LEARNING THEORIES AND LEARNING STYLES RELEVANT TO MENTORING

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CHAPTER 3 LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

Chapter three examines different perspectives of leadership, as it relates to education and reform. The qualities and characteristics of leaders will be discussed, with the aim to identify the key characteristics displayed by leaders working in an educational setting. Various viewpoints regarding models and styles of leadership will be explored, with particular reference to transformational and instructional leadership, and relevant links will be formulated as it relates to the current research study. The chapter will also discuss leadership and sustainability, looking closely at seven principles of sustainable leadership. A discussion of leadership development will follow, and lastly, the role of leadership in educational reform will be addressed.

THE FUNCTION OF LEADERSHIP

Ciulla (1998:61-63) describes leadership as more than a person or a position, and view it as a complex moral relationship between individuals, based on trust, obligation, commitment, emotion and a shared vision. Leadership requires individuals that willingly follow certain directives. Duignan (2008:11) maintains that leadership is strengthened when leaders take responsibility for their decisions, and are accountable to the organisations that they serve. The leader’s ability to step forward and lead the organisation is both essential and inimitable.
There are many different views regarding the function of leadership. Yukl (2002:4-5) supports this viewpoint and points out that this results in different definitions of a school leader (as illustrated in section 1.5.7).
Through their leadership, leaders deliver relevant services to the staff in an organisation. For example, the leaders ensure that there are the necessary equipment, resources and training for employees to do their work effectively (DePree, 1989:1-6). Leaders also provide their staff with much needed support, in order to achieve the organisational goals, and to hold the staff accountable for achieving these goals.
Leadership in education is viewed as an essential component for ensuring that all schools succeed in providing quality instruction. Although educators are at the forefront of learning, school principals are challenged to set high expectations and a clear vision to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. The execution of this vision could be referred to as leadership (DeVita in The Wallace Foundation, 2007:2). Leithwood, Jantzi, Coffin and Wilson (1996:318-319) state « that there is not a single documented case of a school, successfully turning around its pupil achievement trajectory, in the absence of talented leadership. » Leithwood et al. (1996:321-324) therefore suggests, that leadership is not measured exclusively by the school principal, but by a number of other variables including capacity, motivation, working conditions and student achievement. Total leadership therefore refers to the combined influence from all of these sources.
Leadership also influences reform. Leadership in education is referred to as a ‘bridge’ that seamlessly brings together various reform endeavours. The leader exerts a degree of influence to gain support from the followers, in order to achieve the goal or transformational objectives of an organisation or department (Avolio & Bass, 2002:6).
The above indicates that leadership focuses on set aims and objectives. Knapp, Copeland, Honig, Plecki and Portin (2010:4) speak of leadership as a shared work experience where individuals are committed to influence the direction that a school pursues with regard to learning, and employ every effort in pursuing the agenda for school improvement. Similarly, Bush (2011:5) mentions the fact that leadership involves influence that is generally social by nature, where intentional influence is exerted by one person (or group) over others (or groups), in order to organise activities and relationships within the organisation. The leader’s ability to influence or achieve organisational objectives is seen as an important element in evaluating the leader’s performance or degree of effectiveness (Bush, 2011:6).
Bhugra, Ruiz and Gupta (2013:4) also maintain, that leaders lead because there is an expectation that they will act in accordance with the vision and goals of an organisation. The task of any leader is to provide the plan of action for the followers, and the authors stress that leaders are only in existence because they have individuals who are willing to follow and take direction from them (Bhugra et al., 2013:4).
Leadership to reach set goals can function in many ways. Cuban (in Bush 2011:6) maintains that during leadership, there is a need for the influencing process to have a purpose, in that it is intended to lead to a targeted outcome. The leaders influence the motivations and actions of others in order to achieve that specific goal. Influence is thus the principle concept in leadership, rather than power or authority. In fact, according to Heifetz (1994:2-24) authority can constrain leadership, because in times of crisis, individuals place a huge amount of strain on leaders because they have high expectations of them to solve problems. The author thus refers to individuals forming unsuitable dependencies that delude leaders into thinking that they have all the answers.
In contrast, to the above, Argyris (1998:98-105) examines the idea of empowerment in relation to leadership. He mentions that various tensions could arise when forcing staff to comply, versus raising their internal commitment to change. If staff is encouraged to buy into an idea because it will benefit them in the long run, they are more likely to contribute positively. If they fail to see the benefit, they tend to resist change. Similarly, one could make the assumption that empowering all staff within the school to analyse their areas of strength and tapping into these strengths, one not only delegates responsibility, but creates a platform for staff to be a part of whole school development.
In the context of the UAE, it could be argued that Emirati school leaders are more likely to resist authoritative leadership, rather than leadership through subtle influence. It is for this reason, that the function of leadership through influence is seen as important, in that it produces a collaborative effort by both the leaders (expatriates) and the followers (Emirati) (Bolman & Deal, 2008:345).

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QUALITITES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS

According to Tracy (2012:3), leadership is the single most important factor in the success or failure of an organisation. Furthermore, the author is of the viewpoint that leaders are largely self-made and they consistently develop their capabilities, becoming more experienced over a period of time. Leaders therefore learn certain qualities through their daily practice and consistently apply their skills within the organisation.
Ricketts (2009:2) argues that effective leadership relies on specific qualities that the leaders possess. Leaders need to be able to forge positive relationships with group members or staff. Some of the traits that leaders need to possess therefore include popularity, originality, sociability, intelligence, confidence, persistence and responsibility. Although these leadership traits are important, the author stresses the need for these characteristics to bear relevance to the context in which the leader performs.
The unique characteristics of every leader could be attributed to a combination of factors as mentioned by Ricketts (2009:3). These factors include various environmental and physical characteristics that impact on several individual characteristics as illustrated in Figure 3.1.

CHAPTER 1: ORIENTATION AND BACKGROUND
1.1 INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY
1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
1.3 RESEARCH PARADIGM
1.4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
1.5 CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.7 DIVISION OF CHAPTERS
1.8 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 2: MENTORING IN EDUCATION
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 THE AIM OF MENTORING
2.3 THE MENTORING PROCESS
2.4 LEARNING THEORIES AND LEARNING STYLES RELEVANT TO MENTORING
2.5 THE MENTORING RELATIONSHIP
2.6 MODELS OF MENTORING
2.7 MENTORING AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM
2.8 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 3: LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 THE FUNCTION OF LEADERSHIP
3.3 QUALITITES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS
3.4 LEADERSHIP MODELS AND STYLES
3.5 LEADERSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY
3.6 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
3.7 LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM
3.8 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 ETHICAL MEASURES
4.3 RESEARCH DESIGN
4.4 DATA COLLECTION
4.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS
4.6 DATA ANALYSIS
4.7 MEASURES TO ENSURE TRUSTWORTHINESS
4.8 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 REALISATION OF THE SAMPLE
5.3 THE VIEWS OF INDIGENOUS SCHOOL LEADERS OF THE UAE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND THE ROLE OF EXPATRIATE SCHOOL LEADERS
5.4 THE VIEWS OF EXPATRIATE SCHOOL LEADERS OF THE UAE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND OF THEIR ROLE
5.5 COMPARATIVE RESPONSE TABLE
5.6 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 CONCLUSIONS FROM THE LITERATURE REVIEWS
6.3 CONCLUSIONS FROM THE FINDINGS
6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
6.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
6.6 CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY
6.7 CONCLUSION
LIST OF REFERENCES
GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
THE IMPACT OF EXPATRIATE SCHOOL LEADERS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES EDUCATION SYSTEM

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