The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact - Softcover

Fullan, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1119422353 ISBN 13: 9781119422358

Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub, 2018

Synopsis

The author of Six Secrets of Change describes how and why the principal's role must change to maximize student achievement

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Principals are often called the second most crucial in-school influencers (after teachers) of student learning. But what should the principal do in order to maximize student achievement? One of the best-known leadership authors in education, Fullan explains why the answer lies neither in micro-managing instruction nor in autonomous entrepreneurialism. He shows systematically how the principal's role should change, demonstrating how it can be done in short order, at scale.

• Reveals the three key roles that administrators must play in today's schools
• Explains how to choose the right versus wrong drivers of school success
• Filled with "action items" to help implement Fullan's program effectively
• Includes strategies that have been successfully field-tested in schools across the United States and Canada

About this title

About the Author

Michael Fullan, Order of Canada, is a professor emeritus at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. He consults with leaders of education systems worldwide and is the award-winning author of more than thirty books, including Leading in a Culture of Change, The Six Secrets of Change, and Change Leader. To learn more, visit www.michaelfullan.ca.

From the Back Cover

THE PRINCIPAL: THREE KEYS TO MAXIMIZING IMPACT

Over the past two decades, Michael Fullan has written influentially about the change that school and district leaders must bring about as formalized achievement standards and new technology transform how schools are run. What he hasn't done until now is explore and discuss in detail how and why the principal's role itself must change.

Principals are often called the second most crucial in-school influencers (after teachers) of student learning. But what should the principal do in order to maximize student achievement? In The Principal, Fullan explains why the answer lies neither in micro-managing instruction nor in autonomous entrepreneurialism. He also shows systematically how the principal's role must change, and demonstrates how it can be done in short order, at scale.

Fullan shows how principals have been boxed into a narrow role that undercuts their ability to develop the whole school. He sheds light on how, in times of crisis, it's all too easy for principals to do the wrong thing—to take actions that are ineffective or even counter-productive, particularly when they don't feel entirely in charge. But even in the toughest of external conditions, he shows, there is always leeway for action. Fullan explains how to choose the right versus wrong drivers—loosening focus on accountability and instead concentrating on capacity-building; focusing less on technology and more on pedagogy; abandoning fragmented strategies and striving for "systemness"; and forgoing individualistic solutions in favor of collaborative effort. He shares how principals can foster the professional capital of teachers and get far more accomplished for all students.

The author explains the three key roles that administrators must play in order to have the biggest impact on student achievement—the learning leader, the district and system player, and the change agent. Throughout The Principal are "action items" to help leaders implement Fullan's program effectively, as well as provocative discussion questions that enhance the book's usefulness in professional development and leadership courses.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1119422353
• ISBN 13: 9781119422358
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 174