ETL 504 Librarian as leader - Reflective critical analysis Assignment One

Reflective Critical Analysis of the concept of leadership

Initially, I found the reading for the first two modules of ETL 504 overwhelming, partly because I wondered how they could be relevant to my situation.  At this point, I do not have my own library, or even my own classroom.  I am a casual teacher who does day to day work, and the odd block when it comes up.  I get a lot of library work, but it isn’t the same as having a library that is my responsibility.  In truth, it wasn’t until I started working on the assignment that my understanding progressed much.  My initial thoughts on leadership were brief, and not particularly insightful, I wrote the following on the forum:  

I have observed as I float in and out of different schools, what a difference a leader can make. The friendliest, most cohesive, happiest schools seem to be those where the principal is a visible leader - there is no question in my mind about who they are.

                          

This seems woefully inadequate weeks later, when I have learned so much about leadership, and the exciting possibilities for not just the principal, but also the Teacher Librarian, and other staff members. Leadership skills are not just something you have or don’t have, it is possible to develop and improve those capabilities. 

While leadership styles are described in the literature, and I was particularly drawn to transformational leadership (Avolio, Walumbwa and Weber, 2009), I imagine I would incorporate what I considered the best parts of more than one style, depending on the situation I was in and what worked best to achieve the goals I was working towards.

Leadership begins with a vision for the school, specific goals are formulated, and it is these which staff are working towards.  A good leader must get their followers excited about those goals, and support them as they work together towards them   (Marzano, 2005 and Sergiovanni, 2005).

Unsurprisingly, communication is a fundamental concept which I think underpins much of a leaders work.  Without the ability to communicate effectively, it is almost impossible to lead well.  Communication is vital for building relationships and putting together workable teams, it is necessary for collaborative efforts, and for resolving conflicts and solving problems (Browing, 2013).  Communication is the key to building relationships – I have always said that casual work is difficult because of the lack of relationship with the children.  the same is true of the leader, without a positive relationship, without trust,  the task of leading is more difficult.

From the beginning of my studies for this Masters course, much has been said of collaboration and how essential it is for improving student achievement.  If the schools purpose is improving students educational outcomes, and if collaboration is “the single professional behaviour of teacher librarians that most affects student achievement” (Haycock, 2007, p32), then collaboration is clearly one of the most important activities that teachers and TL’s can engage in.

The more study I do in this course, the more excited I become by the prospect of being part of a school and running a library.  Librarian as leader was always slightly perplexing however.  I wanted to develop a great collection to meet my communities needs, but leading seemed to be the domain of other staff.  Developing the concept map, and considering leadership, I have begun to see that it can be a part of the librarians role.  That in fact, the teacher librarian is a good choice as a leader, with their expertise in information provision, and insights about the scope of the curriculum. 

Avolio, B., Walumbwa, F., & Weber, T. J. (2009).  Leadership: Current Theories, Research, and Future Directions. DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Retrieved April1, 2014, from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/managementfacpub/37/

Browing, P. (2013).  Building relationships.  Creating the conditions for transformational change. Australian Educational Leader.  35(3) 14 - 17.  retrieved April 2, 2014 from http://www.minnisjournals.com.au/images/artiles/pdf/article-pdf-0787.pdf

Haycock, K.  (2007).  Collaboration:  Critical Success Factors for Student Learning.  School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), pp. 25 -35.  Retrieved from:

              http://www.iasl-online.org/pubs/slw/index.htm

Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A. (2005). Some theories and theorists on leadership. School leadership that works: from research to results (pp. 13-27). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/docDetail.action?docID=10089219

Sergiovanni, T. (2005).  The Virtues of Leadership,  The Educational Forum, 69(Winter), 112-123. Retrieved January 16, 2014 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/7375166/Sergiovanni-Thomas-Virtues-of-Leadership