ERIC Number: EJ1015508
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Apr
Pages: 3
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1784
EISSN: N/A
Principals Who Think Like Teachers
Fahey, Kevin
Educational Leadership, v70 n7 p66-68 Apr 2013
Being a principal is a complex job, requiring quick, on-the-job learning. But many principals already have deep experience in a role at the very essence of the principalship. They know how to teach. In interviews with principals, Fahey and his colleagues learned that thinking like a teacher was key to their work. Part of thinking the way a teacher does involves understanding how learners learn. As school leaders, principals need to be particularly aware of how adults learn. Learners have different needs according to their stages of development. A new teacher might struggle with classroom management, while an experienced teacher might need guidance with fine-tuning his or her practice. Principals also need to be aware of when an instrumental approach, which focuses on clear strategies and solutions, is appropriate and when a more socializing style of learning, which emphasizes collaboration, is the right fit. Key qualities of principals who think like teachers include purposeful attention to a school's learning needs, eagerness to learn, clarity about their own learning styles, and courage to raise difficult questions and expose what they don't know.
Descriptors: Principals, Instructional Leadership, Administrator Role, Administrator Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Case Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A