Viewpoints:
School Leadership in the 21st Century:
Why and How it Is Important
Changes in the Job Description
The characteristics of a good school leader, as well as the job itself, have changed dramatically in the past ten years. This theme is reflected in several of the taped interviews. First, education reform places a strong emphasis on "accountability." This trend inevitably focuses attention on those who manage school systems--those formally charged with producing the outcomes. Districts, schools, administrators, and, in some cases, teachers are being rewarded or punished explicitly on the basis of the outcomes of the students for whom they are responsible (for example, in Kentucky, South Carolina, and Dallas). In some cases, accountability requirements are written into state law. In other cases, individual districts contract with either superintendents or principals on student performance outcomes. To balance the high expectations for improved student outcomes, some states give school-based leaders more autonomy over budgets and decision making. Nevertheless, it is arguable as to whether school-level leaders have the necessary tools or support to effect significant change. As the taped interviews emphasize, today's leaders need to be able to define and clearly understand what they will be held accountable for and then be able to collect relevant data to demonstrate their performance.
Second, there is a strong emphasis on comprehensive and model-based reform. There is also continuing frustration over the ability of public schools to successfully adopt and implement reforms of curricula, teaching practice, and resource allocation on a wide and sustainable basis. A common theme of many studies (Berends, Kirby, Naftel, & McKelvey, 1999) is that both district and school leadership is critical for success.
Third, as noted earlier, the changing demographics of the students and the limited diversity in teacher populations have several implications for the future of school leadership. Two recent trends include a rapidly growing student population, especially at the secondary level, and an increasingly diverse student body. Unless drastic changes occur immediately, as the student body becomes more diverse we will see a further mismatch in the characteristics of students and their school administrators.
Given these changing demographics, education stakeholders are concerned that the current candidate supply has not been properly prepared and therefore does not possess the skills necessary to be effective administrators in today's climate of education reform. One of the biggest challenges facing the nation, therefore, is how to attract, train, and retain the best and brightest in both teaching and leadership positions, and to ensure they reflect the skills necessary to meet the needs of the diversity of the students they will oversee. Providing the market and bureaucratic incentives to make this happen is no easy task in the context of a strong labor market for all workers and the constraints on the way schools operate due to tenure and certification rules. Concern is growing that traditional school administration and leadership preparation programs are not up to the task.
