‘Public education is constantly evolving, and new challenges require school officials to be insightful, prepared, and innovative. It is because of these changing times that this book, which offers a different view of systems analysis and organizational behavior, is so valuable.’
—
Frank Bush, Executive Director
Indiana School Boards Association
‘Educational leaders need a basis for confident decision making. The authors have a solution for challenging times.’
—
Kay Harmless, Interim Director, Indiana Principal Leadership Academy
Indiana Department of Education
What decisions are in the best interest of students, teachers, staff, and others in your school community?
It is essential for every school leader to possess the savvy to effect positive change, raise achievement levels, and foster a positive school climate. Now it seems that the struggle for school leaders to make productive decisions has become clouded with ever-growing uncertainty and skepticism.
Transformational Leadership & Decision Making in Schools emphasizes the need for a resilient decision-making pedagogy—one that helps school leaders find and re-center their approaches to making effective decisions for their schools and districts.
This important resource provides methods and strategies to tackle tough decisions, providing concise step-by-step considerations to transform your decision making. The essential information presented includes:
- A personal decision-making self-assessment
- Reflective thinking sections for individual reflection and group dialogue
- Discussion of the role of vision and mission
- Ideas on motivation and the capacity for change
- A look at barriers to decision making
- Information on developing relationships with respect and rapport
Jadual kandungan
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. Introduction
2. Decision-Making Pedagogy: A Leadership Essential
3. Overcoming Internal Obstacles to Decision Making
4. Overcoming External Barriers to Decision Making
5. Aligning Decision Making to the Leader′s Mission
6. Understanding How Human Nature Affects Decision Making
7. Defining Relationships With Respect and Rapport
8. Entrust: The Value of Empowerment and Delegation
9. Creating Motivating Capacities for the Common Good
10. The Influence of Capitalism on Decision Making
11. Refining and Rethinking Change in Education
12. Facing the Challenges of Leadership
13. Leadership for the Common Good: The Essential Imperative
Resource: Decision Making Self-Assessment
Bibliography
Index
Mengenai Pengarang
Dr. Bradley Balch is currently the Chairperson for the Department of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Foundations at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. Formerly, Dr. Balch served as a teacher, building administrator, and superintendent. In addition to his current capacity as a school board president, Dr. Balch also serves as a facilitator and consultant to school boards on leadership and governance issues. His scholarship agenda, including presentations and publications at the regional, state and national levels focus, in part, on the recruitment, retention and professional development of school leaders, mentoring and induction of new school leaders, and stress factors in district-level leadership.