Studying the dynamics of the TL as leader in the multifaceted role as curriculum leader, information specialist and information services manager has presented many challenges to my prior attitudes and assumptions towards school leadership and information services in the digital age, transforming the way I view and approach professional practice.
For me, the most significant aspect of my learning was exploring the challenges and opportunities presented for TLs as they “lead from the middle”. Previously I did not realize the extent to which TLs must negotiate their position within schools and communities and the significant moral dilemmas involved in balancing service and leadership, as is evident in my early posts. This is perhaps due to my prior experience of working within a low performing school and through cycles of transformational leadership which felt increasingly disconnected from the community, which had transformed in its own demography and identity over time.
For me, bridging this disconnection is where the game is made for TLs. I have written about this in regard to the under-servicing of intercultural understanding across the Australian Curriculum, as well as potential approaches TLs may take in order to lead learning interventions that restore collaborative relationships with communities. Perhaps, the most significant insight I have come to realize is the importance of maintaining a cosmopolitan approach to leadership. I believe that by listening locally (and taking notes!) TLs may play the role of not just school but also community leaders as they build and broker the connections with larger global networks helping to transform both individual identities and collective futures.
I have significantly developed in my respect for the role of collaboration and collegiality with regard to all aspects of the multifaceted role of the TL. Having had the benefit of mentorship from faculty across my subjects helped me to realize the larger obligations of standardization and evaluative curriculum. This has caused me to reflect on my own emotional intelligence and more significantly helped me to think more critically about how to apply myself to tasks, especially when communicating vision in educational leadership. While this presents a substantial challenge personally due to my disability, I am grateful to be working and learning in a profession in which caring and mentoring have always played a central role. The advances in digital technology also in this respect must be seen by potential leaders as assets to increase inclusion and connection. Certainly, digital learning has presented opportunities for communicating learning and teaching in new and exciting ways, however, what is most important is to remain open, in dialogue and committed to innovations that help us to understand better understand one another.
Moving forward, I hope to build stronger professional skills by seeking mentorship working collaboratively with those who share a similar ethos towards the role of libraries in the lives of learners. As such, I am very enthused to begin my placement at Museums Victoria under Nicole Kearney at the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Through my study of leadership this term, I was able to see that I have a lot of learning to do when it comes to navigating the political territory of leadership and I feel fortunate to have met a mentor who is both an advocate for the conservation of local heritage while helping to connect this knowledge to the global digital world. Ultimately, this is what I would like to model for the teachers and learners I work with as well, through a considered, cosmopolitan and collaborative approach to leadership.