Contemporary Issues in Education Leadership

Contemporary Issues in Education Leadership

Introduction

In the modern world, education leaders are increasingly facing leadership challenges. Leadership in schools has become an important aspect of education policy reforms. It has been recognized as an effective tool to improve the student learning environment as well as the outcomes of schools. This is because the leadership of school influences the abilities and motivations of teachers in addition to fostering aconducive learning climate and environment for the students (Tobin, 2014). This paper delves into investigating the issues that affect contemporary school leadership and processes the appropriate leadership styles and traits that would significantly help education administrators resolve these issues.

Issues Education Leaders must address

The context of leadership in the modern education sector revolves around effective resource management, including resource acquisition and allocation, strategic planning, and strategic action. While performing their duties as education administrators and school managers, education leaders usually experience obstacles related to efficiently balancing both financial and academic resources aimed at meeting the dynamic needs of students in the modern world. This implies that school leaders have a challenge of developing programs that ensure the excellent provision of services and providing learners with quality education (Devine & Alger, 2011). Therefore, the problems leaders in the education sector experience include equity and inclusivity, connectivity, and access through innovative technology as well as developing a conducive school culture.

Equity and Inclusivity for Students

Globalization has resulted in cultural diversity in which the education sector advocates for equity and inclusion in the access to quality education. Educators are increasingly facing the challenge of embracing equity as an essential value for members of the community, parents, teachers, and students. This requires dedication and commitment to cultivating school cultures that would create a conducive and inclusive learning environment for students and teachers. Research shows that, despite the government’s effort to address issues such as religious intolerance, racism, cyberbullying, and gender-based violence, these issues continue to affect the education sector. The prevalence of these issues and its impact on the school’s outcome has necessitated the need for educators to find effective policies that would create a healthy, safe, and positive learning environment. These programs should aim at enhancing inclusivity in the education system in addition to mitigate cases of discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds..

Moreover, according to statistics released by the American Psychological Association, over the years, African-American students across the United States have lagged in realizing academic achievement compared to their White peers. The report shows that, in 2018, the high school graduation rate stood at 87 percent for white students and 73 percent for blacks. Additionally, the test scores demonstrate a similar racial gap between the two racial groups. This implies the need for inclusivity in the education sector in which educators must embrace effective leadership styles, including charismatic and transformational techniques, to enhance their commitment to addressing these acts of prejudice. Accordingly, in a bid to solve these issues, educators have sought to develop and implement education training programs and to introduce parent-community engagement policies. On the other hand, as the society moves to a more digital environment, education administrators also face the challenge of ensuring digital equity in which all students irrespective of their socioeconomic status have adequate access to the required tools to support their learning process as well as compete adequately in the global economy.

Innovation to enhance Connectivity and Access across the Education System

In the modern world, the management of schools, particularly elementary schools, has proved to be a hectic process. School administrations face the challenge of effectively managing students’ information due to a large number of elementary students. However, the upsurge and diffusion of modern technology, coupled with globalization, have incredibly transformed the education systems (Riconda& Savino, 2014). This trend has led to different management issues within the school’s settings involving monitoring students’ performances, online registration, paper-based-processes, admission and enrolment, and the forecast of academic achievement.  Following the need for schools’ administrations to meet the dynamic management needs, it is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for schools to design and implement management systems that would adequately meet the needs of students. Riconda& Savino (2014) affirm that most elementary schools across the country are characterized by paper-based management processes which have not only contributed to inefficient management systems, but also ineffective collaboration and communication between parents and teachers.

In an era characterized by development and sophisticated technology, every institution desire to save time and money by employing web-based systems to manage school functions ranging from admissions and enrolment, examination, result declaration, and inventory management to staff management. According to a study by Akahori et al. (2011), nearly 63 percent of elementary teachers implement the use of technology in the classroom, while about 86 percent of the educators indicated they use laptops in the learning environment. This illustrates the need for educators to implement the use of digital technology to support their functions. With the increased demand for web-based school management systems in elementary schools, Information Technology companies have sought to provide distinct solutions that make them stand out relative to their rivals(Riconda& Savino, 2014). For instance, some web-based school management systems are offering additional IT solutions, such as keeping a comprehensive check and balance on elementary students aimed at maximizing their academic performances. Consequently, educators have the challenge of finding effective software programs thatefficiently support learning objectives and goals aimed at improving the academic and educational standards of students across the country.

School Culture

Today, ‘the diversity of a university’s students, staff, and faculty play a vital role in influencing its intellectual personality, strength, and productivity. The diversity of race, gender, experience, culture, ethnicity, and religion enhances cohesiveness, synergy, and collaboration among students(Henderson et al., 2017). In essence, diversity within the university setting increases the students’ cultural, academic, and intellectual environment since it fosters problem-solving, innovation, creativity, effective communication as well as reduced anxiety among the students. Significantly, ethnic and racial experiences and identities are critical factors that expose the graduate students to a broad spectrum of approaches, ideas, and perspectives to understand the world. This implies that the lack of ethnic and racial diversity among graduate students can potentially make it challenging to provide the students with quality education.

Promoting diversity and inclusion through a school culture that nurtures cultural diversity among students should be the sole responsibility of educators(Henderson et al., 2017). On the contrary, a culturally diverse education system plays a vital role in offering the students with a rich and dynamic outlook of the intellectual environment. In attempts to serve the current and future students’ population at Connecticut university. It will be a prerequisite for educators across the sector to involve stakeholders at various levels of college governance and teaching(Henderson et al., 2017). Consequently, this will enhance intellectual, cultural, and academic diversity by exposing the students to a variety of ideas and scholarly perspectives that are drawn from a wide spectrum of life and cultural experiences.

Part Two: Leadership Styles and Skills

Studies have shown that educators can make a difference in improving the performance of schools and students. This will require them to redefine their responsibility as well as embrace practical leadership skills and leadership styles that would help them circumvent the hurdles in the modern education systems(Henderson et al., 2017). Similarly, education administrators have the challenge to support, evaluate, and develop teacher quality by adapting to the teaching programs and promoting teamwork and collaboration among teachers. Furthermore, this would require educators to adopt charismatic leadership and transformational leadership styles to inspire the teachers towards reaching desirable outcomes.

A good leader exemplifies attributes such as proactiveness, integrity, honesty, and earnestness. An educated leader demonstrates the ability to assess other group’s talents and skills aimed at utilizing them in accomplishing a shared purpose or goals.A good education leader should be marked by a charismatic figure whereby they have the highest ability to bring both teachers and students to their side and inspire them towards contributing to the overall school’s performance(Tobin, 2014). Likewise, administrators should be extremely skilled at communicating with others through their eloquent speeches in which they lure and inspire their subordinates at a profound emotional level. This would help them to articulate a captivating and compelling vision that will lead to quality standards across the education sector. Conversely, the charismatic and transformational leadership styles are directed correlated, whereby the transformational leadership style plays a vital role in causing a change in people and social systems. A transformational leader focuses on creating valuable and positive change in the followers with the ultimate objective of transforming them into great leaders (Tobin, 2014). Accordingly, educators should embrace attributes such as effective communication skills, expressive behavior, interpersonal conduct, cognitive style, temperament/mood, Self-image, and regulatory mechanisms.

Conclusion

As the needs of the modern society continue to change, the education system is faced with the challenge to create curriculums that would significantly meet the needs of the students. This implies that the scope and the role of leadership in education are rapidly changing. Accordingly, with the advancement in technology and the progress of globalization, the leadership is increasingly changing, requiring education leaders to embrace leadership traits such as integrity, humility, effective communication skills as well as creativity.

References

Akahori, K., Horiguschi, H., Suzuki, K., &Nambu, M. (2011). Development and evaluation of a web-based in-service training system for improving the ICT leadership of schoolteachers. Journal of universal computer science, 7(3), 211-225.

Devine, J., & Alger, G. (2011). Teachers’ perceptions of the leadership styles of middle school principals and instructional leaders. Academic Leadership: The Online Journal, 9(4), 13.

Henderson, M., Barnett, R., & Barrett, H. (2017). New developments in transnational education and the challenges for higher education professional staff. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 21(1), 11-19.

Riconda, J., & Savino, A. (2014).  “Web-based knowledge management system and method for education systems.” U.S. Patent Application No. 10/654,034.

Tobin, J. (2014). Management and Leadership Issues for School Building Leaders. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 9(1), n1.