Archive of ‘ETL504 Teacher Librarian as Leader’ category
Studying by distance can be an isolating experience. However, ETL504 has provided opportunities to build teamwork and collaboration skills through group case studies. Admittedly, when I realised that some of the work would be done as groups I felt frustrated and resonated with the reading by Aguilar (2012) because I believed that I could get the work done faster on my own. However, like she suggests, strong teams can build ideas from shared knowledge and challenge and inspire each other. This happened in group one as we built our understandings in each task. This is an important aspect of distributed leadership which moves authority away from one individual and relies on strategic groups (Harris, 2014).
The AITSL standards for teacher library practice include “to engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities” (Australian School Library Association, 2014). Since becoming a teacher librarian (TL), I have benefitted from networking opportunities within library groups and this subject has added an extra layer to this experience. Making connections with the people in group one has also resulted in us forming a Facebook group to continue to communicate, expanding the network of TLs that I can communicate with.
The case study content provided opportunities to think about some realistic problems TLs can experience and I could identify with some of these issues. In the past, I have felt some of these problems were insurmountable, such as having to manage a very busy diary and library and dealing with conflict and communication problems. I reflected on this in my blog post Courageous conversations. The nature of the case studies forced us to come up with solutions and supported us to think deeper about leadership and when aspects of servant and instructional leadership could be used.
Future learning in school libraries discusses how a TL needs to be an instructional leader (Australian School Library Association Inc, 2013) and this was reflected here and here in the case studies. The importance of leading the library into the future by planning and thinking strategically and using advocacy and marketing were also discussed. In my first post in this subject, Leaders Who Lead, I reflected on my leadership journey and my thoughts on how I had moved out of school leadership when I decided to become a TL. This subject provided me with tools to advocate in a more strategic way than I had before and I posted about this in Advocacy Using Mind Mapping where I explained how I had created another mind map which summed up all of the work I was doing as a TL. I shared this with the leadership team at school when I proposed the idea of having a head of libraries. I had raised this idea previously with no success, but this time using my tools on advocacy, being more strategic in my approach and using data from my annual report I have experienced success. This new role is being created and my leadership journey continues…
References
Aguilar, E. (2012, November 28). Effective teams: the key to transforming schools? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teacher-teams-transform-schools-elena-aguilar
Australian School Library Association. (2014). AITSL Standards for teacher librarian practice. Retrieved from http://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/AITSL%20Standards%20for%20teacher%20librarian%20practice%202014.pdf
Australian School Library Association Inc. (2013, April). Future Learning and school libraries. Retrieved from https://asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/Resources/2013-ASLA-futures-paper.pdf
Harris, A. (2014, September 29). Distributed leadership. Teacher Magazine, ACER. Retrieved from https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/article/distributed-leadership
As part of assignment one in ETL504 students were required to use mind mapping and concept mapping software. One resource that was shared with us was Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Concept Mapping in the Classroom which is a site I have shared with staff at school. This is a mindmap I created when becoming familiar with one of the software tools, Mindmup. I decided to start mapping many of the roles I do in school as a teacher librarian and think this is a good example of how it demonstrates how diverse the role is. Last week I used this as an advocacy tool when I shared this with the leadership team at school. There is so much involved that you will need to zoom in on the screen!
For the final assignment, I used Lucidchart instead, which I actually preferred to Mindmup because I found it more user-friendly. I have shared both of these tools with staff and already one year group have decided to use this tool and we are planning that into the curriculum. This is another great example of how as I learn the students and staff benefit from my new learning!
After completing this mindmap I was also introduced to the Future Ready Librarians website and think this poster and this infographic sum up a lot of what I was expressing in this mindmap. It is certainly a website I will refer to when writing assignment two which involves writing a future-proofing discussing paper.
My learning this week has been about dealing with conflict, and particularly how to manage those difficult conversations. I am going to call these courageous conversations going forward because I think this sums it up perfectly. Like the majority of people, I avoid these conversations and know that this is an area I need to develop. Effective leaders must be honest and direct communicators and they must manage conflict. Not dealing with conflict in the workplace will certainly not result in it going away and can cause more problems. I have summarised some of my big takeaways with lots of references because I feel I will revisit this material a lot, both for my own use, and also when coaching others who are struggling with this challenging aspect of leadership.
- Timing is crucial when dealing with conflict. If a situation is dealt with before it escalates, then it can sometimes barely be noticed as a conflict (Leading Change, 2019).
- Good leaders must give regular feedback, both positive and negative. This can be presented as constructive criticism and the way it is delivered is essential. Think positive sandwich! (Nohria, 2016)
- Plan the difficult conversation. Use the conversation plan document from Fair Work Ombudsman (n.d.) and rehearse the opening statement (STR!VE, 2013).
- STR!VE (2013) and The Fair Work Ombudsman (n.d.) both have steps to work through for this conversation, including planning a very clear opening statement.
- Begin and end positively (Bender, 2005).
- Emphasise areas of agreement (Bender, 2005).
- Practice active listening. Listening can be more important than talking (Bender, 2005; Minute MBA, 2012)
- We communicate in unintentional ways with body language and this is a result of long habits and requires focus to change these (Bender, 2005).
After completing the conflict resolution questionnaire, (McGraw-Hill Global Educational Holdings, 2018) it helped me to clarify what my current approaches are to manage conflict. It showed that my top preferences for handling conflict were avoiding (smooth over or suppress conflict situations) and forcing (hard influence tactics, including assertiveness). This was closely followed by compromising and problem-solving. The area I scored least on was yielding (giving in completely to the other sides wishes). I agreed with some of this but I certainly reflected on the ways I deal with conflict in my personal life are different from how I deal with them at work, which is quite different. With regards to dealing with conflict at work, I think I need to develop more in the areas of problem-solving and compromising. But most importantly I need to become braver and not avoid those courageous conversations. As I have worked my way through this literature I have already planned some conversations I will be having soon.
References
Bender, Y. (2005). The tactful teacher: Effective communication with parents, colleagues, and administrators. Retrieved from Ebook Library.
Fair Work Ombudsman. (n.d.). Manager’s guide to difficult conversations in the workplace. Australian Government. Retrieved from http://mel0201clsprod.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/fairwork/programresources/ca3bcd7f-8d27-4146-879e-35cb809a87d4/c9a2d0e7-dba1-49b6-a017-2dae43fdee62/manager’s%20guide%20to%20difficult%20conversations%20in%20the%20workplace.pdf
Leading change. (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=_2733070_1
McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings. (2018). Self-Assessment 11.4: What is your preferred conflict handling style? Retrieved from http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/007040187x/student_view0/chapter11/self-assessment_11_4.html
Nohria, N. [HR360Inc]. (2016, January 7). Steps to successful employee communication [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/bRXLTZMvy-U
Strive! (2013, June 12). How to have a courageous conversation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/CoFe_NRRITQ
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
