PHILOSOPHY OF LEADERSHIP

Philosophy of Leadership

Shannon Horan

Seton Hill University

Curriculum Leadership and Coaching

Dr. Christine Mahady

March 15th, 2020

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Introduction

I recently graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree and obtained certifications in Early

Childhood Education Pre-K to Grade 4 and Special Education Pre-K to Grade 8. I currently work

with a senior special education student at Fairport High School. Together we work toward

achieving life skill goals. I have also been regularly subbing in two self-contained classrooms.

One consists of kindergarten and first grade students while the other is strictly second grade. To

learn more about leadership in K-12 education, I decided to find articles that would allow me to

compare and contrast. The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership released an

article outlining a “Whole Leadership Framework”. The framework looks at the importance of

being a leader and the qualities that a leader in an educational program should embody. Patrick

A. Schwartz also released a framework for educational leadership that focuses itself on special

education. The article is centered around being an advocate for equality in education. Though the

articles differ in the type of education, there is an overlap in educational goals.

The overlap can also be seen between the articles and the readings. Green (2014)

highlights specific standards of leadership that can be seen in the articles as well. Green provides

a breakdown of leadership skills and purposes that should be integrated into all educational

settings. McKee (2016 also provides a unique perspective on the difference between leadership

and management. McKee suggests that leadership can be embraced by all people in all

workplaces.

Beginning with the general education setting, educational leadership can be categorized

into three domains; leadership essentials, administrative leadership, and pedagogical leadership

(Abel). Under leaderships essentials, reflective practice, communication, and relationship

building are critical aspects. Leadership essentials create a healthy environment that promotes
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collaboration, efficacy, creativity, and ethical commitment. There is not one leader in early

childhood education but rather a team of leaders. It is natural for teachers to look to the principal

for guidance or for team members to look toward a captain. However, teachers regardless of

grade level have a special role to play in early childhood education. Sharing ideas ultimately

leads to a more creative and effective educational year. It is also imperative that all teacher

leaders show strong positive moral development. Ethically teachers are responsible for

representing and protecting their students. Administrative leadership is centered around

maximizing team capacity and organizing an early childhood program. Effective administrative

leaders offer a systematic approach to program implementation (Abel). These leaders are mostly

responsible for overseeing the hiring process, developing budgets, and ensuring that all

classrooms are striving toward appropriate learning goals. Administrative leaders are also

responsible for strengthening the relationship between schools and families. Administrative

leaders work to meet the needs of all children, families, and staff. Lastly, pedagogical leadership

means addressing the complexity of teaching and learning (Abel). This type of leadership is

focused on the promotion of childhood development. Pedagogical leaders have a high level of

interaction with children. The responsibility of these leaders includes creating and following

philosophy and utilizing assessment and results. Each of these domains, provides a framework

for leadership and learning in educational settings including centers, classrooms, homes. The

“perfect” leader would embody each of these characteristics and strive toward the betterment of

students and the early childhood education system as a whole.

On the other side of things, special education has become such a large part of the general

education classroom as well. That is due to the term, “inclusion”. Inclusion means that students

with disabilities are given the same opportunities to learn alongside their nondisabled peers.
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Educational leadership in special education remains mostly the same with a few specialties.

“Educational Leadership: A Service, Not a Sentence” by Patrick A. Schwartz highlights the

importance of educational leaders for special education. First, leaders in special education

advocate for the student’s least restrictive environment (LRE). The least restrictive environment

provides accommodations and supports in the general education classroom which allows equal

access to all students. Leaders in special education are also responsible for providing a safe and

comfortable learning environment. This can be done in districts by following “neighborhood

school placement”. Neighborhood school placement allows special education students to remain

in the same school for the entirety of their educational career. This allows them to gain

confidence and develop strong personal relationships with peers and teachers (Schwartz). Lastly,

leaders in special education are responsible for developing and revising individual student

educational plans or IEP’s. These plans address student specific needs and targets. All in all, the

general education leaders and the special education leaders all have the same purpose, to meet

individual student goals and provide an inclusive and welcoming learning environment.

Leadership Theories

Leadership has evolved over the years in meaning and in responsibility. Green and

McKee each do an excellent job defining leadership and its importance. From chapter one to

chapter two in “Practicing the Art of Leadership”, Green moves from specific characteristics of

good leaders to the behaviors seen in great leaders. At the University of Iowa, three styles of

behavior were studied. Researchers uncovered characteristics regarding democratic, autocratic,

and laissez faire behavior. Leaders with democratic behavior placed emphasis on shared decision

making and viewing followers as equals to the leader (Green). Autocratic behavior is considered

to be direct and all power is held by the leader. Lastly, laissez faire behavior gives complete
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control to the entire group. All individuals are responsible for making their own decisions

(Green). Then, The Ohio State University, researchers define leadership as a behavior displayed

when an individual or group of individuals is working toward specific goal attainment (Green).

They characterize behavior in two dimensions, initiating structure and consideration. Initiating

structure consists of task-oriented leaders while consideration consists of people-oriented leaders

(Green). All in all, the results of each of these studies encourage educational leaders to serve

through the “Professional Standards for Educational Leaders”. These standards ultimately urge

educational leaders to be considerate of the values and needs of all individuals in and out of the

educational setting.

McKee also offers insight into leadership theories. McKee offers up the idea that

leadership is learned. You are not born a leader but made one. Our experiences ultimately result

in the ability to lead as we are tasked with responsibilities and ethical decision making (McKee).

According to McKee, there are three secrets to becoming an outstanding leader. Effective leaders

are socially and emotionally competent. This means that effective leaders are self-aware and self-

managing. These types of leaders are also socially aware and manage relationships with others

well. Influential leaders have power. There are different sources of power. Powerful leaders may

be thriving on legitimate, rewarding, coercive, expert of referent power. Responsible leaders

follow good ethics. According to McKee, ethics are a set of values that guide behavior while

values are a set of ideas that a person or group believes to be right or wrong (McKee). It is also

believed that there are four levels of ethics. Individual ethics refers to a personal code of conduct.

Professional ethics outline a set of standards assigned by a profession. Organizational ethics are

chosen by companies to guide their employees. Societal ethics guide members of society

(McKee). Even though there are different layers of ethics, all branches strive toward doing the
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right thing. In conclusion, according to McKee, leadership does require a specific set of qualities

and behaviors but can be learned and acquired overtime through influential experiences.

Philosophy of Leadership

Leadership is an intrical part of society and all aspects of it. Leadership is present in families, the

workplace, the government, etc. Regardless of what we are told, leadership cannot be appointed.

Leadership is a quality in itself, comprised of various personality traits. Leaders are ambitious

and honest. Leaders are organized and hardworking. Leaders are strong yet kind. Leaders are

responsible and ethical. Leaders embody a wide variety of characteristics that can be put to use

in multiple situations. To me, being a leader means sticking up for what you believe in. Being a

leader means putting the benefit of others before yourself.

As a future educator, being a leader means advocating for those who cannot advocate for

themselves. It means being a good listener and implementing ideas based on individual needs. In

education, it is extremely important to not only advocate for students in the general education

setting but for students with disabilities as well. It is important to provide all students with equal

opportunities to learn. Leadership is learned. Therefore, Leadership is present within each of us.

We make the choice each and every day whether to use our leadership qualities in a positive and

effective way.
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Works Cited

Abel, M. B., Talan, T., & Masterson, M. (2017, March 22). Whole Leadership: A Framework for

Early Childhood Programs. Retrieved from https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/library/whole-

leadership-a-framework-for-early-childhood-programs/

Green, R.L. (2017). Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to

implementing

the professional standards for educational leaders. New York, NY: Pearson.

McKee, A. (2014). Management: A focus on leaders. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Schwartz, P. A. (2007). Special Education: A Service, Not a Sentence. Improving Instruction for

Students with Learning Needs, 65(5), 39–42.