Systemic Thinking and Educational Leadership: Some Considerations, 8(7)

Abstract

The practice of education leadership has its challenges not only in myriad events that arise but also in working with various stakeholders in education, from children and their parents, to teachers, other administrators and support staff, to community members. With this practice comes an attending challenge of complexity to which the education leadership might respond status quo or in a variation of spot attempts at novel approaches, like additives people put in their vehicles to improve performance. In this complexity that infuses education and its leadership, to rely on tried and true practices or ad hoc patches of this or that approach now runs a great risk of failure or compounding problems. The application of systemic thinking, through the introduction of the three systemic clusters of Purposes, Form/Design and Infrastructure, arguably ensures a more productive approach to life events in the education setting. This paper serves as an introduction to these three clusters and the corresponding application of a Systemic Factors Inventory Analysis matrix as a viable option to education leaders dealing with any life event.