leadership in this brave new postmodern world demands that we encourage our learning communities to play with ideas and pray for grace to be faithful in obedience to the heavenly vision, whether as maverick or monk.
And to do so effectively and refreshingly, leaders must make time for self care. The ability to “make time” or time management is very well explained by Rush. He reminded us that “Time is our most important resource. It cannot be saved or stored. It can only be used.” And we must use it intentionally to ensure that our lives are moving toward the God given mandate as followers, leaders and teachers. Brain explained how the importance of self care can benefit pastors. Leaders can share in the benefit too as schooling is very much the same as ministry in that both are very people intensive and Godward focus.
Servgiovanni ended this segment reminding us that context played a key role in deciding whether certain approaches to leadership will be effective or not. There is a real danger of blind adoption of past successful model into the school context.
School needs special leadership and that could be found in moral leadership framework because it emphasises bringing diverse people into a common cause by making the school a covenantal community. Leadership in such context is neither hierarchical nor interpersonal but cognitive which draws its authority from shared goals, purposes, values, commitments and other ideas that provide the basis for followership. Linking leadership directly to the construction of meaning, facilitation of learning and the development of collective responsibility links leadership directly to the lifeworlds of schools. That is very important as it helps to achieve the balance of having the lifeworld driving the systemsworld of school.
Finally the leadership within the learning community needs to be ethical lest it becomes manipulation rather than empowering and enabling.
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