Leading From Below the Surface: A Non-Traditional Approach to School Leadership

by Theodore B. Creighton

Overview

"Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking ′below the surface′ at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative."
Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor
Florida State University

A groundbreaking model that digs deeper to uncover the root of effective leadership!Filling the gap between existing theoretical models and real-world practice, this landmark guide introduces a fresh paradigm shift that will shape the future of successful school leadership. Brimming with straightforward how-to′s and practical examples, the book draws upon the latest influential best practices of effective business management and tailors them to meet the needs of educational leaders at all levels.

Leading From Below the Surface offers a deeper exploration of the more subjective, intangible aspects of leadership to get to the real issues, moving decision making outside the confines of school boardrooms and offices and into the dynamic hallways, community centers, school kitchens, and playgrounds.

Special features include:

• Tools for expanding beyond data-based to evidence-based decision making for an enlightened perspective
• Tactics for building political capital
• Time management tips
• Reader-friendly text and real-life scenarios for practical application

Leading From Below the Surface empowers educators to take a more comprehensive approach to managing schools that can boost teacher morale, student achievement, and community perceptions for overall success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483360577
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/28/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Theodore B. Creighton is currently a Professor and Program Leader in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, he served as Director of the Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University and as a Professor in Educational Leadership at Idaho State University. His background includes teaching at all grade levels in Washington, D.C.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Los Angeles, California. His administrative experience includes serving as principal and superintendent in both Fresno and Kern Counties, California. He holds a BS degree in teacher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master′s degree in educational administration from California State University Long Beach, and a doctorate from the University of California Davis.

Though active in many professional organizations, he devotes considerable time to his role as Executive Director of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration. He also serves as a member of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA), and as a Stafford Faculty Fellow for the National Institute on Leadership, Disabilities and Students Placed at Risk (NILDSPAR). He recently was appointed as Project Director of the Connexions Knowledge Base Project, an international initiative in collaboration with Rice University charged with assembling the knowledge base in educational administration. His research includes examining the forces of the school principalship, and he is widely published in the area of schools with alternative forms of school leadership.

Table of Contents

Preface
What This Book Is Not About
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Introduction
First, What Is the Surface?
OK, Now What Does "Below the Surface" Mean?
Leadership Is Both Objective and Subjective
2. What Does Traditional Leadership Look Like, and How Did We Get Here from There?
Behavioral Leadership
Situational Leadership
Contingency Leadership Theory
Path-Goal Theory of Leadership
Transformational Leadership Theory
A Conceptual Framework for Leading From Below the Surface
3. What Is Leading From Below the Surface?
Bending the Rules Without Breaking Them
Managing Your Portfolio of Political Capital
Bourdieu and Capital
4. Evidence-Based Decision Making
Below the Surface: Data- or Evidence-Based?
Data-Driven vs. Evidence-Based Decision Making
Attendance Rates vs. Absence Rates
Narrowing the Achievement Gap
Dropout Rate: 2% or 28%?
Concluding Thoughts
5. Institutional Effectiveness vs. Strategy
A Closer Look at Strategy
How Does Strategy Relate to School Leadership?
Describing the Strategy
Identifying Positive and Negative Forces
6. Cooperation vs. Collaboration
Closing Thoughts
7. Looking Beyond the Obvious
From Superintendent to Secretary of Education
The SAT Story
Not Settling for Embroidering the Edges
Concluding Thoughts
8. Creating Leadership Behaviors: A Leadership Practice Field
OK, On to a Leadership Practice Field
Defining a Practice
A Practice Field Further Defined
Practicing Leading From Below the Surface
Practicing Listening
Practicing Respecting
9. Implications for Practicing School Administrators
Accountability
Leading From Below the Surface
The Disjuncture Between Societal Use and School Use of Technology
The Virtual Classroom
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking ‘below the surface’ at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative. "

Pamela Flood