Customer Reviews

Seven Steps to Effective Instructional Leadership

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Elaine McEwan's book is one of the most direct and useful tools I have found for today's principals. The book provides clear descriptions about quality education and a means to self evaluate current practices. I shared the book with my superitendent and we used the material during a summer administrative retreat. The text and the material were accepted by principals from both the elementary and secondary levels. Elain McEwan has captured the aspects of "Quality Education" in a useable and friendly book.

Elaine first brings the focus back to the building principal and the understanding that we are the most important piece of school improvement. The author understands the need for management; however, emphasizes educational, instructional leadership. Dr. McEwan shares the belief as stated in Warren Bennis's writings that the school leader needs to have vision and commitment. Elaine further explains that school leaders need to be knowledgable about! learning theory, curriculum, and effective instruction. The text book provides outlines of the desired components. Identifying desired learning results is a primary step of this books. Elaine McEwan reaffirms the statements of Larry Lezotte in his book "Learning for All." She states, "When our students are successful, we are successful." The author understands we can never expect our staff to grow and expand if we are not supportive and leading. Create direct ways to encourage growth and be a learner with your team. Elaine visits and challenges the reader on creating a culture and climate for maximum learning. She discusses the importance of communicating the vision and raising expectations of staff and families. Elaine McEwan has developed a handbook that should be part of your daily activities.

I have personally been through Covey training, been a candidate and a facilitator at the Indiana Principal's Leadership Academy (IPLA), trained! on "The Instructional Process," TESA, and "! Choice Theory" and find this books a summary of solid educational approaches. The end of the chapter summaries and descriptors created a new awareness and raised my own expectations.

I believe Elaine McEwan is a leading current author for the practicing principal in the field of education. Elaine believes in schools and has the vision of classrooms becoming better and better. You will always be glad that this book is a part of your working collection.

This book is your typical leadership book written grammatically well. It is written like a reference book, maybe a bit too much. A bit of a hard read for a slow reader. There are many great tips for how a person should be a principal including managing a school and working with faculty, staff, students, parents, and community treating all entities with considerable equality. McEwan's opinions feel a bit too pushed such as how the principal is always the one that makes the difference and that the principal needs to make [seemingly all] teachers leaders, and that a principal must be a leader of leaders. While the model may be true, it may not be feasible to make sure every single teacher is a "leader" in their own sense. Some teachers may be jealous of the principal, some teachers will not get along with other teachers at all and so should non-collaboration between two teachers necessarily be blamed on by the principal? McEwan certainly makes it seem that way. The suggestions of having the principal involved in every aspect of school is great, but her specific numbers for criteria can be questionable. It's not as much of quantity as quality with what you have available. She also does not consider situations where schools are underfunded to begin with and just expects principals to be able to "wave their magic wand" and wallah a good school. If life were only that easy.

I had to buy this for a class I took, and I really enjoyed it. I made lots of notes throughout and learned a lot!

Motivating book that makes a person feel like they could become a principal, as long as they are to work very hard.