0.1 Johnson, j., shope, s., & Roush, j. (july 2009). toward a  (Page 5/8)

This perspective posits an approach to leadership that is very different from the roles described in traditional leadership or in commonly acknowledged alternative approaches. Key to this leadership approach is a thorough understanding of multifaceted meanings of place (both practical and symbolic). Thus, a place-conscious approach to leadership acknowledges the importance of the school as a part of the community’s place (e.g., by recognizing the role of the school as a community center and encouraging its use as such) and is attentive to the need to value the educative potential of places outside the school (e.g., by conducting school-related interactions and functions in nonschool settings).

This kind of leadership is particularly important in rural settings where schools are the primary (perhaps only) institutional places with which people come into contact. Thus, the school is the front line for engaging with the institutional world, and can be a barrier or a facilitator. As a facilitator, schools can be the advocate for individuals without a voice and a mediator in the institutional world. To do so successfully, leaders must be attentive to key cultural and economic dynamics at work in their communities, and to develop the ability and willingness to see the community through multiple lenses. Humility, patience, and understanding are all key components in making organic change in the schools and communities of Appalachia.

People

Given their economic stress, remoteness, and related challenges, rural Appalachian communities lack many attributes and characteristics commonly construed as assets with the potential to contribute to schooling outcomes (e.g., community-based facilities, non-school agencies supporting education). The primary asset with the potential to benefit schools and communities in rural Appalachia is its people. Indeed, along with the land itself, the people of Appalachia are perhaps the region’s most distinguishing characteristic. Exposing the richness of these human assets rather than exploiting the poverty that characterizes them is a means to gain respect and value amongst the residents of Appalachia. Thus, effective educational leaders in rural Appalachian contexts must find ways to openly and deliberately acknowledge and value the resident resources that human assets represent.

Weber’s (1968) theoretical framework of titular versus legitimate leadership offers a useful approach for considering leadership in this context. As credentialed professionals with official titles, educational leaders hold titular authority and can exercise that authority over people with whom they share an institutional relationship (e.g., superintendent over principal; principal over teacher). To be effective, leaders must also engage and enlist the commitments and efforts of others over whom they do not exercise such authority. That means earning and developing some measure of legitimate authority, a warrant to lead that is grounded in recognition of one’s capacity. This is particularly important in the context of communities and cultures like those of rural Appalachia where traditional sources and symbols of authority (e.g., college degrees, dress, language) are not recognized as primary—and, indeed, are often distrusted.