Promoting the Development of Schools and Staff

Instructions

For character education and other kinds of prosocial development initiatives to be optimally effective and for it to have the optimal impact on the flourishing of human goodness and academic success, school leaders need to make their own character development a personal priority. In this way, they encourage other adults in the school to commit to their own self-examination and development, in turn, becoming models for students.

Before beginning

There are several ways the following questions can be used:

• Simply answer them for yourself, as a self-reflection activity.
• Rate yourself on each question (here is a downloadable version).
  • Circle the items that you rated “Never or almost never” and “Sometimes but not often” and that you would most like to improve.
  • Then, choose one or two as top priorities.
  • Next, use a goal-setting worksheet to start an Action Plan for improvement on each of these priorities.
• Use the questions to rate another person, either by simply answering them or by using the rating scale.
• Have a group of school leaders engage in a self-rating, and then discuss as a group the insights people gleaned from doing this. If your time is limited, you might choose one quality to focus on at a time.
• Ask staff to rate you using the rating scale, and then compile the results. If you are very brave (courage is a leadership virtue), present the summed results to the staff and discuss them together.
• Do a 360-procedure where you rate yourself, your supervisor rates you, and those you supervise rate you. Then compare the results, and ideally discuss them with others.
• Use the results of any of these procedures to identify strengths and areas for growth. Then create a strategic plan for personal improvement based on the results. What specific characteristics do you want to work on? Create SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely). Consider having an “accountability buddy” to check in periodically to help monitor your progress and keep you on track.

The Questions

Challenging

• Do you present questions and experiences for others that will challenge them and help them grow?
• Do you see the possibilities in others and act to make them more likely?
• Do you create an environment where people will have to take on new tasks and roles? Do you scaffold such experiences and situations?
• Do you model and support experiential pedagogies for students? Do you do the same for staff?
• Are you okay with failure, and have you created a safe culture where staff and students are not afraid to fail?
• Do you encourage and support staff in earning degrees and certificates and taking on new and challenging roles?

Enriching

• Do you prioritize innovation, especially toward enriching the learning and developmental contexts in the school?
• Do you focus on the professional growth of your staff?
• Do you lead book studies and other study groups with staff?
• Do you seek newer and better methods and structures?
• Do you lead in ways that will contribute to the flourishing of others and the world in which we live?
• Do you strategically bring to the school new ideas that will enrich the culture, methods, and outcomes of the school?

Foresight

• Do you care deeply about the future, beyond yourself?
• Are you passionate about, do you advocate for, and do you act to support broad issues such as peace, environmental health, the moral messages we send to children, etc.?
• Do you think and plan about how you will fulfill your responsibility for the long-term flourishing of the school (even after you have left the school)?
• Do you embrace “Tikkun Olam” (to heal the world) by devoting yourself to the long-term improvement of that which you have been given responsibility?
• Do you have a sustainability plan for the school?
• Do you look for future leaders among your staff?

Stewardship

• Do you have a strategic plan?
• Is it long-term?
• Do you regularly/periodically monitor progress?
• Do you feel responsible for the long-term well-being of the school?
• Do you have a clear sense of the steps along the journey for your strategic goals?

Source

Adapted from PRIMED for Character Education: Six Design Principles for School Improvement by Marvin W. Berkowitz. Copyright © 2021. Published by Routledge. Excerpted by permission of the publisher.

Evidence That It Works

Servant leadership focuses on the development and well-being of the employees first and the outcomes of the business second. Driven by their own ethical, and if relevant, spiritual compass, servant leaders see themselves as stewards of the organization, focusing on long-term sustainability.

In a study of 700 primary school teachers at 29 schools in Turkey, researchers found a positive and significant relationship between teachers’ job satisfaction and principals who exhibited elements of servant leadership.

Other studies have shown that servant leadership, which includes the development of workers, is positively associated with employee thriving, engagement, inclusivity, and psychological health.

Why Does It Matter?

As research has shown, how school leaders lead matters—a lot. Indeed, numerous studies have found that supportive leadership is a critical factor, if not the most important factor, for teacher retention.

With their emphasis on human development, schools are a natural setting for principals to become servant leaders. However, the focus should not be limited to the students; the adults, too, need to be constantly growing and developing, both in their understanding of academic content and as human beings committed to their own and others’ flourishing. For this, they need leaders who provide encouragement, modeling, support, and opportunities for personal growth—the heart of servant leadership.