Sam Mitchell

22022657

Leadership for Online English as a Second Language in Higher Education

Introduction

Leadership is conceptualised variously and abundantly (Dugan 2017: p. 3,; Bush and
Middlewood 2013: no pagination). Determining a universal definition of leadership is
practically impossible due to its ever-evolving nature and subjectivity (Dugan 2017: p. 8;
Bush and Middlewood 2013: no pagination). Leadership’s role is of vital importance for
the success of an educational institution (Bush and Middlewood 2013). Bush (2013: no
pagination) is convinced by evidence that suggests ‘successful leaders are those that
focus on motivating and developing people’. I would argue that this reasoning
determines that the focus of educators and leaders should be synonymous for success.

Leadership in education

In traditional educational settings it is the principal who is responsible for the leadership
of the institution. In this case, the responsibility of motivating and developing people falls
on the shoulders of the principal. This includes teachers, staff and students. Leaders do
this by affecting social influence within the educational institution’s environment (Bush
and Middlewood 2013: no pagination). The norms and values they envision for the
institute will, ideally, be internalised. Though, they will vary depending on the many
environmental and social variables of each individual institute and the personal and
professional values of the individual or group in the leadership role (Bush and
Middlewood 2013). Internalisation of norms and values will develop the organisational
culture needed to enable change within the institute (Bush and Middlewood 2013). A
leader is able to influence the culture of an institute to create unanimity regarding goals,
norms and values. Thus generating the synergy needed to develop or strengthen a
team. If the teacher’s goals and values are aligned with the principal's then they are
more likely to feel “ownership” of the changes being made (Bush and Middlewood
2013).

Male (2013: no pagination) states that ‘one of the primary elements of pedagogical
leadership’ is providing ‘an effective learning environment for all students’. There are
many elements which can influence the learning environment and there is no-one-size-
fits-all approach. It is the responsibility of those in roles of leadership to determine the
most suitable approach based on the pertaining societal and organisational factors.

Although management is symbiotically associated with leadership and the two are
interdependent they are not selfsame or interchangeable. Management duties
encompass the “maintenance” activities that are essential for the effective functionality
of the school (Bush and Middlewood 2013).

Leadership approach in light of theories learned so far - Appraise to a degree how

teaching online ESL for HE in Vietnam has influenced the approach

Building from these foundations my leadership approach now relates to characteristics

found in certain models of leadership classified by Bush and Middlewood (2013). I have
theoretically developed this approach in relation to effective leadership within my current
context. The company provides IELTS preparation courses to higher education students
in Vietnam and all classes are conducted online. Because the classes are all online,
teachers rarely interact with each other. Four interactions occur: leader/teachers,
leader/principal, leader/students and teacher/students.

Defining the school’s mission and articulating the goals is essential and each party must
be both aware of them and satisfied by them. This is one of the three dimensions of the
instructional leadership model proposed by Hallinger and Murphy (1985; 2010: p. 5) and
is considered the most fully tested (Southworth 2010: p. 77). Defining the mission is
best achieved, in this case, with ‘professional dialogue and discussion’ between the
leader and the relevant parties, otherwise described as ‘conferencing’ (Bush and
Middlewood 2013: no pagination; Southworth 2002: 80-81). Ensuring that the students
and teachers understand their personal goals is of paramount importance. They must
also support them and find them appropriate which denotes how instructional leadership
can be “transformational” in shaping the culture of the company (Hallinger 2010: p. 11).

Another dimension in this instructional leadership model is ‘creating a positive school

climate’ (Hallinger 2010: p. 7). This coincides with the importance of providing ‘an
effective learning environment’ (Male 2013: no pagination). One potential problem, due
to the online nature of the company, could be a lack of leader visibility which is an
important function of this type of leadership(Southworth 2002: p.80; Hallinger 2010: p.
7). This can be remedied with regular conferencing and classroom observation, with the
possibility of the leader teaching lessons to students (Southworth 2010).

The third dimension is also very relevant to the necessary approach for this context;
‘managing the instructional program’ (Hallinger 2010: pp. 6-7). This accounts for the
bulk of the day-to-day duties of leadership. However, the management of the
instructional program is of no more or less importance than the other two dimensions
(Bush and Middlewood 2013). Again, conferencing ensures the needs of the institute
and the students are being met. It’s also effective for teachers and students to
understand what is required and to provide feedback.

Reflections and recommendations for your future leadership approach and

practice, noting any changes that you would like to make to your leadership
approach.

My leadership approach is supportive to teachers and learners while providing them

autonomy in teaching and learning respectively. It mirrors instructional leadership and is
characterised by three dimensions: defining the school mission, managing the
instructional program and creating a positive school climate. In the future, more detailed
attention should be given to the ten functions of instructional leadership (Hallinger 2010:
p. 5).
If the company were to grow then this style of leadership may result in the leader
becoming overstretched. Distributed leadership is likely to be an effective response to
the increased workload placed upon leadership (Bush and Middlewood 2013). Thus,
more emphasis on professional development would be required to prepare teachers for
their role in leadership. This may also lead to the requirement of participative leadership
and peer-to-peer development to alleviate pressure from the overarching leader (Bush
and Middlewood 2013). It’s important to recognise the diversity of education contexts
and how they can change. Therefore there is no overarching model of leadership which
best serves them. The contingent model, by which leaders apply the appropriate
leadership response to individual circumstances, provides a solution to the realities of
the varied contexts that can arise.

References

John P. Dugan (2017) Leadership Theory: Cultivating Critical Perspectives. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (Facilitator’s Guide). [Online] Available at:
https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE0NjE2MzVfX0FO0
?sid=a5f96233-1eaa-47b9-a8e0-0b1220294dc8@redis&vid=0&format=EK&rid=1
[Accessed: 08 May 2022].

Geoff Southworth (2002) Instructional Leadership in Schools: ‘Reflections and empirical

evidence’ in School Leadership & Management, 22:1, 73-91, DOI:
10.1080/13632430220143042
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13632430220143042?needAccess=true
[Accessed: 25 May 2022]

Phillip Hallinger, and Joseph Murphy. (1985). Assessing the instructional leadership
behavior of principals. Elementary School Journal, 86(2), 217–248. [Online] Available
at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249134255_Assessing_the_Instructional_Man
agement_Behavior_of_Principals
[Accessed: 25 May 2022]

Phillip Hallinger (2010) ‘Developing instructional leadership’ in Developing successful

leadership, Dordrecht: Springer, (pp. 61-76). [Online] Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip-Hallinger/publication/
225931199_Developing_Instructional_Leadership/links/55c942ce08aebc967df90fb9/
Developing-Instructional-Leadership.pdf
[Accessed: 22 May 2002]

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip-Hallinger/publication/
225931199_Developing_Instructional_Leadership/links/55c942ce08aebc967df90fb9/
Developing-Instructional-Leadership.pdf

Trevor Male, and Ioanna Palaiologou (2017) ‘Pedagogical leadership in action: two case
studies in English schools’ in International Journal of Leadership in Education, 20:6,
733-748, DOI: 10.1080/13603124.2016.1174310
[Accessed: 11 May 2022]

Tony Bush, and David Middlewood (2013) Leading and Managing People in Education.
Los Angeles, California: SAGE Publications Ltd (Educational Leadership for Justice
Series). [Online] Available at:
https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzIzNzc3OTRfX0FO0
?sid=64bfade2-97d6-473f-acc2-7c2c5f9e4a8d@redis&vid=0&format=EK&rid=1
[Accessed: 11 May 2022]