Publisher's Synopsis
For many educaiors the practice of "leadership" is tediouslyelusive and problematic, embedded within opaque theoreticalconcepts. The extensive literature emphasizes innovative strategiesand new goals for leaders in political, corporate, and publicsector organizations. Invariably, nostrums are prescribed for themost closely observed but least comprehended patterns of humanbehavior-leadership.
In this issue, authors who have been involved in developing newstrategies for leadership practice provide perspectives oneducational change and current experience in the United Kingdom,Israel, and the United States. Their personally significant themesdemonstrate that in response to fundamental change, new leadershipcultures are essential to the development of more effectiveschools. For school communities and practitioners these changesbring new responsibilities together with associated opportunitiesfor professional leadership at school level.
Increasingly in education, as in all professional organizations,leaders acknowledge that major distinctions exist between theinadequacies of positional management processes and the clearunderstanding of high-quality interpersonal relationships that arerequired if effective leadership is to flourish in schools.Although the contexts are remarkably diverse, it is evident thatconcepts of leadership distributed among all practitioners on anearned basis rather than limited to and based on positional statusare pivotal to the development of shared leadership practicethrough mutually valued interactive processes.
It is hoped that these international perspectives will enhanceunderstanding of the positive realities of earned leadershipprocesses and contribute to a clarifying dialogue along theprofessional highway toward more effective schools.
This is the 9th issue of the quarterly journal New Directionsfor School Leadership.
