Building Leadership Capacity in Schools [Paperback]

Linda Lambert (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0871203073 | ISBN-13: 978-0871203076 | Publication Date: November 25, 1998 | Edition: 1st

In this book, Linda Lambert takes a close look at leadership in schools, which today involves far more than a single leader. The author defines leadership as the learning processes among participants in a community--processes that lead toward a shared sense of purpose.

Leadership capacity refers to the breadth of participation in leadership and the depth of skill that teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community members bring to the work.

The stories of three schools--an elementary school with low leadership capacity, a middle school with moderate leadership capacity, and a high school with high leadership capacity--reveal how school people can lead their communities to improve student learning. The stories show five features of effective leadership: (1) broad-based, skillful participation in the work of leadership, (2) inquiry-based use of information to inform decisions and practice, (3) roles and responsibilities that reflect broad involvement and collaboration, (4) reflective practice/innovation as a norm, and (5) high student achievement.

This book outlines what schools and districts must do to build leadership capacity, including how to get started, how to sustain the momentum, and how to design school districts capable of supporting such work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve; 1st edition (November 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871203073
• ISBN-13: 978-0871203076
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perspective for those involved in public education, July 17, 2002

By 

durangok "durangok" (Tiburon, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Leadership Capacity in Schools (Paperback)

Linda Lambert's book is clearly written by someone with a great deal of experience in the schools as a teacher and a leader. All too often those who do not work in the schools are eager to offer solutions that are impossible to implement with limited resources. It makes great reading, but that is as far as it goes. The truth is that the attitudes and skills of teachers, administrators and Board members are critical. If the Board of Education can speak with one voice, instead of encouraging individual Board members to wander about making statement that do not reflect the sentiment of the entire Board, and offer clear guidance and support for the staff, leadership can be nutured. In Building Leadership Capacity in Schools Linda Lamberts demonstrates her thorough understanding of these dynamics. It's an important primer for building leadership in the public schools. I hope it is widely available to educators.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I had to pay double shipping costs, October 6, 2008

By 

Samantha Smith "Teacher Girl" (Hinesville, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Leadership Capacity in Schools (Paperback)

I ordered two books from amazon, while the books themselves were fine. Amazon charged me double for shipping. The company's shipping dept. sent me a notice stating that the books would be shipped separately because one was not in stock, and it was clearly stated that the second book would be shipped at no cost to me. Yet I was charged an additional $7.00 for shipping. Products I give five stars, the business zero stars. Bad Business Amazon.

5 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, June 18, 2000

By 

Stephen Armstrong (Hadley, Ma USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Building Leadership Capacity in Schools (Paperback)

Linda Lambert wrote this short book to discuss leadership in schools. She gives three prime examples - an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. In each she discusses how the schools changed (or not), and what cemented the change (or not).

None of the "leadership changes" took less than three years. This is an amazing amount of time, truly amazing. It makes me think that public schools simply do not have a clear vision or image and do not have to change much.

Her recommendations are clear but border on simplistic, e.g., "Get to know one another." These ideas are meant to build "leadership capacity" in the building.

Lambert is a professor of Education at Cal State, Hayward, and this book is published by ASCD, the pre-eminent professional group in America for educational supervisors and leaders. I suppose Dr. Lambert is correct about building leadership capacity in schools, but the speed at which this is done is somewhere between galacial and geological time-spans. What a loss for the youngsters in schools.