Inviting Educational Leadership: Fulfilling Potential & Applying an Ethical Perspective to the Educational Process (School Leadership & Management)

193 Pages·2002·0.75 MB·English

by  John M. Novak

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Inviting
Educational
Leadership
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SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT SERIES
Series Editors: Brent Davies and John West-Burnham
Other titles in the series:
Effective Learning in Schools
by Christopher Bowring-Carr and John West-Burnham
Effective School Leaders
by John MacBeath and Kate Myers
From Bursar to School Business Manager
Reengineering leadership for resource management
by Fergus O’Sullivan, Angela Thody and Elizabeth Wood
Leadership and Professional Development in Schools
How to promote techniques for effective professional learning
by John West-Burnham and Fergus O’Sullivan
Managing Learning for Achievement
Strategies for raising achievement through effective learning
Edited by Christopher Bowring-Carr and John West-Burnham
Managing Quality in Schools (2nd edition)
by John West-Burnham
Middle Management in Schools
How to harmonise managing and teaching for an effective school
by Sonia Blandford
Reengineering and Total Quality in Schools
by Brent Davies and John West-Burnham
Resource Management in Schools
Effective and practical strategies for the self-managing school
by Sonia Blandford
Strategic Marketing for Schools
How to integrate marketing and strategic development for an
effective school
by Brent Davies and Linda Ellison
Heads in Partnership
Working with your governors for a successful school
by Joan Sallis
Schools for the 21st Century
Developing best practice
by Irene Dalton, Richard Fawcett and John West-Burnham
Working with Support Staff
by Trevor Kerry
Performance Management in Schools
edited by John West-Burnham, John O’Neill and Ingrid Bradbury
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Inviting
Educational
Leadership
Fulfilling potential and
applying an ethical
perspective to the
educational process
John M. Novak
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First published in Great Britain in 2002
© John M. Novak 2002
The right of John M. Novak to be identified as author
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with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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About the Author
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John M. Novakis a Professor of Education at Brock University, St Catharines,
Ontario, Canada, where he has been Chair of the Department of Graduate
Studies, Chair of the University Faculty Board and a member of the Board of
Trustees. He received an academic scholarship and Bachelor of Arts degree in
Philosophy from Ohio University, a Master of Arts degree and teacher certifi-
cation from Western Carolina University, and his doctorate, combining
Psychological and Social Foundations of Education, from the University of
Florida. In public schools he has taught from the pre-school to the secondary
school level. An active lecturer and writer, he teaches courses in educational
leadership, philosophy of education, invitational education, and social and
psychological foundations of education. He has won teaching awards for his
work in higher education and has been a visiting professor at universities
across North America, the UK and South Africa. He has also presented papers
at philosophical, psychological and educational conferences throughout the
world and has been an invited keynote speaker on six continents. His recent
books include the third edition of Inviting School Success (with William
Purkey), Democratic Teacher Education, Advancing Invitational Thinking and
Invitational Education (with William Purkey). His forthcoming publications
focus on inviting online education and creating inviting schools.
About the Series Editors
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Professor Brent Davies PhD is Director of the International Leadership Centre
at the University of Hull. Brent works exclusively on headteacher and senior
staff development programmes in the UK and in Australia, New Zealand and
the USA. He has written 11 books and published over 50 articles.
John West-Burnham is Professor of Educational Leadership, International
Leadership Centre, University of Hull. John worked in schools for 15 years
before moving into higher education. He has worked at Crewe and Alsager
College, the University of Leicester and the University of Lincolnshire and
Humberside. He was also Development Officer for Teacher Performance for
Cheshire local education authority. John is author of Managing Quality in
Schools, and co-author of Effective Learning in Schools and Leadership and
Professional Development in Schools.
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Acknowledgements
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Books get written because invitations are extended, acknowledged, and acted
upon. The invitations that have made this book possible cross several conti-
nents. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the support of the following.
In England: Brent and Barbara Davies, John West-Burnham, Amelia Lakin,
Kate Lodge, and Josephine Bryan.
In South Africa: Martyn Van der Merwe and Linda MacFarlane.
In the United States: William and Imogene Purkey.
In Canada: Rahul Kumar, Thomas Busnarda, Dawn Pollon, Ken McClelland,
Paul Faris, Kayli Riann, Judy Lee, Rosemary Young, and Michael Manley-
Casimer.
In the Novak households: Eddy, Danny, Larry, Michael, Mabel, Richard,
Adeline, Linda and Natalie.
In particular, I would like to dedicate this book to my late mother, Josephine
Novak, who showed me the importance of care, play and a unique dance with life.
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Contents
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Introduction viii
Part One
Inviting Educational Life
1 Leading for Educational Life 3
2 Invitational Leadership 18
Part Two
Leading and Managing Educational Life
3 Personal Leadership 39
4 Managing an Educational Life 53
5 Interpersonal Leadership 65
6 Managing Conflict 82
7 Leading for Values and Knowledge 93
8 Managing Thoughtfulness 105
9 Leading Educational Communities 118
10 Managing the Five Ps 130
11 Leading the School Outside 144
12 Managing Democracy’s Schools 156
Part Three
Dare to Lead for Education
13 Sustaining Imaginative Acts of Hope 171
Index 179
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Introduction
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This book takes the position that leadership is about people, and educational
leadership is about the caring and ethical relationships between and among
people, institutions and the larger society. Inviting educational leadership is
about the special ethical quality of relationships needed to appreciate individ-
uals and call forth their potential in their personal and professional lives.
At present, there is a deep-seated struggle going on for the heart of schooling.
Some argue that schools should be run like businesses, with students seen as
either raw material to be shaped or customers to be satisfied. Others oppose
this and say it should be business as usual in schools. They feel that the schools
we have are as good as they get. The way we presently do things is all we dare
hope for. Although acknowledging that there are productive business prac-
tices from which educators can learn (and also practices from institutions
outside the business domain), and believing that there are many current
worthwhile schooling practices on which we need to build (and many from
which we need to move), this book takes the position that both these perspec-
tives are short-sighted and miss the educational heart of schooling for a
democratic society.
Inviting Educational Leadership argues that the heart of schooling is schooling
with an educational heart, that is headed in an educationally defensible direc-
tion, and that is coming to grips with vital educational issues. Although
schooling is not the same as education, schools serve a democratic society
better if they are informed by educational ideals and reflect thoughtful ethical
practices. From the perspective used in this book, educators are not people
who want to become bosses or bureaucrats, but caring professionals who want
to lead for educational purposes, in educational ways, by inviting educational
fulfilment in themselves and others.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part, ‘Inviting Educational Life’
is comprised of the first two chapters. The first chapter looks at what is unique
about an educational perspective and the ideals that guide it. The Educational
LIVES model is offered as a way to think about the relationships of an educa-
tor’s life. Chapter 2 takes the position that there is nothing more practical than
a good theory. It shows how an inviting approach to educational leadership
has solid roots and practical possibilities. With an understanding of the demo-
cratic ethos, the perceptual tradition and self-concept theory, educational
leaders can have a framework for better articulating the heart of their educa-
tional ideals. The inviting approach, however, is about more than just ideals. It
is a concrete theory of practice that focuses on the quantity and quality of mes-
sages extended verbally, non-verbally, formally and informally through people,
viii
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INTRODUCTION
places, policies, programmes and processes. It is based on the idea that schools
can intentionally invite the educational potential of all who participate in them.
The inviting approach is combined with the Educational LIVES model to show
that inviting educational leadership can provide a systematic way to orches-
trate feelings, thoughts and actions. This model provides a basis for Part Two
of this book: ‘Leading and Managing Educational Life’ (Chapters 3–12).
The first two chapters in Part Two look at the relationships leaders have with
themselves. Chapter 3 examines personal leadership. Beginning with the idea
that leaders must first be human and only after that professional, this chapter
looks at the authentic commitments and personal character needed to invite
educational leadership. The contention of this chapter is that educators need
to be committed to living an educational life if they are seeking to lead others
to do so. This involves an examination of intentional behaviour – doing things
on purpose for purposes that can be defended. Chapter 4 takes seriously the
idea that if you do not take care of yourself in the present, you are not going to
be an educational leader in the long run. Some nuts-and-bolts strategies are
offered for inviting yourself personally and developing an imaginative orches-
trating self. Realistic self-dialogue is presented as a way of dealing with the
most intimate messages we send ourselves.
Chapters 5 and 6 explore establishing and maintaining inviting relationships.
Chapter 5 looks at interpersonal leadership and what is involved in working
with and for others. Developing an inviting stance and implementing the craft
of inviting are offered as ways to establish and maintain doing-with relation-
ships. Chapter 6 provides specific skills for managing conflict and dealing
with philosophical differences. Examples are offered from front-line teachers
and administrators to show how these skills can be put into practice.
The next pair of chapters explores the educational leader’s relationship with
values and knowledge. Chapter 7 looks at ‘Leading for Values and
Knowledge’. Aself-concept-as-learner perspective is offered as the foundation
of school programmes so that invitational leaders can work on constructing
schools that care about mindful learning and disciplined understanding.
Extending this to practical skills, Chapter 8 emphasises working from a caring
core for invitational learning, the development of successful intelligence and
the promotion of ethical fitness.
Chapters 9 and 10 deal with leading educational communities and managing
them in productive ways. In Chapter 9, the conventional functions of schools
are revisited from an inviting perspective. Using the metaphor of schools as
inviting families rather than efficient factories, this chapter looks at the structure
of inviting schools and the ways they call forth the educational development in
all their members. Chapter 10 stresses that everything in schools matters and
every way things are done matters. The ‘five Ps’ of invitational education
(people, places, policies, programmes and processes) are highlighted and the
invitational helix, a model for invitational change, is described.
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