A Philosophy of Educational Leadership

It is my purpose in this essay to describe my own philosophy of educational leadership, drawing largely upon the theoretical or philosophical perspective known as Essentialism to argue that when a school is led by an individual focused on a "back to the basics" approach to curriculum content, empowerment of stakeholders, and inclusion of the community, improvement sin student learning outcomes are quick to emerge. I will argue that the effective leader, who may be a school principal, other administrator or classroom teacher, should recognize that the overarching mission of the school system is to teach, to foster learning, and to prepare youth for meaningful life experiences (Grant, 1988). While schools now serve other functions in society, they must concentrate on the mission of educating youth for success (Sergiovanni, 1992).

Educational leaders, in the view o Sergiovanni (1992), are moral and ethical leaders as well as seasoned, knowledgeable professionals. They are individuals who stress trust, honesty, communication, openness, transparency, responsibility and accountability. With respect to Essentialism (to be discussed below), effective educational leaders recognize that a "back to the basics" educational strategy will offer students at all skill and achievement levels the opportunity to acquire the knowledge sets that are associated with personal advancement and understanding (Bagley, 1907).

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eader: ( The effective principal must appreciate and enjoy making decisions. They must believe in themselves and must trust their own intuition, and must choose the side of justice, truth, and equality, regardless of personal gain or loss or personal friendships. ( The effective principal must cultivate the art of active listening. Active listening is a deliberate and conscious effort to fear more than the words, to search out alternatives, and blend the contradictions, to remain open until all saying are complete. ( Effective principals must be able to defend the system. They must be able to defend the system from unjustifiable attacks on the schools, to defend its purpose, and to defend its integrity (Tanner & Tanner, 1975). Until relatively recently, educational administration has enjoyed a fragmented set of strategic orientations that have evolved over time from a perception of administrators as lead teachers to an emphasis on the formal training and education of professionals whose jobs require that they have an extended knowledge of education itself and of business management (Murphy, 1998). This transformation may well represent the growing complexity of the roles that educational administrators must fulfill.
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Approximate Word count = 3077
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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