Teacher Leadership to Effect Change in Education
July 28, 2008
Leadership is a major theme on most educator’s minds.
A typical example of school leadership usually involves an enlightened principal, or great superintendent – but rarely involves a great teacher affecting the school beyond their classroom.
Teacher leadership should move to the next level to include the question: how can a teacher effect change in their district?
I believe that institutional change will be driven by teachers who are committed to changing the culture of their districts.
It is no longer tenable for enlightened educators to act as silos of innovation. Teachers should target educational leaders, curriculum directors, superintendents, and boards to help educate them on the importance of 21st century skills and the role of technology in teaching these skills.
The ed tech blogosphere would benefit from more discussions about implementing change management programs and less talk about the latest gadgets or web sites.
An ideal school culture would award risk-taking and innovation in instruction. An investment in technology is often a tough, risky decision that requires genuine leadership and buy-in.
But leadership does not need to happen solely at the principal, or administration level. Leadership can function at the teacher level as well.
Educators are great leaders and experts in consensus building, aligning students around a vision, gaining political capital, managing conflict, and driving change. But, educators are typically not trained in applying these skills to effecting enterprise-level change. In essence, teachers should apply their classroom leadership skills to their entire districts.
The education sector can borrow from change management, turnaround management, and leadership classes from traditional business schools to learn how to apply these skills to district-level change.
Genuine leadership at the teacher level is the key ingredient to institute systemic, sustainable change in school districts.
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