Leaders at their best

Authentic educational leadership is integral to school improvement and strives to develop sensitivity to the values and beliefs that others uphold in order to give meaning to the actions of the students, teachers, parents and the community members with whom the school leaders interact.

This is what Christopher Bezzina, from the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta, and Joanna Michalak, from the University of Lodz in Poland, conclude in their new European publication Authentic Educational Leadership: The Challenges Ahead (ISBN 83-7171-967-1).

The book is an offshoot of an international research project entitled Improving Schools In Challenging Urban Contexts: Lifelong Learning Communities For All, which was financed by the University of Lodz. Within this project, workshops were held for principals and teachers were focused on leadership development. The sessions were conducted by Dr Bezzina and Prof. Christopher Day from the University of Nottingham.

The book is an acknowledgement of the contribution to high standards of teaching, learning and achievement in which educational leaders at their best engage and try to lead change in school.

Dr Bezzina and Dr Michalak explore the part played by authentic leadership in building a school which is academically successful and provides an educational environment in which students, teachers and parents feel a great sense of belonging. Authentic leaders are aware of the challenges of the broader social contexts in which they work. They believe that they can make a difference to the learning and achievement not only of students but teachers as well.

In fact, the focus of the book is one that welcomes and encourages collective learning. As Elisabet Nihlfors from the Swedish Research Council in Stockholm argues, "this book keeps the spirit within us alive! One reason is that I as a reader get the feeling that the authors meet me with respect and invite me to an open and ongoing dialogue! Even if the context we are working in is different, the questions are the same.

The book gives me courage to go ahead as a leader, it makes me curious and eager to share our different experiences over the boundaries, wherever they occur." As Bezzina argued, "the focus on authentic leadership in Malta is timely. An exclusive society, a competitive system and smallness, among other factors, have contributed towards an attitude framework that breeds selfishness". He adds: "With the introduction of networks and the philosophy and praxis that networks uphold and supported by the Education Act (2006) we see that authenticity is critical to real and significant development. The reforms proposed call for an inclusive perspective and an inclusive process."

This book addresses this issue in direct and practical terms. Dr Bezzina states that "we have developed the book round the principle that everyone wants to feel included, acknowledged, seen as worthwhile, able to contribute, give, learn, grow. We believe that each of us has a deep-seated desire to contribute, to feel that they can make a difference. Networks will only succeed if we work towards turning them into learning communities."

As stated in the book, "Leaders will play a special role in nurturing this belief. The book starts off by acknowledging Sergiovanni's (2001) assertion that leadership is a personal thing. It comprises three important dimensions: heart, head and hand. The heart of leadership has to do with what a person believes, values, dreams about, and is committed to. This reflects his or her vision. The head of leadership has to do with the theories of practice each of us has developed over time, and our ability to reflect on the situations we face in the light of these theories. This process of reflection on the situations we face, combined with our personal vision, becomes the basis for our strategies and action. The hand of leadership has to do with the actions we take, the decisions we make, the leadership and management behaviours we use as our strategies become institutionalised in the form of school programmes, policies and procedures."

Dr Bezzina is of the opinion that that educational leadership for the knowledge society must embrace a good understanding of self and the leadership capacity of others, in particular teachers. "In this book, with leadership we do not only refer to professionalism, authenticity, enthusiasm, passion and commitment. What is here emphasised is leadership as covenant; one suited to the imperative that individuals and schools can transform themselves into communities of learning. Ultimately the book emphasises action that transforms the personal and collective life in the school, one that advances social sustainability and quality of life for the school community. It encourages school leaders to start off by reviving and redefining their role, to go back to their roots, to those values that have made them what they are. The collective cannot exclude the personal."

No wonder that Prof. Kwiatkowski from the Institute for Educational Research describes the book as "a significant contribution to the area of educational leadership and one that provides an ideal contribution to understanding and developing the concept of leadership in the personal and collective lives of school leaders, teachers and the community".