Abstract
M.Ed. (Educational Management)
Why seek to develop school leadership? Apartfrom the advantages that accrue to one'scareerfrom the
demonstrated ability topersuade others to work towards intended results, what does the practice of
continuous small acts of leadership do for the development of one's character and accomplishment of
organisational aims (Caroselli,1990:199) ?
How do we persuade others? Do we persuade by resorting to Taylor's scientific management
( Sergiovanni and Starratt.1993 : 12 ) where control, accountability and efficiency are
emphasised within the atmosphere of clear-cut manager-subordinate relationship, where the
recipe is to identify the best way, develop a work system based on the research of,
communicate expectations to workers, train workers in the system, monitor and evaluate to
ensure compliance? Or as Kok, Smith and Swart (1992 : 9 ) put it, through an invitational
stance of the school leader, where intentionality, respect, trust and optimism are the basic
qualities of the school leader ? The invitational stance which is based on the assumptions that
all persons are valuable, able and responsible and ought to be treated accordingly, that
education is a co-operative process which cannot succeed without the participation of all
concerned parties, that the process is just as important as the end product, that all persons have
relatively untapped potential in all facets of living given the right condition, and that potentials
can best be realised through places, policy, procedures and programmes which are specifically
designed to invite development and by people who intentionally behave invitationally, both
personally and professionally, towards others ( 1992: 2). What are these small acts of
leadership? These are some of the questions which come to mind after analysing Caroselli's
statement above as far as educational leadership is concerned.
.Total Quality Management represents a line of thinking which resembles the ideas of many
writers on business and educational management, since the start of the eighties. On the one
hand writers like Sergiovanni and Starratt ( 1993 :287) see schools as non-linear and looselycoupled
organisations, where employees should be bounded by a common vision and shared
set of values, where colleagiality and enablement could become the main motivational factor in
committing members of the organisation to a common cause. On the other hand, Blanchard,
Zigarmi and Zigarmi (1987 :75) summarise four leadership styles which are appropriate for
different development levels based on competence and commitment of the employee-teacher as
changing from directing to coaching to supporting to delegating as performance improves.
In organisations which are moulded according to the Taylor model ( Sergiovanni and Starratt,
1993 : 12) leadership is through issuing commands, enforcing compliance and controlling the
activities of employees. The philosophy of Taylorism, is still in place in many schools today.
The hierarchical nature of this form of organisation, implies that the teacher's priority is to
please the superiors first at the expense of the customer- the student.