Beyond the Classroom

The growing dilemma of teacher job turnover has severely handicapped the fundamental responsibility of school districts to maintain a committed and stable instructional force. Using the lens of organizational systems theory, this chapter explores ways in which building leaders can actively increase job embeddedness of teachers and staff by constructing collaborative perspectives of teaching and learning. A systems approach where disciplines are integrated and community culture is respected can result in teachers being more engaged in school-wide pedagogy, feeling less isolated, and developing a convivial sense of fidelity which can lead to job satisfaction and commitment to remain.

Boosting Team Performance with Leadership Development

Have you ever wondered that there’s a leader within you? On a daily basis we face situations that are outside the scope of our control but we are, most of the times, forced to deal with it. Sometimes there is no escape allowed and we knowingly or unknowingly display leadership qualities in our behaviour. Moreover, it is not wise to run away from situations but logical to face them boldly. In this sense, I believe that we are the leader of our actions. However, one cannot be simply termed as a leader unless one strives to develop the qualities. This article speaks about developing the leader in you. It makes us aware about the leadership development programmes and building leaders at the workplace.

Boosting Team Performance with Leadership Development

Have you ever wondered that there’s a leader within you? On a daily basis we face situations that are outside the scope of our control but we are, most of the times, forced to deal with it. Sometimes there is no escape allowed and we knowingly or unknowingly display leadership qualities in our behaviour. Moreover, it is not wise to run away from situations but logical to face them boldly. In this sense, I believe that we are the leader of our actions. However, one cannot be simply termed as a leader unless one strives to develop the qualities. This article speaks about developing the leader in you. It makes us aware about the leadership development programmes and building leaders at the workplace.

A case study of building leaders' experiences with strengths-based coaching and feedback

This study examined the experiences of building leaders as they implemented strengths-based coaching and feedback, exploring the overarching research question: how do building leaders implement strengths-based coaching and feedback as part of teacher development and evaluation? This qualitative case study involved four assistant principals and three head principals who were each in charge of observing and coaching teachers in one mid-sized, rural district in central Missouri. Participants were trained in positive psychology and strengths-based coaching by the Gallup organization, and in specific strengths-based coaching and feedback protocols through the Regional Professional Development Center/ Missouri Leadership Development System workshops and on-site coaching labs. Following a constructivist framework, this study examined building leaders' experiences and perspectives implementing strengths-based coaching and feedback, specifically the 30-second feedback model, as part of teacher development and evaluation. The researcher gathered data in a series of three interviews with each participant and a half-day observation of their implementation of the 30-second feedback protocol. The study found four themes: leaders value strengths-based coaching because it increases their visibility and credibility as instructional leaders; leaders implement strengths-based coaching models with freedom, flexibility, and individual style; implementation interacts in both positive and negative ways with formal district evaluation models; and leaders' implementation of strengths-based coaching models has resulted in increased knowledge of pedagogical skills and his or her own leadership strengths. Besides being a very powerful reflection and learning experience for the participants of this case study, the results have implications for future research on the application of instructional leadership in practice. Additionally, the findings imply that further research needs to be done on the impact of strengths-based coaching and feedback which could indicate needed policy changes in the implementation of formal evaluation models.

Costa Rica: Demilitarization and Democratization

An isolated Spanish frontier settlement with little or no significant mineral wealth, exportable crops, or exploitable indigenous population, colonial Costa Rica had only a rudimentary military. After independence in 1825, the population expanded and diversified as coffee cultivation generated growing wealth. Competing factions of the emergent coffee bourgeoisie fought to control the emerging state using elite-linked military officers to seize ruling power. Modernization and an external threat from Nicaragua and U.S. freebooters at mid-19th century led nation-building leaders to invest heavily in the army. Victorious in the 1856–1857 National War in Nicaragua, the military attained maximum size and power from 1870 to 1920 while oligarchic factions disputed ruling authority via fraudulent elections and coups d’état. Integration into the world economy deepened with banana production after 1890. Subsequent recessions and wars generated domestic economic inequality and a growing labor movement demanding reform. Civilian rule in the early 20th century was interrupted by the military regime of Federico Tinoco (1917–1919), whose atrocities led his civilian successors to almost dismantle the army. When a civil war erupted in 1948 against the divided, Communist-allied reformist government of the 1940s, the rebels defeated the army. The victorious National Liberation junta and new constitution abolished the army in 1949. Costa Rica committed to a police-based security model, nonaggression toward neighbors, and reliance on international alliances. Meanwhile, elites, spared the menace of military disruption, developed a successful electoral democratic regime. This has contributed to seven decades of political stability and allowed Costa Rica to invest successfully in economic development and its citizens’ welfare.

Leadership and Post-Conflict State Rebuilding: Iraq after 2003 Case Study

The Iraqi political and social arena has been characterized, subjectively and objectively, by the weakness of leadership building. This has led to a leadership crisis, reflected in the quality of the outcome of the process of rebuilding the state in Iraq. Thus, this building process lacked the simplest requirements and conditions of success. It suffered from a major and obvious failure: the situation in Iraq has raised conflict leaders, not building leaders, and this confirms the existence of a cultural crisis in the production of conscious, aware leadership compatible with democratic action. The weakness of the leadership in Iraq is reflected in a series of ongoing crises that require radical solutions in accordance with long-term strategic plans; the crises are especially reflected in the absence of building visions and the predominance of self-interest, along with the impact of social reality on leadership practices, which has an adverse effect on state-building.

At the Crossroads: Wellbeing and Principalship Preparation

This study was designed to gain a baseline understanding of how future K-12 building leaders in pre-service principal preparation programs address their own wellbeing. In this exploratory study, pre-service school leaders across the United States self-assessed their levels of stress and social–emotional competencies. Students from 30 pre-service principal preparation programs across the United States completed a survey that included four social–emotional learning scales. The findings indicate that this population may not be well equipped to deal with the stressors of the principalship. The findings can be used as a baseline to understand how changes in curriculum might impact these constructs.

Leadership and Post-Conflict State Rebuilding: Iraq after 2003: Case Study: القيادة وإعادة بناء الدولة ما بعد الصراع: العراق بعد العام 2003: دراسة حالة

The Iraqi political and social arena was characterized, subjectively and objectively, by the weakness of leadership building. This has led to a leadership crisis, reflected in the outcome of the quality of the process of rebuilding the state in Iraq. Thus, this building process lacked the simplest requirements and conditions of success. It also suffered from a major and obvious failure, the leadership crisis was one of its causes, as the situation in Iraq has raised conflict leaders, not building leaders, and this confirms the existence of a cultural crisis in the production of conscious, aware leadership and compatible with democratic action. Using the methodology of moving from general to private, based on descriptive and analytical approaches, the paper considered studying the themes of the research, leadership - state building - the role of leadership in state-building, separately and linking each theme at the end of it to the Iraqi context. The weakness of the leadership in Iraq is reflected in a series of sustainable crises that are in need of radical solutions, in accordance with long-term strategic plans, especially in the absence of building visions and predominance of self-interest, along with the impact of social reality on leadership practices, which had an impact on the state-building.

Emergent Concepts of Inclusion in the Context of Committed School Leadership

Inclusion of students with disabilities within general education settings is increasingly accepted as the desirable response of school systems to student learning differences. It has triggered districtwide reforms that are differentially enacted and realized within different schooling contexts. This study explores meanings of inclusion that were produced when three school leaders in a large urban school district adopted buildingwide initiatives to facilitate inclusion. We interviewed building leaders, families, and teachers within three public schools over a period of approximately 11 months. Data disclosed that the enactment of initiatives at each school reflected particular understandings of disability as well as relations with teachers and families. Our analysis showed that schoolwide commitments to inclusion can simultaneously produce forms of exclusion, erase dis/ability as a form of diversity, and neglect to understand parents and families as “experts” on their children. We argue that the structural implementation of inclusion premised on placement of students with disabilities in a general education setting leaves intact and unquestioned school-based norms of ability that render both students and families as lacking.

Getting executives to SIT: building leaders’ resilience and stress tolerance for enhanced organizational effectiveness

Purpose This paper presents stress inoculation as a method for reducing executives’ stress and enhancing their resilience and performance. Design/methodology/approach A review of theory and research on executive stress, resilience, and stress inoculation training was conducted. Findings Across studies, stress inoculation training has yielded reductions in performance anxiety and state anxiety while improving performance under stress. Practical implications Stress inoculation training offers a highly customized and practical way for executives to design adaptive responses to the stressors they find particularly difficult. Originality/value Stress inoculation training traditionally has been applied in clinical settings and in extremely stressful settings (e.g., military, law enforcement). This article describes how this intervention may be applied within organizations as a needed addition to the complement of stress management approaches currently offered to executives.