Chapter 10 Behavior, Decision Making, and Reflective Practice

1. Chapter 10 Behavior, Decision Making, and Reflective Practice • “How will I know if my style will be effective?” • …the effectiveness of strategies and styles depends partially on contextual variables (i.e. the conditions under which they are used) • …inflexible administrators eventually encounter situations when their tried and true behaviors do not produce results • …behavior of administrators would be less complex if strategy and style were a matter of personal preference, sorry – a number of forces push and shove practitioners (formal organizations, informal organizations and community) Introduction to Educational Leadership

2. I. Descriptive Models of Administrative Behavior • Administrators rarely determine style on the basis of normative models. • Behavior is the product of conscious choices based on both theoretical knowledge and accumulated wisdom. A. Personal Needs and Disposition – early research attempted to connect relationships between styles and personality traits. Was not successful, but did reveal that an administrator with certain traits could be effective in one situation and not so in others. Introduction to Educational Leadership

3. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y Theory X – most workers • …have a negative disposition toward work • …are not especially intelligent • …must be forced to work • …want to be directed by someone • Theory Y – most workers • …view work as a natural activity • …can be highly committed • …seek and accept responsibility if conditions are favorable Introduction to Educational Leadership

4. With Theory X workers administrators are task oriented, autocratic, and highly directive. With Theory Y workers administrators are more flexible, they attempt to balance tasks with relationships. Introduction to Educational Leadership

5. B. Personal and Situational Variables – individual beliefs and characteristics are not the sole determinants of administrative strategies and styles • Getzels and Guba – nomothetic (school’s normative expectations shaped by the school’s history and culture, formal roles and resultant role expectations), and idiographic (personal dispositions that include the individual, the individual’s personality, and individual’s need dispositions. Introduction to Educational Leadership

6. B = f (R x P) Where B = observed behavior R = institutional role P = personality of the role incumbent • (i.e. officer in the military – R is only way, and an architect in a firm – P is predominant) • Later Getzels added O for organizational culture and C for communities to the formula. Introduction to Educational Leadership

7. C. Value of Descriptive Models – help with superintendent’s evaluation process (personal needs, dispositions, formal role expectations, school norms, parental expectations, influence of outside groups) • Problems with descriptive models – principals do not share a common set of needs, contextual variables are not consistent, leads to behavior different from day to day. Introduction to Educational Leadership

8. II. Administration and Decision Making • Every phase of administrative responsibility involves making decisions. From simple (what color socks to wear) to difficult (fire a teacher). • A. Rational Models – are normative in that they prescribe a “scientific” approach to making decisions and they are reflective of the tenets of classical theory (principals can and will – be rational, be unbiased, consider all alternatives). • Rational Models provide a linear recipe that is easy to follow. Introduction to Educational Leadership

9. GriffthsDrucker • Recognizing/defining - defining problem • Problem • Analyzing/evaluating - analyzing the problem • Criteria for solution - developing alternative solutions • Collecting data - selecting best solution • Selecting best solution - decision into action • Preferred solution into • action Introduction to Educational Leadership

10. …failure to make the ideal decision is often largely attributable to the fact they did not have sufficient time and resources to apply the model intended. • Leads to bounded rational model (principals not totally unbiased, they do not have access to complete information) • Leads to satisficing (the tendency of decision makers to select something less than ideal) Introduction to Educational Leadership

11. B. Ethical Models – ethical models are normative, ethical models are guided by moral and professional standards. Rooted in values either personal or shared. • Blanchard and Peale said these three things needed for a decision to be ethical – is the decision legal? Is the decision balanced? How will the decision make me feel about myself? Introduction to Educational Leadership

12. C. Participatory Models – shared decision making (consensus and voting) • Pros… • …participation leads to increased productivity • …consider both ethics and individuals • …process should reflect values of society • …increase employee consciousness • …broaden knowledge • …broader spectrum of viewpoints • …experience is provided for the participants • …support for decision is enhanced • …range of knowledge and skills is increased • …participant is able to express creativity and initiative Introduction to Educational Leadership

13. Cons… • …process is inefficient • …make mediocre decisions in favor of group cohesion • …one or two may influence whole group • …biases just like individuals • …little evidence to support claims that group decisions yield political benefits (Conway, 1984) Introduction to Educational Leadership

14. D. Political Models - descriptive in that they reveal how decisions are often made in schools. Every decision faced by a principal has four dimensions – students, employees, organization and the community. • Gieseke (1990) political influences on decision making are evidenced by… …many individuals and groups act independently …assessing the real distribution of power …bargaining, coalition building and incremental strategies Introduction to Educational Leadership

15. E. Garbage Can Model – researchers have noted that in many instances solutions actually precede the problem, preferred solutions, problems and fluid participation are all in the CAN already. Succumbing to the convenient. • This model is another depiction of what really occurs in schools. Decisions of principals are not always objective, linear and rational. Often predicted on a solution in search for a problem that can be implemented when conditions are favorable. Introduction to Educational Leadership

16. III. Reflective Practice • Sergiovanni (2001) principals fall into three categories: • …those who treat administration as a nonscience (rely on knowledge and intuition) • …those who treat administration as a applied science (theory and research linked to practice) • …those who treat administration as a craftlike science (practice built on the interaction of reflection and action) Introduction to Educational Leadership

17. Reflective Practice is the application of experiential learning – …having an experience …making observations of and reflecting on the experience …abstractly reconceptualizing based on the experience …engaging in experimentation Introduction to Educational Leadership

18. Reflective Models is like a personal debriefing on decision(s) made. Did you consider institutional role, personal need dispositions, knowledge base, accurate problem statement, alternative deisions or actions. Introduction to Educational Leadership

19. IV. Implications for Practice • 1. Principal behavior has metamorphed to personal needs and dispositions, organizational culture and external communities. • 2. decision making models provide a mechanism for describing, explaining, understanding, and directing practitioner behavior. • 3. professional reflection cultivates artistry Introduction to Educational Leadership