The report written by Tony Bush and Derek Glover is aimed at examining various aspects of school leadership. The authors review various books and articles in which this concept is discussed. In particular, they mention that the process of influence is the central element of leadership. This means that leadership involves the change in the behavior of a person (Bush and Glover 4).
Furthermore, the scholars note that school leadership is determined by the values that people have. Much attention should be paid to such issues as individual value of every student, his/her wellbeing, and academic achievement (Bush and Glover 4).
Moreover, the examples provided in this report suggest that school leadership includes the ability to create a vision or an idealized version of the educational organization. For instance, school principles are expected to have a clear understanding of the goals that they should attain in the near and distant future (Bush and Glover 6).
Furthermore, the authors focus on the connections between leadership and management. They note that management can be viewed as the implementation of a specific policy that has already been tested.
In contrast, leadership is more concerned with bringing change into existing strategies (Bush and Glover 9). Overall, school administrators have to work on each of these tasks. The distinction between these notions is important for the professional activities of school administrators.
In their review of literature, Tony Bush and Derek Glover focus on different types of leadership which can be instructional, transformational, moral, participative, contingent, and so forth. The differences between these models lie in the following areas:
- the motivation of employees or students;
- evaluation of performance;
- attitude toward change,
- the power distance between employees and administrators.
Yet, the researchers do not tell that a certain approach is more or less suitable for school leaders (Bush and Glover 31). They argue that that each of these models is partial. Therefore, one should single out the elements that are most relevant to educational organizations.
The authors note that school leaders should consider various factors that are related to the internal and external environment of a school. For instance, they should focus on the type of school, its location, culture, type of governance and so forth (Bush and Glover 29).
This information is critical for the development of the most optimal policies. Additionally, Tony Bush and Derek Glover argue that leaders should focus on the following areas:
- promotion of teaching and learning;
- creating a school vision that inspires both teachers and learners;
- training of future leaders (Bush and Glover 33). These areas should be the top priority for school administrators.
Overall, this report is useful because it can help reader understand various aspects of leadership, namely its role, connections with management or the main duties of a person who takes the role of a leader. Moreover, the authors show that there are different approaches to organizational leadership. This is why this source can be of great benefit to students.
However, there are certain limitations that should not be overlooked. For instance, the authors closely discuss the typology of leaders, but they do not provide many specific examples which can show how different types of leaders can respond to the specific problems which schools can face.
Furthermore, the scholars do not identify strategies that are now regarded as the most effective ones. It seems that this information can be of great interest to leaders.
The questions examined by the authors can be relevant to many people working in educational organizations. Judging from my own observations, school administrators do always not have the skills of managers and leaders. In many cases, they can only implement the existing policies, but it is very difficult for them to bring changes and inspire people. So, it is necessary to bridge the gap between these notions.
In their turn, Tony Bush and Derek Glover argue that leadership and management should supplement one another. The authors say that a leader should have a vision of the school in the future.
I agree with this requirement, but very often school administrators are more concerned with daily activities, rather than future changes. As a result, many schools become less responsive to the changes in external environment. These are some of the main aspects that can be identified.
It is possible to provide several recommendations that can used by educators. First of all, teachers should acquire and elaborate both managerial and leadership skills since they are equally important their professional activities. Secondly, they need to develop a model which includes the best practices in school leadership. In other words, it is necessary to identify the strategies that are most helpful for promoting teaching and learning.
Moreover, this model should reflect the external and internal environment of a school. Apart from that, school administrators should work on the development of programs which help a teacher become a better leader or manager. These are the suggestions that can be made.
Works Cited
Bush, Tony, and Derek, Glover. School Leadership: Concepts and Evidence, Nottingham, National College for School Leadership, 2003. Print.