The readings and videos this week from ETL504 have all been about leadership theory and as I have read through each one I have reflected on the leaders and managers I have worked with in education over the last twenty years and recognised many of their traits and also my own leadership strengths and weaknesses. Managers should ideally be leaders but this is not always the case, sometimes the principals in schools do not have the effective traits to lead and the deputy principal exhibits these traits and is operating more as the leader (“Leadership Theories,” 2019). As an employee in any workplace, it can be easy to criticise management and in schools that can happen a lot. There is no disputing that leadership in any workplace brings endless challenges and there can be numerous people leading within any organisation and this can depend on the type of business it is.
Henry Mitzberg in Kokemuller (2017) describes many different classifications for organisations and one of these is the professional classification whereby a school can be bureaucratic but they also have a high degree of professional, knowledgeable and competent workers who have specialist skills and drive the school forward (“Leadership Theories,” 2019). All of the schools I have worked in have enabled staff who are not managers to work as leaders in some capacity. My current school has project-based groups to drive the strategic vision forward and this enables staff who are not managers to lead.
My leadership journey has been an interesting one. In London, I worked for the most inspiring head teacher(Principal) I have ever come across, and I learnt so much from him. He was outstanding at empowering staff and would create extra responsibilities for even the most junior staff. These roles were always given a title and, at times, small pay increment which of course led to staff feeling recognised for their work. He also encouraged staff to further themselves and I was encouraged to enrol in a middle management course, Leading from the Middle, from the University of London. Shortly after this I successfully won the role of head of Key Stage One and then a couple of years later I acted as one of the Deputy Heads of school for a short time. After this, I had three children and took many years off full time work. We then moved to Singapore, where I started doing some part time teaching at a few different schools which provided me with opportunities to observe how they were lead. Almost four years ago I went back to full time teaching and shortly afterwards made the move into a teacher librarian role. I have often reflected if moving to the library meant the end of me working in school leadership and that brings with it mixed thoughts. I feel like I contribute so much to the entire school in my role and I am very passionate about it and get a lot of job satisfaction. However, I often feel frustrated that I am not officially recognised as a leader within my school, both in my job title, by pay or by my inclusion in any leadership teams. I have had conversations about this and will continue to and I am sure this subject will provide me with more strategies in my toolkit to pursue this further.
I know as a leader I need to look forwards not backwards. So enough, of my personal reflections, what have I learnt about leadership theory? There are a number of different types of leadership styles including:
- Situational: Leaders adopt a style depending on the situation and focus on enabling followers. This style can have issues because it is changeable depending on the situation and also because it relies on the followers (“Leadership Theories,” 2019).
- Transactional: This is task and results driven and is not focused on the strategic vision of an organisation and the underlying principle is that reward increases effort (Ingram, 2019.)
- Transformational: These leaders plan strategically and enthuse motivate and inspire employees. This is the complete opposite of transactional with regards to management and motivation (Ingram, 2019; “Leadership Theories,” 2019).
- Servant Leadership: These leaders are the servants of their employees and they replace self-interest with service to others by focusing on trust and collaboration. (Burkus, 2010)
- Distributed leadership: moves authority away from one individual and relies on strategic groups within the organisation and follows the idea that ‘many hands make light work’ (Harris, 2014).
- Instructional: These leaders direct and manage from the top but they always place students at the forefront and share their vision with staff who they involve in the decision making process (Spenceko, 2013).
The most effective leaders will have a range of styles but the instructional leadership is the one that is most appropriate for the current school context (“Leadership Theories,” 2019). Ferguson and Hamm (2013) summarise McEwan’s seven steps to effective instructional leadership.
- Establish, implement and achieve high academic standards through a strong vision.
- Collaborate with staff by being an instructional resource who creates collegiality.
- Create a learning orientated school culture.
- Communicate the vision and mission to staff and students and always be visible and accessible.
- Set high expectations for yourself and staff. This includes observing teaching and providing feedback.
- Develop more teacher leads, rather than followers.
- Create positive relationships with staff and students by being a good listener and celebrating success.
From immersing myself in this theory I want to end this blog with a list of what I believe are the most important leadership attributes. These are the attributes that I want to see in the managers who lead me and the attributes I would like to possess when I lead. Most of these would be traits of an Instructional leader.
- Organised, inspirational and enthusiastic
- Motivated and motivating
- Recognises and rewards effort
- Focused on the strategic direction of the school
- Team builder and collaborator
- Have empathy and the ability to listen and support
- Ethical, honest and aware of the cultural and socioeconomic diversity within the school community
- The ability to give direction and be a problem solver
- Willing to have courageous conversations and address difficult situations with staff, parents and students
- The ability to influence others to perform to a high level
- Intelligence and excellent knowledge of IT and 21st century learning
References
Burkus, D. (2010, April 1). Servant leadership theory. In DB: David Burkus. Retrieved from http://davidburkus.com/2010/04/servant-leadership-theory/
Ferguson, A. & Hamm, B. [BlueBearEdVidoes]. (2013, January 22). Seven steps to effective instructional leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-p9A7EHCR4
[4.33 mins]
Harris, A. (2014, September 29). Distributed leadership. Teacher Magazine, ACER. Retrieved from https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/article/distributed-leadership
Ingram, D. (2019). Transformational leadership vs transactional leadership definition. In Hearst Newspapers: Small Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/transformational-leadership-vs-transactional-leadership-definition-13834.html
Kokemuller, N. (2017). Mintzberg’s five types of organizational structure. In Hearst Newspapers: Small business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/mintzbergs-five-types-organizational-structure-60119.html
Leadership Theories. (2019). In Teacher librarian as leader [ETL504 module]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_42384_1&content_id=_2733068_1
Spencekao. (2013, April 6). Instructional leadership. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efzXDk1–4w
[6.03 mins]
The first few weeks of ETL504 have provided me with more food for thought on how the libraries are viewed in our school and in other schools I have worked in or observed. One aspect that I really want to reflect on is the importance of a library being an information service and not just an information source. Many schools have barriers to ensuring that this happens. These barriers include budgets and lack of trained staff, including not having a teacher librarian (TL) working in the library.
An information source includes a collection of data including books, ebooks and weblinks, all of which should be, and usually are, housed in a library. This can certainly be useful to some patrons, however, if service is added to these resources, then there are huge benefits to patrons. 21st century libraries should provide information services that add value by creating access, packaging and interpreting information sources and provide twenty-four hour access to all of their services (“Organisation Theory,” 2019).
There is a danger in all libraries that the library staff are so focused on doing the day to day work of cataloguing new books and managing the circulation of resources but they are not adding service. As soon as a patron has a request that should be the number one priority, regardless of how many other tasks need to be done. Excellent libraries also have staff that manage and maintain information, not just the information on the shelves but also the electronic information they are providing with Ebooks and links to websites and databases. This includes preserving and ensuring the accuracy and currency of all resources and educating patrons on how to find information and use it effectively. It would usually include creating and maintaining libguides, blogs and/or pathfinders so that patrons can access information 24/7. Library services also need to be innovative and responsive to new developments in IT and curriculum. TLs need to model, lead and support 21st century teaching and learning (“Organisation Theory,” 2019). After discussing this article with my colleague she shared with me a great blog, Library Grits, by Dianne McKenzie, who I know after attending a workshop she ran a few years ago. In her post, Airlines V’s 5 Star hotels (in Asia) she uses an analogy of comparing service in a library to the service provided in a hotel or by an airline.
In my library, I have also discovered the importance of advocacy. If there is not a TL leading training for staff on how to use the resources then they will not be effectively used in a school. In my school, many of our subscriptions, like our online Encyclopaedias or subscription to Press Reader, as a news source, are forgotten by teachers and students unless I highlight them and plan lessons involving them. A TL should also be very involved in teaching and planning lessons that involve 21st century and information literacy skills. In schools parent sessions by the library staff are hugely beneficial and in my experience a great tool for sharing knowledge with parents. Communication with all patrons is also a service that needs to occur regularly, including newsletters to highlight library services are important.
This subject is looking at the teacher librarian (TL) as a leader and it also made me reflect, if a TL is not working as a leader in a school then there is the danger that the library will be treated as just a resource and that service is not being provided. It also made me consider schools that do not have libraries, like some I worked at in London, and also those schools who have libraries but no TLs. In Australia, when budgets are tight libraries are often the first to lose staff or money for resources (“Organisation Theory,” 2019). With regards to my local context here in Singapore, the government has excellent public libraries and all schools have libraries on premises. However, different use of funding allocated by the Ministry of Education in Singapore means that libraries are designed and managed differently in each school. School libraries are not staffed by teacher librarians and only some school libraries are well designed, well-resourced and well used (Loh, 2019). In most cases, they are just operating as a resource, merely because there is not enough money put towards staffing. A teacher who usually has a very full workload is put in charge of overseeing the library but they are too time stretched to be able to do this effectively. Alternatively, a library assistant is the only person who works in the library and they just manage circulations, without having the time or expertise to provide added services. Colvin (2000) argues that many employees in organisations are treated like robots by management and they are unmotivated or lack opportunities to become knowledge workers who can use infotech effectively and have the capability to organise and deliver projects. When schools don’t employ library staff with the time to dedicate to the library and the required knowledge and skills then the library is unable to become an information source.
In comparison, many of the international schools in Singapore have multiple libraries that are well resourced and are almost always staffed by a qualified TL. However, Singapore seems to be at a tipping point when looking at its education system and there has been a recent study (Loh, 2019) and conversations are starting about the importance of school libraries with TLs. In a culture and education system that is very academically focused, people are interested to hear that students who read for pleasure get better grades in school. There is starting to be an understanding that there is a correlation between high academic results and schools that have a well-staffed and well-resourced library. Part of Loh’s study created the following framework for a 21st century library.
(Loh, 2019, p. 4)
This figure resonates well with me and I think it is a good summary of some of the multitude of roles a library has if it is to be an information source and not just a service.
References
Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5). Retrieved from http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm?iid=sr-link1.
Loh, C. E. (2019). Envisioning the school library of the future: A 21st century framework. National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.32524.36489
McKenzie, D. (2019, February 13). Airlines vs 5 star hotels (in Asia) [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://librarygrits.blogspot.com/2019/02/airlines-vs-5-star-hotels-in-asia.html
Organisation theory. (2019). In Teacher librarian as leader [ETL504 module]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_42384_1&content_id=_2733066_1
I have been very quiet on the blog front because I took a year break and then last semester I studied, ETL505, Describing and Analysing Educational resources. It was a very technical subject and one where we were not required to blog. However, before I start on my next subject, ETL504, I want to share a reflection I have on organising a library by genre, or as it is commonly referred to in the library world, genrefication. Part of this was used in my last paper and it was one I found fascinating to research.
“Organization is the foundational structural element for access. Without organization, no one would be able to find materials in libraries” (Dickinson, 2013, p.5).
There is a plethora of literature about arranging school library collections and many reasons for and against moving away from the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and genrefying libraries. This is driven by teacher librarians who want library collections to be organised in a way that makes more sense and with the maximum opportunity that books will be discovered and borrowed by users (Dickinson, 2013; Kaplan, 2013).
To give some context to my work situation, the three libraries in my school have not genrefied their collections. Our non-fiction is sorted by the DDC, or an abridged version of Dewey and our fiction is organised in alphabetical order, except in the infant school where part of the picture book collection is organised by subject. As all good libraries do, we constantly make and change displays to promote different parts of the collection, and sometimes this is by genre. Our Library Management System (LMS) is Destiny and we make very careful records when cataloguing and pay particular attention to using correct subject headings so that resources can be easily searchable. At the start of my research, I was very much against genrefying my library, for a number of reasons, but the most important was my concern that I did not want to pigeonhole books into just one genre and limit browsers from just looking at the genres they were most interested in. I read many articles and asked around in my librarian networks, both here in Singapore and online, and found strong opinions leaning both ways. I found a variety of statistics demonstrating an increase in borrowing after libraries had genrefied. However, for every argument that stated these increased statistics, that there was counter argument wondering if any change has an effect on borrowing statistics going up just because it leads to unexpected encounters – then changing it back again a few years later the statistics may go up again. We certainly see that when we make displays promoting different parts of the collections.
So, now for a bit of history and explanation. Dewey is the most widely used library classification system in the world and its purpose is to group items together for easy location. Many argue that the categories in Dewey are out of date and it is criticised for scattering subjects (Panzer, 2013). Others believe that Dewey is complex and not developmentally appropriate for young children. Snipes (2018) and Harris (2013) argue that it is unrealistic for a school library to follow it to the letter. Rodgers (2018) talks of streamlining Dewey to eliminate numbers after the decimal point and other library cataloguers are adapting Dewey so that it makes more sense to students. This is also why the abridged DDC has been created to support young children.
Librarians have created many new systems to address their dissatisfaction with Dewey or because they wanted a different system that arranges collections into genres. This includes Metis, BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications), C3 (Customer Centred Classification), WorldThink and Darien Library’s System (Kaplan, 2013; Kindschy, 2015). Some of these systems place fiction and non-fiction together, which some argue is more relevant with book publishers often merging these two categories and also because this can lead to students discovering tiles when just searching in just one category. The Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) uses genre headings to help categorise resources.
This has resulted in many regional systems, all of which have advantages and disadvantages. (Jameson, 2013). For all its criticisms Dewey has been used universally and successfully for over 100 years. WebDewey, also ensures that Dewey is constantly evolving and that people are interacting with it. Snipes (2018) and Jameson (2013) argue that these new organisation systems are recreating a pre-Dewey era where every library was organised differently.
In contrast to the criticism comes success stories of increased circulation. Many libraries have genrefied fiction only and others, the entire collection. Supporters of genrefication argue that organising the library in this way is more student-centered, allows for easier browsing and exposure to new authors (Bojanowski and Kwiecien, 2013; Buchter, 2013; Kaplan, 2013; Rodgers, 2018; Snipes, 2015). Kaplan (2013) proposes that searchers need to discriminate between fact v’s fiction and that library organisation is an additional way of teaching these skills. In the world of the internet, social media and fake news, this is one question I am still pondering. If the fiction and non-fiction was mixed, the students would need to regularly make these decisions, which are definitely skills needed for 21st-century learning.
Pendergass argues that “students and staff will benefit more from personal interaction with us than they will from library staff re-shelving and re-cataloguing the entire library” (2013, p. 57). Therefore, the emphasis should be on skills instruction to ensure students know how to access the library and can transfer these skills to use in other libraries. There are of course other disadvantages with genrefication. Where to place books that fit in more than one genre? Ward and Saarti (2018) discuss the necessity of in-depth of indexing. Rather than spending time reorganising library collections, the emphasis should be on managing an effective catalogue. There must be high-quality catalogue records that have correct subject headings that include genres and accurate Dewey numbers. Resources with a range of topics need to be classified using a library policy that determines how they should be classified. Sometimes this might be the first named subject, at other times it might be the subject with the most content in the resource.
I found at the end of this research my position had moved and was feeling more of a ‘fence sitter.’ I do want to make changes in my library with a combination of the two systems and embrace the best of both worlds. I have looked at my library layout and chosen better subject signage for the Non-Fiction collection. This has involved a careful weed of non-fiction and I have moved many books to a different Dewey number that made more sense relevant to the ages of our students and our collection. The pressing question that we asked for each title was, where will it most likely to be discovered when browsing, without using the library catalogue? I have decided to keep our fiction collection arranged by the author but am planning to buy genre stickers to add to the spines of the collection. Some books will have a maximum of two stickers to deal with that problem of categorising books that cross genres. Our borrowing statistics are very high and the reading culture is very strong for our 7 to 11 year olds that my library serves. Therefore, the work in moving the whole collection into genres is not warranted. However, if I was working in a Senior School Library, where the reading tends to taper off, then it is something I would consider, with more research and perhaps trialling a small section. In the meantime, all of our libraries will continue to use aspects of genrefication by promoting their collection in innovative and resourceful ways. with focus collections and displays. However, making displays does not make the books searchable using the LMS so the focus will be to continue to maintain an excellent and up to date library catalogue so that resources are readily searchable, using appropriate subject headings, which may include genres. Students search online when locating information, so those same skills should be transferred into the library when searching. Lesson instruction must involve how to use the library catalogue as it is part of an important information literacy toolkit.
The 21st century has brought about drastic changes in the information environment and libraries have rapidly evolved. I believe that successful libraries will have a combination of systems which allows for flexibility to respond to their user’s demands. And now to move to the next stage, ordering those genre stickers!
References
Bojanowski, S., & Kwiecien, S. (2013). One Library’s Experience. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 20–21. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761319&site=ehost-live
Buchter, H. (2013). Dewey Vs Genre Throwdown. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 48–55. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761325&site=ehost-live
Dickinson, G. K. (2013). The Way We Do the Things We Do. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 4–6. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761315&site=ehost-live
Jameson, J. (2013). A Genre Conversation Begins. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 10–13. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761317&site=ehost-live
Harris, C. (2012). Summer project: Kill Dewey. The Digital Shift School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/08/k-12/summer-project-kill-dewey/
Harris, C. (2013). library classification 2020. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 14–19. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761318&site=ehost-live
Kaplan, T. B., Giffard, S., Still-Schiff, J., & Dolloff, A. K. (2013). One Size DOES NOT Fit All. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 30–37. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761321&site=ehost-live
Kindschy, H. E. (2015, January 13). Time to ditch dewey? Shelving systems that make sense to students. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from http://www.readandshine.com/2015/01/13/time-to-ditch-dewey-shelving-systems-that-make-sense-to-students-learning-commons-model-part-4/
Panzer, M. (2013). DEWEY: how to make it work for you. Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 22–29. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761320&site=ehost-live
Pendergrass, D. J. (2013). Dewey or Don’t We? Knowledge Quest, 42(2), 56–59. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=91761326&site=ehost-live
Rodgers, L. (2018). Give Your Circulation a Lift: If you want your books to fly off the shelves, check out these ideas. School Library Journal, 64(7), 24. Retrieved from ProQuest Central database. (Accession No. 2059523653)
Snipes, P. R. (2015). Concrete to Abstract: Growing past Genre into Dewey. Library Media Connection, 33(4), 26–29. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=iih&AN=100272012&site=ehost-live
Ward, M., & Saarti, J. (2018). ARTICLE Reviewing, Rebutting, and Reimagining Fiction Classification. Routledge Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 56(4), 317-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639374.2017.1411414
