Diversity in Educational Leadership

Diversity in Leadership

Education

Kearney & Gebert argue for the validity and practicality of a style of leadership called transformational leadership in their 2009 publication, "Managing Diversity and Enhancing Team Outcomes: The Promise of Transformational Leadership." The authors immediately argue for the superiority of this style of leadership over other styles commonly found in educational management environments, such as transactional style and laissez-faire style. Most of the research cited by these authors before presentation of their study, is within the last fifteen years, approximately. Most of the research cited as precedence for the use and study of transformational leadership, in specific connection to diversity in educational leadership, was within the past decade. The use of modern and somewhat dated literature in the opening sections of the article were effective in establishing the context for the style of leadership and the research study performed.

Kearney and Gebert contend that transformational leadership is the most effective style to use when seeking to tap into leadership resources that often go underutilized or unacknowledged. In the case of their research study, such a source was candidates of diverse backgrounds (age, gender, ethnicity) in the education environment, and specifically in team-based activities for educators, administration, staff, etc.

Kearney and Gebert's thesis in this article is that transformational leadership is a style which helps turn differences, specifically those that are demographic and informational, into assets for a team, rather than a perceived liability (2009). They performed their research study using professionals in education. Their research demonstrated their hypothesis and thesis to be correct. The thesis is articulated clearly and simply. The research is well presented, and includes awareness of limitations. This article presented the opinion and context of the issue well. Even though there was a definitive stance about transformational leadership, there were noticeable efforts made to present information with at least moderate objectivity.

This reader agreed with the thesis of the article. This is a style that should continue to prove practical and yield compelling results in the globalized world of the 21st century. Education is becoming significantly more accessible to more and more people around the world in various forms, such as on-campus, online, and integrated models that include both online and in-person coursework. As an effort to keep current, innovative or alternative styles of leadership in the education field should be tested and employed.