I had never given much thought to the leadership structure that existed in schools. To untrained eyes, formally recognised leaders hold positions of authority over a hierarchy of middle managers who oversee professionally trained teachers. It is a simple view, but until you’re asked to examine school leadership more closely, it is a fair assessment. With an unusual start to the school term, I posted my thoughts to my blog about leadership in lockdown and how the leadership team in my school changed their focus to support staff through a crisis situation (Friend, 2021, August 26).
Without a formal leadership position, placing the teacher librarian (TL) within the organisational structure is challenging. Part of advocating for the library is understanding how the school system works and establishing the TL’s role as a change agent (Boyd, 2021) A key factor to being successful as an informal leader is being perceived as a leader when you don’t hold a formal leadership position. In the discussion forum, I considered how the TL could be proactive and work productively with the principal to successfully launch new ideas (Friend, 2021, July 20). It is important to have a visible presence throughout the school as a committee member, instructional partner, and professional development provider. As Korodaj and Cox (2019) explain, the TL can influence the strategic direction of the school through collaboration, capacity building and modelling best practice.
The difference between management and leadership became clear when I examined leadership in my own school. In my blog I reflected on the change in school direction initiated by our new principal (Friend, 2021, September 20). The change has been slow and steady, but there is a definite vision that is driving decision making in the school. Studying leadership styles has allowed me to recognise the transformational style introduced by the new principal, which has led to a culture of distributed leadership by the senior executive and enabled informal teacher leaders to emerge. In the discussion forum, I developed a simple concept map to illustrate how the TL can be empowered as an informal leader through distributed leadership to collaborate as a servant leader who builds the capacity of teachers (Friend, 2021, July 22). Determining your strengths and conveying them to the principal can help establish rapport and highlight the value of the library (Roots Lewis, 2016).
The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) education declaration sets out the goals of education ministers in Australia as the educational agenda shifts towards developing the skills and knowledge required for a rapidly changing world (Education Council, 2019). The TL is perfectly positioned to lead from the middle and change the way schools approach teaching and learning as curriculum reform is introduced from 2022. The TL can support learning through collaboration with teachers to develop twenty-first century skills in the areas of curriculum implementation, pedagogical practice, and technology integration. Claire Tuminello (2021) considered the challenges of keeping up with advancing technology through professional development. I responded on the discussion forum, where I agreed that there were always new challenges to inspire professional learning, but many current skills involve transferable knowledge (Friend, 2021, September 12).
This subject has opened my eyes to the potential of collaboration, between teachers as content specialists and TLs who can offer expert support in areas such as information, digital literacy, and technology. I wrote some observations on my blog about how the TL at my children’s primary school supported teachers and inspired students through home learning (Friend, 2021, September 17). While I’m not currently working in a library, I can see that I need a greater understanding of library management before I can confidently lead others in some areas. I commented on the discussion forum of my intention to build my professional capacity by seeking out the current TL in my school as a mentor (Friend, 2021, October 5).
References
Boyd, K. C. (2021). Advocacy 2021 style and beyond. Knowledge Quest, 49(4), 26-31.
Education Council. (2019). The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) education declaration. https://www.dese.gov.au/alice-springs-mparntwe-education-declaration/resources/alice-springs-mparntwe-education-declaration
Korodaj, L., & Cox, E. (2019). Leading from the sweet spot: Embedding the library and the teacher librarian in your school community. Access, 33(4), 14-25.
Roots Lewis, K. (2016). The school librarian and leadership: What can be learned? Teacher Librarian, 43(4), 19-21.
Tuminello, C. (2021, August 20). The challenges of new opportunities. Teacher LiClaireian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/theteacherliclaireian/2021/08/20/the-challenge-of-new-opportunities/
