Leadership

Leadership - Meaning

• leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.
  
• Leadership is a winning combination of personal traits and the ability to think and act as a leader, a person who directs the activities of others for the good of all.
  

Educational Leadership

• "An educational Leader is always trying to get others to accept his decisions or his objectives, or encourages them to join in some common purpose. His skill like that of any other leader. Rests on his ability to make significant judgment and to encourage others to accept these judgments"                        - Barky
  
• Barky has identified three types of educational leaders
  
  • The educational statesman
    
  • The teacher
    
  • The administrator
    

Theories of leadership

1. "Great Man" Theories:
   

• Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that great leaders are born, not made.
  
• These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic, and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term "Great Man" was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.
  

1. Trait Theories:
   

• Trait theory assumes that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership.
  
• Trait theories often identify particular personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders.
  
• But if particular traits are key features of leadership, how do we explain people who possess those qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership.
  

1. Contingency Theories:
   

• Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the environment that might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation.
  
• According to this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations.
  
• Success depends upon a number of variables, including the leadership style, qualities of the followers, and aspects of the situation.
  

1. Situational Theories:
   

• Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variable.
  
• Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making.
  

1. Behavioral Theories:
   

• Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born.
  
• Rooted in behaviorism, this leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders, not on mental qualities or internal states.
  
• According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation.
  

1. Participative Theories:
   

• Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account.
  
• These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process.
  
• In participative theories, however, the leader retains the right to allow the input of others.
  

1. Management Theories:
   

• Management theories (also known as "Transactional theories") focus on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance.
  
• These theories base leadership on a system of reward and punishment.
  
• Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.
  

1. Relationship Theories:
   

• Relationship theories (also known as "Transformational theories") focus upon the connections formed between leaders and followers.
  
• These leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the importance and higher good of the task.
  
• Transformational leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential.
  
• These leaders often have high ethical and moral standards.
  

Administration

• Administration is a complex process which involves planning, programming, organizing, staffing, training, controlling, implementing, monitoring, evaluating etc.
  

Educational Administration

• "Educational administration is to enable the right pupils to receive the right education from right teacher, at a cost within the means of the state under conditions which will enable the pupils best to profit by their training."                              -Graham Balfour
  

Characteristics of Educational Administration

• Making all efforts and agencies work together in unison.
  
• Assisting in the realization of the aims and objectives of education.
  
• Rending service to society in its progress and that of the individuals.
  
• Concerned with diverse human beings, the teachers, staff, students, parents and public, and coordinating of their.
  
• Concerned with all those activities undertaken, and fullest utilization of resources, for education.
  
• Its purpose through the procedure of organizing, ordering, facilitating and improving the efforts of people in the realization of the goals of education.
  

Leadership and administration in education

• The administration is concerned with administrating an organization
  
• The functioning of the organization is made dynamic by effective leadership.
  
• The administration is concerned with the process of providing leadership.
  
• The leader has to deal with the formal groups – teachers, students, parents, management and departmental officials and also informal groups – cliques among the teachers, gangs among the students, politically minded peoples among the parents, groups with in the management
  

Teacher as an Educational Leader

• The teacher should possess capacity for leadership.
  
• The leadership of teacher depends upon his character, energy, impressiveness and his consideration for the good of others.
  
• The teacher should be able to create confidence in his pupils and members of the community and lead them to productive actions.
  

The role of the head of institution

• As an Organizer
  
  • The head of the institution must systematically organize the routine work of the institution.
    
  • The head of the institution has to organize various activities – both curricular and co-curricular – in the institution.
    
  • He should pay special attention in the distribution of work, preparation of time table, conduct of examinations, PTA meeting etc.
    
• As a Supervisor
  
  • Supervision should be comprehensive.
    
  • It include supervision of the teaching work, moral development of the students, maintenance of registers and accounts.
    
• As a teacher
  
  • The head of the educational institution always should be a good teacher.
    
  • He should not confine his teaching to one particular class but distribute it among several standards.
    
  • The intimate relationship established between the head of and the pupils through direct teaching help him to have more sensitive communication with them.
    
  • It will help him to have a direct touch with existing syllabus and textbook.
    
• As a leader
  
  • To be a successful head of an educational institution one should become a effective leader.
    
  • The qualities of a good leadership include:
    
    • High intellectual ability
      
    • Sound mental and physical health
      
    • Ability to exercise sound and mature judgment.
      
    • A healthy personality.
      
    • A sound, workable consistent philosophy of education.
      
    • Ability for democratic leadership and effective decision making.
      
    • Ability to work well with other in a group.
      
    • Ability for effective and written communication.
      
• As an administrator
  
  • Administration is a complex process which involves planning, programming, organizing, staffing, training, controlling, implementing, monitoring, evaluating etc.
    
  • There are two types of administrators:
    
    • Task-oriented administrators: they give instructions to maintain all the registers up-to-date and finish the work as per rule. But they have no consideration for the well-being of their co-workers.
      
    • People-Oriented Administrators: they give stress only to the benefits at the expense of shirking responsibilities. They attach more importance to popularity among subordinates rather than accomplishment of task entrusted with him.
      
  • A fully task-oriented administrator cannot expect people's support and a purely People-oriented administrator cannot accomplish the task expected.
    
  • To achieve anticipated goals the administrator considers himself as one among the workers of the institution and work with them instead of trying to extract work from them.
    
  • He should motivate the workers to work hard and maximize the output according to the target anticipated.
    
• As a Co-ordinator
  
  • The head of the institution should co-ordinate all the activities in the school.
    
  • He should provide positive support and encouragement to all teachers.
    
  • The head of the institution should co-ordinate the abilities and work competencies of all the teachers for the common good of the institution.
    

Staff council

• The staff council will consist of the headmaster and representatives of teachers.
  
• For staff council there will be a staff secretary selected among the teachers.
  
• It will help the headmaster to deal with the problems confronted by the school, such as indiscipline, misbehavior and disobedience.
  

Functions of staff council

• To discuss problems of discipline and advise the headmaster on how to solve these.
  
• To advise the headmaster regarding actions to be taken against pupils for misbehavior.
  
• To provide information regarding problems relating to working conditions and advise the headmaster in that respect.
  
• To advise the management on step to be taken for the development of the school.
  
• To assess the academic work periodically.
  
• To plan important festivals and celebrations and other co-curricular activities.
  
• To support the teacher whenever he experiences problems and difficulties.
  

Conduction of staff meeting

• The staff secretary should keep the records of staff meeting.
  
• The staff secretary should prepare agenda of the staff meeting and it should circulate well in advance.
  
• The headmaster should provide dynamic leadership to the colleagues.
  
• He should give complete freedom to express their views.
  
• Staff meeting should not be too long.
  
• Unhealthy criticisms should be chocked.
  
• Staff meeting should not be too frequent, the best appears to be once in a month.