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This book offers a nuanced understanding of how two different theories of leadership can be applied to achieve better results within schools. These leadership theories - Instructional Leadership and Leadership for Learning - have assisted our recent understanding of school leadership. This book interrogates the theories themselves as well as their impact on education systems around the world. It also looks at how they can be practically applied to educate school leaders within their schools and beyond, building partnerships with families, schools and other community agencies serving students. In doing so, the book considers the possibility that these theories are not opposed, but two sides of the same coin. Both are underpinned by the question 'how do we provide the best educational experience for students?'. The answer to this question will determine the way leaders go about the task of leading schools. This important book will be of interest and value to students and scholars of educational leadership, as well as educational leaders themselves.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Changing Understandings of School Leadership; Tony Townsend.- PART I. Theoretical Approaches to Leading Schools.- Chapter 2. Instructional Leadership; David Ng Foo Seong.- Chapter 3. Leadership for Learning; John MacBeath.- PART II. International Responses to the Theory.- Chapter 4. Australian Considerations in Relation to Instructional Leadership and Leadership for Learning; David Gurr.- Chapter 5. Leadership for Learning in the US; David Imig, South Holden and Dale Placek.- Chapter 6. Leading Learning in Schools in Challenging Times: Findings from Research in Portugal; Maria Assunção Flores Fernandes and Fernando Ilídio Ferreira.- PART III. Responding to the Theory.- Chapter 7. Future-Ready Leadership Development; David Ng Foo Seong.- Chapter 8. Professional Autonomy and the Future of Leadership for Learning in Australia; Brian J. Caldwell.- Chapter 9. Leaders of Learning: Recovering the Pedagogical Role of School Leaders and Promoting Leadership at All Levels in Scotland; Margery McMahon.- Chapter 10. Instructional Leadership Development for Principals: A South African Context; Parvathy Naidoo and Raj Mestry.- PART IV. Practising School Leadership: Putting the Theories into Practice.- Chapter 11. Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL): Leading Learning by Improving Instructional Practices in Australia.- Chapter 12. Promoting Teacher Collaborative Learning in Lesson Study: Exploring and Interpreting Leadership to Create Professional Learning Community; Toshiya Chichibu, Tetsuro Uchizaki, Yumiko Ono.- Chapter 13. Creating and Leading Powerful Learning Relationships Through a Whole School Community Approach; George Otero.- Chapter 14. The Power of Collective Leadership for Learning; Suzanne Cridge.- Chapter 15. Leading Place-Based Interventions to Improve Outcomes in Low Socio-economic Settings; Christopher Chapman, Alison Drever, Maureen McBridge, Craig Orr and Sarah Weakley.- PART V. Summary and Conclusions: What Do We Now Know About School Leadership?.- Chapter 16. Leadership for Learning: Embracing Purpose, People, Pedagogy and Place; Neil Dempster.
About the author
Tony Townsend is Professor of Educational Leadership at Griffith University, Australia. His research interests include leadership, school effectiveness, school improvement, and teacher education, and he has published widely on these topics.
Summary
This book offers a nuanced understanding of how two different theories of leadership can be applied to achieve better results within schools. These leadership theories – Instructional Leadership and Leadership for Learning – have assisted our recent understanding of school leadership. This book interrogates the theories themselves as well as their impact on education systems around the world. It also looks at how they can be practically applied to educate school leaders within their schools and beyond, building partnerships with families, schools and other community agencies serving students. In doing so, the book considers the possibility that these theories are not opposed, but two sides of the same coin. Both are underpinned by the question ‘how do we provide the best educational experience for students?’. The answer to this question will determine the way leaders go about the task of leading schools. This important book will be of interest and value to students and scholars of educational leadership, as well as educational leaders themselves.
