Do you remember a school leader who inspired your growth as an educator? Maybe an experienced teacher helped you build confidence as a novice teacher, or an administrator who led your school through the pandemic fueled your interest in a leadership career.
Inspiring school leaders also excel at navigating conflict within the school community. Debates over topics such as curriculum and instruction are common across the country and within school districts. The changing public education landscape calls for leaders who do what is best for students and teachers while navigating controversy, addressing challenges and resolving conflicts.
The Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) online Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Educational Leadership program gives graduates the confidence to lead in both calm and chaotic times. This online degree program, designed for working teachers looking to advance their expertise and careers, prepares candidates for positions such as assistant principal, department chair, instructional coordinator and district administrative support staff. Through becoming effective leaders, determined educators can play key roles in addressing and resolving conflicts in their schools and districts.
How Conflict in Public Education Impacts School Leadership
Conflict and controversy are not new to public education. Intensive textbook controversies and debates, for example, began long before today’s national debates on curriculum.
These political and cultural conflicts add a complex layer to public education leadership. As the nation debates what and how kids should learn, leaders must create a school culture that values and promotes conflict resolution, mission alignment, effective instruction, and student learning and success. While bringing people from diverse ideological, cultural and educational backgrounds together to achieve these goals can be challenging, it is crucial for today’s educational leaders who want to drive positive outcomes in their schools.
How Can Leaders Keep the Peace While Managing Conflict?
Though managing conflict effectively and fairly while ensuring all parties feel heard and valued, school leaders can do more than keep the peace. School leaders who are experts in navigating and resolving conflicts can engender a collective, collaborative school community and environment in which people who disagree still work together to support student learning and success.
However, the disruptive change, controversies and emerging issues that impact today’s school communities pose new, dynamic challenges. The following are three areas of preparation that can help future leaders build learning communities where teachers and students thrive, even in difficult times:
1. School Law
School law pertains to schools, teachers and students in health services, privacy and technology, disability, curriculum, assessment, athletics, and school board practices. From disputes over special education requirements to impactful Supreme Court decisions, there is a lot to keep up with in the world of court cases affecting public education.
As a result, school leaders must stay updated on school law and changing regulations to make informed decisions. The School Law course in FGCU’s online M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program provides an in-depth review of court decisions that affect public schools, emphasizing Florida state statutes.
2. Data-driven Decision-making
School leaders make countless routine and unexpected decisions every day. As with the business world, effective school leaders use data to identify needs, prioritize goals and guide decision-making.
Typical examples include visualizing student data to promptly identify and address learning gaps or reviewing studies on teaching methods that can better support student learning outcomes. For instance, research-driven instructional practices such as inquiry-based learning can improve student engagement with a high-quality curriculum.
Educational leaders should use research and analyze data to promote stakeholder understanding of curriculum and instruction decisions and support desired outcomes. Courses in the FGCU online M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program that can help school leaders effectively incorporate data-driven decision-making include the following:
- Instructional Leadership prepares curriculum leaders to make research-based decisions related to curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment.
- Data and Analysis in Education prepares graduates with the skills to gain valuable, actionable insight from data.
- Learning, Accountability and Assessment equips educators with necessary skills in curriculum development, continuous school improvement and the ways curriculum, learning, accountability and assessment work together.
3. Effective Leadership Practices
Teachers make informed decisions daily regarding evidence-based instruction, assessment and classroom management. They build productive relationships with colleagues and administrators, engage in professional development, mentor novice teachers and manage tough conversations with families.
Teachers are leaders, and their classroom skills and experiences can support their transition into leadership roles. Educational leaders can facilitate that growth and empower teachers through implementing distributed leadership models and encouraging the collaboration necessary to navigate conflict and other challenges. Relevant courses in FGCU’s M.Ed. in Educational Leadership online degree include Instructional Leadership, as mentioned above, as well as the following:
- Principles of Educational Leadership examines the leadership of educational systems as a profession.
- Organizational Development explores historical and current best practices surrounding leadership theory, change and planning systems.
- Tech for Educational Leadership empowers aspiring leaders to model and guide the competent use of technology. Topics include content management systems, student information systems and spreadsheet software. This area of study is critical for educators navigating opportunities, challenges and controversies surrounding the integration of generative AI tools in education.
Tackle Conflict Management Challenges With a Master’s in Education Leadership
If you are a forward-thinking educator seeking leadership opportunities, the FGCU online M.Ed. in Educational Leadership degree will prepare you for success. The expertise and leadership aptitudes you gain are critical to addressing conflict and leveraging the opportunities and learning that civil debate can provide, when guided effectively.
Targeted coursework in FGCU’s program builds your foundation in effective school organization, budgeting and finance, management, and leadership. By acquiring the advanced knowledge, skills and credential this degree provides, you can take your educational leadership career to the next level.
Learn more about FGCU’s online M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program.
