Lola Ortega, Paola Garca, Mara Lizn, Andrea Martnez

1. School leadership concept.

For understanding school leadership we have to keep in touch with a definition
of leadership.
Any kind of leadership implies a social influence process where other people or
groups exert intentional influence by other people or groups to plan activities
and relationships in a group or in an organization, according with Yukl. The
term intentional is important because the leadership is based on goals where
it is hope to a process of influence to guide.
Depending on the country, the concept of leadership is used exchangeable
with school administration and school management.
Managers do things well, while leaders do the right thing. (Bennis y Nanus,
1997).
Leadership implies: mould the attitudes, motivations and behaviour of other
people. Management is related with the maintenance of actual operations.
(Bush y Glover, 2003).
Also, Dimmock (1999) presents a distinction between school leadership,
management, and administration, and usually the responsibility of a school
leader involves the three.
Successful centres need an effective leadership, a management and an
administration. For reach the success is too important to have this three
aspect, because theyre intertwine.
It is emphasized the school leaders, including, but not limiting to school
headmasters. That is because the headmaster concept is based on industrial
model of education, where only one person carries with all the responsibility. In
fact, leadership is a larger concept where guide authority is not in one person,
it is distributed between different people inside and out centre.

2. What do we understand as school leadership?

Nowadays leadership in education is a controversial issue. It is associated with
the world of companies, and it isnt well considered in educative atmosphere.
From this view, it is associated leadership with an individualist and elitist sight
in relation with team work, of educative institutions (Longo, 2008).
Directive leadership its been getting more complex because it is attributed
with more responsibilities and must be the responsible for the improvements of
the results in the centre. According with (2008) this situation is really similar in
every countries and is a consequence of the globalization and the necessity of
having a competitive educative systems, and assumption that headmasters
have a key role in the success of the educative reforms.
But not all pressures are external, also exist internal changes that are related
with conflicts, with the school crew, parents, and students discipline.
Leadership in school is meant principally as motivate and orient. Also, a good
leadership must be followed with authentic authority- authority that comes
from the people with you work and who recognise it without obligation. For
that, it is need to remind that leader is not the same as direct. However, in
education it is understood leadership as centres direction. Centres direction
could practise leadership, but leadership can be practise by someone without a
directive function. Leadership is more efficient if it doesnt fall back only into
the headmaster. A headmaster must has the quality of recognise the better
development with teamwork of the whole school crew and the community,
making the centre a whole system.
3. Educative leadership kinds.
Robinson (2010) stablish three competences request for an effective
pedagogical leadership that have a high grade of interdependence between
them:
1. Have a large pedagogical knowledge about the process of teachinglearning. It links the curricular and pedagogical knowledge with the
administrative and management dimensions.
2. Know how to solve the problems of the centre.
3. Encourage the trust with the crew, families and students.

3.1. Pedagogical leadership.

Its focused in the innovation process of methodologies (Leithwood, Harris y
Hopkins, 2008).
A pedagogical leadership implies that the competences of direction must to be
oriented to create conditions and promote contexts that improve the process
of teaching-learning.
Although direction must perform many task, its main mission is the teaching,
for that reason must focus on the improvement of the education offered by the
centre.
Pedagogical leadership is sawn as the second factor most important in the
students learning, after the work in the classroom.
We remind about school leadership has more influence in the school and in the
students when its distributed.
The distributed leadership focuses on professionally empowering teachers to
perform multiple functions of leadership, which configures the Education
Centre as a professional community of learning, i.e., a community of leaders.
Teachers, families and students also should be exercised, in its own way and in
its context, the leadership of distributed mode. Who directs such organizations
shouldnt aspire to expand his base of power influenced by the number of
followers. What he need is to promote people ready to take responsibility,
ready to exercise micro-leaderships that guide, motivate and induce changes
on projects and innovations.
3.3. Moral leadership: Community Centre
The potential for transferring of leadership produces best its effects when
there is a climate of active trust in which the different members feel that they
are part of a community at the Center. In particular we refer to the teachers
and staff who work in it, but also to students and parents and mothers. One of
the main functions of all educational center is to foster optimal conditions so
that their students achieve quality learning. Another function is that the Center
is a space for coexistence and introduction to community life in which
democratic values are present. To perform these two functions well, the center
needs a set of values shared by all and the educational continuity that ensures

consistency in the way of dealing with conflicts and tensions. So one of the
tasks of the leadership is to generate a sense of belonging, participation in a
shared project. This moral leadership can generate the necessary welfare in
the center and in teachers in order to exercise its task with satisfaction and
promote a good school climate for a good learning.
WHO PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP?

Director: Is the person is responsible for the operation of the school,

which depends on the structures of Government in the country. It is the
person that encourages teachers and students, also oversees all the

details for the proper functioning of the Centre.

The head of studies is the person who is in charge of directing
everything concerning students (if there are problems between them),
school schedules, coordinates the improvement of faculty, coordinates

and organizes the tutors, etc.

The Secretary is the one who leads the administration of the Centre, the
economy of the Centre, etc.

DIMENSIONS FOR A COMPETENT LEADERSHIP

Authentic leadership must possess certain dimensions to be

competent, which are as follows:

Charismatic dimension. Means that the leader (either an individual
or a team of people) is appealing, so it facilitates other people to
feel comfortable being with him or her or them. . This dimension
causes such other persons are in your environment try to be at

your side and comfortable feel when they are not.

Emotional dimension. You must show a positive attitude with those
with which it relates. If we are at an educational institution, you
must treat everyone with respect, kindness, consideration and
must recognize its merits and qualities. At the same time, the
leading owner of such dimension defends and promotes the

dignity of every person.

Anticipatory dimension. See advance so that could be the most
appropriate strategies and activities more effective, as well as
predict the consequences or effects thereof.

Professional dimension. Educational leaders must promote the

institution towards the achievement of goals and educational
objectives and will try to facilitate the availability of the necessary
resources and the use of precise strategies to this institution and

its members to achieve the highest quality of education.

Participatory dimension. The leader shows that the best way of
encouraging individuals and groups towards a smart and
collaborative work is to encourage them to offer their efforts along
with others on projects in which they are committed for having
participated with their intervention in the decisions taken in each

of the stages of such projects.

Cultural dimension. Leaders of this dimension promote the
consolidation of the particular culture or specific profile of the

institution in which they operate.

The formative dimension. The leader cares about its own
education and training and try to promote the continuing
education of persons on which exercises its leadership.
Continuous the highest qualification and professional preparation
necessary to carry out tasks that will allow progress in the quality

of education and that of the institution

The administrative dimension: has to do with the purely
administrative routines and the fulfillment of bureaucratic
activities.

TRAINING TO LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.

The Educational Leadership in the school context is not a personal issue

but is something about equipment and community, at School its
understood as a system. This situation is going from a unipersonal focus
to another different based on a systematic and complex approach

leadership.
Principal Competences are broad pedagogical knowledge about the

process of teaching and learning, problem solving and relational trust.

Its main function should be to seek cohesion of all elements of the
educational organization to occur in a common form.

Leadership must be based on models of distributed, persuasive,

transformational, situational, ecosystem-based, moral and pedagogical

leadership.
For this kind of leadership is essential to establish both internal and
external network shares, and boost the development of the leader
rather than their training. They use training methods based on
educational principles of guidance, mentoring and support.
Its technical development include:

BENCHMARKING.
Benchmarking or good practices. It is a tool aimed at the action or change that
involves learning, knowledge management and adaptation of excellent
practices.
The steps in a Benchmarking process would be:
-

Planning.
Analysis of current performance and future of our organization.
Integration of the data obtained in the context.
Action.
Maturation.

MENTORING.
Mentoring, where the mentor is someone with more knowledge, skills and
experience that comes into contact with another who needs them for growth. It
is responsible for guiding and orienting the development of skills,
competencies and attitudes of another, more in line with its potential. You
must have communication skills (empathy and assertiveness) and encourage
learning, creating a relationship of trust.
A process mentoring of these characteristics is developed as follows:
- Identification, assessment and guidance to the person
- Analysis of the perception of the mentee;
- Establishment of review meetings progress
- Impact assessment.

COACHING.

Coaching, which is conceived as a formative experience underpinned by

mutual trust between mentor and mentee. It is a way of exercising guidance,
which involves using emotional leadership and techniques based on deep
trust. It is the function in which the relationship between coach and "coachee"
(so called the oriented) is such at the first generating total confidence in the
second, and the second to get through this trust discover their personal
potential, social and professional.
Must follow these steps:
-

Establish a relationship with the other.

Listen to their proposals.
Accept and appreciate the other.
Learn and share information with others.
Watch your value system.
Seek convergence between learning and life known.
Prioritize important.
Act for the development of personal and professional project leader.

Finally, Learning leadership must also take into account the gender
variable, only looking to achieve effective leadership is one that is
contextualized, depends on the role to play and the identity of who is and who
is to include both features more rational and transactional leadership male as
the female emotional and transformers.
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS:
1. Leadership is mainly a headmasters competence. TRUE
2. The potential for transferring of leadership produces best its effects when
there is a climate of active trust TRUE
3. If we are at an educational institution, you must treat everyone with
respect, kindness, consideration and must recognize its merits and
qualities. TRUE
4. The Educational Leadership in the school context is a personal issue.
TRUE
5. Leadership must be based on models of distributed, persuasive,
transformational, situational, ecosystem-based, moral and pedagogical
leadership. TRUE
OPTION QUESTIONS:
1. School leadership must:

a) Orient
b) Motivate
c) Both are correct
2. In the leadership, the participation is mainly made by:
a) The Director, the Deputy Director and the Secretary
b) The Director, the Head of Studies and the Secretary
c) The Director, the Head of Studies and the Deputy Director
3. The administrative dimension handle:
a) Routines
b) Activities
c) Both
4. In Educational Leadership, they use methods based on:
a) Educational principles of guidance, mentoring and support.
b) Planning, analysis and integration.
c) Identification, Establishment of review meetings progress, impact
assessment.
5. What is coaching?
a) It is a tool aimed at the action or change that involves learning,
knowledge management and adaptation of excellent practices.
b) Coaching, which is conceived as a formative experience
underpinned by mutual trust between mentor and mentee.
c) Mentoring, where the mentor is someone with more knowledge, skills
and experience that comes into contact with another who needs them
for growth.