Southwell & Social Construction

• What does Southworth mean by 'social construction'?

Social constructivism is the idea that our understanding of the world is based on the shared ideas, concepts and expectations created through the interactions with others.  Vygotsky has been a key theorist of social constructivism.

Socially constructed views of educational leadership change based on culture, history and context(Southworth, 2000). It is based on the current beliefs of educational leadership and what ‘good’ educational leadership is. This has continuously changed over time from where the role was more of a managerial role to now focused on more inspirational leadership while still requiring aspects of educational leaders as managers. Southworth suggests that social construction is the assumed norms, though we may not always be conscious of them.

What might be some of the 'deeper structural beliefs' to which Southworth is alluding? Some of the ‘deeper structural beliefs to which Southworth is alluding to might be the traditional forms of leadership. This may include the idea what white males have traditional occupied leadership roles in most settings. Race, gender and religion (as well as many other cultural and social contexts) have impacted the what is considered ‘good leadership’ through the passing of accepted norms throughout generations. It is often difficult (or at least an uphill battle) to redefine the socially constructed norms into more equitable expectations and understandings. References

Southworth, G. (2000). School leadership in English schools at the close of the 20th Century: Puzzles, problems and cultural insights, Paper presented at the meeting of the American Education Research Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Education Leadership

• What is leadership and educational leadership, in particular?

Leadership is moving a group of people in a particular direction. Educational leadership is leadership in a school setting. There are many different leadership styles, some more effective than others, depending on the context and individuals you are leading.

• What is the purpose of educational leadership?

The purpose of educational leadership is to support the school community and stakeholders in living and breathing the mission and vision statement of teh school. This includes visionary leadership, strategic planning, professional growth of staff, school growth, meeting individual student needs and developing a cohesive community.

• Where do we gain our knowledge and ideas about both educational leadership and leadership in general?

The best and worst examples of educational leadership is gained through experience. Through various roles, I have encountered leaders that inspire me or frustrate me with their decision making. I admire leadership in many different arenas especially in the school setting with teachers, students and administrators. Through this masters, I hope I gain more theoretical knowledge about leadership that will help me develop my own leadership skills.

• List some  big questions that you have about educational leadership that you would like to examine in this subject.

• What do I need to develop personally to move into more senior education leadership roles?
• How might I enhance my current leadership abilities?
• How might leaders change their leadership styles in given situations?
• How might educational leadership differ for females?

Critical Alternative: Leadership & Gender

Critical Alternative: Leadership assumes able-bodied male.  Need to reveal gendered culture-centric assumptions. 

As a female in international education, I look to the hierarchy of my own school and other schools in my area. Time and time again I see a few females in the roles of senior leadership. In my school, we have 1 female out of 5 senior leadership members. It is very unbalanced. If you move a few steps down the hierarchy to middle leadership (year group coordinators, subject coordinators, etc), you will find an even number of males and females in leadership positions if not more females slightly. While this middle management tilt may be due to generally more females in the education field, there seems to be a glass ceiling effect that makes it challenging for females to move beyond to senior leadership. 

As an Education Technology Coach, I also very few females represented in these roles. Primarily technology roles are dominated by males. I am the first female ever in the technology role in my school and work with 3 other males. 

While I firmly believe the best person for the job should get a position, schools should be cognizant of what messages are perceived by others when looking at leadership teams. What does it say to your students when no females are in technology leadership positions? What does it say to parents and staff when all senior leadership consists of males? How does having different genders on a leadership team impact the perspectives brought to the table of discussions?