Organizational Leadership Impacts
Creative and Compassionate Leadership: A Model for Education Administrators
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Andrew Svedlow
Education institutional administrators and their professional staff require enhanced leadership and management tools to help them successfully navigate the multi- faceted and often precarious pathways of the future. Creative and Compassionate Leadership: A Model for Education Administrators is a practical guide to assist seasoned and entering professionals to the education administration field in becoming more fluent in the traditions of and approaches to the action of leadership. The focus of the paper is on the elements and traits of compassionate and creative leaders compiled from interviews with effective education administrators. The symmetry, complexity, sturdiness, artificiality, outgoingness, systematic, and at times frenetic activities of education administration are balanced in this paper with an approach to the creative side of the human condition - the informal, sublime, natural, profound freedom and unconventionality of the creative education administrator.
Leadership Development Experiences of Department Chairs at a Midwestern Postsecondary Institution in Canada
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Leda Stawnychko
The study explores how faculty members in the role of department chair at a publicly funded midwestern Canadian university experience leadership development. It also examines department heads’ perceptions about the efficacy of leadership development programs available to them. The epistemological stance that guides the study is constructionism, which recognizes that knowledge is uniquely constructed by each individual and that learning is contextual and occurs through creative experimentation. A case study design is being used and interviews with faculty members who are currently in the role of department chair will be conducted until saturation is reached. The findings of the study will inform the kinds of leadership development programs that would be most helpful to faculty aspiring to accept future department chair appointments. The research also seeks to gain insights and offer a top five set of recommendations for new leadership development programs, or adjustments to programs already available. The study will contribute to academic leadership literature by exploring the leadership development experiences of department chairs in a postsecondary context in a midwestern Canadian university.
Islamic Work Ethics in an Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Context: The Case of Arab High School Teachers in Israel
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Afnan Haj Ali, Ismael Abu-Saad
Islamic work ethics refer to work-related behaviors and relations that are shaped by Islamic principles and values, such as individual effort, tolerance, dedication, commitment, social relations, creativity, and responsibility. Professionals should prioritize public interest when they have to choose between self-interest and public interest. The purpose of this study is to identify work value scales among teachers in Arab high schools in Israel. The indigenous Arab community is an ethnic and cultural minority in a Western-oriented, Jewish majority country. The school system is based on western educational and ethical paradigms. The work values of Arab high school teachers were measured using the Islamic Work Ethic (IWE) scales. The sample included 162 Arab high school teachers from northern Israel. The data were subjected to principal component factor analysis. Eight significant dimensions emerged: Tolerance, cooperation and consultation; Perfectionism and self-discipline; Competence and integrity; Personal responsibility and forgiveness; Industriousness; Trustworthiness; Fulfillment of commitments; and, Competitiveness. The eight dimensions together explained 48% of the total variance and were found to be reliable and practical measures for understanding the work-related values of Arab high school teachers. Further analysis showed that Arab high school teachers had relatively high mean scores on all eight Islamic work ethics dimensions. The study findings indicate that Arab high school teachers in Israel exhibit Islamic work values despite working in a Western-oriented educational system.
Reframing Context to Support Turnaround in a High Need Urban K8 School
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mette Lise Baran, Glady Van Harpen
The purpose of this study was to reveal how school contexts (internal and external) impact individual and organizational performance in an urban high need K-8 charter school, located in a large Midwestern city, serving a high percentage of impoverished African American students. Due to the unique leadership structure and focus on creating a learning culture, the school has made a remarkable turnaround in a very short amount of time. The researchers are members of the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN), a collaborative project that includes over 40 researchers from over 20 countries world-wide. This qualitative case study was completed using the ISLDN interview protocol to delve into how internal and external contexts impact individual and organizational performance in the school. The authors conducted individual and small group interviews with the School CEO, the principal, the Academic Dean, three teachers, and three parents, one of which was the president of the Parent Leadership Council for the four MCP schools. The specific research question was: How do internal and external school contexts impact individual and organizational performance at Lloyd Street Campus? The findings reveal that several themes repeatedly emerged in response to the research question: Mission-Driven Culture, Character Building and Celebrating Students, Daily Testing and Detailed Lesson Plans, Resources and Support. Establishing Expectations and Relationships with External Partners, and a Strong Commitment to Celebrating the Culture and the Community Surrounding the School.
