POLITICAL CONTEXTS OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

ISLLC STANDARD SIX

Chapter 3: The Politics of School-Level Community Engagement and Decision Making

Misconceptions

Vocabulary for Chapter 3

  • Civic Capacity
  • Cooptation
  • Ecological Systems Theory
  • Environmental Leadership
  • Group Polarization
  • Leadership for Authentic Partnerships
  • Leadership for Nominal Partnerships
  • Leadership for Preventive Partnerships
  • Leadership for Traditional Partnerships
  • Social capital

Pre-Reading Questions

As you read, look for specific quotes (page and paragraph numbers) to answer these questions:

  • Who are the stakeholders?
  • What are the stakeholders’ interests in student success?
  • How is an inclusive decision-making process managed?

Post-Reading Questions

Use evidence from the text or the reference list to support your answers to these questions:

  • What steps do school leaders need to take in ensuring an inclusive decision-making process?
  • What state or district policies might inhibit or support school leaders’ in their approach to inclusive decision making?

Activities to Extend Learning

  • Click the following citation http://jel.sagepub.com/content/15/4/49.full.pdf+html to read the case:

    Nguyen, T.N.T., Scribner, S.P. & Crow, G. (2012). Tangled narratives and wicked problems: A complex case of positioning and politics in a diverse school community. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 15 (4), 49–64. doi: 10.1177/1555458912470657

  • Conduct a media search for hot topics in your community that illustrate how different community sectors were included or buffered from participation in a decision about local schools.

Chapter 3 Misconceptions:

Educational Decisions are Best Made by Professionals

This position is guaranteed to create political upheaval in any school community. Schools are the most accessible government institution in any municipality, urban, suburban, or rural. Many schools serve as a community or neighborhood center. Many schools offer the community an identity with its sports and entertainment (concerts, science fairs, etc.) events. Most schools have a pipeline from graduation to local businesses, area colleges, and universities. That pipeline creates an economic interest in what schools teach and how its graduates are viewed.

Beyond teachers and other professionals, beyond the students, multiple groups have a stake in what happens in schools. The enduring political questions about schooling include the questions of who gets to make decisions about:

School leaders must recognize the various interests in what is at stake in education. Given the wide variety of people who hold a stake in successful students, school leaders need to adopt a collaborative and inclusive approach in the decision-making process.