Category Archives: ETL504

Ideals of leadership for libraries

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When I consider the role models that I have who demonstrate leadership, there are certain traits that stand out. I have already mentioned this in a previous post, however, considering the top ten traits of librarian leaders prompts me to reflect and evaluate again, the leadership qualities displayed. The ten traits listed in the learning module include: interpersonal skills; vision; communication; flexibility; integrity; creativity; advocacy; delegation; service focus; education knowledge.

Many of these traits are evident in my role models. But many are also lacking or perhaps are not demonstrated as strongly as they should be. Key traits that stand out are those of advocacy and service focus. I pinpoint these two, because I know the importance of advocating for libraries and Teacher Librarians. I find these two traits particularly challenging working in a part time role. Whilst I work in a supportive school, the challenges still exist. Not being onsite all week means I only see staff and students briefly. Pushing out emails don’t result in the feedback and ongoing communication between staff that I envisage. When I am onsite, time is an ever present factor that influences the moments I have for advocating my role and services. How can this change? What can I do to make myself more visible and present within the school? Evidently, the culture of the school needs to continue to adapt and change. Working with key members of staff, helps in liaising and planning time for me to present and offer my services and the need for collaborative practices with the TL. Deliberately joining stage based meetings and planning sessions can help my presence being recognised as one that offer valuable assets to the school’s curriculum.

Certainly, it is evident that advocating for strong team work and collaboration is key to shaping an effective and robust teacher librarian.  I really resonate with the following quote by Sarah Brown:

A library is successful because of the entire team or staff, and a successful librarian leader enables and empowers the team through challenges and changes. (Brown, 2015, p. 34)

Brown discusses the ‘biology’ of librarian leadership pointing out that passion and a drive for making libraries successful, is imperative for upholding the library’s mission, providing a quality service and managing an accessible collection for it’s clients (Brown, 2015, pp. 33-43). As a beginning TL, I have passion and drive for making my library space the best it can be for my school. But I know this cannot happen without the support and collaboration of my school staff. By advocating for change and setting challenges that will empower members of my school, I know that over time, the culture of the school can change to support a servicing library that is intent on benefitting staff and students.

 

References

Brown, S. (2015). Leading the 21st-century academic library : successful strategies for envisioning and realizing preferred futures (B. L. Eden, Ed.; pp. 33–43). Rowman & Littlefield.

Piper, J. (2021, July 22). Observations of leadership in the TL role. Lines of Thoughts: Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2021/07/22/observations-of-leadership-in-the-tl-role/

 

Reimagining the library for 21st century learning

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I often thought of leadership as a weighty title to hold in any context. My first understanding of school leadership was a hierarchical model from the top position of the principal, to executive team, to class teachers then students and the wider school community. Observing key personnel within my school structure has helped me to understand the distributive nature of leadership amongst school staff (Wieczorek & Lear, 2018). In my observations, principals and the school executive team plan, negotiate and drive support for the implementation of program initiatives for the benefit of the school (Bustari, 2020). However, it is the contribution of other key roles such as the teacher librarian (TL), that combine to create a successful and innovative learning environment.

Having already acted in a teacher librarian role for a short time, I have had a glimpse of the valuable role TLs play within schools (Piper, 2021a). In collaboration with key members of my school community I partnered with class teachers to plan units of work, with the executive team to review and evaluate student learning and programs, and with the principal when initiating changes to the library. Although I recognised my experiences as one of collaboration, I was not aware of the leadership qualities that I already display and those I need to further develop. I was not fully aware of the leadership capacity in which I found myself.

I pondered the question, what makes a leader? Reading about leadership styles has made me understand the attributes of different leaders and how these can have a positive impact on organisational areas within the school (Lynch, 2016). I now have a greater understanding of the importance of collaboration and negotiation when working with members of the executive team, and how my knowledge as an information specialist can upskill and motivate classroom teachers (Merga, 2020). When I reflect on the many inspirational figures in my career that display leadership qualities, I can now identify specific leadership styles that contribute to the successful achievement of their roles (Piper, 2021b).

Learning about leadership has taught me to understand and appreciate the purpose of strategic planning. Strategic planning identifies the processes that need to occur for changes to happen within the school (Crowley, 2011). As part of the course content, I completed an exercise observing a range of school library vision and mission statements (Piper, 2021c). This highlighted the importance of being clear and succinct when writing these statements and how their differences are important for creating memorable statements that set the tone for strategic plans. I now understand that strategic plans are essential for negotiating and actioning change and improvements within school libraries.

A deeper understanding of leadership from a TL’s perspective has prompted me to question: how might I take this knowledge and apply it to my library and my role? Schools need libraries that are facilitated by qualified TLs (Australian School Library Association, 2019; Kammer et al., 2021). By recognising and sharing my expertise as an information specialist and intrinsically valuing the contributions I offer to my school team, I know I can make changes that will benefit students and staff alike in my school. By embedding general capabilities within my library program, I can share my knowledge in team teaching practices that will benefit our students who are learning essential skills for the 21st century. My focus on implementing strategies and tools, such as makerspaces, will ensure my students build confidence in information and digital literacies necessary for 21st century learning, (South, 2017).

Having now learnt about leadership qualities that are present and necessary in TLs, I now have specific ideas for change and innovation within my school library. I now feel better prepared as a TL leader to successfully navigate challenges and any resistance to change in developing a future ready library.

 

References

Australian School Library Association. (2019). What is a teacher librarian? ASLA: Australian School Library Association. https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

Bustari, M. (2020). The principal roles in making an excellent school library. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 511, 123–127. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201221.027

Crowley, J. D. (2011). Developing a vision: Strategic planning for the school librarian in the 21st century (2nd ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

Kammer, J., King, M., Donahay, A., & Koeberl, H. (2021). Strategies for successful school librarian and teacher collaboration. Research Journal of the American Association of School Librarians, 24, 1–24. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1292862.pdf

Lynch, M. (2016, August 7). 4 major types of educational leadership. The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/4-major-types-of-educational-leadership/

Merga, M. K. (2020). School librarians as literacy educators within a complex role. Journal of Library Administration, 60(8), 889–908. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2020.1820278

Piper, J. (2021a, July 21). Observations of leadership in the TL role. Lines of Thought: Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2021/07/22/observations-of-leadership-in-the-tl-role/

Piper, J. (2021b, September 22). Leading by example. Lines of Thought: Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2021/09/22/leading-by-example/

Piper, J. (2021c, September 22). Planning strategically. Lines of Thought: Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2021/09/22/planning-strategically/

South, S. (2017). School libraries as incubators – where good ideas hatch! Scan: The Journal for Educators, 36(1), 14–19. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/past-issues/vol-36–2017/school-libraries-as-incubators-where-good-ideas-hatch-

Wieczorek, D., & Lear, J. (2018). Building the “bridge”: Teacher leadership for learning and distributed organizational capacity for instructional improvement. International Journal of Teacher Leadership, 9(2). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1202334.pdf

Leading by example

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When I think of those in my career who have been inspirational in my role as teacher and now as TL, I am forced to analyse the attributes of leadership they display. In particular the following attributes were evident in these mentors and colleagues: organised, flexible, knowledgeable, supportive, end-goal oriented and inclusive. It was interesting to note, not all of these people were leaders in the formal sense. Some were certainly part of executive teams, but others were classroom teachers, TLs and other support and administrative staff within schools. Clearly, leadership attributes are present in a diverse range of people who offer expertise and wisdom as educational leaders.

If I am to ‘lead’ from the middle as a TL, it is thus necessary that I also display these attributes with a conscientious motivation to be present, objective, proactive and resourceful. This ensures that the TL is an ever present and important member of the school community who can provide support in a myriad of ways. A well resourced and engaging school library, actively supports the vision of the school, highlights gaps in service provisions and assists in navigating the pathways for school staff to achieve educational agendas. This is becoming even more important as schools move towards creating learning environments for critically informed citizens of the future.

Planning strategically

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Strategic planning requires clear and transparent goals that engage key stakeholders in schools. These include leadership teams, teachers, students and the broader school community. Fundamental to illustrating these goals is the existence of vision and mission statements. Understanding the difference between the two, and their importance in strategic planning, is imperative to quickly establishing a profile of the school and the objectives they wish to achieve.

Bruce Johnson’s video highlights the difference between a mission and a vision statement. A mission statement describes the current principles and focus of an organisation, and a vision statement illustrates the aspirational goals of an organisation.

A series of videos presented by Erica Olsen, clearly explained the difference between the two statements and how a mission and vision statement can be written. I really liked how she provided clear checklists that keep the writer accountable for their statements. This led to an interesting exercise where I delved into my school’s vision statement and critically analysed it using the checklists. Interestingly, I found that although it was labeled a vision, it clearly displayed attributes of a mission statement. This was equally true for the school’s library vision statement. Moreover, the latter’s statement was not even titled as mission or vision, but rather purpose. It led me to think about how people may incorrectly percieve a school’s objectives and vision if such statements were incorrectly written and labelled.

Although there are many aspects of a school to consider when planning strategically, a key thought process was keeping accountable to the strategic objectives outlined by the SMART acronym. Keeping objectives Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound, ensures targets and goals set by the school leadership team can be realised within a reasonable time frame.

With this in mind, I begin to think about the role of the TL and their position within the school. Understanding curriculum needs, available resources, scope for improvement and projecture into a 21st century educational agenda and the needs of the students within the school, it is clear the TL has a valuable collaborative role to play within the school leadership team. Planning strategically for the future requires a key player who is central to the school and offers expertise in a range of educational agendas such as literacies, resources and curriculum.

Understanding leadership

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My previous post suggests a naivety when understanding and recognising the leadership qualities and traits evident in schools and in particular to my role as TL. Reading about leadership theories has developed and expanded my understanding of attributes that are evident in leadership styles.

Key leadership styles were identified as: situational, transactional, transformational, servant, distributed and instructional. Initially I wrestled with the task of trying to identify one leadership style that was evident in my school. Clearly, attributes and traits from many of these styles are evident and applied to various situations so that depending on the position of a staff member within any one school, multiple examples of leadership can be displayed.

It is clear that some traditional styles are evident in some schools, however, increasingly more transparent and transient styles are becoming the norm. Could this be a mark of change within educational standards and needs? Is it evidence of generational change occuring within our work place? Are the expectations of future workplaces demanding change in the learning environments of our students, and thus, creating a reevaluation of leadership styles within schools?

Leadership styles observed in my school, seemed to point to instructional and transformational. Instructional because the principal and executive team focus on the big picture and instructs/ guides staff to specific professional training and ultimtely makes decisions for the school community; and transformational because whilst instructional, members of the executive team do plan and set goals that classroom teachers can work towards and achieve in order to improve their work output.

But I wonder whether I have understood this all correctly. I see the TL as a transformational leader, paving the way for change, collaborating with colleagues, promoting new intiatives and building key teams with staff from different levels of leadership. A concept map I devised, illustrated such. However, feedback from markers suggest I perhaps need to reevaluate my understanding. Revisit descriptions, and critically analyse scenarios within the school. Perhaps instead, the TL is more of a servant style. A style where collaboration is important and serving the needs of teachers and executive teams are valued when resources and expert literacy knowledge is provided. It is interesting to note that discussions will always draw up various responses dependant on who you talk to and what aspect of the situation is being viewed. Clearly revisiting leadership theory and analysing a school situation would be of benefit to understanding how many layers of leadership can be present in one institution.

Observations of leadership in the TL role

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I’m fortunate to be working in the TL role at my small Sydney school. I have a supportive principal and a wonderful small staff who are supportive and collaborative. However, the more I progress through my course, the more I access various TL forums and read about the profession, my views on what leadership means in this role is ever changing.

Prior to commencing this course, my view on leadership was somewhat narrow and limited to the executive staff who ultimately lead, guide and mentor the staff of the school. Having been in the role now for a few years, I am increasingly seeing how my input and suggestions have made positive changes both in the achievement of students with regards to reading, an appreciation of the library as a space of positive wellbeing for students, a source of supportive resources for staff and students and opportunities for effective collaboration among all staff, be they teaching or non-teaching.

Many a time I have not considered myself to be ‘leadership material’. But my ongoing evaluation of the changes, improvements and directions that I have had input in, as mentioned above, I wonder? Am I already partaking in a leadership role? One that is collaborating with the formal executive team? One that is unintentionally (or intentionally!) making changes for the benefit of staff, school and more importantly the students.

I mention the phrase ‘formal executive team’. My small school status in a lower socio-economic demographic means we have strict budgets, tight schedules and limited resources which are closely managed by the executive and administration teams. So whilst I see my role’s visibility increase within the school, I am aware it is not recognised formally as a role that equates to leadership.

My hope for this course is to understand how the qualities of leadership permeates to the TL’s role and how it can have greater input into the management and structure of whole school programs such as literacy and technology.