Product Description

The time has come to change the context of school leadership!

The role of the principal is pivotal to systemic school change. This is the fundamental message in Michael Fullan's new book, The Moral Imperative of School Leadership, which extends the discussion that began in his earlier publication, What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship? The author examines the moral purpose of school leadership and its critical role in "changing the context" in which the role is embedded. In this bold step forward, Fullan calls for principals to become agents as well as beneficiaries of the processes of school change. In an effort to make the position more rewarding and exciting, he shifts the principal's role from one of a site-based superman or superwoman, and recasts it as one in which principals figure prominently both within their school and within the larger school system that surrounds them.

Concepts explored in-depth include:

-Why "changing the context" should be the main agenda for the principalship

-Why barriers to the principalship exist

-Why the principal should be seen as the COO (chief operating officer) of a school

-Why the role of the principal should figure more prominently within the system

-What individuals and the system can do to transform school leadership to a powerful new force

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153703 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780761938736
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Review
"As one has come to expect from this eminent writer this is a highly readable, well structured, and acceeible text that is above all postitive. Indeed...many will find the work inspirational." -- Review

Review
"Fullan challenges all who work in education to rethink the critical role of the principal as school leader in the current era of accountability. With clarity and insight, he offers a series of strategies to reshape the culture and context of leadership in schools to create learning communities where both students and teachers can excel." (Paul D. Houston, Executive Director )

"Once again, the writing of Michael Fullan is a tour de force for those who toil in the vineyards of the school principalship. In this latest book, Fullan brings into clear focus the critical role of school leaders to "change the content" within schools-stressing the need to elevate the moral purpose of schooling in an era of accountability for academic achievement. Fullan makes the critical point-and sets an insightful direction-as to the equally important case for public schools to promote the personal and social development of students. Therein lies Fullan’s challenge to school principals. The Moral Imperative of School Leadership is a must read for those who want to make a difference!" (Gerald N. Tirozzi, Executive Director )

"Fullan shows how moral leadership can reinvent the principalship and bring about large-scale school improvement. This is a masterfully crafted and accessible book by North America's foremost expert on change." (Thomas J. Sergiovanni, Lillian Radford Professor of Education )

"This is a must read for any school leader interested in making a difference. Fullan goes to the core of what it takes to transform our schools and, not surprisingly, principals are at the center of the transformation." (Vincent Ferrandino, Executive Director )

"Without moral purpose, nothing of value is achieved. We learn how it is deployed effectively, and Fullan makes the difficult but important case that truly moral school leadership recognizes its obligations to the wider community and other schools, an argument that those of us pushing for collegiates will welcome." (Times Educational Supplement, May 2003 )

"As one has come to expect from this eminent writer, this is a highly readable, well structured, and accessible text that is above all positive. Indeed I have no doubt that many will find the work inspirational." (Mark Brundrett )

"As one has come to expect from this eminent writer this is a highly readable, well structured, and acceeible text that is above all postitive. Indeed...many will find the work inspirational." (School Leadership and Management, November 2003 )

"Excellent book, not only for principals, but for all educators who believe that the 'moral imperative is in the hands of school leaders.'" (Education News, Spring 2004 )

"The Moral Imperative of School Leadership is a practical handbook for educators focusing on the pivotal role played by principals as agents of systematic change…Fullan appeals to something all educators have: the desire to do the right thing and the wish to make a difference."

 

(Education Review, January 2005 )

"The Moral Imperative of School Leadership is an important read for school leaders and system administrators, not so much because it provides a prescription for the future of public education, but more because it elevates the moral imperative of public schooling, and enshrines the view that effective school leadership must be driven from a deep moral purpose. "

(Journal of Educational Administration )

About the Author

Michael Fullan is professor emeritus at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and is special adviser on education to Dalton McGuinty, the premier of Ontario. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and from Nipissing University in Canada.

Fullan served as dean of the faculty of education at the University of Toronto from 1988 to 2003, leading two major organizational transformations, including a merger of two large schools of education. He is currently working as adviser and consultant on several major education reform initiatives around the world.

He bases his work on research and practice on both the public and private sectors, finding an increasing convergence in this literature. He has written several bestsellers on leadership and change that have been translated into several languages. Four of his books have won book of the year awards, and his publications have been translated into several languages. His latest books are The Six Secrets of Change and Motion Leadership.

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Customer Reviews

Fullan a True Guru on School Leadership
Fullan does an excellent job of organizing school leadership into achievable levels of success. He starts with making a difference within individuals, then the school/district, followed by making a difference regionally and finally the greatest impact on school leadership and the society as a whole. Fullan discusses barriers to these accomplishments and challenges, and portrays the principalship as the key to this moral imperative.

This book serves as an outstanding resource to any leader that is trying to bring about large-scale improvement in their organization. It is the school leaders role to change the context within schools and Fullan outlines a process to do just that.

Too liberal
Michael Fullan, proposes the need for engagement of the moral imperatives in education. Typical of post enlightenment theorists, Fullan has three major shortcomings: First, he is mostly focused on process that has no end or goal; Second, he is naively positivist in his assessment of education because it is bound by the limited and dysfunctional enlightenment anthropological assumptions about the person and education; Third, this positivist assessment of the person leads to a faulty over emphasis on systems of education rather than on the proper focus of the relationship of love between the teacher and the student.
Beginning with the well worn de Tocquevillean bromide that education is the primary democratizing institution in our culture Fullan asserts that schools develop understanding of "truth, beauty, and justice". However, the overwhelming problem with this naively positivist position is that Fullan treats "truth, beauty, and justice" as self -defining when these definitions are the very essence of the conflict of democracy. "Moral", all by itself, has no content, it is merely the behavioral imperatives of one's presuppositions about life. For example, if one presupposes that being a human person is primarily about the maximization of the number of choices and potential choices and calls that "freedom" then the horror of abortion is "moral", "true" and "just". If one sees life as a sacred gift then one properly sees abortion as murder and resistance to abortion is "moral", "true" and "just". "Moral" is a human faculty that has no necessary content to it and to observe and insist that education has a moral component to it is no more revelatory than the recognition that education has a biological, psychological, or spiritual aspect to it. By definition it must because it involves human persons whom are composed of these faculties
The obvious issue is that the various "systems that make up the global village" are in competition with one another and that some are true and some are false. It is to an important degree a zero sum enterprise. For example, the assumptions about the person in enlightenment anthropology like Fullan's is largely incompatible with Muslim anthropology, which in turn is somewhat incompatible with Christian anthropology which is incompatible with atheist humanist anthropology. However, one gets the sense that Fullan feels, wrongly, that enlightenment anthropology is somehow above this conflict.
While it is true that "no other profession enables on the opportunity to provide such a positive impact on a child's overall development" it is equally true that a child is particularly vulnerable to being harmed and distorted by educational theorists like Fullan's whims. For example, in Massachusetts MCAS or business setting the education agenda has serious consequences that often overwhelm the student and the "personal vision" of teachers. In fact, these imperatives bind and constrict "personal vision". Is this good or bad? Fullan has no ability to say because these words have no content in Fullan but are indicative of nearly empty process. "Continuous learning" of itself is of no value and is no self-correcting norm if one's continuous learning is improperly oriented or committed to begin with. To broadly make the point one can be "continuously learning" to relativize what is in fact "true, beautiful, just" so that one can freely commit horrors like concentration camps, abortion or possible genetic experiments to serve an abstraction like "quality of life". Fullan's focus on process and commitment to institution is flawed. In the end, education is more determined by whether the teacher is a wise and loving person rather than on a better institutional scheme. Fullan stumbles across this but only on the way to make the point that we need to have more and better collaboration to build better systems. This is always the trap of post enlightenment theorists. The point is to better educate this or that particular boy or girl who is in front of you now, through being a wise and loving teacher, not to be focused on abstractions like systems and their improvements.