Democratic Leadership and Places to Practice It

Abstract

The renewal or reform of public schools and their communities calls for a moral democratic concept of leadership, which includes the principles and practices of caring, trust, social justice and collaborative inquiry. In contrast to the bureaucratic concept of leadership that has prevailed in public schools and placed a few people in leadership roles, a democratic concept involves everyone and requires the development of leadership skills in teachers, school administrators, students, parents and neighborhood residents. Such a concept can best be served by a merger of teacher and administrator preparation programs, so that future teachers may develop as leaders as well as followers, and future administrators may develop as followers as well as leaders. In such a merger, there must be community and school forums in which preservice teachers and administrators may practice for their future roles and extend the democratic concept of leadership to students, parents, and neighborhood residents. Efforts of one eight-year school and community change initiative, which is now in its sixth year, indicate the type of forum that might effectively serve this need.