Values-Based Leadership: At the Heart of Sustaining School Reform and Improvement

Abstract

The critical challenge facing educational leaders is promoting innovative change that generates systemic improvements in student achievement as well as the school culture. This chapter introduces and highlights the significance of professional leadership in the reform process and its importance to positive change outcomes. Throughout the chapter, the authors also argue that it is time to recognize and better understand the need and importance of values-based leadership as a viable methodology for leading change. The authors based this assertion on a review of leadership and their findings which demonstrate that leaders often acting as innovation entrepreneurs drive changes in policies and practices to specific outcomes related to their values. Furthermore, when exploring the role of leadership, the authors address another related area of interest and acknowledge that leadership values and effectiveness make a difference, specifically, when leaders communicate a sense of personal responsibility and accountability to forward school reform agendas. Finally, the authors reiterate their interest in values-based leadership and address the importance of specific leadership qualities and behaviors as they relate to school reform while Exploring values-based leadership as a framework for sustainable improvement Sharing their observations to provide a rationale for the importance of values-based leadership Examining lessons learned about values-based leadership from history, business, and other fields Framing values-based leadership within an educational focus Explaining the importance of values-based leadership by providing examples of unsuccessful and successful school reform initiatives Identifying implications for the future