At the beginning of this unit I
believed leaders were simply people who managed to get others, known as
followers, to do things. Saints and bullies could both be leaders. One leads
through inspiring acts; the other leads through coercion. I also assumed some
people were "born leaders", those with well developed people skills. Furthermore
I thought leadership was a hierarchical, top down system. This still occurs in
Australian schools, however a more collegiate system of leadership can occur,
where leadership groups report to one another (Bush and Middlewood, 2013, p.
73).
This subject has extended my
knowledge and understanding of the role of the TL as leader as I have now come
to realise that leadership is an activity or a process, not a position (MacBeath
& Swaffield, 2008, p. 38; Haycock, 2010, p. 2). I have also come to
understand that teachers are all leaders, simply by virtue of their profession
(Collay, 2011, p. 75).
Haycock (2010, p. 1) argues that TLs
lead from the middle, establishing good relationships with colleagues and the
principal. Furthermore if TLs manage to be visible in formal leadership roles,
such as curriculum, budget or professional development (PD) committees, they
become well regarded and supported by principals (Haycock, 2004).
Collaboration is one area where TLs
as teachers can take the lead especially in areas of developing Project Based Learning
throughout the school and also presenting PDs to staff. Many teachers fear
collaboration as they see it as a waste of time and effort and they may view it
as a competitive exercise (Semadeni, 2009, p. 28; Bush and Middlewood, 2013, p.
138). However the advantages of collaboration far outweigh these negative
misgivings. Collaboration is powerful because it forges good work relationships
and maintains staff (Aguilar, 2012). It also develops interesting units of work
and stretches student achievement (Kuhlthau, 2010, p. 3).
The module on PDs has inspired me
to put a lot of effort into this field. As Livingston (2012) states, in-house
PDs are cost-efficient, effective and best suited to the needs of individual
teachers. Promoting such PDs will need to be focussed and measured to target
potential learners.
As
the TL promotes an inclusive service he/she needs to be aware of the
different personality styles and how these can manifest. I believe this unit has given me the
understanding of being able to recognise resistant folk such as those Belisle
(2005, p. 76) terms cynics and "sleepy types". It has also equipped
me with some strategies in working with such people. These include presenting
ideas over time in small chunks so as not to intimidate people. Listening
skills are also paramount and this is an area I need to work on (Montgomery,
2014a).
In this unit I learned that tools
in the planning process such as STEEP and SWOT are worthwhile instruments for a TL to use. It is important to know what
your school library looks like and how it performs, here and now, if you are to
make any changes. These tools help the TL to set out the positive and negative
characteristics of the school library or a particular program so that measured
realistic steps can be taken to turn challenges into opportunities. Similarly
the seven step process outlined in the video by BNet Video (2011) was inspiring
and something I aim to utilise.
The detailed explanations of the
difference between a vision statement and a mission statement were
enlightening. I have personally found these statements to be vacuous waffle and
it was pleasing to hear that the shorter they are, the better (Montgomery,
2014b). I can only assume that my jaded viewpoint is coloured by having read
too many poor ones which ramble on. I believe my ability to craft a tight
mission statement and a punchy, moderately ambitious vision statement has been
improved by this subject.
I enjoyed learning about strategic
planning. Public libraries use them as a vital planning tool which can be
easily adapted for school libraries (State Library of Queensland, 2009). The
step by step, measurable objectives line up with the vision statement to show
how the library will achieve its goals over a set time. If I obtained a TL
position I would make use of strategic planning to document and implement
changes to the school library.
I found module four, relating to
communication to be the most interesting part of the unit. The conflict
resolution questionnaire I took showed me as a 'teddy', who uses an
accommodating style. It was clear that I need to work on my assertiveness
skills. I also need to be a more attentive listener as discussed in my blog
comments (Montgomery, 2014a).
At the end of this unit, and now
the whole course, I feel I can take a more professional approach towards my
work in the public library. If I ever obtain a school library position I feel I
will be well equipped to fully advocate for the profession in terms of student
outcomes. I will also be an enthusiastic member of staff who is passionate
about collaboration and developing a modern school learning centre.
References
Aguilar, E.
(2012). Effective Teams: the key to transforming schools? retrieved 10 March
2014 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teacher-teams-transform-schools-elena-aguilar
Belisle, C.H.
(2005). The teacher as leader; Transformational leadership and the professional
teacher or teacher-librarian. School
Libraries in Canada. (17108535)., Vol.24 Issue 3, p 73-79.
BNet Video. (2011, June 8). 7 Step Problem Solving. [Video file]
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZXDGQSuF9I
Bush, T. and Middlewood, D., (2013). Leading
and managing People in Education. (3rd Ed) Los Angeles CA: Sage
Collay, M. (2011). Everyday Teacher
Leadership: Taking action where you are. Hoboken: Wiley
Haycock, K. (2010). Leadership from the middle: Building influence for
change. In S. Coatney The many faces of
school library leadership Ed. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO
Haycock, K. (2004). Priority setting: the tough work. Teacher Librarian, April, Vol. 31, Issue
4, p. 6.
Kuhlthau, C. C. (2010). Guided Inquiry: School libraries in the 21st
Century School Libraries Worldwide,
Jan, Vol. 16, No. 1, (pp. 1-12)
Livingston, K. (2012). Approaches to professional development of teachers
in Scotland: pedagogical innovation or financial necessity? Educational Research, 54:2, (pp. 161-172) DOI:10.1080/00131881.2012.680041
MacBeath, J. E., & Swaffield, S. (2009). Leadership for learning. In
J.E. MacBeath & N. Dempster Connecting
leadership and learning: principles for practice (pp. 32-52).
Montgomery, E. (2014a, April 18). Mods 3 and 4 ETL504 Retrieved from http://bethsbiblioteked.blogspot.com.au/
Montgomery, E. (2014b, April 29). Mod 5 ETL504 Strategic Planning
Retrieved from http://bethsbiblioteked.blogspot.com.au/
Semadeni, J.H. (2009). Taking
charge of Professional Development: A practical model for your school.
Alexandria: ASCD
State Library of Queensland [SLQ] (2009). Your Library Strategic plan: a
guide to its development Retrieved from www.slq.qld.gov.au
