Leadership and Management Development in Education (Education ...

2Models of educational leadershipIntroductionIn Chapter 1, we explored the research and literature linking educational leadershipto school and student outcomes. We also noted the widespread beliefthat effective leadership is fundamental to successful schools and education systems.While there is an emerging consensus about the main constituents ofleadership, there is much less clarity about which behaviours are most likely toproduce the most favourable outcomes. Awareness of alternative approaches toleadership is essential in order to inform the design and development of programmesfor aspiring and practising leaders. This chapter provides an overviewof the main models of educational leadership and links them to similar modelsof educational management (Bush 2003; Bush and Glover 2003).The implementation of the Education Reform Act (1988) and subsequentlegislation in England and Wales, and similar moves towards self-managementin many other countries, have led to an enhanced emphasis on the practice ofeducational leadership and management (Huber 2004a). Heads and principalsare inundated with advice and exhortations from politicians, officials,academics and consultants, about how to lead and manage their schools andcolleges. Many of these prescriptions are atheoretical in the sense that they arenot underpinned by explicit values or concepts (Bush 1999, 2003). As we shallsee later, however, governments may use conceptual language while shiftingits meaning to support their own politically inspired intentions.There is no single all-embracing theory of educational leadership. In part thisreflects the astonishing diversity of educational institutions, ranging from smallrural primary schools to very large universities and colleges, and across widelydifferent international contexts. It relates also to the varied nature of the problemsencountered in schools and colleges, which require different approachesand solutions. Above all, it reflects the multifaceted nature of theory in educationalleadership and management. As a result, several perspectives may bevalid simultaneously (Bush 2003).9