Blazing New Trails - Connexions

Superintendent Leadership as the Catalyst for Organizational Learning 63
as an outcome of organizational learning (Leithwood & Leonard, 1998). Provided the internal
and external forces facing schools, what becomes evident is the fact that district leaders must
create and foster the organizational conditions that stimulate the learning process. The
responsibility of leaders resides in their ability to set up mechanisms and practices that
establish organizational knowledge as a cultural value (Fullan, 2001).
Although it is a commonly held belief that organizations will learn and adapt in order
to survive, confusion exists in distinguishing learning from random change. Learning in an
educational environment is typically structured as an individual endeavor (Collinson, Cook, &
Conley, 2006). However, the most common, consistent feature of a successful learning
organization identified in literature is one that focuses on collective capacity through
expanding opportunities for continuous learning. The emphasis is placed on the importance of
teams engaged in collective problem solving resulting in actions of individuals and teams
(Leithwood & Aitken, 1995; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Silins, Mulford, Zarins, & Bishop,
2000. As Fullan (2001) explained, “Their success is found in the intricate interaction inside
and outside the organization-interaction that converts tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge
on an ongoing basis” (p. 80).
An environment of uncertainty requires organizational members to address the
demands placed upon it through innovation and distribution of knowledge. Problems require
clear articulation, and new knowledge must be sought to resolve them. The ability of the
organization to “create new knowledge, disseminate it widely throughout the organization,
and quickly embody it in new technologies and products” determines success (Nonaka, 2007,
p. 162). This process of continuous innovation for learning requires the application of two
types of knowledge: tacit and explicit knowledge, which is shared among members of the
organization (Nonaka, 2007; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995).
It is an understatement to say that the superintendency is a complex and multifaceted
role. Modern superintendents clearly understand the need to focus greater amounts of their
professional attention on the technical core of curriculum and instruction and organizational
learning; however, they are prohibited from doing so because they are confronted with
multiple competing demands on a daily basis. Transformational and instructional leadership
have been presented as an integrated process that provides intellectual direction and aims at
innovation within the organization. This process empowers teachers to become partners in
decision making on matters specific to curriculum and instruction (Marks & Printy, 2003).
Studies have also revealed that transformational forms of leadership foster learning in an
organization with elements of change that include ideas, innovation, influence, and
consideration for the individual process (Leithwood & Jantzi, 1990; Leithwood & Poplin,
1992; Leithwood, Leonard, & Sharratt, 1998; Marks & Printy, 2003). Transformational
practices associated with transformation leadership align with restructuring expectations that
require learning to take place among teachers and administrators. The role of the
superintendent has evolved to include team building and collaboration with all stakeholders.
This is a shift from an emphasis on management to collaboration, community, and
relationship building. District leaders must build the capacity for change through social arenas
in order to move their schools toward improvement. As Petersen and Barnett (2005)
emphasized, “Exemplary leaders encourage and enlist the support of everyone needed to
make the system work. All who have a stake in the vision of a successful school district must
be involved in some way” (p. 122).
A review of extant literature to explore the extent an instructionally focused
superintendent fosters elements of organizational learning directed toward improved
instructional effectiveness and academic achievement of students provided a multifaceted lens