Merits and Accomplishments of Educational Leaders Essay

It is datum of experience that every field of knowledge is inspired by some leaders whose efforts work as the guiding fundamentals. It is through their shared vision of continuous amelioration that education systems enjoy their success better than ever before. Although many thinkers have enlightened the philosophies behind modern education system, some have relatively excelled in the extent of their research and devotion to the field. In the contemporary world, any field without the intervention of IT is unimaginable. So is the case with the field of education where the work of IT starts from the concepts like Webinars and Distance Learning to the doctoral research works being carried out on IT dimensions like Netspeak. With his books like ‘Classic Writings on Instructional Technology’, Donald Ely is reckoned as one of the most prominent educational leaders regarding the use of technology in the contemporary world. Apart from his achievement of bringing IT into instructional fields, the merit of Ely’s studies lies in the inoculation of creative ideas for instruction while using IT as a medium of instruction. With an acknowledgment of latest approaches being introduced in the dynamic field of IT everyday, Donald Ely is also known for inviting the perspectives of novices in the field as a reflection of his development philosophy (Anderson, 2005). When it comes to the assessment practices of learners to the students in an online interactive environment, Ely has not deviated from the fundamentals of assessment used in the real life instructional environment. However, he has modified the very principles to mould the ideas into a more viable shape that fits the IT involving education. The cynosure of Gene Hall and Shirley Hord’s studies lies with the development and training of instructors if any change in the current education system is to be achieved. In this concern, a major merit of the two educational leaders’ approach is the systematic aspect which starts from a gradual inculcation of vision inveterate in the philosophy of change. Once the vision is adequately communicated, required resources to plan on it are provided to the instructors. From the stage of planning, the model suggests a gradual move towards the practical aspect of training and development of necessary skills. This practicality is followed by a constant evaluation and control technique through monitoring. As a result of evaluation, proper reinforcement is made possible. By considering teachers as the major tools of change, the two educationists have laid enormous amount of importance on instructors’ concerns and feelings about the nature of change. Another unique plus point of Hall and Hord’s studies is the level of pragmatism attached to their studies by identification of stages to trace the actual level of implementation of the change. These levels of use range from ‘no use’ to ‘renewal’ marked by complete shift towards the concerned change (Hord, 1994). Gerald Zaltman and Robert Duncan’s area of research can be considered as a furtherance of Hall and Hord’s work as the former educationists focus on the obstacles in the way of successful implementation of changes proposed for an education system. By attempting to trace the causes of resistance towards the change, Zaltman and Duncan propose a logical course of action in the pursuit of eradicating the impeding forces as they may arise due to the well established beliefs or insecurities attached to the adoption of change (Ellsworth). An importance merit of their work is that it is not just confined to the identification of problems and their causes, but is also associated with the strategies to overcome them. These strategies involve modification of the change process according to the context. Where the changes are unalterable, the experts propose a strong communication in favour of change. By proposing four types of strategies based on the level of opposition to the change, Zaltman and Duncan provided a framework for the educationists in order to plan a suitable change keeping in mind the extent of agreement and willingness to the change. By providing Facilitative, Re-educative, Persuasive and Power strategies, they have added a pragmatic aspect to their research thereby making it more lucrative for implementation (O’Brien, 1999). To express succinctly, the efforts and research works of all contemporary leaders in the field of education cannot be denied. However, the works of the educational leaders discussed above provide the most critical of all dimensions touched by the educationists today. References Anderson,T. J. (2005). Dr. Donald P. Ely. Retrieved May 22, 2009, from: http://doctja. com/docs/edd8008/DonPEly. ppt. Ellsworth, J. B. A Survey of Educational Change Models. ERIC Digest. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from ERIC Digests Website: http://www. ericdigests. org/2001-2/survey. html Hord, S. M. (1994). Staff Development and Change Process: Cut from the Same Cloth. Issues †¦ about Change, 4(2). Retrieved May 22, 2008, from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory Web site: http://www. sedl. org/change/issues/issues42. html O’Brien, R. (1999). Social Change Activism and the Internet: Strategic Online Activities. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from: http://www. web. net/~robrien/papers/netaction. html