A Guide to Effective School Leadership Theories 1st Edition

I was first exposed to leadership theories more than 25 years ago when I was asked to read while working for the U.S. Air Force, along with everyone else on the Military Airlift Command staff, “Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun.” It was a tongue-in-cheek discussion of the principals of leadership written by Wess Roberts designed to bring to the fore best practices in management. I have tried to maintain relatively up to date on this subject ever since. I mention this earlier leadership book to point up the necessity of retreading, revising, and reemphasizing leadership in the present. If we ever needed this skill it is in the current environment, and if we need it more than in the educational environment I cannot think of where.I am pleased that Matthew Lynch has published “A Guide to Effective School Leadership Theories,” an important explanation of theory and practice for those engaged in school administration. This is an elegant book, well researched and written, that offers a bridge between theoretical analysis and practical application. Lynch emphasizes ten strategies that are discussed in many settings, but with a specific applicability to educational leadership.This is very much a text book. Lynch focuses attention on leadership techniques in instruction, transformation, ethics, and the like. In a chapter devoted to each arena he offers an opening anecdote or vignette to illustrate the issue, followed by a discussion of the history and evolution of the strategy, critiques, research verification and alteration, summation of current status, and questions and activities. These are quite well structured for in-service training sessions and teach workshops.Overall, this is an excellent handbook of the current state leadership theory applied to the educational enterprise. It may not have the panache of “Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun” but it is an exceptionally useful how-to-do-it book.

Matthew Lynch A Guide to Effective School Leadership TheoriesLeadership style is not unlike a professional golfer's choice of clubs. Playing at St Andrew's requires a different choice of 14 clubs than a professional would select for short hilly course. The same holds for school leadership in different contexts, and a major problem for neophyte principals is that they often have only one leadership club in the golf bag.Hmmm, the starting place for this review is that the title is a misnomer. Unless I am having a couple of really bad days there was very little about effective schools or school effectiveness theory in the book. To me, the book is an aggregation of leadership theories that can be used effectively (or ineffectively) in schools. The point being made is that adopting a version of any leadership style may not guarantee that a school attains effective school status. Notwithstanding this issue, the book contains a good discussion of some 10 leadership styles.Lynch provides a good starting point for school leaders embarking on a new career. It is an easy read, and will provide an introduction to a complex job in which sand traps and water hazards will be the least of your challenges.

This book is not unique in its message but it is a good comprehensive overview of leadership theories. It was easy to read and fit well with the organizational theories course I took in Educational Leadership.

I was easily able to understand the contents of the book. Despite being introduced to a new concept, the language and concepts addressed were not so far above my head that I could not process what was being read.

The incorporation of discussion questions is a great element to further critical thinking at the end of each chapter. Readers can push themselves to go beyond what they have read by answering the questions. It also helps to ensure that readers have understood what was just read.

This book is a great teaching tool for individual learning or group learning. On my own, I was able to process the books contents and learn from it monumentally. However, because of how the book is structured it would also be simple to use this book for group development.

The references simply add to the credibility of the author. They demonstrate that time was taken to cross reference material. Thus, the author’s points are sufficiently supported.