Should a ’21st century leadership’ book ignore technology?
October 4, 2010 by Scott McLeod 
6 Comments
In September 2007 I profiled a book that I had purchased called The 21st Century Principal. In that post, I noted the extreme paucity of content related to digital technologies, particularly given its purpose of examining
the future of public schooling in the United States – and what it will mean to be a leader in public schools – by focusing on the issues that are most likely to have an impact on American society within the next 20 years.
Today I received notice of a new book, The Challenges for New Principals in the 21st Century. Here are the chapter titles:
- Translational Leadership: New Principals and the Theory and Practice of School Leadership in the Twenty-First Century
- New Headteachers in Schools in England and Their Approaches to Leadership
- So You Want to be a Headteacher?: “Liabilities of Newness,” Challenges, and Strategies of New Headteachers in Uganda
- Problems Reported by Novice High School Principals
- Accelerating New Principal Development Through Leadership Coaching
- From Mentoring to Coaching: Finding the Path to Support for Beginning Principals
I know many of the editors and authors for this book, and I’m sure it’s going to have some good, research-based information for new principals. But I confess I’m highly skeptical of the book title…
I understand that the role of school principals encompasses many things besides digital technologies. That said, should school leadership books be allowed to include phrases like ‘challenges’ and ‘21st century’ in their titles if they substantially ignore the leadership and learning issues related to digital technologies? I’m not sure they should…
The 21st Century Principal
Route 21 and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills
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I agree. If I were to predict the future of American public education, it would be a hybrid between an online and traditional model. If principals are meant to be master teachers (which I believe they should be), they must understand what it is to educate students in an online environment.
This is an excellent question with a simple answer. I am going to use this in my doctoral research and also follow this discussion for further information. You continue to be a source of forward and logical thinking. Thank youl
Why shouldn’t the book ignore digital technology? It’s also being ignored in administrative training programs.
For example, our overly-large school district has a three year development program for new administrators (in conjunction with the local campus of the state university) that completely ignores technology as part of instruction. In fact, the only time the participants use a computer is when they are being taught the finance, ordering, and evaluation systems. All strictly paper processes that just happen to be done online.
Scott,
I think it is time to get that book on tech integration for the school administrator put on the fast track.
Yes, it is unfortunate if the authors don’t acknowledge the amazing pedagogy possible through deft application of technology. Of course if they would have discussed technology, they would have missed the point that real technology integration is not characterized by the amount or type of technology used, but how and why it is used.
Wouldn’t putting a chapter about technology in a book for administrators be like putting a chapter about meteors in a book for dinosaurs?
Sorry for this AM’s cynical mood!
Doug