The New Work of Educational Leaders : Changing Leadership Practice in an Era of School Reform

'If there in one word to describe the issues addressed by Peter Gronn in The New Work of Educational Leaders it's "timely" And if there is one book that education policy makers, system CEOs and education ministers should find the time to read, this is it' - Educare News 'This book is essential reading fro those involved in educational leadership and policy development. This work is also valuable for those interested in the locally organized and interactionally achieved context of institutional work' - Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics if Education 'Though based in Australia, Peter Gronn shows familiarity with the British education system, and this boo is relevant to those in the compulsory and post-compulsory sectors interested in the themes of education leadership' - Learning and Skills Research In The New Work of Educational Leaders, Peter Gronn provides a new framework for understanding leadership practice. The work of leaders will increasingly be shaped by three overriding but contradictory themes: design; distribution; and disengagement. These are the 'architecture' of school and educational leadership. Designer-leadership is the use of mandatory standards of assessment and accreditation for school leaders, such as the National Qualification for Headship (NPQH) in the United Kingdom and the (Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards in the United States. Distributed patterns of leadership have developed in response to the intensification of school leaders' work under policy regimes of site-based and school self-management. Disengagement describes a culture of abstention, in which school systems anticipate leadership succession problems, such as projected shortages and recurring recruitment difficulties. Annotation `If there in one word to describe the issues addressed by Peter Gronn in The New Work of Educational Leaders it's "timely" And if there is one book that education policy makers, system CEOs and education ministers should find the time to read, this is it' - Educare News `This book is essential reading fro those involved in educational leadership and policy development. This work is also valuable for those interested in the locally organized and interactionally achieved context of institutional work' - Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics if Education `Though based in Australia, Peter Gronn shows familiarity with the British education system, and this boo is relevant to those in the compulsory and post-compulsory sectors interested in the themes of education leadership' - Learning and Skills Research In The New Work of Educational Leaders , Peter Gronn provides a new framework for understanding leadership practice. The work of leaders will increasingly be shaped by three overriding but contradictory themes: design; distribution; and disengagement. These are the `architecture' of school and educational leadership. Designer-leadership is the use of mandatory standards of assessment and accreditation for school leaders, such as the National Qualification for Headship (NPQH) in the United Kingdom and the (Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards in the United States. Distributed patterns of leadership have developed in response to the intensification of school leaders' work under policy regimes of site-based and school self-management. Disengagement describes a culture of abstention, in which school systems anticipate leadership succession problems, such as projected shortages and recurring recruitment difficulties

Gronn (education, Monash U., Australia) identifies three major qualitative shifts in the current context of educational leadership practice—leadership training based on ideas of design specification, greater distribution of modes of work performance, and teacher disengagement from leadership roles—and analyzes the pressures and constraints this atmosphere places on leaders. It is unclear how far he believes his argument extends beyond Australia, but it seems he includes the US and the UK. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Contents......Page 6 Figures and Tables......Page 7 Author Details......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Abbreviations......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1 - Designing Leaders......Page 18 2 - A Distributed View of Leadership......Page 38 3 - The Disengagement of Leaders......Page 62 4 - What do Leaders do?......Page 82 5 - Leaders' Committees and Meetings......Page 101 6 - Leadership Teams......Page 120 7 - The Emotions of Leaders......Page 139 8 - Leadership as Greedy Work......Page 158 References......Page 168 Index......Page 183 Since their establishment, public school systems have experienced periodic pressures for reform in numerous countries.