Impact of School Leadership on Student Learning

The general notion of leadership represents an action that leads a group or an organization for further development. However, school leadership has been interpreted as choosing decisions for the betterment of all students. According to Howley et al. (2009), effective school leadership has become a significant concern for policymakers at national and state levels, because the impact of school leadership depends on varied levels. Furthermore, it is identified that developing an appropriate school leadership is necessary as it shapes the community interests and future of a society notably. On another hand, critics have recognized the significance of implementing a Culturally Responsive Leadership (CRL) plan in the backdrop of schools. It is found that culturally responsive leaders possess some distinct attributes than an average leader. They show an ethic of care and play critical roles in demonstrating and promoting inclusive practice in schools. Hence, this paper aims to develop an effective CRL plan for the principal of the high school. It is identified that students and parents of this school have complained that the school activities do not promote equality. In this context, the proposed CRL plan will help the principal to implement social justice and culturally responsive leadership practices for mitigating such issues.

Educators in the modern day world are held responsible for developing multiple aspects of a child through effective teaching. In this context, providing proper instruction and academic assistance play a crucial role in the overall development of students. Nevertheless, Khalifa, Gooden & Davis (2016), accounted that educators should also focus on providing social and emotional support to children for ensuring the overall development of students. Further, some key competencies have been identified in the present literature that highlights the need for self-awareness, decision-making ability and a productive relationship as the critical drivers for maintaining smooth progress of career. In this regard, Ylimaki & Jacobson (2013), commented that curriculum innovation and social activism are the fundamental factors that establish a culturally responsive leadership. Therefore, it can be said that effective leadership determines the success of any school that is engaged with multicultural students. However, a principal needs to focus on developing an effective coordination and extensive support for forming a better culturally responsive leadership in schools.

Additionally, Nelson & Guerra (2014), disclosed that a CRL is necessary for disengaging the natural barriers of students that need proper nullification through culturally responsive teaching adequately. Therefore, a crucial relationship has been identified between the cultural values of a specific community and its educational leaders. In this regard, Johnson (2014), commented that undertaking a systematic approach is necessary for establishing a CRL in schools. Therefore, the importance of an effective CRL plan has been identified in the recent literature. Nevertheless, most of the research studies emphasized the classroom teaching for implementing a better CRL plan. However, it can be said that the implementation of a CRL should not be limited within the classroom. Instead, the principal should also focus on developing a useful leadership framework for focusing on other areas too.

Competing Forms of Leadership Visible in Literature

A recent study has identified that building a relationship with the community and involving the city in the school leadership framework is an integrated part of Culturally Responsive School Leadership (Nelson & Guerra, 2014). Summing up the theoretical insights from scholars, the following principles have been formulated for implementing a feasible CRL plan in schools:

• Ensuring physical and emotional safety
• Articulation of core values
• Improvement plans
• Established progressive trusts
• Influencing teaching and learning
• Collaboration for developing new opportunities

Besides these principles, the emerging body of literature has also explored the importance of Hofstede’s cultural dimensional model in improving the CRL of any school. It is identified the components like power dimension, masculinity, and femininity index and much more should be included while developing an effective CRL plan for schools. Therefore, it can be said that developing an appropriate CRL plan for schools is highly necessary and it allows principals to implement the notion of equality and social justice respectively.

Figure 1: Hofstede’s cultural dimension in the context of Lebanon

(Source: Hofstede Insights, 2018)

The above illustration highlights that power distance index of Lebanon is high, which means that people in this society accept the hierarchical order. Also, low individualism score of this society reflects that people value the social framework and strongly tied with moral values. Nevertheless, high masculinity index represents that the culture of Lebanon is driven by a male and the heroism, assertiveness and material success are demonstrated in this country. Hence, it can be said that implementing an effective CRL plan in the school, would not be a complicated task for the principal. Thus, the CRL plan will consist of four key factors. Such are:

• Self-reflection on leadership behaviors: The principal should focus on the following responsibilities for achieving this factor:
  • To be committed for improving continuous learning of the cultural knowledge
  • To use school data for measuring the current state of CRL
  • Application of equity audits for measuring student inclusiveness and practice (Griner & Stewart, 2013)
• Development of culturally responsive teachers:Developing culturally sensitive teachers are necessary for the principal for implementing an effective CRL plan. Hence, following responsibilities should be considered:
  • Developing teacher capacities
  • Creative Culturally Responsive opportunities for teachers
  • Creating a CRL team for exploring new pathways (Forman et al. 2013)
  • Implementation of assessment tools
• Demonstrating an inclusive school environment: This part can be achieved by obeying the following factors:
  • Accepting indigenous students (It is identified that parents and students have complained about the current practices of this school. Hence, accepting indigenous students will help the principal to implement the CRL effectively)
  • Reduce anxiety among students by building a significant relationship
  • Expressing a compelling vision for developing instructional and behavioral practices (Madsen & Mabokela, 2013)
  • Acknowledging values of cultural and social capital of students
• Engaging students and patents effectively: This is a crucial part of the current CRL plan for The principal as the following activities need to be completed appropriately:
  • Developing an optimistic relationship with the local community
  • Identifying the overlapping spaces that might impair the developed CRL plan
  • Using the community as a suitable place for incurring positive relationships (Aronson & Laughter, 2016)

Therefore, the principal of the school should focus on the critical strategies for implementing an appropriate CRL plan. However, it is not an easy task for the principal to perform such effective CRL plan and execute those key strategies.  The fundamental reason behind selecting such approach is to implement an appropriate leadership style in the school context (Epstein et al. 2018). It is identified that students and parents have complained about school activities. Therefore, these stated strategies would help the principal to nullify such issues and will also ensure equality in the current practice of this school. Nevertheless, it is essential for the principal to propose these strategies effectively. The following section deals with critical recommendations that need to be considered by the principal.

 Positive attitude is necessary for implementing a significant CRL plan for the principal. Hence, the principal can offer different options for identifying the expression of students. For instance, offering either assessments or activities might play a significant role for showcasing the positive attitudes of students (Moore, 2014). This method will help the principal to engage students effectively.

Basic and Additional Practices Used by Successful Leaders

 The principal should focus on fostering a meaningful discussion with the parents and students. The principal can also bolster any lesson by considering real-world issues or any issues related to the interest of students. In addition, fostering professional conservation will also extricate student issues effectively. Besides this, conservation regarding the skill development will also implement the CRL effectively.  

 It is recommended that the CRL team of this school should conduct an interest survey for students. This will help the principal to identify such factors that motivate students and contain their interests. Besides, holding a regular meeting with teachers will also help the principal to develop the benefit of students effectively.  

Conclusion 

From the above discussion, it can be said that CRL plays a critical role in developing community interest and also creates similar circumstances in schools. Hence, the theoretical perspective of scholars has been illustrated in this assignment. It is identified that CRL plays active roles in satisfying the critical competencies of schools. These include self-awareness, decision making, and others. On another hand, it can be concluded that innovation in existing curriculum and social activism are vital factors that influence the notion of culturally responsible leadership. Hence, Hofstede’s power dimensional model has been discussed and implemented while developing an effective CRL plan for the school in Lebanon. Thus, the developed CRL plan consists of critical parts, and each of them bears significant characteristics. These include self-reflecting on leadership behavior, development of culturally leadership teachers, fostering inclusive school environment and students and parents’ engagement. However, to apply such strategies, some key recommendations have been given in this assignment, which needs to be implemented by the school principal. Developing a virtual library might help the principal to identify important studies that are necessary for increasing leadership practices culturally in the school activities. In addition, fostering professional conversation and identifying the students’ interests might help the principal to apply such a framework effectively.

Reference List

Aronson, B., & Laughter, J. (2016). The theory and practice of culturally relevant education: A synthesis of research across content areas. Review of Educational Research, 86(1), 163-206.

Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Sheldon, S. B., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., … & Hutchins, D. J. (2018). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Corwin Press.

Forman, S. G., Shapiro, E. S., Codding, R. S., Gonzales, J. E., Reddy, L. A., Rosenfield, S. A., … & Stoiber, K. C. (2013). Implementation science and school psychology. School Psychology Quarterly, 28(2), 77.

Griner, A. C., & Stewart, M. L. (2013). Addressing the achievement gap and disproportionality through the use of culturally responsive teaching practices. Urban Education, 48(4), 585-621.

Hofstede Insights, (2018). Lebanon. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/lebanon/

Howley, A., Woodrum, A., Burgess, L., & Rhodes, M. (2009). Planning for culturally responsive leadership: Insights from a study of principals of exemplary schools. Educational Planning, 18(3), 12-26.

Johnson, L. (2014). Culturally responsive leadership for community empowerment. Multicultural Education Review, 6(2), 145-170.

Khalifa, M. A., Gooden, M. A., & Davis, J. E. (2016). Culturally responsive school leadership: A synthesis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1272-1311.

Madsen, J. A., & Mabokela, R. O. (2013). Culturally relevant schools: Creating positive workplace relationships and preventing intergroup differences. Abingdon: Routledge.

Moore, K. D. (2014). Effective instructional strategies: From theory to practice. London: Sage Publications.

Nelson, S. W., & Guerra, P. L. (2014). Educator beliefs and cultural knowledge: Implications for school improvement efforts. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(1), 67-95.

Ylimaki, R., & Jacobson, S. (2013). School leadership practice and preparation: Comparative perspectives on organizational learning (OL), instructional leadership (IL) and culturally responsive practices (CRP). Journal of Educational Administration, 51(1), 6-23.