Educational Leadership

Principals are the key to a school's success. Social changes over the past thirty years increased the need for solid preparation of principals for the increasingly challenging job they face. A rise in school violence, an aging teacher population, new technologies, an increasingly diverse student population, and a federal and state push to hold teachers and schools more accountable and responsible for performance are just some of these changes. A principal must solve problems and communicate across a wide variety of stakeholders, including administrators, parents, teachers, government officials and others. Today's principals face a number of decisions that not only impact a number of stakeholders but also communicate a specific message. As Richardson (2001) maintains, "Principals send large cultural messages to staff and students with every decision regarding budgets, curriculum, instruction, as well as interactions with central office and community leaders" (1).

Because of the enormous challenges on principals who often toil twelve hours or longer during most school days, communication and problem solving skills are extremely important for success. According to the literature, the higher expectations and demands on principals reduced number of educators interested in taking such positions has declined (Richardson 2000). Despite such high expectations and demands on principals, the key to school success, t

Related Essays

Educational Leadership Educational leadership requires strong leadership to establish and implement a vision that successfully achieves the goals and objectives of the organization .... (1058 4 )

Educational Leadership .... With respect to educational leadership in particular, recruiting, retention, and staff development must all incorporate ongoing learning for optimal success. .... (416 2 )

A Philosophy of Educational Leadership A Philosophy of Educational Leadership It is my purpose in this essay to describe my own philosophy of educational leadership, drawing largely upon the .... (3077 12 )

Educational Leadership .... range who will have access to condoms hold fundraisers whose proceeds will be earmarked for purchasing condoms and other safe sex educational materials like .... (1172 5 )

Leadership in Education .... performance. This essay summarizes the importance communicating a compelling vision of success in educational leadership. An effective .... (665 3 )

1994, 7). Planning, organizing, leading and controlling are important roles filled by the principal in order to develop problem solving skills among staff. Planning represents the process of developing the schools missions and objective, especially how they will be achieved. A mission and a specific plan or strategy for accomplishing each goal is crucial. Organizing refers to the creation of the internal organization of the school. Division, coordination, control of tasks, and flow if information are all components of organizing. Another important aspect of organizing is staffing, filling and keeping filled all positions in the school by qualified employees. Recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating and compensating are all involved in successful staffing. Leading pertains to influencing people's behavior through motivation, communication, group dynamics, direction and discipline. The goal is not only accomplishing the school's objectives but also helping managers achieve their own career goals. Controlling is a form of feedback and modification. According to Higgins (1994), controlling is a "four-step process of establishing performance standards based on the firm's objectives, measuring and reporting actual performance

Category: Misc - E