In times of transition, leaders who can achieve progress in the face of complexity, uncertainty, and opposition are required. Schools are under pressure to develop new and broader learning outcomes to prepare students for uncertain employment and life prospects, to leverage new research and technology to rethink knowledge, and even to engage students in rich and meaningful learning. To determine how to satisfy these demands in a way that serves the best interests of diverse students and communities, learning leaders with the agility to improve learning and teaching and negotiate change within the complex relational contexts of contemporary schools will be required. Agile leadership places a greater emphasis on establishing a dynamically agile strategy that depends on all sorts of variations and cultivating real-value capabilities among all partners.
TopIntroduction
Education has always been the premier incubator for leadership. Yet education systems have been subject to intense examination and skepticism over their efficacy and relevance in educating our youth for a world in flux and fostering new leadership for developing “knowledge societies.” Educators have worked for a long time to fulfil the changing demands of their students and to resolve issues of access, diversity, and inequality (Breakspear et al., 2017). Today, educators must adapt to accelerating technological developments and even reimagine and remodel their own learning environments. In order for education institutions to restore relevance, dynamic, adaptable leaders capable of capturing the creative imagination of youths and their instructors are required.
The most successful way for school leaders to promote change and sustain long-term student involvement is through empowering their teachers and staff. Developing 'agile leaders of learning' offers a better awareness of complexity and enables leaders — whether teachers, coordinators, or principles — to adapt to shifting needs and seek innovative solutions in collaboration with their peers and colleagues (Breakspear et al., 2017). Agile leadership in education emphasizes the importance of collaborative decision-making between teachers, students, and other stakeholders. For example, a teacher might involve students in decisions around classroom management or curriculum design, or they might collaborate with other teachers to share resources and expertise. This approach creates a sense of ownership and shared responsibility among all stakeholders and can lead to more effective and sustainable educational practices (Mercer, 2018).
Leaders who can make progress in the face of complexity, ambiguity, and resistance are needed in times of change. Schools are under pressure to produce new and wider learning outcomes to educate students for uncertain job and life prospects, to use new research and technology to rethink knowledge, and even to engage students in meaningful and deep learning. Figuring out how to address these expectations in a manner that serves the best interests of diverse students and communities will need learning leaders with the agility to enhance learning and teaching and negotiate change within the complex relational settings of modern schools.
Consequently, the success of education reforms is closely connected to the capacity of school-level educators to drive learning progress and innovation. Education systems understand the need for additional leaders and the need to assist present leaders in improving learning and leading difficult change more effectively. Leadership development, as a mechanism for system change, has been an increasing priority in many nations over the last decade, but it has not gotten the same amount of attention, investment, or systemic action as teacher reform. Thus, leadership policy represents a significant potential for system-wide enhancement.
Following chapter concentrates on management policies aimed at fostering leadership for learning within an education system. Too often, leadership policies have been restricted to principal preparation. While the development of principals must be a core aspect of a leadership development plan, this chapter also explores the under-researched topic of how to build leadership skills in a wider spectrum of educators, including those in official leadership roles and instructors. We advocate for a comprehensive, consistent, and system-wide plan to recruit, retain, develop, and empower learning leaders. Moreover, we think that this approach should not only seek to increase the number of leaders, but also to cultivate leaders of learning who are capable of translating difficulties and possibilities into effective educational practice that has a lasting good influence on students.
The sub-objectives of the chapter are summarized as follow:
- •
Shed light over the role of agile leaders within educational leaders;
- •
Significance of agile leaders in school;
- •
Role of agile leadership in school/curriculum restructuring.