The Administrative Leadership in Educational Institutions course couldn’t have come at a better time for me. The course was extremely challenging, and helped me gain more confidence in myself as an educational leader. By starting with the self assessment the course gave me an opportunity to reflect on the leadership roles I was currently responsible for in my own school, and where I needed to improve if I were to take on a formal leadership position. I worked at developing these areas through my coursework and in my day to day interactions as a classroom teacher. I have been deliberate in targeting leadership opportunities to prepare myself for a formal leadership role.
During the course, I was also given the opportunity to present on critical leadership, which allowed me to re-visit the transformation work I had discovered in my Overview of Educational Issues course. This time however, I was reading the content with an emphasis on administration. This was a really interesting process. By reading this work a second time, I was surprised at how many new ideas emerged by viewing the same concept, critical pedagogy, through a leadership lens. The idea of conflicting ideologies has helped to re-shape my view of administration and decisions that are made within our division. Since this presentation, I have also been more aware of the issues associated with deficit thinking. Eradicating this type of thinking is critical for the success of all students. This has become a cornerstone of my leadership philosophy. Although I would not say that I have a critical focus to my leadership, there are certainly elements of critical theory that permeate my beliefs and values about education.
Another very valuable assignment was the case study we were asked to complete. For me the idea of blending practical experience (participant responses) and theoretical concepts (literature review) to formulate a plan of attack was the perfect way to end my graduate journey. This was really where I found value in the completion of my Masters. By developing a theoretical framework to support my practical experiences. So this assignment was a nice summary of that idea. The content of the case study allowed me to re-visit how our division and school implemented a 1:1 technology program, and develop a comprehensive plan that utilized academic research and experiences from a variety of stakeholders to more effectively launch the program. This process will simulate the role of an administrator, who needs to lean on other “experts” for advice. Although ultimately the final decision will rest with the principal, it is important to synthesize all relevant perspectives to develop a comprehensive plan that accommodates a variety of stakeholders.
One of the most important takeaways from the course, for me was that no person utilizes one leadership style all the time. Effective leaders adapt to the situation and apply the leadership style that will be most effective in addressing the issue. Coming into the course, although I was becoming more confident that I wanted to take on a position of administration, there was still a small part of me that worried about certain elements of the position. I did not want to become the school manager, I want to become the lead learner in the school. This course helped me see that simply having the position of school principal does not need to define how I do that job, I will define how I handle the roles and responsibilities of an administrator when I make that transition. The content from this course, in conjunction with the other leadership courses I have taken, have supported me in the acquisition of the confidence and skills required to attain a principalship for the upcoming school year, and I look forward to applying the skills I have gained through my graduate course work in a practical leadership position.
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