The Profile is a practical, action-oriented resource document. Produced by a writing team composed of 13 school administrators (Elementary and Secondary), from five school districts (Public and Separate) and one OISE academic. Working together over an 18 month period, they produced a comprehensive image of contemporary school leadership in Canada. Five key dimensions of leadership are identified as guides for principals committed to improving the quality of education in their schools. As well as the traditional functions of Management and Program / Learning Leadership, the profile illustrates how principals exercise leadership in three additional areas; School-Community Facilitation, Visionary Leadership, and Systematic Problem Solving.
The key concepts of School-Based Management, Collaborative Leadership, and Community Empowerment are reflected in descriptions of ideal practice. Because not all schools, communities or school leadership teams are the same, multiple images of effective practice are presented. Since the ideal is not always immediately attainable in schools, descriptions of less exemplary, but still relatively effective, levels of leadership are provided to help principals identify what changes are needed in their practices in order to attain, or regain, the highest levels of expertise.
Instead of presenting the usual generalized research findings, the authors have combined their craft knowledge, their practitioner's vocabulary and their ways of viewing the world of school leadership with research findings on School Improvement and Transformational Leadership. The results are graphically displayed as developmental stages of growth in an easy to use format; ranging from basic competent practices to ideal levels of action. In contrast to most leadership literature, more than just the rhetoric of leadership is provided. The Profile illustrates what good principals actually do to lead their schools.