Best Practice: A Technocrat’s Dream!
by Dean Fink
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Overview
In this February 2004 article from ICP Online, Dean Fink homes in on some key ‘truths’ about educational leadership:
(It) is more art than science; it is more about character than technique; it is more about leading students’ and teachers’ learning than the management of things.
He argues against the popular notion of ‘best practice’ leadership. Such a notion, he says, implies that there is a ‘Holy Grail’ of practice to which principals should aspire. The nature of schools and their diverse contexts and circumstances mean that this is a nonsense.
The idea of ‘best practice’, he suggests, has been created by policy ‘technocrats’ who see this as an opportunity to create a leadership template, against which performances or managerial attributes can be measured. The only kind of practice that principals need to concern themselves with, Fink concludes, is the kind that contributes to and enhances students learning.
Reflective questions
These reflective questions might guide you in your reading of this article:
- In this article, Dean Fink discusses the role of the principal as a leader of learning. Do you see yourself as a leader of learning or a manager most of the time?
- What kinds of professional activities would help you to become more of a learning leader? What changes might need to take place in school for these things to happen?
- Think about each of the ‘seven sets of learning’. Compare your own skills. How could you develop further?
References
Fink, D. (2004, February). Best practice: A technocrat’s dream!
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