Leadership is the process through which a person persuades others to achieve a goal and guides the company in a more cogent and unified way (Shaw, 2023). By using leadership traits like expertise, character, ethics, values, and beliefs, leaders guide this process. To innovate and solve problems in the classroom and the larger school community, leadership is essential. It may be crucial in creating a supportive atmosphere at the institution. Leadership may have an impact on students’ academic performance and learning. School administrators may transform a mediocre organization into a successful one by using excellent leadership techniques (Wang & Dapat, 2023). The literature on leadership and management contains a variety of leadership philosophies. Laissez-faire, democratic, and authoritarian are the three main types. The charismatic, transactional, transformational, ideographic, benevolent-autocratic, and pseudo-democratic leadership philosophies are also used by school administrators. This essay gives a general overview of how various leadership philosophies might affect the quality of instruction and learning in educational institutions. It starts out by outlining some of the difficulties with these ideas while examining how various leadership philosophies affect academic achievement. The article also discusses the difficulties that leaders encounter and offers attributes and skills that can be essential in overcoming these difficulties.
Leadership Styles
Transformational leadership style: This approach is founded on others’ growth and development. It is based on the idea that people are innately good and need to be encouraged to perform to the best of their abilities. Transformational leaders work to encourage their people to adopt new viewpoints and methods of operation (Wang & Dapat, 2023). In a school setting, transformational leadership may be beneficial because it frees instructors to focus on helping children learn how to study while also fostering a love of learning in pupils. The instructors’ relationship with their pupils is also strengthened via this leadership style, which makes it simpler for them to handle difficult circumstances. When a teacher uses a transformational leadership style, pupils are more likely to pay attention to whatever directions or advise they receive. It is a successful leadership approach because it enables instructors to create close bonds with members of the staff and pupils, which helps them develop as leaders (Matsiori et al., 2018). Lack of concentration is one of the problems this leadership approach has. Encouragement of students to think about their viewpoint while working on a project might result in a misunderstanding of duties, which would reduce productivity. To solve this, the instructor should set forth definite expectations before each team member starts a particular activity.
Democratic leadership style: This leadership style entails the leader seeking input from each follower before making a decision (Shaw, 2023). The main goal of the democratic leadership style is to create a community where each person feels included and has a voice in determining the course of the school. Since this approach fits pupils the best, it is more productive in educational settings. The pupils feel more at ease since it enables them to participate more actively rather than merely as onlookers. Their involvement and grades improve because students feel like they have control over their learning experience. Teachers benefit greatly from democratic leadership styles since they may get new perspectives from the pupils. Students who are more engaged are more likely to achieve well. The difficulty in reaching agreement is one of this leadership style’s drawbacks. Finding a consensus is almost hard unless you’re working with a small team. In order to guarantee that activities are completed on time, the instructor should use effective techniques when using this leadership style.
Servant leadership style: This leadership style requires the leader to prioritize the needs of others before their own. Leaders that adopt this approach go above and above to help others develop into better versions of themselves. According to Matsiori et al. (2018), teaching student-led projects effectively uses the servant leadership approach. The instructor must go through the project with the students after assigning it so they are aware of the following stages and when to anticipate feedback. This leadership approach may be used by teachers to help pupils feel comfortable and cared for while they are learning a new idea or having trouble with a particular topic. With the right instruction, kids may develop their own problem-solving skills. The fact that this leadership approach necessitates challenging cultural transformation is one of its main challenges. It could take some time for instructors who are accustomed to doing things the traditional way to become adjusted to a system where they prioritize the needs of the children above their own.
Authoritative leadership style: In this situation, the leader can persuade others to adopt their ideas thanks to their extensive knowledge and people-pleasing abilities. The majority of the time, authoritative leaders efficiently assign duties while outlining everyone’s responsibilities. One of the best leadership philosophies in the classroom is this one. Leaders set high standards for their followers and are dependable and fair. In order to help their pupils do better, they also provide comments. Because they may assign tasks to specific students or other instructors, teachers with an authoritative leadership style are better able to manage their workload (Matsiori et al., 2018). It works best for educators who are at ease in a position of authority and have the authority to make choices on behalf of kids. However, when this leadership style is used, the workers or pupils could feel inferior. There must be clear expectations and norms while allowing for some flexibility in order to sustain it efficiently.
Transactional leadership style: With this approach, the leader and the follower converse. According to Matsiori et al. (2018), the leader rewards their followers for carrying out their wishes or doing what they are told. If the followers successfully complete their given chores, they will also get a prize. A transactional leader directs their people while anticipating outcomes. The leader pays the followers when they achieve these goals. Students that achieve certain performance targets are often rewarded by teachers who use this leadership style. For instance, if students finish an assignment, they can get better marks. If they don’t, they could not get any credit for their performance. Schools that use transactional leadership use incentives and penalties to influence students’ behavior and motivate them to do certain tasks. It is a successful leadership approach because it enables instructors to commend exemplary conduct while consistently maintaining control over the classroom environment.
Constructivist leadership style: This is one of the most successful leadership philosophies in schools. It comprises the instructor posing a challenge before handing the pupils the task of coming up with a solution. Additionally, the instructor inspires their pupils to work together and offer solutions to the issue. Students may learn more about their topics via constructivism by talking with one another and comparing and contrasting their points of view on a particular problem or subject. It is a successful leadership approach because it inspires pupils and boosts their self-assurance. Students develop abilities that may help them succeed when instructors provide them opportunity to investigate, explore, and create (Shaw, 2023). Additionally, by posing questions that encourage students to think critically about a subject, it helps pupils develop their critical thinking abilities. Many educators have discovered that using the constructivist leadership style improves student outcomes, especially in terms of test scores and other success indicators. However, it could be difficult to change the habit of kids who have grown up in a setting where learning was the only expectation. As a result, the instructor using this method has to be patient.
Challenges Faced by Educational Leaders
Declining mental health: One of the key problems that educational leaders have recently encountered is this. In a classroom setting, early childhood instructors must be at their very best. It is not just for the teacher’s benefit but also for the children’s welfare. Children are impacted by the problem of diminishing mental health in early learning environments; as a result, everyone, not just educational leaders, should be concerned about it. Generally speaking, teachers’ ability to manage a classroom will be impacted when they feel overburdened and stressed out in class. They could lose their cool with their kids easily or fail to provide the young children with the necessary positive reinforcement. According to research, those who experience a lot of stress in their early years are more likely to struggle severely in later life (Whiting et al., 2021). They could become mentally ill or have stress-related illnesses. Despite the early Covid-19 epidemic raising concerns about early-year instructors’ mental health for a while, it actually made matters worse. For instance, according to Swigonski et al. 2021, 33% of public preschool instructors in Virginia reported having depression in 2020. It had increased from 15% before to the epidemic. In addition to the epidemic, burnout has had a detrimental impact on teachers’ welfare in early learning institutions. The increasing accountability standards have resulted in stricter regulations for teachers. Parents and administrators put pressure on them to achieve at their best, and they may only have a few resources at their disposal. These factors might lead to burnout, which has an immediate impact on their ability to teach.As was previously said, one of the strongest strategies early-year learning heads may use is the servant leadership style, which involves the leader attending to and prioritizing the needs of others above their own. To protect the teachers’ mental health, they should be able to identify the root causes of stress behaviors and come up with the appropriate remedies (Swigonski et al., 2021). Stressors might be connected to the instructors’ personal life or their places of employment. Therefore, school administrators should detect when a teacher is in danger. They need to consider the intensity, regularity, pervasiveness, and duration of distress symptoms. These elements, such as finding out whether they need assistance, conversing with them, or offering to help them cope with the pressures, may influence the leader’s choice. Speaking with the workers about mental health concerns is another method of resolving them. Leaders should make an effort to talk openly about mental health issues and provide personnel with assistance alternatives. They should discuss stress, fatigue, and anxiety while assuring the employees that their privacy would be respected. Leaders should also pay attention to employees who are speaking or acting in a peculiar way, and they should approach them with consideration and respect to find out what is going on (Matsiori et al., 2018). Additionally, they should utilize meetings to reinforce the importance of employee welfare and take corresponding action. The effectiveness of teachers in schools is likely to improve by prioritizing the requirements of early childhood educators. In turn, the young students will benefit from a favorable learning atmosphere, which is essential for their growth.
Covid-19 pandemic: The epidemic has presented issues for early-year learning institution leaders as well, including a reduction in performance. Teachers at all grade levels have long seen the drop in performance that follows the end of the summer break for the kids. As distant learning and retention among early-year learners proved challenging during the pandemic, this issue became worse (Whiting et al., 2021). Despite the fact that the pandemic affected all instructors, it significantly increased the load of the many issues preschools face. The achievement of learning milestones in the early academic years is crucial to their long-term performance. For instance, if a child’s early reading objectives are not completed, it may affect their later writing and reading skills. This concept also relates to fundamental abilities like math, spatial awareness, and addition and subtraction. It has been challenging for pupils to leave early learning centers with the abilities needed for elementary school and beyond because of barriers to obtaining these skills during the epidemic. Online education was a problem that the epidemic brought with it. After the lockdown, parents may either keep their children at home for online learning or send them to school for it. It implied that the preschool curriculum and kindergarten classes were separated into two categories. The instructors have found it challenging to divide the curriculum, time, and grade reports to fulfill the requirements of the two groups of pupils, even if the parents feel empowered by choice.To come up with plans for navigating the post-pandemic issues, early-year heads should closely collaborate with the kids, teachers, and parents (Wang & Dapat, 2023). Due to the size of the difficulties, leaders may adopt democratic leadership in some circumstances. To link the parents with the school’s program, they might collaborate with the instructors. To make this process easier, they may organize teacher-parent get-togethers. Additionally, they may provide substitutes for physical contacts such as phone meetings and video chats. Direct communication with the parents will provide them the chance to learn everything there is to know about the school’s program and give their input on what should be added or removed. The load on early-year educators will be lessened as a result of parents being able to decide how to educate their children with knowledge gained from having a thorough grasp of the curriculum. Where more students are having difficulties with the post-pandemic shift in learning styles, school administrators may also provide assistance and staff development for instructors. To prevent teachers from becoming overburdened with work, they should examine and expand resources for their health and wellbeing (Swigonski et al., 2021). Teachers who are dealing with problems like stress and burnout should have easy access to mental health care. The increased strain for instructors managing both in-person and online courses for various pupils should be acknowledged by school administrators. By doing this, they may be able to reduce the workload of the instructors by adding additional teachers and resources to the early years of learning.
Conclusions
Leadership is the process through which a person persuades others to achieve a goal and guides the company in a more cogent and unified way. To innovate and solve problems in the classroom and the larger school community, leadership is essential. It may be crucial in creating a supportive atmosphere at the institution. Autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire are the three main leadership philosophies. In addition, servant, transactional, transformative, and constructivist leadership philosophies are used by school administrators. Teachers may focus on helping their pupils understand how to study while also fostering a love of learning in their charges thanks to a transformational leadership style. Democratic leadership entails the leader seeking input from each follower before making decisions. It improves students’ participation in class.Student-led initiatives are where servant leadership works best. instructors that use an authoritative leadership style are better equipped to manage their workload because they may assign tasks to specific pupils or other instructors. Transactional leadership aids in influencing pupils to adopt certain habits or do specific activities. By posing questions that encourage students to think critically about a subject, constructivist leadership helps students develop their critical thinking abilities. Declining mental health and post-pandemic learning have been the two key issues that early learning institution executives have had to deal with. By identifying the root causes of stress-related behaviors and coming up with the best remedies, they can deal with mental health concerns and assure the instructors’ mental welfare. They must also provide a secure setting where instructors and children may talk openly about their issues. In order to develop plans for overcoming the obstacles after the epidemic, leaders should collaborate closely with educators, parents, and children. They need to assist the instructors and provide parents a way to engage with the available activities. By doing this, they may gather input and help the parents decide how best to educate their kids.
References
Matsiori, A., Sfakianaki, E., Sevdali, I., & Giannias, D. A. (2018). Educational leadership and total quality management: Investigating teacher leadership styles. International Journal of Management in Education, 12(4), 375. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijmie.2018.10013412
Shaw, S. (2023). Leadership and followership. The Philosophy of Authentic Leadership, 121–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29650-5_6
Swigonski, N. L., James, B., Wynns, W., & Casavan, K. (2021). Physical, mental, and financial stress impacts of covid-19 on early childhood educators. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(5), 799–806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01223-z
Wang, Y., & O. Dapat, R. (2023). School principals’ leadership styles and organizational climate toward Innovative Leadership Program. Journal of Education and Educational Research, 2(1), 39–41. https://doi.org/10.54097/jeer.v2i1.5178
Whiting, S. B., Wass, S. V., Green, S., & Thomas, M. S. (2021). Stress and learning in pupils: Neuroscience evidence and its relevance for teachers. Mind, Brain, and Education, 15(2), 177–188. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12282
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