Explicit Development of Emotional Intelligence Skills to Improve Special Education Teacher Leadership

As a general construct, emotional intelligence encompasses emotional, personal, and social abilities influential upon one’s overall capability to effectively deal with environmental demands and pressures (McCallum & Piper, 2000). Emotional intelligence was further defined by Schutte, Malouff, Bobik, Coston, Greeson, & Jedlicka (2001) as the ability to adaptively recognize, express, regulate, and harness emotions. Diverse cognitive or emotional intelligence skills vary by age, gender, and developmental level (Gardner, 1995), which thereby impacts one’s level of competency or FLOW (Csikszentmihaly, 2013).

Accountability of teacher preparation and graduate leadership programs remain an ongoing process. Both the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP, 2019) and the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP, 2022) provide standards that expect teacher preparation and graduate leadership program curriculum to address leadership skill development. Emotional intelligence has been linked to effective leadership (Goleman, 2002, 2008b). Unfortunately, within too many accredited programs, emotional intelligence behaviors are implicitly presented rather than explicitly taught and thereby reliably assessed. However, a study by Anderson (2017) indicated a direct correlation between a leader’s demonstrated emotional intelligence behaviors in the workplace and stakeholders’ perceptions of optimal school climate,

Outcomes of Anderson’s (2017) research noted it is not yet known if and to what degree public schools that are led by leaders exhibiting high emotional intelligence (EQ) would have teachers exhibiting high EQ.  Furthermore, would such schools be more likely to then be perceived as intentionally inviting, having students with higher socio-emotional skills, or have comparatively more diverse learners receiving education in an inclusive setting?  These questions invite further research on the impact of typically demonstrated emotional intelligence and effective teacher leadership within special education settings.

 A study by Byron (2001) found institutes of higher education (IHE) that focus upon emotional intelligence behaviors produced successful outcomes. However, Cobb and Meyer (2000) cautioned that any program seeking to develop emotional intelligence skills “should be empirically defensible, measurable, and clear enough to serve as a basis for curriculum development" (18).  For instance, Sanders’ (2010) quantitative study examined the perceptions of professors that focus upon educational leadership in their work within IHE. Specifically, Sanders sought to identify the professors’ understanding of competencies related to emotional intelligence and the extent to which these competencies were being included within their IHE teacher leadership programs. Left unanswered was whether or to what extent the teacher leaders’ demonstrated emotional intelligence related to stakeholders’ perceptions of optimal school climate

Given teaching is considered one of the most stressful occupations (Palomera, Fernandez-Berrocal, & Brackett, 2008), increasing the importance of emotional intelligence skills training is crucial because professional development in emotional intelligence skills can support teachers’ coping skills within a stressful environment. Teacher burnout becomes more predictable in relation to stress. By contrast, teachers exhibiting high emotional intelligence use more positive, well-adapted, coping strategies to deal with different sources of stress at school, thereby feeling greater job satisfaction (Palomera et al., 2008).

Teacher leadership can be present in different forms for varied purposes, including management, instruction, and school reform. Teacher leadership may be structured either formally or informally as it evolves through presented opportunities and explicit needs within schools. Leadership advancing Invitational Education (IE) theory encourages people to tap into their unlimited potential (Purkey & Novak, 2016). Based on her meta-analysis, Billingsley (2007) found support in the literature for the expectation that serving the needs of students with disabilities requires multiple layers of leadership across school-wide and district-wide levels. Therefore, it makes sense that an intentionally inviting leader’s increased ability to effectively interact with diverse stakeholders would mitigate barriers that confront teacher leaders and their ability to support diverse learners.

To leverage the social, structural, and fiscal, resources beneficial for students with disabilities York-Barr, Sommerness, Duke, and Ghere (2005) suggested teacher leaders should provide the vision, direction, and plans for special education and encouraged prospective teacher leaders to collaborate and advocate across multiple levels within their educational systems.  As a result, prospective teacher leaders would learn to project a concrete understanding of the correlation between the degree to which they are connected to stakeholders within the school and the degree to which they can influence diverse learners’ ability to be connected, feel supported, and optimally succeed within the culture of that school.

Through their educator and leadership preparation programs, every IHE can benefit from encouraging teaching practices that require increased competence in emotional awareness as well as cognition. The results of a study by Rojas (2012) asserted three needs for optimal emotional intelligence development among prospective teachers:

1.  Development of emotional intelligence begins with a commitment to change.
2. Application of emotional intelligence learning is optimized within environments favorable to emotional intelligence development.
3. Pursuit of an ideal allows interdependent application of all other emotional intelligence competencies.

Within the context of emotional intelligence, at least two perspectives are possible: maximal emotional intelligence performance and typical emotional intelligence performance (Gignac, 2010). Typical performance is a more reliable indicator of actual behavior (Sackett, Zadeck & Fogli, 1988). Gignac (2010) and Palmer, Stough, Harmer & Gignac (2009) suggest typical emotional intelligence is purely relevant to the actual demonstration of emotional intelligence skills. Therefore, typical emotional intelligence performance perspective grounds the Genos Emotional Intelligence inventories (Palmer et al., 2009).

Five factors that can be influenced by every leader’s demonstrated emotional intelligence provide a specific framework that contributes to school success or failure. The five powerful factors: People, places, policies, programs, and processes (the Five P’s) become highly significant due to their separate and combined influence (Purkey & Siegel, 2013). Interdependently, the Five P’s provide limitless opportunities for evaluation and development of organizational climate. Grounded in Invitational Education theory, the Five P’s “address the total culture or ecosystem of almost any organization” (Purkey & Siegel, 2003, p. 104). Therefore, the Five P’s contribute to the creation of a positive school climate and ultimately a healthy and successful organization (Purkey & Siegel, 2013).

As noted above, various elements produce an effective educational leader. Clearly, emotional intelligence competencies have been correlated with leadership potential (Charbonneau & Nicol, 2002; Dries & Pepermans, 2007). Yet, further examination of the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective educational leadership remains an ongoing need. Increased understanding of emotional intelligence as a concept and development of participants' emotional intelligence will further enhance any IHE’s leadership development programs (Sadri, 2012).

The field of education would benefit from further understanding the correlation between themes such as emotional intelligence, perception of school climate, and effective leadership capable of monitoring and adjusting indicators of success that optimize and sustain educational reform. The awareness and management of emotions, as well as perception of emotions by others, provide critical elements for success as a leader (Cherniss, 2010). Ideally, this article positively influenced your acceptance that our constantly and rapidly evolving society, will benefit from resilient leaders that possess and demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence.  Therefore, you are intentionally invited to become an advocate for explicit development of emotional development skills as part of every IHE’s teacher preparation and graduate leadership programs.

 

 

To Cite:

Anderson, C. J. (July 30, 2022). Explicit development of emotional intelligence skills to improve special education teacher leadership. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/

 

References

Anderson, C. J. (2017). Examining demonstrated emotional intelligence and perceptions of inviting schools. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 23, 35-61.

 

Billingsley, B. S. (2007). Recognizing and supporting the critical roles of teachers in special

            education leadership. Exceptionality, 15(3), 163-176. doi:10.1080/09362830701503503

 

Byron, C. M. (2001). The effects of emotional knowledge education in the training of             novice teachers. (Order No. 3014883, Columbia University Teachers College). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 103-103 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/251642822?accountid=7374. (251642822).

 Charbonneau, D., & Nicol, A. M. (2002). Emotional intelligence and leadership in adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 1101–1113 doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(01)00216-1

 Cherniss, C. (2010). Emotional intelligence: Toward clarification of a concept. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3, 110–126. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2010.01231

 Cobb, C.D., & Mayer, J.D. (2000). Emotional Intelligence: What the research says. Educational Leadership. 58(3). 14-18. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov00/vol58/num03/toc.aspx

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (2019). CAEP Accreditation Standards.           Retrieved from http://caepnet.org/accreditation/caep-accreditation/spa-standards-and-report-forms

 

Csikszentmihaly, M. (2013). Creativity: The psychology of discovery and invention (Reprint edition.). New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 9780062283252.

 

Dries, N., & Pepermans, R. (2007). Using emotional intelligence to identify high potential: A metacompetency perspective. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 28(8), 749–770. doi:10.1108/01437730710835470

 

Gardner, H. (1995). Reflections on multiple intelligences: Myths and messages. Phi

            Delta Kappan. 4. 200- 209. Retrieved from:

https://learnweb.harvard.edu/WIDE/courses/files/Reflections.pdf

 

Gignac, G. E. (2010). Seven-Factor model of emotional intelligence as measured by

            Genos EI: A confirmatory factor analytic investigation based on self- and rater-

            report data. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26(4), 309-316

doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000041

 

Goleman, D. (2006a). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

 

Goleman, D. (2006b). The socially intelligent leader. Educational Leadership, 64(1), 76–

            81. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept06/vol64/num01/toc.aspx

 

McCallum, M., & Piper, W. (2000). Psychological mindedness and emotional

            intelligence. In R.Bar-On & J. Parker (Ed.), The Handbook of Emotional

            Intelligence: Theory, Development, Assessment, and Application at Home,

            School, and in the Workplace (pp. 118-135). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  ISBN:   0-7879-4984-1

 

Palmer, B. R., Stough, C., Harmer, R., & Gignac, G. E. (2009). The Genos Emotional

            Intelligence Inventory: A measure designed specifically for the workplace. In C.

            Stough, D. Saklofske, & J. Parker (Ed.), Assessing emotional intelligence:

            Theory, research & applications (pp. 103-118). New York: Springer. doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-88370-0_6

 

Palomera, R., Fernandez-Berrocal, P., & Brackett, M. A. (2008). Emotional intelligence

            as a basic competency in pre-service teacher training: some 135 evidence.

            Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 6(2), 437-454.

            Retrieved from: http://www.investigacion-            psicopedagogica.org/revista/articulos/15/english/Art_15_276.pdf

 

Purkey, W. W., & Novak, J.M. (2016). Fundamentals of invitational education (2^nd ed). The International Alliance for Invitational Education. Retrieved from: https://www.invitationaleducation.net/product-category/books/

Rojas, M. (2012). The missing link: Emotional intelligence in teacher preparation. (Order

No. 3495309, Arizona State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 220.

Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/923616326?accountid=7374.

(923616326).

 

Sackett, P. R., Zedeck, S., & Fogli, L. (1988). Relations between measures of typical and

maximum job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73(3), 482–486.

doi:10.1037/0021-9010.73.3.482

 

Sadri, G. (2012). Emotional intelligence and leadership development. Public Personnel

 Management, 41(3), 535-548. doi.org/10.1177/009102601204100308

 

Sanders, S.C. (2010) Emotional intelligence, a necessary component of educational

            leadership programs, as perceived by professors of educational leadership

            (Doctoral Dissertation).

Schutte, N.S., Malouff, J.M., Bobik, C., Coston, T.D., Greeson, C., Jedlicka, C., et al.

            (2001). Emotional intelligence and interpersonal relations. Journal of Social

            Psychology, 141(4), 523-536. doi.org/10.1080/00224540109600569

 

York-Barr, J., Sommerness, J., Duke, K., & Ghere, G. (2005). Special educators in inclusive

            education programmes: reframing their work as teacher leadership. International Journal

            of Inclusive Education, 9(2), 193-215. doi:10.1080/1360311042000339374

  

Optimizing School-wide Climate Positively Impacts School Success

      Sustained school improvement processes rely upon a school-wide climate of high expectations for success (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011).  Curriculum for teacher preparation or leadership programs should inspire exploration of leadership models influential upon sustained school success.  Models may include servant leadership, transformational leadership, and distributed leadership.  Exploration of the literature based on the variables and theoretical frameworks would find Winston and Hartsfield (2004) attributed high levels of emotional intelligence to leadership models.  Other research identified leaders’ demonstrated high emotional intelligence promoted empowerment (Page & Wong, 2000; Patterson, 2003), collaboration (Russell & Stone, 2002), and autonomy (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002; Winston’s SL Model, 2003).  The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership influence (Charbonneau & Nicol, 2002; Dries & Pepermans, 2007) should be further examined as it may positively relate school climate created by a school leader to staff performance and student achievement (Barnett & McCormick, 2004; Stipek, 2006). 

Given the previously established positive link between school climate and student achievement, Johnson and Stevens (2006), suggested future studies test school climate using “other mediating variables” (p. 119).  Winston and Hartsfield (2004) identified correlations between three of the four sub-skills of emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997) and leadership behaviors that promote positive school climate.  Climate-building behaviors also embrace teacher autonomy (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002; Winston’s SL Model, 2003).  Marzano and Waters (2009) also identified the importance of “defined autonomy” (p.8). 

      Leaders promoting personally and professionally inviting opportunities for development provide an optimal model for success within today’s schools (Burns & Martin, 2010; Purkey & Siegel, 2013).  Identifying the competencies that increase the conveyance and receipt of personal and professional development opportunities could optimize school climate for all stakeholders (Purkey & Novak, 2016).  Invitations for personal and professional development need to be explicitly conveyed (Purkey & Novak, 2016) and recognized as an opportunity (Anderson, 2017). 

     Invitational Education theory seeks to promote trust, collaboration, and purposeful inclusion (Purkey & Novak, 2016; Purkey & Siegel, 2013).  However, “People cannot accept invitations they have never received” (Purkey & Novak, 1996, p.75).  To be dependably inviting, effective leaders need to check for receipt and seek acknowledgement of their invitations for personal and professional development.  What is the influence of the teachers’ emotional intelligence upon the ability to recognize the invitation as an opportunity?

      Sadri (2012) noted Samad’s research found dimensions of emotional intelligence explained 59% of the variance in effective leadership whereby the social skills dimension emerged as the most influential.  The awareness and management of emotions, as well as perception of emotions by others, provide critical elements for success as a leader (Cherniss, 2010).  Within this constantly and rapidly evolving society, Bumphus (2007) found that resilient leaders possessing high levels of emotional intelligence become increasingly important.  

      Therefore, to be more reliably inviting, school leaders need to have the skills to effectively convey and then check for receipt.  Only then does acceptance become a possibility.  While Curry (2009) found uncertainty of the influence of emotional intelligence upon school climate, Anderson (2019) found Emotional Self-Control and Emotional Management of Others predicted a strong relationship in the positive direction between four of the five Inviting School Survey-Revised (ISS-R) domains of school climate. 

       While educational research exists on emotional intelligence, school climate based on IE theory, and leadership influence upon school climate, the field would benefit from further examination of the interconnectedness of these variables.  Further empirical research on the relationship between a certified teacher’s rating of the leader’s demonstrated emotional intelligence and the teacher’s perception of the school climate based on structures aligned with Invitational Education theory s encouraged.  Related empirical data would thereby inform the curriculum of educator preparation programs and the professional development of educational leaders.

     Schools must be places where leaders gain credibility through self-regulated behaviors.  Invitational Education theory contributes to school effectiveness by the way that its leaders demonstrate care for, and support of, the efforts of others (Halpin, 2003; Purkey & Siegel, 2013).  These behaviors include the ability to empathize, build trust, challenge and support others, serve as a visionary, promote teamwork, and share leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 2000).  This allows school climate to improve based on “relationships that flourish” (Weymes, 2003). 

To Cite:

Anderson, C.J. (January 31, 2020) Optimizing school-wide climate positively impacts

school success [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/

References:

Anderson, C. J. (2019). A leader’s emotional self-control and management of others impacts a

          school’s climate. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 25, 39-57.

Anderson, C. J. (2017). Examining demonstrated emotional intelligence and perceptions of

          inviting schools. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 23, 35-61.

Asbill, K., & Gonzalez, M. L. (2000). Invitational leadership: Teacher perceptions of

            inviting Principal practices.  Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 7(1),

            16-27. Retrieved from:

            http://www.invitationaleducation.net/pdfs/journalarchives/jitpv7n1.pdf

Bumphus, A., (2007). The emotional intelligence and resilience of school leaders: An

            investigation into leadership behaviors. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation),

            University of Southern Mississippi.

Burns, G. J., & Martin, B. N. (2010). Examination of the effectiveness of male and

            female educational leaders who made use of the invitational leadership style of

            leadership. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 16, 30-56. Retrieved

            from: http://www.invitationaleducation.net/pdfs/journalarchives/jitpv162010.pdf

Cherniss, C. (2010). Emotional intelligence: Toward clarification of a concept. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3, 110–126.  doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2010.01231

Cohen, J., McCabe, E., Michelli, N., & Pickeral, T. (2009). School climate: Research,

            policy, practice, and teacher education. Teachers College Record, 111(1), 180-

            213. Retrieved from:

            http://www.schoolclimate.org/climate/documents/policy/School-Climate-Paper-TC-Record.pdf

Curry, C. C. (2009). Correlation of emotional intelligence of school leaders to

            perceptions of school climate as perceived by teachers. (Order No. 3387434,

            Indiana University of Pennsylvania). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 257.

            Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305061864?accountid=7374.

            (305061864).

Gignac, G. E. (2010). Seven-Factor model of emotional intelligence as measured by

            Genos EI: A confirmatory factor analytic investigation based on self- and rater-

            report data. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26(4), 309-316

doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000041

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power

           of emotional intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

            doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.1063

Greenleaf, R. K. 1997. The servant as leader. Indianapolis, IN: The Greenleaf Center.

Johnson, B., & Stevens, J.J. (2006). Student achievement and elementary teachers’

            perceptions of school climate. Learning Environment Research, 9, 111-122.

doi.org/10.1007/s10984-006-9007-7

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z (2002). The leadership challenge (3rd ed.). San Francisco:

            Jossey- Bass. doi: 10.1037/t05491-000

Lezotte, L. W., & Snyder, K. M. (2011). What effective schools do: Re-envisioning the correlates. 

           Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Marzano, R. & Waters, T. (2009). District leadership that works. Bloomington, In:

            Solution Tree Press

Mayer, J.D. & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D.

            Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Implications

            for educators. 3-31. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from:

http://www.unh.edu/emotional_intelligence/ei%20Reprints/EIreprints%20home.htm

Porter, B. (2010). Managing with emotional intelligence. Library Leadership &

            Management, 24(4), 199–201. Retrieved from:

            https://journals.tdl.org/llm/index.php/llm/issue/view/120

Purkey, W. W., & Novak, J. M. (2016). Fundamentals of invitational education. (2^nd Ed) 

            International Alliance for Invitational Education. Retrieved from:

http://invitationaleducation.net/product/category/books

Purkey, W. W., & Siegel, B. L. (2013). Becoming an invitational leader: A new approach to

             professional and personal success. Atlanta, GA: Humanics. Retrieved from:

http://invitationaleducation.net/featuredbooks.html

Sadri, G. (2012). Emotional intelligence and leadership development. Public Personnel

            Management, 41(3), 535-548. doi.org/10.1177/009102601204100308

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and

            Personality, 9 (3), 185-211. doi.org/10.2190/dugg-p24e-52wk-6cdg

Schmidt, J. J. (2007). Elements of diversity in invitational practice and research. Journal of

            Invitational Theory & Practice, 13, 16-23. Retrieved from:

            http://www.invitationaleducation.net/pdfs/journalarchives/jitpv13.pdf

Sendjaya, S., & Sarros, J. C. (2002). Servant leadership: Its origin, development, and

            application in organizations. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies,

            9(2), 57-64. doi.org/10.1177/107179190200900205

Sergiovanni , T. J. (2007) Leadership as stewardship: ‘Who’s serving who?’. The Jossey-

            Bass Reader on Educational Leadership, 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley

            and Sons, pp. 75 – 92. ISBN: 0470435666

Spears, L. (1996). Reflections on Robert K. Greenleaf and servant leadership. The

            Leadership and Organization Development Journal , 17(7), 33-35.

doi.org/10.1108/01437739610148367

Stipek, D. (2006). Relationships matter. Educational Leadership, 64 (1), 46–49.

            Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-            leadership/sept06/vol64/num01/toc.aspx

Winston, B.E., & Hartsfield, M. (2004). Similarities between emotional intelligence and

            servant leadership. Proceedings of the Servant Leadership Research Roundtable.

            Retrieved from http://www.regent.edu/acad/cls/2004SLRoundtable/winston-         2004SL.pdf

    There are myriad factors potentially influencing educational leaders and their potential effectiveness.  Effective leaders of sustainable learning organizations recognize certain factors are more influential than others for creating sustained success.  Effective leaders optimize the learning organization’s sustained success by:

·     Sharing common values to guide the organization’s collaborative vision (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011; Sheppard & Brown, 2009),

·      Inspiring stakeholders’ emotions toward innovation and right action rather than triggering fear-based immovability (Reason, 2010; Immordino-Yang & Damasio, 2007), and

·      Using institutional memory and symbolic language to influence cultural change (DuFour, et al.,2008; ). 

       Let’s examine and evaluate the influence of these factors upon the creation of a sustainable learning organization.  Effective Schools Research examines sustainable learning organizations and consistently finds “effective schools have strong and effective leadership” (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011, p. 51).  A hallmark of effective leadership in schools is the ability to communicate the mission to all stakeholders, understand the principles and values needed to optimize learning, and possess the knowledge to manage the organization’s programs.  Therefore, knowledge of key factors influencing the creation and sustainability of the learning organization is essential. 

An effective school reaches clarity and consensus on the mission, core values, and beliefs.  It is then important to develop ongoing processes to avoid mission drift.  Effective schools strategically stave off mission drift when it periodically reviews and renews “the organization’s mission, values, and beliefs” (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011, p. 67).  Educators benefit in many ways from working to develop a clear, shared vision (Dufour et al., 2008). 

It is effective practice for an organizational leader to assure the presence of a clear mission, shared vision, and non-negotiable values.  The purpose of this effective practice is to optimize the collective commitment to reinforcing the foundation of the learning organization’s culture.  Approaches for promoting this practice have been available to learning organizations for decades.  For instance, Anderson and Pigford (1987) cited earlier work by Rutherford to explicate the following five effective leadership qualities:

1.      Have a vision:  Work toward a shared understanding of the goals, progress toward their achievement and coordinate curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

2.      Translate the vision into action:  Work as a team, emphasize school wide goals and expectations.

3.     Create a supportive environment:  Promote an academically-oriented, orderly, and purposeful school climate.

4.    Know what's going on in the school:  Find out what teachers and students are doing and how well.

5.  Act on knowledge:  Intervene as necessary accommodating different teacher personalities, styles, and teaching strategies (pp. 67-68).

     A consistent exhibition of vision toward a clear mission, commitment to learning for all, and shared responsibility for success certainly appears to be the minimal ethos of an effective school.  Citing Jenkins, Louis, Walberg, and Keefe (1994, p. 72), Lezotte and Snyder (2011) posit the most significant feature common to world-class schools is the ongoing effort to become “learning organizations with a commitment to continuous problem-solving and a sense of shared responsibility for improvement” (p. 67).  A learning organization’s culture promotes collaboration, which is profound because the ethos of a school either promotes or suppresses collaboration between teachers and stakeholders. 

     Leaders must find a balance between motivating their learners and minimizing negative emotions.  While self-destructive schools gravitate toward fear and stress, institutions making a difference consistently exhibit love, courage, and hope (Reason, 2010).  Therefore, this range of emotions either positively or negatively affects organizational learning. 

     Diverse emotions can result in either ruminating or sagging emotions.  An effective leader does not leave the emotional tenor of a school to chance.  Rather, he or she promotes an emotional climate that focuses attention to optimize conditions for learning. 

Regardless if the perception is the need to accept or the need to overcome, change will be the result.  The greatest concern is the impact of such change upon the learning organization.  A trusting relationship between a leader and her or his followers is often based on how, when, where, and why the leader uses power (Bartram, 2007).  The ability to influence others to do something defines power.  Often the success or failure of a leader results from how and when she or he accesses and utilizes power through various mechanisms of rewards or punishments.  

     Leadership behavior affects stakeholder perceptions of trustworthiness.  This is important to researchers and managers interested in how leadership behaviors influence other areas of the organization (Caldwell & Hayes, 2007).  Key characteristics associated with most leadership theories include the ability to quickly assess situations, move accordingly for the benefit of the group, and to engender trust from followers (Burke, Sims, Lazzara, & Salas, 2007).  Quickly assessing situations and moving accordingly for the benefit of the group is what Roach et al (1999) called “wisdom in spontaneity” (p. 17).  Emotional Intelligence theorists call this social awareness and relationship management (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009).

     Ceremony and other structured memory construction activities exhibit the ability to form traditions within learning organizations that provide thoughtful reconstruction of historic events, thereby reinforcing particular values or beliefs.  The understanding of organizational events culturally frames the shared beliefs, values, and norms.  In this way, culture affects organizations at several levels.  Just as within society as a whole, an organization will also seek to preserve its own culture.  Thus, the creation of an effective learning organization requires the establishment of an organizational culture open to possibilities of what the institution can become. 

    Sustained improvement results when leaders of learning organizations structure time so institutional teams are empowered to meet regularly.  Effective leaders recognize goal achievement is necessary to sustain the improvement effort.  This commitment embraces the truth that teams outperform individual efforts because "learning not only occurs in teams but endures" (Schmoker, 1999, p. 12).

      Derived from personal experience and research, Reason (2010) posits a nine-step protocol for creating an organizational vision, reinforced by effective mental representations. 

Step One: Evaluating Personal Belief Systems

Step Two: Evaluating Context

Step Three: Evaluating Existing Mental Representations

Step Four: Evaluating Current Degree of Intention

Step Five: Establishing New Degrees of Intention

Step Six: Evaluating Current Belief Systems

Step Seven: Establishing New Actions to Support a New Vision

Step Eight: Reviewing the Learning Context

Step Nine: Continuously Reexamining the Vision (pp. 64-69)

         For instance; based on his or her own K-12 experience, virtually every adult has a mental model or mindset of a real school (Tyack & Cuban (1995).  This mental representation becomes omnipresent for him or her.  Such an internalized mental representation, relative to schools, is typically associated with strict rules about how a school actually works.  Therefore, to promote educational reform or institutional change, the negative mental representations held by stakeholders require reformation. 

        The quest to optimize learning at the highest levels is contingent upon perception, memory, and learning.  By rethinking or replacing older, less functional traditions, metaphors, or symbols, a learning organization can identify and promote new stories to create different mental representations capable of moving the organization toward positive change.  Perceived relevance affects attention.  Attention affects how effectively and efficiently learning occurs.  “The emotional tenor of a school is up to those who work in it” (Reason, 2010, p. 5).  Emotional states can affect individuals as well as organizations.

      As an organizational change strategy, storytelling is an integral tool because stories have the potential to create experiences; whereby a strategy is comprehended more diversely and personally (Adamson, Pine, Tom & Kroupa, 2006).  Therefore, “storytelling builds stronger teams and a stronger sense of community” (p. 36).  Images created through metaphorical language influence thought processes.  For instance, Jung (1964) wrote extensively on the instinctive nature of symbolic thought, suggesting symbols transcend cultures. 

        Identifying existing metaphors that are actually constructive and then replicating or expanding their scope optimizes the relationship between the learning organization and the organization’s culture.  Collective efficacy allows identification of the most positive aspects of an organization’s culture (Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy, 2004).  Thereafter, developing and perpetuating these messages could create effective, sustained change.

     Effective leadership produces collective, energized, collaborative commitment to the clear mission, shared vision, and non-negotiable values of an organization.  This alignment will deepen sustained, trustworthy, and emotionally fulfilling organizational learning.  By contrast, ineffective leadership exacerbates negative emotions and suppresses collaboration among stakeholders, which hinders organizational learning. 

To Cite:

Anderson, C.J. (June 30, 2019) Sustaining organizational learning. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/

 

References

Adamson, G., Pine, J., Tom, V. S., & Kroupa, J. (2006). How storytelling can drive strategic change. Strategy & Leadership, 34(1), 36-41

Anderson, L., & Pigford, A. (1987). Removing administrative impediments to instructional improvement efforts. Theory Into Practice, 26(1), 67-71.

Bartram, T. (2007). The relationship between leadership and follower in-role performance and satisfaction with the leader.  The mediating effects of empowerment and trust in the leader. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 28(1), 4-19.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J., (2009) Emotional intelligence 2.0.  San Diego, CA: TalentSmart

Caldwell, C., & Hayes, L. A. (2007). Leadership, trustworthiness, and the mediating lens. Journal of Management Development, 26(3), 261-281.:

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning communities at work: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Hoy, A. W. (2004). Collective efficacy beliefs: Theoretical developments, empirical evidence, and future directions. Educational Researcher, 33(3),  3–13.

Immordino-Yang, M.H., & Damasio, A.R (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Retrieved from:

            http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-228X.2007.00004.x/abstract

Jung, C. G. (1964) Man and his symbols London, England: Aldus Books in association with W.H. Allen

Lezotte, L. W., & Snyder, K. M. (2011). What effective schools do: Re-envisioning the correlates. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Marzano, R. & Waters, T.(2009).  District leadership that works. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press

Schmoker, J, (1999) The key to continuous school improvement (2nd edition). Alexandria, VA. ASCD

Sheppard, B., & Brown, J. (2009). Developing and implementing a shared vision of teaching and learning at the district level. International Studies in Educational Administration, 37(2), 41-59.

Tyack, D., & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.