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Leading From Below the Surface
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Leading From Below the Surface
A Non-Traditional Approach to School Leadership



June 2004 | 112 pages | Corwin
`Theodore Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking 'below the surface' at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative' - Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor, Florida State University

Having served as teacher, principal, and superintendent before moving into higher education, Theodore Creighton is acutely aware that theoretical leadership theories often lack direction for working with the immediacy necessary for practical decision making in schools and on campuses. Often decisions are made from behind the scenes, under the radar, and occasionally require the bending of rules. The book presents a new model of school leadership that addresses and makes room for the more functional, real-world considerations that principals face, which includes understanding data and factors that are also "below the surface." The book also demonstrates practical examples, leadership practices, building political capital, e-communication, and time management, while continuing to emphasize leadership in the context of the "blurry" lines of practice

 
Preface
What This Book Is Not About

 
Acknowledgments

 
 
About the Author
 
1. Introduction
First, What Is the Surface?

 
OK, Now What Does "Below the Surface" Mean?

 
Leadership Is Both Objective and Subjective

 
 
2. What Does Traditional Leadership Look Like, and
How Did We Get Here from There?
Behavioral Leadership

 
Situational Leadership

 
Contingency Leadership Theory

 
Path-Goal Theory of Leadership

 
Transformational Leadership Theory

 
A Conceptual Framework for Leading From Below the Surface

 
 
3. What Is Leading From Below the Surface?
Bending the Rules Without Breaking Them

 
Managing Your Portfolio of Political Capital

 
Bourdieu and Capital

 
 
4. Evidence-Based Decision Making
Below the Surface: Data- or Evidence-Based?

 
Data-Driven vs. Evidence-Based Decision Making

 
Attendance Rates vs. Absence Rates

 
Narrowing the Achievement Gap

 
Dropout Rate: 2% or 28%?

 
Concluding Thoughts

 
 
5. Institutional Effectiveness vs. Strategy
A Closer Look at Strategy

 
How Does Strategy Relate to School Leadership?

 
Describing the Strategy

 
Identifying Positive and Negative Forces

 
 
6. Cooperation vs. Collaboration
Closing Thoughts

 
 
7. Looking Beyond the Obvious
From Superintendent to Secretary of Education

 
The SAT Story

 
Not Settling for Embroidering the Edges

 
Concluding Thoughts

 
 
8. Creating Leadership Behaviors: A Leadership Practice Field
OK, On to a Leadership Practice Field

 
Defining a Practice

 
A Practice Field Further Defined

 
Practicing Leading From Below the Surface

 
Practicing Listening

 
Practicing Respecting

 
 
9. Implications for Practicing School Administrators
Accountability

 
Leading From Below the Surface

 
The Disjuncture Between Societal Use and School Use of Technology

 
The Virtual Classroom

 
 
References
 
Index

"Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking ‘below the surface’ at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative."

Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor
Florida State University

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction


Theodore B. Creighton

Theodore B. Creighton is currently a Professor and Program Leader in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, he served as Director of the Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University and as a Professor in Educational Leadership at Idaho State University. His background includes teaching at all grade levels in Washington, D.C.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Los Angeles, California. His administrative experience includes serving as principal and superintendent in both Fresno and Kern Counties, California. He holds... More About Author

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