Suzana, Abdul Latif and Sazali, Yusoff
(2015)
Leadership Development
for Educational Leaders: An Integrated Model.
Institut Aminuddin Baki, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.
ISBN 978-967-0504-07-0
Abstract
The conception that led to the materialization of Leadership Development
for Educational Leaders: An Integrated Model stems from many roots. The
constant, accelerating change in today’s global competitive environment
demands better leadership to be employed in order to provide right courses
of direction and action through uncertain and challenging times. Within the
educational setting the need for leaders has always been crucial, and it has
become even more urgent in this knowledge-based era.
The proliferation of scholarly as well as other forms of writings in areas of
leadership and management concerning leadership competency, to some,
conveniently provides a wide variety of framework options to choose from
and to be used as guidance. Many turn to these pages of books in the
hope to find the solution to the leadership void found within various levels
of social as well as organizational settings. Educational leaders without
exception flock dutifully with the crowd.
This book is written in response to this situation; as a reference point
for educational leaders, scholars, practitioners and other stakeholders
interested in knowing and understanding the fundamentals crucial for
developing leadership competency to meet the ever-increasing challenges
within the educational sphere. What we intend to offer in this book is
what we believe to be a more potent approach for educational leaders to
adopt in enhancing their leadership effectiveness presented in the form
of a systemic framework developed through an integration of multiple
theoretical perspectives.
Far from being mere prescriptive and descriptive, our aim in this book is to
be explanatory and illustrative with vivid examples to aid in understanding
the contexts of discussion. Our rationale of writing this book is closely
related to how we envisage the book might be consumed for this is a book
which we hope will be read by all regardless of their orientation and beliefs
concerning leadership. The major perspective we adopt in this book regards
leadership as a dynamic process involving the leader and his or her followers
and other significant determinants.
This simply illustrates our profound view that leadership is not a simple and
uni-dimensional phenomenon and it is even more complex within a socioorganizational
domain such as that of an educational organization. In terms
of the way the information is organized both as theoretical background as
well as for practical application the primary concern is on the sharing of
basic ideas yet with sufficient grounding rather than detailed expositions.
Wherever possible, we include some theoretical perspectives as well as
insightful notions from great philosophers and thinkers alike, for better
understanding of the premises regarding the development of leadership
competency laid out within the perimeter of this book.
The points of departure will set the scene for much of what follows regarding
our conception of an integrated model of leadership. Of considerable
importance in the following chapters is our illustration of the fundamentals
of leadership competency; i.e leadership capacity and leadership capability.
It is in fact, the essence of what we believe to be most valuable about this
book for it allows deeper insights into authentic leadership practices for
a better reflection on one’s leadership effectiveness. Nevertheless, having
said all these and in relation to our attempt to make cognizance of how
leadership competency could and should be developed and enhanced by
educational leaders, we strongly believe that it is upon them to be fully
responsible and accountable for the development of their own leadership
competency.
Although the context of discussion regarding the integrated model of
leadership limits itself to its application within an educational domain, it
goes without saying that it actually has a much wider relevance outside the
educational realm. Clearly, in a book of this kind there is a tension between
overall coverage and the length and depth of description of particular areas,
and inevitably there are shortcomings in both dimensions. Our utmost
concern, however, is that Leadership Development for Educational Leaders:
An Integrated Model is a book that everybody would enjoy and understand
and find beneficial and practical since it is aimed simultaneously at being a
book of high density in meaning, yet, light in reading.
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