Educational Leadership Commons^™

Reflective Practitioner As The Leader Of Learning : A Reflective Essay, Julie A. Amendt

Graduate Research Papers

The role of the principal has changed significantly over the last twenty years. Today's principal is always multi-tasking, changing gears and changing roles over the course of a day. Leadership must come from the inside out instead of top down. To fulfill this role, an effective principal must adhere to their personal philosophy and belief of education as well as live and model with ethical consideration. Philosophy and ethics will guide specific qualities of leadership that will prove to be effective in the management of an effectively run school. The principal must be a reflective leader who can promote and …

A Preferred Vision For Leading Schools : A Reflective Essay, Tashona R. Marshall

Graduate Research Papers

An excellent leader understands that the life jacket of education for many of our students is often not given to students while they are out in the canoe of life. Many times schools have stood at the shore with the life saving apparatus, urging students to come to shore to access it. Yet all the while, children are sinking and drowning because no one has considered what would happen if educators dared to go out in the water and bring them in.

L.A. Butler (1997), a school principal in a poor minority school that transformed her school from a low …

A Preferred Vision For Administering High Schools : A Reflective Essay, Shane R. Knoche

Graduate Research Papers

This reflective research paper is an accumulation of my belief on education and the four elements that I believe are the most important to creating a successful school district. The four critical elements are teamwork, developing leaders, ethical decision making, and professional development.

I believe our responsibility in education is to teach all students the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in today's world. Many people in society feel that education is a state of decay. There is the perception that teachers are inept and unqualified. I believe that the majority of teachers are motivated and qualified. We need …

What I Believe About Leadership And Education : A Reflective Essay, Brian J. Meaney

Graduate Research Papers

Being in a position of leadership is a great responsibility. Administrators are asked to fill many roles within the school culture. They make decisions that affect a large number of people, and each decision comes with its criticism. It is important for an administrator to gain the trust and respect of the staff by not asking them to do things that you would not do. Show the staff that that you want to become the best, and they will follow.

The Practices Of A Successful Educational Leader : A Reflective Essay, Christopher K. Schmit

Graduate Research Papers

Good leaders are essential to successful organizations in the business world. Similarly, good educational leaders are imperative to students' continual success in the school building and beyond. High student achievement and positive school climate are very important when school is in session, but students must continue to be successful when school is not in session. Some of the many roles that allow an educational leader to make this possible include: being a leader of reflection, educational change, continuous improvement, and service. These roles influence both teachers and students in the development of themselves, encouraging them to continually strive to be …

Exemplary Educational Leadership : A Reflective Essay, Sarah E. Morgan

Graduate Research Papers

Maybe now more than ever, the need for strong leadership in education is necessary. Unfortunately, leadership can be masked by many other titles: director, manager, boss, dictator. None are accurate descriptions of a leader. A leader takes on the appearance of servant, peer, guide, and mentor. By serving the staff and meeting their needs--physically, professionally, and emotionally--authority is developed so that managerial techniques which instill resentment are no longer effective,nor needed, and staff will feel comfortable working with you, for you, and along side you.

A Preferred Vision For Leading Pk-12 Schools : A Reflective Essay, Derek L. Roberts

Graduate Research Papers

Ever since I can remember I have thought about furthering my education to become an administrator. There are several reasons for this and the more I thought about them, I knew it was right for me. Natural leaders are pushed into situations. My whole life I have been a leader no matter what I have been involved with or what type of job I was working in. Possessing these strong qualities that will help me in being a well rounded and respected educational leader will be very beneficial in all the different situations that can arise. My leadership skills are …

A Preferred Vision For Educational Leadership : A Reflective Essay, Amy M. Beach

Graduate Research Papers

Educational leadership is a calling. Changes in the world are reflected within the school walls; principals must be ready to accept the challenges the lie ahead. Effective leadership means embracing the desire to accept this calling, reflecting upon practice and experience for continuous improvement, modeling effective instructional strategies, inspiring learning in students and adults and being a catalyst for positive change. The responsibilities are vast, but the success of our students and community is dependent upon steadfast leadership.

A Preferred Vision For Leading Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Melinda S. Dunlap

Graduate Research Papers

There are many qualities needed for a principal to be an exemplary educational leader. A leader needs to be strong in supporting parental involvement, providing meaningful staff development, attracting and retaining quality teachers, and being a leader in technology. By being strong in these four areas, a leader is off to a great start on the road to becoming "the main educational facilitator of the learning community" (Wilmore, 2002, p. 5).

What I Believe About Leadership And Education, Joseph L. Green Ii

Graduate Research Papers

The importance of being a strong educational leader and demonstrating successful practices as a reflective practitioner, leader of educational change, leader of learning for both students and teachers, and a leader of service is essential to the growth of all our country's students, and the educational systems from which they learn.

Being an educational leader encompasses every educational title and every educational position, from teacher to parent, and principal to school board member. By successfully collaborating and communicating among all stakeholders, educational leaders can guarantee that every child will succeed and develop into productive and knowledgeable citizens.

Education Must Change : A Reflective Essay, Ryan K. Riewerts

Graduate Research Papers

This paper outlines five important areas to be an effective administrator and facilitator of educational change. The first area is my belief about education and educational leadership and why I chose to enter the educational leadership field. The second focus area involves the use of reflective practices to improve myself as an educator and administrator as well as discussing the use of reflective practices for educational change. The third area discusses the role of a leader in school reform. The fourth area talks about an administrator's role as an instructional leader to both the students in their school as well …

A Preferred Vision For Leading Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Brian J. Downing

Graduate Research Papers

The role of administrator, when done successfully, is a difficult and multifaceted one. It involves fulfilling many different duties with many different groups simultaneously. Educational leadership is a balancing act of the day-today and the unexpected emergencies, of the mundane and the exceptional, of management and progress. This task would be difficult to accomplish by a team of professionals, let alone by one person. We all have our talents and abilities in certain of these areas but a successful administrator needs to be competent in all of them and be able to balance them effectively.

What I Believe About Leadership And Education : A Reflective Essay, Valerie J. Daily

Graduate Research Papers

Educating our children is the most worthy, rewarding, and influential profession obtainable. Educators join the profession to improve our society and because they care about children. The task educators face is immense. Every child can learn. I believe good teachers can positively impact the lives of children and their families.

Teaching is an art and good teachers teach children how to learn. Good teachers provide a variety of resources and tools a child can use in several situations to enhance learning. Good teachers ask thoughtful, and purposeful questions that leave a child a curious learner. Education should be a highly …

A Preferred Vision For Leading Schools : A Reflective Essay, Neal E. Thompson

Graduate Research Papers

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would pursue a career in education, let alone become a scbool leader. No one in my family had gone beyond a high school education. However, in my father's dying moments, he encouraged me to never quit pursuing an education. My father died during my senior year in high school and after high school I floundered in a community college for a couple of years, but I did continue pursuing an education. I began to dream of becoming an educator and coach. I was influenced by previous coaches, teachers, and my father's …

Educational Leadership, Aaron J. Stecker

Graduate Research Papers

A leader is someone who can find a way to make it happen. In education, a leader is someone who can motivate a learning community to work together to achieve greatness. A quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes on my folder states, "Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving; We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but sail we must" (Holmes et al, 1858). Educational leadership is a calling that will see its fair share of both good and bad days. Quality educational leaders will be someone who can steer the …

Critical Elements For Leading Secondary Schools, Darci J. Wagner

Graduate Research Papers

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "living and learning must go hand in hand." I cannot remember a time in my life when this was not true. As a child, school was always a positive experience for me. I loved the challenge of mastering new skills. As I progressed through high school and college, I had the opportunity to develop my thinking and reasoning skills through challenging courses taught by master teachers. These teachers served as role models for me, displaying dedication and passion for their subject matter as well as their students.

Self-Harm : A Review Of Its Nature, Assessment And Treatment, Cj Yerington

Graduate Research Papers

Self-harm is becoming more and more prevalent in clinician offices and is still an occurrence that mental health professionals do not agree upon in several ways. To this day, there is a debate among mental health professionals, as even to what term it should be referred to as, the exact definition that should represent selfharm, and most importantly the proper and most effective way to treat it. Amongst all of the professional disagreeing there are clients who are presenting with self-harm and are not getting proper treatment and, in some cases, may be walking away with worse self-harm ideations than …

A Preferred Vision For Leading Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Beth Lang

Graduate Research Papers

I think that it is critical, as someone who would like to become an administrator, to have a vision and to know what critical elements I feel are essential as a future administrator. I feel that it.helps us guide our decisions. It gives us a basis to fall back on when we make decisions. There are so many decisions we need to make day to day that sometimes I feel we could get lost in what is important. I think this guide can be used so that when we need to make a decision we can go back and look …

Critical Components To Successful Leadership In Education : A Reflective Essay, Andrew J. Miehe

Graduate Research Papers

When faced with the question: "What do you believe about leadership and education?" most educators would quickly respond that there should be no separation between the two. A bond exists between leadership and education that is so strong one can not survive without the other. It is this tie between the world of education and the need for leadership that puts educators in classrooms and motivates administrators to take on the challenge of leading a building to success.

What I Believe About Leadership And Education : A Reflective Essay, Diane Shumate Foley

Graduate Research Papers

A school leader is not an easy job. Decisions are not always clearly defined and courage, strength, and confidence are needed to make difficult choices. But, if you are leading with integrity and fairness and exhibit ethical, respectful behavior while applying humor where appropriate, then you will be a better human being and a better school leader. This is my goal. As Vince Lombardi aptly phrased it, "there is only one way to succeed in anything and that is to give everything."

A Preferred Vision For Administering Schools : A Reflective Essay, Mark E. Lawler

Graduate Research Papers

The role of an educational leader has changed in the last century. The principal of a school has more responsibility and accountability than ever before. Chief among them is being a role model for students and adults in the school and community, and a leader in the school's progress. Always in the public eye, the principal must make choices based on good judgement and data, and must search for what is best for the stakeholders. The principal should be open to new ideas and pushing the school forward. As Wilmore said in Principal Leadership, a school that is not …

A Preferred Vision For Leading An Exemplary School : A Reflective Essay, Robert S. Libolt

Graduate Research Papers

Education is a cornerstone in a person's life. Education is vital in today's society. With out it you miss out on many opportunities. As a student moves through the grades of a school district that student is being enriched in many ways.

High school is the beginning of something so much more than classes, athletics, social organizations, and fun: it is the start of your future. Many students don't understand their own potential, and education allows the chance to discover it. Getting an education is the best thing any person can do. From family to money to how you live …

An Effective Leader : A Reflective Essay, Darin Jones

Graduate Research Papers

Leadership can be accomplished in multiple ways: vocally, by example, or by a combination of the two. Any choice is.acceptable, but in order to be an effective leader you need to choose a method and believe in it. Personally, I lead by example. I work to be a vocal leader by praising in public. It is important to let students see it is all right to tell someone they did a very good job.

Setting good examples for students is key to leadership. Many times this is done by responses to situations. Reaction is quite often done without thought and …

Critical Elements Of Success For Educational Leaders : A Reflective Essay, Jennifer L. Pettlon

Graduate Research Papers

Throughout my life and studies I have determined that several elements are critical to being a successful leader: (a) effective communication, (b) a strong work ethic, (c) motivational and positive, and (d) a complete leader. Each of these elements is needed and each has an importance of its own. Throughout this paper each element will be defined, information given about its importance to being a successful leader, and practical application.

A Vision For Leading Schools : A Reflective Essay, Karen J. Coates.

Graduate Research Papers

Education has undergone many changes in the past few decades. Many of these changes are due to our changing society, and others are due to those in education who see the need to make changes. Still other changes come from government directives. Our world is not the same world that it was when public.education came into being. The two parent family where mom stays home and dad goes to work as seen in 1950's television shows very rarely exists. Rural one-room schools under county jurisdiction have given way to larger consolidated school districts.

With legal mandates to include disabled children …

A Preferred Vision For Leading Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Katie E. Christiansen

Graduate Research Papers

Defining effective leadership has been done by assembling lists of dispositions and traits that are found among individuals that encompass what a good leader should be. But to be that effective leader, the awareness of the characteristics is not enough. Instead, these idiosyncrasies should be at the core belief system of a leader. If these characteristics become instinctual, then they are represented in an effective leader's actions and they are accessible as a guiding force in times that are the most challenging.

This paper will explain what I believe to be the essential components that encompass my core beliefs I …

What I Believe About Leadership And Education : A Reflective Essay, Brian J. Price

Graduate Research Papers

Becoming an educational leader is something I have thought about since becoming a teacher. For a school to run successfully, those in charge must have an understanding of their own beliefs and how those beliefs will fit into the vision of the school. In this paper, I will discuss why I became an educator, what I believe about education, why I decided to enter this program to be a principal and what I believe about leadership.

A Look At Administrative Qualities For Success : A Reflective Essay, Beth Ann Kleve

Graduate Research Papers

It is not just having a degree, and a few classes that help to make a person a good administrator. It is having an understanding and passion about ones own personal beliefs and core values that will help to make the difference between a good administrator and a great administrator.

In the following paper professionalism, leadership, morality, and learning will be discussed further. Examining how each of these areas are important qualities for an administrator to develop and maintain as a leader in a school.

A Preferred Vision For Leading Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Seabron R. Reese

Graduate Research Papers

As a future educator, I feel the world is in dire need of quality educators to provide leadership far more superior than the previous generations. Education as a profession must involve leaders who can consistently perform to the highest level of expectation day in and day out. As students graduate and enter the workforce, the professions within this workforce entrust educators and exemplary leaders to provide honesty, support and encouragement to our fellow prize holders (our students).

What I Believe About Leadership And Education : A Reflective Essay, Kathlynn W. Breinich

Graduate Research Papers

Communication is the ground work for everything. Without it an administrator cannot effectively move their school forward. However, the school needs a direction to go. When an administrator has a vision, he or she can lead the school in that direction – thus making the school a better place. In order for the school to be effective, it is also helpful to have an administrator that has good organizational skills.

Finally, a school is built for instruction. Above all else, an administrator must remember why they are there, to assist the staff in teaching children. The administrator must hold teachers …