Having been in a leadership role in schools for a number of years now, I began this subject feeling confident that I had significant knowledge of the many facets of leadership.  However, I had not taken the time to consider schools as organisations, teacher librarians (TLs) as leaders or the planning that is required to establish a successful and future-centred school library.

 

As mentioned in my blog (Maloy, 2024, July 16), I was interested in Bush’s (2015) thinking regarding the elements of organisation theory.  Thinking about the element of structure and relating it to my learnings about TLs as leaders, I am led to wonder if perhaps the TL could challenge the structure of the school slightly.  Currently, the TL demonstrates a more transactional leadership style, maintaining normal operations, conducting the day-by-day activities with no future thinking or planning (Ingram, 2017).  In a hierarchical leadership structure as in schools, this puts the TL in a precarious position without much respect or authority.  If the TL were to employ a more transformational style of leadership in line with the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Australian School Library Association’s (ASLA) Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians (2004, p.4), it could boost the reputation of the TL and the school library.

 

Leading change is the core descriptor of my current role as Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction.  However, with this title and the associated role description, it is clear that my job is to lead change in curriculum and instruction.  For a TL, it is not so evident that this can be an important part of their role.  Furthermore, experience in schools has shown me that TLs are often undervalued in this area.  Within my current role, it has become evident just how resistant to change many teachers can be (Maloy, 2024, September 4).  Taking a slow approach to implementation seems to be the best method for instigating effective change.  With the TL becoming a transformational leader, they could work collaboratively with teachers to slowly make changes.  For example, by supporting teachers in resourcing the curriculum, the TL can advocate for the effective use of the library resources, empower teachers to think beyond a written text to support their units of work, and partner with teachers to create classroom and library teaching programs that complement each other.

 

In addition to schools as organisations and TLs as leaders and change-makers, I have learnt a great deal about strategic and operational planning.  Whilst I have learnt in previous subjects about the importance of Collection Development Policies, I have never considered other documentation that a TL may need to construct, nor have I seen these documents in school libraries.  After completing this subject, I can appreciate the importance of such documentation.  It may be that the school libraries do not have their own strategic plans as the schools have a school-wide Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP); however, libraries are rarely mentioned in these.  I believe that it would still be beneficial for the school library to have a strategic plan that aligns with the school SIP.  Upon beginning any role as a TL, I will ensure that I revisit the National Library of New Zealand’s (n.d.) operational checklist to guide me in creating a strategic and operational plan to sustain the library into the future.

 

References

 

Australian Library and Information Association. (2004). ALIA-ASLA standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians. https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-standards-professional-excellence-teacher-librarians

 

Bush, T. (2015). Organisation theory in education: How does it inform school leadership? CORE. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/162657439.pdf

 

Ingram, D. (2019). Transformational leadership vs transactional leadership definition. Hearst Newspapers: Small Business. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/transformational-leadership-vs-transactional-leadership-definition-13834.html

 

Maloy, S. (2024, July 16). Module 1.1 – Organisation theory. [Blog post]. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/siobhanmaloy/2024/07/16/module-1-1-organisation-theory/

 

Maloy, S. (2024, September 4). Module 4.2 – Leading change. [Blog post]. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/siobhanmaloy/2024/09/04/module-4-2-leading-change/

 

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d.). Getting started in your school library operations: An operations checklist. National Library: Services to schools. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/library-systems-and-operations/library-operations/getting-started-in-your-school-library-an-operations-checklist