Ethics and Politics in School Leadership by Brierton Jeffrey;Graham Brenda;Tomal Daniel R.;Wilhite Robert K.;Brierton Jeffrey;

Author:Brierton, Jeffrey;Graham, Brenda;Tomal, Daniel R.;Wilhite, Robert K.;Brierton, Jeffrey;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Figure 4.1 A new definition of academic freedom.

Collaboration versus Control

Enlightened leaders have realized that creating cultures of collaboration holds the key to authentic school improvement. In doing so, the leader disrupts long-standing practices and the status quo. Teachers will undoubtedly view this disruption as a loss of control. The artful leader strives to help the teacher understand that this is not the case. On the contrary, by using the collaborative model, a culture shift can be fostered whereby teachers gain more control over the process and use data to inform decisions about change.

In the new collaborative model, teachers are accountable to each other. Collaborative teaching teams determine the content of curriculum, identify best instructional practices, and craft authentic assessments together. Teams are encouraged to innovate within a common set of goals established by them. This collaborative model represents a new partnership between teachers and leaders. Under this model, challenging the status quo is encouraged as a catalyst to change and innovation. Faculty and staff are being reorganized into professional learning communities, and organizational charts are being flattened.

Enlightened school leaders are also embracing the collaborative model for their school leadership teams. Leaders are expected to engage in collaborative conversations with teachers about curriculum, assessment, and instruction, while staying current in the latest research on instructional leadership. Shared leadership models are rapidly becoming the norm as the old command and control, boss-subordinate models fade away.

While politics certainly existed under the command and control model, traditional boss-subordinate relationships often muted its effect. Organizational flow charts clearly indicated who was in charge and who was not. Interaction was much less collaborative and more predetermined by position. Speaking truth to power (authority) was infrequent. Today, under the new model, the wise leader recognizes that the strongest levels of commitment flow to the smallest part of the school organization because it is where the people’s level of engagement is the highest (Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, and Many, 2010).

As schools become increasingly collaborative, interactions between professionals will increase and intensify, as will the politics. Teachers will usually agree that frequent collaboration, shared accountability, and increased collegiality among educators are welcome changes. As the era of the independent educator comes to an end, the interests of the professional learning team will come before that of the individual teacher. However, as figure 4.2 illustrates, individuals on these collaborative teams may seek to influence and control the collaborative process, placing them in conflict with the interests of the team.

The effective school leader must be fully prepared to explain the true meaning of academic freedom in the context of current education reform. The leader must foster an understanding that, while teachers tend to work largely in isolation in their own classroom, collaboration must become the new paradigm. The leader will need to make every effort to replace a culture of compliance with one of commitment. These conversations can challenge the skill set of school leaders and will require honesty, candor, courage, and trust by both leaders and teachers.

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