Kelly Girtz
A Few Thoughts on Theories of Educational Administration
EDUL 6013 – Basic Theories of Educational Administration
September 26, 2005
There is enough written material on theories of educational administration that a thorough reflection would still be underway when I am dirt in the ground. Fortunately for all involved, the length of this paper is limited and should prove relatively painless to digest. Several themes recur throughout: willingness to listen, attention to detail, prioritization and a desire for the greater good. With vision and fortitude, I will live up to the ideals presented herein.
The Leader as Investigator
In
“Clarifying Communication” Schmuck and Runkel (1995) present the Johari
Awareness Model, which illustrates the awareness of two actors – self and
others. In this quadrant model, there
are items that are known to oneself, but hidden from others, items that are
known and revealed and items that are unknown to oneself and others. However, this model leaves out an important
notion: that some things are “unknown”, but not “unknowable.” This is an important distinction to make as
an administrator, as the failure to do sufficient research can waylay the most
well-intentioned leader. It is among the
expectations of a competent administrator that when faced with a challenge, she
or he will hit the books, surf the web or consult with the experts in a field
to determine what information is available.
Otherwise, what we are often left with is a soggy substitute of
half-remembered theory or hyperbole disguised as expertise.
I once had the displeasure of listening to an administrator extol the virtues of letting students listen to music through headphones while they were doing independent class work. This administrator cited some anonymous research that suggested that students, particularly those that suffer from ADD, focus more successfully when equipped with music and headphones. The administrator meant well, and was responding to the common difficulty of getting students to work rather than socialize when given independent tasks. However, the principal failed to note a distinction in the research between physical and cognitive tasks. Pop music does expedite the task of packing for a move, but it will rarely (if ever) provide someone with the fuel needed to recall the parts of a plant cell or interpret Othello. If he had performed an accurate overview of the research, the man would not have seemed like half the numbskull he appears to be whenever he wields this fractured memory of some past graduate seminar.
Hearing this kind of misinformation perpetuated, more than just making professional life interesting, encourages me to be thorough in my research, particularly when I am trying to promote something significant. Even when a review of the literature on the topic at hand does not provide the answers for which I hope, it is better that I at least be well informed.
The Emotional Leader
Schmuck and Runkel also mention the value of communicating during times of emotion. Many in the professional sphere hold a sort of bland decorum in high esteem. To some folks, to speak passionately is a sign of instability or an obnoxious tendency. Politicians are lambasted when they show genuine excitement in the course of their work. Unfortunately, the price of the “don’t make waves” approach is that we hamper progress.
In fact, even anger can be power when it is channeled well. Public servants should not be sheep, willing to ceaselessly allow injustice or absurdity to occur, giving in to appeals to procedure and tradition when these are holding us back from moving forward. We are trusted by the public with a vital activity. We are at the front lines in preparing young people for the future. As this is the case, suppressing emotion is a form of dishonesty.
Certainly, expressing emotion is distinct from melodrama. Even when those excesses are avoided, some colleagues will be uncomfortable with strong expressions of emotion. The may be more interested in retaining the placid workplace. However, I believe that many others appreciate the honesty that travels with expression of emotions – disgust at a dysfunctional system, anger at lack of support for vital programs, exuberance when our efforts are met with success. Teachers need leaders who have a clear sense of direction, men and women who can instill their ideas in a staff. Without emotional peaks and the transcendence that accompanies them, educational leadership is as inspiring as cold porridge.
The Leader as Adult
In “Dealing with People You Can’t Stand” (Brinkman and Kirschner, 1994) several recommendations are built around notions of openness, honesty and positive interactions. Many of these are the same skills useful in dealing with difficult students. My own fear for my work as and administrator is that I will spend my time gravitating away from those who I “can’t stand”, when I should engage them, try to understand them and be understood. It will be a priority for me to be open to all those who I supervise. Certainly, even with as much support as I can provide, there will still be some relationships that do not gel, but the battery of ideas that these authors offer will stay close to my desk.
My current position in the classroom can serve as the training ground for this outlook. There are a couple of students with whom I have difficulty interacting for their apathy, their rudeness or their antagonistic behavior. It will be a great experiment, an exercise in professional growth, to prioritize working these students. They need to be encouraged to do their work well, just as do those students who have a spark and are just looking for suggestions or confirmation that they are headed in the right direction. When I see bored to death boy and slacker queen they will have my interest, my attention and my calm, clear support.
The Organized Leader
In “School Principals and Teacher Stress” Blasé (1984) conducted qualitative research relating school principal behavior to teacher stress. Among his findings was that a leader who is effective at task completion is viewed positively by teachers. To address this, as a teacher and in future administrative work, I will offer input on initiatives, both those at the school level and those that are district-wide. Teachers I work with often feel like “we are always starting something new”, by which they mean something additional, something that will require more work on their part above what they already commit to their job. Unfortunately, these “new” initiatives can become tomorrow’s forgotten efforts as some newer, shinier idea comes into vogue.
I can address this by doing two important things with my time and energy. First, I can be actively engaged in shaping goals. This involves a methodic approach, clearly defining our needs and being sure that the pursuits are within the purview and abilities of the school or the district. Secondly, I can monitor progress on the goals that are adopted and provide guidance and resources to make sure implementation and troubleshooting are capably handled. Here, it is critical to investigate similar initiatives to preview potential difficulties, then to actively listen when concerns are raised during the process.
The Leader as Teacher Advocate
Blasé also notes the difficulty of unreasonable expectations on the part of principals. Certainly, teaching can be stressful under the best of circumstances, and it should be my job to minimize this tendency. A huge obstacle to this can be district demands. Every principal I have ever worked with has made reference to activities that “must” be done for the superintendent, the school board, etc. However, it is important that principals mitigate unreasonable demands for the benefit of their staff and students. To be an uncritical messenger, simply passing tasks from above to below is not the role that I can take. It is important to me to be an advocate for my staff. Their time and energy needs to be well focused to ensure that students are getting good instruction. When initiatives from above make this difficult, I need to be a gatekeeper holding back the barbarians in their district offices.
The Leader as Catalyst for Growth
Two related topics that Blasé mentions in rapid succession are poor evaluation of teaching (meaning a cursory evaluation, one that is not carefully written, rather than one that delivers a negative evaluation) and indecisiveness or lack of follow-through (pages 8-10). Together, these represent the mushy-ness, the laziness that plagues even some good people in education. In the name of getting through the day, or of making nice, or of trying to please everybody, the administrator never really provides solid feedback or takes a stand. In my effort to avoid this curse, I must even now be honest and clear and precise with my colleagues and with my students. Even two weeks ago I was disappointed in a fellow teacher for failing to leave adequate sub plans. This thought was not just fleeting. It stayed with me throughout the work day, and I recalled it the following day when she returned to work. However, I did not mention the issue to her, thinking that there would be a good opportunity to bring it up at a later date. It is a concern that could be forgotten, though, in the midst of busy days. In situations like this, as well as in relationships with my students, I must prepare for the role of an administrator by being honest as soon as I can collect my thoughts on an issue that needs to be dealt with. Certainly, in doing so, I need to be forward-thinking and positive. In the case of the colleague who did not leave sub plans, I need to remind her about the difficulty of being a substitute in an unfamiliar classroom, often amidst unfamiliar material, and that anything that can make the job smoother and more easily understood will help the poorly paid sub, as well as the students who will benefit from more thorough guidance. Providing swift, clear, solution-focused responses will be my personal policy. You heard it here first.
Next among the critical list of principal-derived stressors that Blasé provides is the failure to provide resources. An unmentioned corollary to this is failing to publicize the resources that are available. Both should be dealt with by delegating some work to an effective assistant or series of instructional leaders throughout the building or department. This situation falls most heavily on young teachers, who have not been able to become aware of the array of items that are available for instructional support. It should be a clearly stated role for veteran teachers, instructional leaders and mentors that they provide guidance to those new to the department. In addition, these guiding lights need to be encouraged to provide feedback to administrators about those things that are in short supply or are completely unavailable. By relying on the entire staff to both support each other and to keep me in the loop, issues of resources can be kept at bay and easily remedied. The teacher should be allowed to focus on the instructional tasks of the classroom without having to be procurement specialists. The itemized teacher expense deduction in the current tax code should not be any administrator’s excuse to burden a staff with this responsibility.
The Leader Promoting Shared Responsibility
In Bringing Out the Best in Teachers, Joseph Blasé and Peggy C. Kirby (1992) focus on two sides of the coin of responsibility. The first is a call to sometimes make a decision on trivial issues without teacher involvement. The second is a willingness to abide by decisions of a team, even when they are not aligned with one’s own desires. Together, the impact of following these edicts will be multifaceted.
Teachers will not have the impression that an administrator is willing to waste their time. There are countless meetings that every one of us has attended that had nothing to do with our own needs. When teachers are asked to give their precious time to an initiative, they should be assured that the project is going to benefit their practice or their students. Otherwise, they have the impression that birds of prey are circling, ever ready to tear up little pieces of them, leaving less and less of the teacher to focus on instruction and student support. When these are able to be priorities in teachers’ lives they are more likely to come into the classroom fresh and enthusiastic.
Similarly, when teachers come to a decision and they are supported, they feel like respected members of the educational community. Their beliefs and strengths are affirmed, improving their performance through increased confidence. As a residual effect, they will be able to accept occasional differences with administrators. Their impression will not be that “once again” the principal is shoving something down their throats that they do not feel will improve their practice. They will be more likely to give important new initiatives a try because there is a history of active and background support.
The Supportive Leader, part 2
Another recommendation Blasé and Kirby offer is that new teachers be actively supported as they are oriented to the resources available in the school or department. To successfully pursue this strategy, an educational leader must be familiar with the role of the new teacher and the resources that will support this role. An administrator need not be a micromanager, but must have a broad awareness of the needs of various members of the staff and the items that can meet these needs. This can be done directly, or by having competent staff members to whom this task can be delegated. For quite some time it was common for people to be hired into teaching positions for which they were not fully qualified, or may not have had much specific preparation. My first teaching job was as a seventh grade language arts teacher, while my only area of certification was in high school social studies. Not only did I need to become familiar with the formal curriculum, but I also had to know what resources were commonly used by those in that role. It was only through having the support of knowledgeable colleagues that I was able to survive.
The Leader as Teacher Advocate, part 2
Blasé and Kirby ask that policies that reduce teachers’ status be deemphasized by effective administrators. The degree to which teachers are viewed as pawns or automatons varies greatly from one district to another, but in any case, an effective administrator must communicate not only to teachers, but to higher level administrators and superintendents that teachers are professionals who should be given credit for their education, background and ability. Of course, there will be times when teachers are asked to follow procedure and be accountable for their work. However, the net effect of this kind of this should not be so burdensome that teachers feel like they spend all their time filling out time sheets and defending their use of time. To use this to influence broader policy is to ensure that peoples’ roles are well defined and there is care taken to ensure that the core requirements of the job are emphasized.
The Connecting Leader
In “Working with Conflicts”, Schmuck and Runkel (1995) provide a challenge that can be turned into a strength in mentioning the tendency of conflict to stem from the variety of functions between members of an organization. However, distinction in function and the variety of information that each member of an organization has access to through those different positions can be a source of strength. For this strength to emerge, there needs to be effective communication between these diverse members of the organization. A schedule needs to be designed so there is time for members of the school or department to share the highlights of their work. Often, there are so many tasks that teachers are asked to perform that the “breathing room” necessary for collaboration does not exist. Members must an opportunity to develop partnerships that would otherwise not exist and could learn tactics from their peers. “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts” when this arrangement is effectively managed.
In Closing
Reading the material that led to these reflections prompted the kinds of reactions that produce momentum. I was agitated, uneasy, hopeful, dreaming. There were future scenes running through my mind, alongside occasional flashes of memory. These images were full of teachers making their best effort in the classroom, positive with the students, honest with each other, with me (the prospective educational leader) and with themselves. The distance between thought, expression, and action seems too long. The force of the reading and reflection makes me eager to enact these possibilities, hungry for what is to be.
References
Blasé, J. “School Principals and Teacher Stress: A
Qualitative Analysis.” The National
Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision, 1, 32 (1984): 35-43.
Blasé, J., and Kirby, P. Bringing
Out the Best in Teachers.
Press, 1992.
Brinkman, R., and Kirshner, R. Dealing With People You Can’t Stand. McGraw-Hill,
1994.
Schmuck, R., and Runkel, P. The Handbook of Organizational Development in Schools
and Colleges.