JEFFREY BROOKS

Jeffrey S. Brooks is Associate Dean, Research and Innovation and Professor of Educational Leadership in the School of Education at RMIT University. He is a two-time J. William Fulbright Senior Scholar alumnus who has conducted studies in the United States, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and other cross-national contexts. His research focuses broadly on educational leadership, examining the way leaders influence (and are influenced by) dynamics such as racism, globalization, social justice, student learning and school reform.

Dr. Brooks is author of over 100 scholarly publications and he has been a leader and team member in projects that have garnered over 8 million dollars in extramural funding. He is author The Dark Side of School Reform: Teaching in the Space between Reality and Utopia and 2013 AESA Critics Choice Award-winner Black School, White School: Racism and Educational (Mis)leadership and co-author of Foundations of Educational Leadership: Developing Excellent and Equitable Schools. Dr. Brooks is also co-editor of thirteen additional volumes, including Leading Against the Grain: Lessons for Creating Just and Equitable Schools, What Every Principal Needs to Know to Create Equitable and Excellent Schools, and Urban Educational Leadership for Social Justice: International Perspectives. Read more about Dr. Brooks’ work at: www.jeffreysbrooks.com.

Five Questions Every Principal Must Ask—and Why the Answers Define Leadership in Your School

The practice of school leadership is exceedingly complicated, but it is also important for leaders to keep their focus on the simple things that matter most. This presentation draws from 19 years of conceptual and empirical educational leadership research conducted in Australia and around the world in an effort to identify the “big questions” that lie at the core of management, administration and leadership in schools.

These five questions focus attention on the importance of:

  • Creating fit-for-purpose organisational structures and dynamics that promote quality teaching, learning and engagement through empowerment
  • Building and maintaining authentic relationships and learning networks
  • Establishing clear, proactive and transparent communication practices
  • Co-constructing education with rather than for students
  • Promoting collegiality in systems that incentivise competition
  • Honouring and advocating for diversity and justice in the global schoolhouse
  • Adopting a bespoke rather than one-size-fits-all approach to leadership, teaching and learning in content areas and contexts

The presentation asks leaders to reflect on the ways that they intentionally and unintentionally answer these questions, and offers advice and resources for exploring the five questions in their own practice and with others in their school community.