<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

One aspirant who seemed focused on goals wrote, “recently I’ve reached all of my [simple] goals – get married, buy a house, start as family…one goal that has always been ongoing – to make a difference in someone’s life…maybe I can inspire teachers…”

Leadership, internal, and external motivation

Five aspirants mentioned leadership skills, as well both internal and external motivation in their journal entries about Why Me? Demographically they were evenly distributed across gender, race/ethnicity, and experience, although all of them taught in middle or high schools. They offered rich description as to their leadership skills, internal motivation, and external motivation. As one wrote,

Looking back it appears that I first realized that education was the root of societal progress as a Peace Corps volunteer... There it was too obvious that the lack of social mobility and economic progress all lead back, directly, to the lack of a solid educational system. When I returned from my service I knew that a career in education was what I needed to help my community stay on the road to progress. As a teacher I know that I transform lives, perceptions, and attitudes daily, and it is uniquely rewarding in its own regard. I truly feel that I have a passion for education and a deep-rooted concern that my students are cognizant that I care about more than just their education, but moreover, their well-being...I still know that in the future, if I truly want to effect the “system,” I will have to take a leadership role within that system, which is why I have committed myself to not only to pursuing this master’s degree, but also constantly look for opportunities that I can use to further my abilities in leadership roles. I would also be a bit dishonest not to admit that a leadership role has certain financial benefits to my future family. In being consistent in my philosophy on raising my own children in a productive, caring, and well nurtured environment, it might be necessary to be the sole bread-winner for my family.

Those who wrote about three factors influencing their decisions to pursue administrative credentialing – leadership, internal motivation, and external motivation – wrote about the importance of their decisions, the impact of their decisions for themselves, and the implications and responsibilities to serve others.

Discussion and conclusions

In this study I examined 83 written journal entries written by aspiring school leaders in response to the prompt Why Me? . What emerged from this study is a variety of motivating factors which were consistent with much of the previous literature on what motivates teachers to pursue school leadership positions (Adams&Hambright, 2004; Bass, 2006; Hancock, et al. 2006). It is interesting to note that just under half of the participants, 40 of 83, mentioned their leadership skills or experiences when writing about why they entered the administrative credential program in educational leadership. With all of the graduate programs available to teachers, one might be led to believe that teachers’ experiences or skills in leading others might somehow influence their decision to enroll in an educational leadership program. On the contrary, in this study less than half discussed leadership and only one in eight participants wrote about being drawn to the program based solely on their leadership skills and experiences.

Questions & Answers

what is mutation
Janga Reply
what is a cell
Sifune Reply
how is urine form
Sifune
what is antagonism?
mahase Reply
classification of plants, gymnosperm features.
Linsy Reply
what is the features of gymnosperm
Linsy
how many types of solid did we have
Samuel Reply
what is an ionic bond
Samuel
What is Atoms
Daprince Reply
what is fallopian tube
Merolyn
what is bladder
Merolyn
what's bulbourethral gland
Eduek Reply
urine is formed in the nephron of the renal medulla in the kidney. It starts from filtration, then selective reabsorption and finally secretion
onuoha Reply
State the evolution relation and relevance between endoplasmic reticulum and cytoskeleton as it relates to cell.
Jeremiah
what is heart
Konadu Reply
how is urine formed in human
Konadu
how is urine formed in human
Rahma
what is the diference between a cavity and a canal
Pelagie Reply
what is the causative agent of malaria
Diamond
malaria is caused by an insect called mosquito.
Naomi
Malaria is cause by female anopheles mosquito
Isaac
Malaria is caused by plasmodium Female anopheles mosquitoe is d carrier
Olalekan
a canal is more needed in a root but a cavity is a bad effect
Commander
what are pathogens
Don Reply
In biology, a pathogen (Greek: πάθος pathos "suffering", "passion" and -γενής -genēs "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is anything that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term pathogen came into use in the 1880s.[1][2
Zainab
A virus
Commander
Definition of respiration
Muhsin Reply
respiration is the process in which we breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide
Achor
how are lungs work
Commander
where does digestion begins
Achiri Reply
in the mouth
EZEKIEL
what are the functions of follicle stimulating harmones?
Rashima Reply
stimulates the follicle to release the mature ovum into the oviduct
Davonte
what are the functions of Endocrine and pituitary gland
Chinaza
endocrine secrete hormone and regulate body process
Achor
while pituitary gland is an example of endocrine system and it's found in the Brain
Achor
what's biology?
Egbodo Reply
Biology is the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized field that cover their morphology, physiology,anatomy, behaviour,origin and distribution.
Lisah
biology is the study of life.
Alfreda
Biology is the study of how living organisms live and survive in a specific environment
Sifune
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Educational leadership and administration: teaching and program development, volume 23, 2011. OpenStax CNX. Sep 08, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11358/1.4
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Educational leadership and administration: teaching and program development, volume 23, 2011' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask