Book
Review: The Principal – Three Keys to Maximizing Impact
by Michael Fullan
Michael Fullan begins The Principal – Three Keys to Maximizing Impact with some sobering statistics about the drop in morale among principals:
by Michael Fullan
Michael Fullan begins The Principal – Three Keys to Maximizing Impact with some sobering statistics about the drop in morale among principals:
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75% of principals feel that their job has become too complex;
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Half of all principals feel under great stress;
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The percentage of principals who are satisfied in their work
has dropped since 2008.
Fullan
believes that the overwhelming and anxiety-inducing responsibilities of today’s
principals necessitate the re-imagining of the role of the principal. He begins this redefinition with what he
terms a shocker: “the principal as direct instructional leader is not the solution!” (6) Indeed, he maintains that the current notion
of the principal as instructional leader actually inhibits the principal’s influence over instructional improvement
in her/his school! Instead, he proposes
three key roles for the principal: as learning leader, system player, and
change agent. (9)
In Chapter 2,
Fullan also explains why he believes the recent concept of the principal as
instructional leader is too narrow a view of the principal’s role. “The narrow view raises two problems: first,
in complex matters [such as school improvement and student achievement], you
can’t really micromanage to good effect; second it can be incredibly time
consuming for principals, diverting them from doing other things [such as
management, leading collaborative learning, and implementing change] that can
shape learning more powerfully.” (39-40)
The first key
role of the principal is addressed in Chapter 3: “Leading Learning”. In this chapter, Fullan begins by
maintaining that principals who are effective lead learners are necessarily also good managers, because they understand that
having clear routines is essential for school improvement.” (57) He quotes from Viviane Robinson’s Student-Centered Leadership to both
underscore the previous point and emphasize that successful principals take an
active learning stance: “The principal who makes the biggest impact on learning
is the one who attends to other matters as well, but, most important,
‘participates as a learner’ with teachers in helping move the school forward.”
(58) Fullan also borrows from Helen
Timperley’s work in responding to the question, Who is in a principal’s class? The
principal’s class consists of “team leaders who in turn can leverage the
learning of other teachers in their group” (60)
After
reviewing other educational theorists’ ideas, Fullan then examines the leading learning role of the principal
from the perspective of his three-part conception of professional capital. The
principal should seek and then cultivate human
capital - quality teachers and teacher leaders. The principal should also foster conditions
that allow teachers to learn from each other “in purposeful, specific ways to
improve learning in the school”, that is, develop the school’s social capital. Finally, by fostering expertise in teachers,
the principal builds decisional capital - teacher capacity for making wise
decisions that improve student learning. (89)
He concludes
Chapter 3 with two “powerful forces” that emerge from professional capital:
- Mutual allegiance – a collaborative culture of
helping, commiserating, and celebrating among teachers “for the collective
good”.
- Talk the walk - teachers using “common language
and transparent actions” for deep and important school improvement and
student learning. (87-88)
The second
key role for principals is stated in the title of Chapter 4 –“ Being a System
Player”. Fullan qualifies this role by
emphasizing that a principal shouldn’t pay less attention to school matters
“but rather to engage outside in order to increase learning within your school
(while at the same time contributing to the betterment of the system).” (99)
A principal
also needs “to see the world as your arena of ideas” (107), that is, engage in
partnerships with schools beyond the district that are demographically similar
but have met with greater success in achieving a common learning goal. Fullan argues that learning can be “two-way”
from such a partnership. On one hand,
teachers and the principal will learn a great deal from visiting this more
successful school, but as well, in preparing to present to the other school’s
staff, they will develop deeper awareness of their own school’s practices and
culture.
The third key
role identified by Fullan is for principals to be change agents. As uncertainty is always associated with
change, the principal is to “work through the ambiguities” by tackling
resistance, reassuring the reluctant that the outcome will be a good one, and
inspiring confidence in those willing to move. (124) Fullan cautions that it takes more than just
passion to successfully bring about change.
Principals must also develop skills for leading change.
In the final chapter, Fullan examines two “formerly unforeseen forces”
that he believes principals must address.
The first is the digital revolution.
Fullan maintains that the principal’s role is to embrace the “ever-alluring
digital world” and contagious enthusiasm of both students and teachers for it
by encouraging the integration of technology in their schools and actively
participating in the process. The second
force is specific to the American context – the Common Core State Standards. Fullan’s advice for U. S. principals is to
avoid the temptation to passively implement the standards and assessment
instruments that were developed in conjunction with them. Instead, principals “should understand the
big picture but also work from the ground up”. (157) They can do this by uncovering the key
learning goals that underlie the core standards, and partnering with teachers
and students to find ways to realize them
Some Further Thoughts
With respect to the principal's role of leading learning in her/his school, I would suggest the following specific strategies:
- "Assume the role of lead learner in the classroom walkthrough process" (p. 17 Engaging Teachers in Classroom Walkthroughs, Kachur, Stout, & Edwards, 2013);
- Fully commit to participating in a few key PLCs in your school. (This means being present for all sessions, not just showing up occasionally.);
- Join (or form) a PLC with a few other principals in statistically similar schools which are focusing on a common goal for school improvement;
- Share your professional growth plan with your staff, in order to model lifelong learning;
- Actively participate in professional learning networks through social media and on-line communities (ie. Twitter, Google+, Linkedin);
- Commit to reading at least one book per month on learning and share your reflections on your reading with your staff (www.Shelfari.com is a great site to keep a record of your books.);
- As Fullan says, put yourself in a learning stance, not a performance stance, during classroom walkthroughs and conversations with your teachers.
