What it feels like implementing change you don't believe in

What does it feel like trying to implement a change you might not fully understand or believe?
Ronald Laing, psychiatrist gives his thoughts from 40 years ago.
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Knots by R.D. Laing, 1970
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There is something I don't know
that I am supposed to know.
I don't know what it is I don't know,
and yet am supposed to know,
And I feel I look stupid
if I seem both not to know it
and not to know what it is I don't know.
Therefore, I pretend I know it.
This is nerve-wracking since I don't
know what I must pretend to know.
Therefore, I pretend I know everything.

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The Principals Leadership Role in Creating Effective Schools (Sashkin & Huddle)

This kinda answers DOM's question on how to put the previous post into practice.

Sashkin and Huddle give slightly more concrete measures that principals can take.

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Reflections –

The Principals Leadership Role in Creating Effective Schools (Sashkin & Huddle)

Rossert (1985) asserts that one of the characteristics common to effective schools is “a school principal who is a strong programmatic leader and who sets school goals, maintains student discipline, frequently observes classrooms and creates incentives for learning.”

Bossert (1985) identifies two commonalities among effective principals.

The first is organisational visibility. This is similar to the practice of “management by walking around as described by Peters and Waterman (In Search of Excellence, 1980).

The second consists of using information and insights to make clear decisions and take specific actions linked to the creation of an effective learning environment, and getting others to understand the need to take such action and its link with the learning environment.

In sum, “effective leadership helps a school’s staff articulate shared values, goals and approaches to school improvement.”

Corcoran (1985) also agreed that principals play critical roles in articulating school ideology.

Firestone and Wilson (1985) identify two ways in which principals create effective schools.

First, principals must be good bureaucratic administrators, creating and manipulating rules, procedures and authority relationships.

Second, they must create “cultural linkages” by establishing norms, symbols, rituals and stories, and by serving as role models.

Most effective principals act with respect to both bureaucratic and cultural linkage.

Bureaucratic Linkage

They act with bureaucratic linkage by prioritising their time according to what is most important and putting first those activities over which they have the greatest control. (Austin, 1979)

Less effective principals tend to often act according to the demand of others. 

More effective principals address their own priorities, not just responding to those of their district superiors. They do this in the following three ways:

-       By being more selective in how they use their personal time.

-       By going beyond district minimum requirements in areas important to them.

-       By influencing their own superiors to provide commitment and support needed for the principal to take action.

Cultural Linkage

They act with Cultural Linkage in the following three ways:

-       By “managing” the creation and spread of stories of real incidents that focus on, illustrate and support major organisational values.

-       By creating symbols and rituals (awards for achievement, staff award ceremonies, etc) that reinforce people’s beliefs about the positive consequences of behaviours in-line with organisational values.

-       By constantly and consistently, through their own interpersonal behaviours, voice and display norms of behaviour that are in tune with organisational values and beliefs.

Critical Functions of an Organisation

Parsons (1960) argued for four critical functions that any organisation must do to survive:

-       Adapt to Change in the Environment.

-       Attain Goals as desired by Client or Customer

-       Integrating and Coordinating the Actions of People in the Organisation

The Most Basic of these Four defines and determines how the other three are addressed.

-       Articulating and Maintaining a Pattern of Actions through the development of a set of common values, beliefs and norms of behaviour.

As an organisational leader, the principal defines, constructs and indicates shared values, beliefs and norms with respect to these three areas of Change, Goals and People.  He then needs to gain the commitment of organisation members to these cultural factors.

Creating Culture through:

Stories                                    -> Values       -> Innovation (Positive Attitude to Change)

Symbols & Rituals               -> Beliefs       -> Rewarding and Recognising (Acknowledging Goals)

Principal’s Behaviour         -> Norms        -> Treating People Right (Coordinating People)

What do Principals do to Create Effective School Cultures?

The effective leader creates a vision, a concept of what the organisation can be, and makes that vision real by constructing an organisational culture to support the vision.

The vision will be consistent with broader district level (or national level) goals, but is more specific, applying broader goals to the specific school context and often going beyond them to create a new and somewhat unique vision of what the school should be.

Three ways to Translate Vision into Action

1)    Develop a Clear and Brief Statement of the Vision. (Organisational Philosophy)

Statement must be clear enough for everyone to express and created with the active involvement of key personnel.

The Organisational Philosophy identifies clearly the values that are the basis of the organisational culture.

2)    Create Practices that Live Up to the Principles that have been Defined.

These can be in the form of programs or policies and requires a commitment of time and resources. The principal acts as participant, catalyst and chief decision maker.

These practices create clear cause-and-effect linkages, strengthening staff belief about the consequences of goal attainment.

3)    Practice Specific Leadership Behaviours by Principals.

Sashkin (1986) identified 5 such behaviours for leaders to focus people’s attention on key points and issues.

o   Communicate well and with effective listening skills

o   Display a consistency in behaviour that leads people to trust them (even if they do not agree with them) because they do not change their minds easily

o   Constantly display and express respect for self and others on a personal level

o   Identify sensible risks for all to take ownership of so as to ensure success

o   Develop a variety of reinforcement and reward systems to encourage others to take risks. (Immediate and tangible rewards for starters but must be followed by intrinsic rewards to institutionalise new approaches.)

The Forces of Leadership & The Culture of Schools

The Principalship: A Reflective Practice Perspective (Sergiovanni, 1995)
Chapter 5: The Forces of Leadership and the Culture of Schools


In this chapter, Sergiovanni reinforces the idea of the Principal being the most important individual in a school and goes on to discuss 5 forces of leadership that the Principal is capable of exerting over the school.


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“In many ways the school principal is the most important and influential individual in any school... It is his leadership that sets the tone of the school, the climate for learning, the level of professionalism and morale of teachers and the degree of concern for what students may or may not become...” (US Senate, 1972)

“Everyone wants the power to run schools in one way or another – the central office, the union, the board, the parents, the special-interest groups.... The power, the authority (to change) is somewhere else, though not necessarily the responsibility.” (Boyer, 1983: 219)

“Key to realising the potential for leadership in the principalship is to recognise that schools provide opportunities ... that spring from unique characteristics that schools possess.

...The work of schooling is considered to be important

...Teachers are typically highly educated and committed workers

...Teaching has the potential to provide variety, interest and challenge

...Schools can be fun and exciting places to work

...Schools (frequently) take on strong identities from common purpose and mission

...Being part of such strong identities can be highly motivating and exhilarating

Successful principals understand these unique characteristics of schools as organisations and have learned to use them as a basis for generating forceful leadership.” (Sergiovanni, 1995:84)

“Principals who lead seem to be highly goal-oriented and have a keen sense of goal clarity.” (Blumberg and Greenfield, 1980: 246)

Successful Principals

-       Are alert to, or create opportunities to affect what is going on in school

-       Rely heavily on long-term operational goals BUT emphasis day-to-day actions as well

-       Have a good sense of self, feel secure as individuals and as principals at work, and are able to accept failure as failure of an idea rather than as failure of self as a person

-       Have a high tolerance for ambiguity and can work in loosely structured environments

-       While respecting authority, test limits of boundaries and do not make pre-mature assumptions about what they can or cannot do

-       Are sensitive to the dynamics of power in the school community, and accomplished in establishing allies and building coalitions to harness this power on behalf of the school

-       Approach problems from an analytical perspective, and are able to remove themselves from the problem/ situation and not be consumed by it

Forces of Leadership (Sergiovanni, 1995:84-89)

The Technical Force – Leadership derived from using sound management techniques.

Proper management is a basic requirement of all organisations if they are expected to function properly day by day and to maintain support from external constituents.

Principals provide planning, organising, coordinating and scheduling to the school and are skilled at manipulating strategies and situations to ensure optimum effectiveness. 

Principals emphasise concepts such as planning, time management, contingency leadership theories and organisational structures.

The Human Force – Leadership derived from harnessing the school’s human resources.

High student motivation to learn and high teacher motivation to teach are prerequisite for quality schooling and must be effectively addressed by principals.

Principals provide support, encouragement, and growth opportunities for teachers and others.

Principals emphasise human relations, interpersonal competence, and instrumental motivational techniques.

The Educational Force – Leadership derived from expert knowledge about matters of education and schooling.

Our work, for which we will be held accountable, is to maintain, justify, and articulate sound, comprehensive programmes of instruction of children and youth.

Principals provide expert professional knowledge and bearing to teaching, educational programme development and supervision.

Principals emphasise diagnosing educational problems, counselling teachers, developing curriculum, and providing for supervision, evaluation and staff development.

Expression of the Educational Force can take two forms.

-       Principal as strong instructional leader (for less competent /committed teachers)

-       Principal as knowledgable colleague who engages with teachers on an equal basis on matters of teaching and learning (for more mature, competent teachers)

The Symbolic Force – Leadership derived from focusing the attention of others on matters of importance to the school.

Students and teachers alike want to know what is of value to the school and its leadership; they desire a sense of order and direction and enjoy sharing this sense with others.  They respond to these conditions with increased work motivation and commitment.

Principals provide clarity, consensus, and commitment to a unified vision of the school through proper use of words and actions.

Principals emphasise selective attention to or modelling of important goals and behaviours so as to signal to others what is important and valuable in the school.

The Cultural Force – Leadership derived from building a unique school culture.  (Managing

The net effect of the Cultural Force of Leadership is to bond students, teachers and others together to the work of the school.  They are provided opportunities to enjoy a special sense of personal importance and significance. Their work and lives take on new importance, characterised by richer meanings, an expanded sense of identity, and a feeling of belonging to something special – all of which are highly motivating conditions.

Principals provide definition and articulation to the enduring values, beliefs and cultural strands that give the school its unique identity.

Principals emphasise the articulation of school purposes and mission, the socialising of new members to the school, telling stories or reinforcing myths, traditions and beliefs, developing and displaying a system of symbols and rewarding those who reflect this culture.

Singaporean in Boston College

This blog documents the 'adventures' of a Singaporean in Boston College, specifically at the Lynch School of Education where I'm studying for my Masters in Education under the Curriculum and Instruction Program.

I'm afraid there won't be much entertainment in here. More of my musings on my readings about education related topics. Feel free to comment.