Leadership in Education

Essay
Introduction
The debate over whether leaders are born or made is never ending. Many people
believe that leaders are born with characters that qualify them to lead. On the other
hand, many people believe that leaders are made by the environment and the vision that
drives them to work hard and emerge as a leader in their society. The world has known
many great leaders who have changed and influenced the world in one way or another.
Having a clear vision and being a visionary leader can be one of the ways for a person to
emerge as a leader. A leader is defined as a person who is in charge of a company or an
organization or even a country (Davies et al., 2005). The difference between one leader
and the other might be the style of leadership that they use. This paper will focus on
three styles of leaderships, and it will discuss their definition, the characteristics of each
style and the difference between them.

Definition and description of the leadership styles

Bureaucratic style of leadership
Leadership styles are diverse and different, and the first leadership style is the
bureaucratic style. The bureaucratic style of leadership is one of the most important
formal models that consider an organization as a hierarchical system (Bush, 2003).
The idea of the bureaucratic theory was first introduced by Max Weber, who argues that
this type of leadership is the most efficient form in management (Tomlinson, 2004). It
describes a formal organization that aims for efficiency through rational approach to
management (Bush, 2003). The bureaucratic style focuses on the importance of
hierarchical authority and the chain of command associated with the hierarchy. This type
of leadership style like other formal models is goal oriented with the person in charge at
the top of the hieratical pyramid. The decision-making process and the behavior of the
staff in this style are directed by rules and regulation instead of personal relationships.
This style of leadership encourages the impersonal relationship between the staff to limit
any individuality in the decision making process (Bush, 2003). The jobs appointment in

this type of leadership is based on the experience and the qualification that a person
has. The promotions in this kind of leadership also depend on the expertise that is
demonstrated by an individual.
In a school setting the teacher report to the head principal who is at the top of the
hierarchical system. According to Tony Bush (2003), all schools are bureaucracies, there
are rules governing the behavior of the members (P.45). The decisions and the goals of
the schools are always decided by the head principle in this style of leadership. Everyone
in the school is goal oriented, and they all work for the common goal. Bureaucracy style
is used in schools by many countries including China, Poland, and many others (Bush,
2003).

Collegial style of leadership

The second leadership style is the collegial and it describes a work environment
where the authority and the responsibility of the work is shared equally between the coworkers who have a clear understanding of the aim of the institution (Bush, 2003). This
type of leadership relies on the decentralization of the authority by distributing the
power or the authority away from the center and to others (Tomlinson, 2004). This type
of leadership is normative, and the decision-making process is made through a
discussion that end with the consensus of all the members involved. The decisions that
are being made are normally based on democratic principles (Bush, 2003). The collegial
style adopts a common set of values that the members of an organization share while
socializing during the training period or in the early professional practice (Bush, 2003).
Everyone involved in the decision-making process agrees on the common goal that limits
the conflict and the division in the work. The size of the decision-making group is an
essential element in the collegial style, the group must be relatively small to enable
everyone to be heard and it must consist of people who are expert in their fields
(Tomlinson, 2004).
The collegial leadership style was first used in schools in the 1980s and 1990s
when it was viewed as the most appropriate style (Bush, 2003). In a school setting this
type of leadership is defined as teachers discussing and collaborating with other
teachers to meet a common target or goal (Tomlinson, 2004). The teachers

hold the

authority of expertise and can be autonomous while making decisions. However,

teachers must collaborate and share their experiences to teach and learn. In this

leadership style all the teachers talk and discuss their plans and their preparation for the
lessons and classroom observations are considered normal (Bush, 2003).

Transformation style of leadership

The third type of leadership style is the transformational leadership that was
introduced by Dr. James Burns (Bush, 2003). This type of leadership emphasizes on the
commitments and capability of the members of the organization. The characters of the
transformational leadership are divided into four main characters that are labeled as the
four Is (Johannsen , 2014). The first character of this leadership style is the individual
consideration that provides personal attention to other that need it. The second is
intellectual stimulation where the leader encourages others to be involved in several
brainstorming sessions. The third character is the idealized influence where the leader is
the role model for the others, and everyone is expected to use the leader as an example.
The final character is the inspirational motivation where the leader expects high
performance from everyone involved by motivating them (Bush, 2003).
This style of leadership was adopted by many scholars because it encourages the
members to perform beyond their expectations (Hoy et al., 2001). There are three basic
function that a transformative leader must have. First, the transformational leader has to
always motivate his followers in order to achieve the highest levels of performance
possible by transforming their beliefs, attitudes and values. Second, they have a
charisma that sets a vision and instill trust and pride while working. The vision of the
transformational leader is what guides the members of this leadership style. Finally, they
always try to stimulate intellectual and offer it to their followers to get the best possible
results (Bush, 2003).
In the school setting, the role of the administrators is to focus their attention on
facilitative power to help the teachers in the school to reach their possible potential. The
teachers and the administrators lead by example in the school to achieve the highest
result possible. In an educational setting this type of leadership helps the teachers
growth and development and it is very effective in problem solving (Bush, 2003).

Comparing characteristics

All of the leadership styles tend to be normative ( what is accepted as normal) and
can be applied in any school setting (Bush, 2003). The leadership theories tend to be
selective which means that every theory focuses on an element at the expense of other
elements for example; the Bureaucratic focuses on rules at the expense of personal
relations. Another point that all of the leadership styles have in common is that they all
are based on observations, and then they are developed into concepts.
All of the leadership styles have their strength, but they also have their
weaknesses. The bureaucratic leadership style follows the rules strictly which could
ensure that there is an equality in opportunities. The rules and regulations in the
leadership style ensure that everyone is efficient and capable of the task at hand. The
Bureaucratic style is less effective in teams and unlike the collegial and the
transformational style cannot be flexible and therefore it leaves no room for creativity or
innovation The bureaucratic style makes it hard for schools to change their rules and
adapt to the needs of society (Bush, 2003).
On the other hand, the collegial style is based on sharing and democracy that
leads to less conflict in the working space which increase the productivity of the
employees. The main focus of the collegial model is the decision-making process that
only works when the group consists of experts. Furthermore, the transformational
leadership is based on the vision and the motivation of the leader that challenge the
members and make them work harder which improve the productivity in the workplace.
The leaders inspire their team members and always expect them to be the best at what
they do. Nevertheless, the followers may find it hard to follow the leaders vision if they
didnt believe in it. Administrators can struggle and find challenges in all of the three
leadership style (Davies et al., C,2005).

Reflection
In conclusion, each one of the leadership style has it strength and it weaknesses
and in my opinion it is very important to understand each style in order to determine
which style works best in different work settings. As a future teacher and possibly an
administrator, I think that it is not possible to have a perfect leadership style because
there is a flaw in all of them. However, understanding them all in detail make me think of

what kind of a leader I want to be in the future. As a teacher, I want to offer my students
a support system so that they can reach and achieve what they are capable of. I also
want to offer them structures and rules to follow because everyone needs structure. I
want to be the kind of teacher who listen to my colleagues and learn from their
experiences and share my experience with them. In the end, I want to combine all of the
leadership styles and create a leadership style based on the strength of the three
leadership styles that are mentioned in this paper.

References
Bush, T. (2003). Theories of educational leadership and management (3rd ed.). London;
Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Davies, B., Ellison, L., & Bowring-Carr, C. (2005). School leadership in the 21st century:
Developing a strategic approach (2nd ed.). London; New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Johannsen, M. (2014, March 9). Types Of Leadership Styles. Retrieved Septemper 17,
2015, from legacee: https://www.legacee.com/types-of-leadership-styles/
Hoy, W. K., & Miskel, C. G. (2001). Educational administration: Theory, research, and
practice (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Tomlinson, H. (2004). Educational management. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Leadership in Education Questions

1. Name and describe a leader that you know. What did they do to make a positive
change or have a positive influence in the world or their community? Name three
qualities that you think they have.
-

One of the best models for a leader is the Prophet Mohammed peace be upon
him -. As the Holy Quran mentioned that he is a good model for us (Surah Al
Ahzab, chapter number 21, verse number 21). One of his characteristics is wisdom.
He knew that to change the peoples beliefs fame and acceptance among people is
a necessary so they can accept change. One of his goals was to change the
peoples thought about female. The period before Islam there was female
infanticide. The Arabs before Islam were burying because they consider them as a
shame for family. He knew that people would not change their thought in a small
period of time. First, he introduced himself to people and through time he became
an important figure between people. There were some people who are convinced
that he is a prophet and messenger of Allah. One of the laws that Allah Almighty
revealed to him that female infanticide is prohibited and it is considered as a big
sin. By giving people speeches and verses from the Holy Quran to warn people
that in the day of judgement there will be punishment for the ones who kills their
daughters. There are verses that mentioned this are (Surah Al-Israa, chapter
number 15, verse number 31 and Surah Al-Takwir, chapter number 30, verse
number 8 and 9). Through years many people stopped these evil practices.
Another quality of a leader Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him had is
patience which he spent years to change the peoples perspective. Finally, he had
a charisma and this contributed to be famous.

2. Read the student essay Leadership in Education and answer the questions.
I.
II.

What are the 3 styles of leadership presented in the essay?

Bureaucratic, Collegial and Transformational Styles.
The essay states The bureaucratic style of leadership is one of the most
important formal models that consider an organization as a hierarchical system
(Bush, 2003). Explain the meaning of hierarchy in your own words.

Hierarchy is an organizational structure in which people or things are arrange

according to their position, importance, responsibilities, authority, power or
abilities.

III.

Who is at the top of the hierarchy in a school?

-

The School Principal.

IV.

The bureaucratic model has the main aim to efficiency through rational approach
to management.

V.

What is a chain of command in a school?

-

Principal, vice principal, the administration staff, teachers, librarian, security,

cleaners, canteen workers, bus monitors, bus drivers.

VI.
-

Explain a Collegial style of leadership in your own words.

The stakeholders in the top of the hierarchy are not the one who only has the
power or authority. Power is shared between teachers and sometimes it leads to
conflicts sometimes because of the variety of opinions. It is a flexible style and this
leads to creativity and innovation. Team work and continuous communication
between stakeholders is very important. It takes long time on decision making
process.

VII.

The essay states This type of leadership (Collegial) relies on the decentralization
of the authority by distributing the power or the authority away from the center
and to others (Tomlinson, 2004). Explain what this means when applied to a
school and give one example.
-

Teachers are the ones who are responsible to distribute responsibilities and make
decisions. Teachers can run meetings in turns. The upper positions are the ones
who monitor to make sure it works well. Opinions are considerable. The principal in
Al Andalous School runs the school using the collegial management model. For
example, for celebration events the principal gives the teachers the choice to
decide what they will do and she takes the teachers opinion on what activities they
will plan for the events. They are the ones who create a team, plan, and
implement.

VIII.

What are the characteristics of Transformational Leadership?

1234-

IX.

Individual Consideration.
Intellectual Stimulation.
Idealized Influence.
Inspirational Motivation.

What are the three qualities described that a Transformational Leader must have?
-

X.

Always motivate his followers.

Have a charisma.
Always try to stimulate intellectual and offer it to their followers.

Considering transformational leadership, the essay presents the idea that The
teachers and the administrators lead by example in the school to achieve the
highest result possible. In an educational setting this type of leadership helps the
teachers growth and development and it is very effective in problem solving
(Bush, 2003). In your opinion is this an important focus for schools? Explain.
-

Sure. As known, schools are complex organizational structures so there will be

problems and challenges. Leaders should be able to break the barriers so it will not
stop innovation. Moreover, they should be able to brainstorm to be creative and
find solutions to keep going.

XI.

Complete the table that shows 3 strengths of each leadership model.

Bureaucratic Leadership
Follows the rules strictly

Collegial leadership

Transformational leadership

which could ensure that

Based on sharing and

Based on the vision and the

there is an equality in

democracy

motivation of the leader

in the leadership style

Less conflict in the working

Challenge the members and

ensure that everyone is

space

make them work harder

efficient
Ensure everyone capable

Increase the productivity

Improve the productivity in

of the task at hand

of the employees

the workplace

opportunities
The rules and regulations

3. In your opinion do you think it is possible for aspects of all three leadership styles
to be used in a school in UAE? Explain your reasons and give examples to justify.
-

Yes, the UAE Vision 2021 is concentrating heavily on innovation and to achieve this
there should be rules and regulations that maintain stability in schools this will be
a part of the bureaucratic management model. For example, if all schools have the
same goals we can compare and identify the factors that might affect achieving
these goals and schools can share solutions to accomplish them together and they
will avoid chaos. In the same time, to be able to innovate, talents should be used
to come with creative ideas from different stakeholders and this will make
everyone unique and feel that their opinions are important and they are a part of
this organization so this will follow the collegial management style. For instance, in
Al Andalous School teachers create teams by themselves and they are the ones
who responsible to run celebrations. Finally, there are passive employees in every
organization so having a leader to motivate them will be beneficial to encourage
them and use their talents. This will let us follow one aspect of the
transformational leadership style. For example, the principal in Al Andalous School
meet with teachers sometimes to let them know that she expect from them high
expectations. One day, she met them and told them her feedback that they were
more creative before and that what she expect from them always.