ETL504 – Teacher Librarian as Leader has been a great insight for me regarding the roles the TL plays and how the TL demonstrates leadership throughout those roles. During this semester, I have also gained a great deal of knowledge about leadership styles, creating effective and successful change, and leading from the middle.
Before beginning this subject, I understood how to lead a stage group of colleagues as a primary school executive member. However, when I glanced over the content of this subject, I obnoxiously thought that I already understood what it was going to be about and did not believe I would gain much from it. I thought that I would not grow much professionally through this subject and the principles of leadership I had learned during my time as an assistant principal; I would transfer over to the role of the TL.
My mindset of knowing about leadership started to change when I began engaging in modules one and two. For the first time in my career, I was introduced to how schools are managed and the theory behind this organisation. One of my discussion forum posts (Vitnell, 2021, July 20) demonstrates my minimal understanding of this concept. I understood where my school organisation sits but did not fully comprehend how that affects the school and the library. By working through module 2 and interacting with the Colvin (2000) and Kokemuler (2017) readings, my understanding began to grow. I started to think of my school organisation as an organism, which has needs, but successfully grows when those needs are met and controlled. As a TL, my role in meeting those needs expands beyond administrative duties, towards curriculum design and teacher pedagogy development.
Through engaging with modules two, three and four, my mindset and understanding of leadership was completely overhauled. I quickly came to a realisation that I only understood a single theory of leadership – transactional. Why? This may be because that it was the only leadership style I have encountered. As a leader myself in my career, I can see how I had made connections to transactional leadership, always concerned about the here and now and providing rewards-based initiatives. These three modules, and assessment 1, allowed me to delve deeper into leadership styles and how some are more beneficial than others.
Transformational and servant leadership theories have stood out to me. Coming from an understanding of only transactional leadership, these modules have allowed me to see how I can be a transformational and servant leader. This will enable me to meet goals and plan for the future, all while having my staff’s best interests at heart. A discussion forum post (Vitnell, 2021, July 26), where I was responding to a post about leadership and curriculum adoption (Lee, 2021, July 25), shows that I understood some concepts of how leadership styles initiate change. If I were to write my reaction post again, I would most certainly discuss more about transformational and servant leadership as I believe it is through these theories, school curriculum is enthusiastically adopted, and teacher pedagogy is enhanced.
My blog post titled “The TL for Leading” (Vitnell, 2021, September 20) further demonstrates my developing understanding of this subject. During this post, I make connections with module 4 and the importance of leading 21st century learning. During these modules, I engaged with Wolf et al. (2014) and Dene Poth (2019) readings, which highlighted the need for the library space and the TL to become leaders of 21st century skill integration. This stood out to me as this is something I am working towards currently in my role as primary school TL. I have learned through these modules that to initiate change, you need to be prepared for possible barriers along the way. Module 3 provided me with great insight into how to prepare for those barriers and how to overcome them. Examples include negotiating professional learning timetables, distributing leadership among mentor teachers, and providing direct resources to enhance 21st century skill development in the classroom. By doing so, Clement (2014) highlights that by enabling an environment whereby change can be initiated, students will be the ultimate beneficiaries.
Finally, my blog post titled “The TL as Leader” (Vitnell, 2021, September 28) further sums up my learning journey throughout ETL504. In this post, I mention that it is through this subject I have learned all about being a leader and leading from the middle. You do not need a for executive title to initiate change. I have developed a deep understanding of leading from the middle involving being visible, proactive, and creating the perception that I am the go-to person for curriculum design and ICT integration. Being a TL and being a leader goes hand in hand, and at the end of the day, it is the students and student outcomes that will benefit the most!
References
Clement, J. (2014). Managing mandated educational change. School Leadership & Management, 34(1), 39-51. https://doi:10.1080/13632434.2013.813460
Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5).
Dene Poth, R. (2019, April 19). The future of work: How do we prepare our students? Getting Smart. https://www.gettingsmart.com/2019/04/the-future-of-work-how-do-we-prepare-our-students/
Kokemuller, N. (2017). Mintzberg’s five types of organizational structure. Hearst Newspapers: Small business. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/mintzbergs-five-types-organizational-structure-60119.html
Wolf, M., Jones, R. & Gilbert, D. (2014). Leading in and beyond the library. http://all4ed.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/BeyondTheLibrary.pdf