John West-Burnham offers a radical critique of prevailing models of
leadership in education, particularly models of school leadership,
notably the British view of headship. For almost a generation,
school leadership has been focused on the concept of improvement,
within a policy context of improvement and a prevailing culture
rooted in incremental adjustment rather than a fundamental
reappraisal.
Transformation is a particularly evocative concept; it is one of
those words that it is almost impossible to raise objections to.
However, as is so often the case with such words, its power is
often proportionate to the ambiguity with which it is used. In the
context of a discussion about transforming schools three broad
categories of usage might be identified: transformation as improved
performance, transformation as the achievement of optimum
effectiveness and transformation as profound change. It is in this
latter respect that the book will offer an alternative model of
leadership. Transformation is not about improving output or
efficiency; it is not about incremental improvement or optimising
organizational effectiveness. Transformation is rather about the
profound change of every component of the organization following a
fundamental reconceptualisation of its purpose and nature.
Transformation is a process that ensures that an organization is
appropriate to the context in which it operates. Transformation is
about questioning the very nature of the school as an organization
and the nature of organizations.
The distinctive nature of this book is that it will focus on
leadership attitudes, values and personal qualities (the elusive
and intangible elements of leadership) rather than simply reworking
the traditional blend of knowledge, skills and experience. Central
to the book will be the notion of the personal 'mind map' - the
model of leadership that determines personal behaviour. The book
will focus on helping leaders review and reconceptualise their
personal mindscapes.
The book will have a strongly practical focus and is designed to
be a resource for school leaders who find that their work is
increasingly moving beyond traditional boundaries into areas for
which there are few precedents and only limited resources.
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