Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

Florida Educational Leadership Standards

Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies
Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies High Performing Leaders plan
effectively, use critical thinking and problem solving techniques, and collect
and analyze data for continuous school improvement.
Knowledge
I have the knowledge and understanding of:

Decision making tools and processes of making decisions

Theories and models of decision making
Information sources, data collection, and data analysis strategies
Systems theory
Theories and models of organizations and the principles of
organizational development

Dispositions
I believe in, value and am committed to:

Collaborative decision making

Making management decision to enhance leaning and teaching
Accepting responsibility for decisions
Involving stakeholders in appropriate decisions
The importance of continuing dialogue with other decision makers
affecting education
Examining and considering the prevailing values of the divers school
community

Skills
Throughout my internship experience and coursework at FGCU I have
learned and evidenced through integrated essays and artifacts the following
list. As an administrator I will facilitate processes and engage in activities
ensuring that:

Facilitative leadership, effective group-process and consensus building

skills are used in making group decisions

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

A systems approach used in making decisions

There is staff buy-in to decisions prior to implementation
A variety of sources of information is used to make decisions
Potential problems that require problem-solving are identified
Problems are confronted and resolved in a timely manner
Effective problem-framing and problem solving skills are used
Effective communication skills are used
Decisions are communicated to all stakeholders
Lines of communication are developed with decision makers outside
the school community
Decisions are evaluated appropriately and results communicated to
stakeholders

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making

Strategies

Culture in an organization, is developed over a period of time in which an

organization takes on particular norms, assumptions, and beliefs. The
behavior of organizational members is influenced by interaction with the
intangible characteristic of the organizations environment. Persons in an
organization will approach internal and external problems with a consistent
set of solutions that has continually worked for the group. New members are
taught the inner workings of the solutions as the right way to perceive and
think about problems. The basic assumptions and beliefs are shared by
members of the organization, and will direct the way in which problems are
approached and decisions are made (Owens & Valesky, 2007).

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

School leaders will take part in two separate types of decision making;
individual and organizational. Organizational leaders are expected to be
decisive, be able to make decisions in that are well informed and ethically
acceptable in a timely manner without delay. However, school
administrators are also part of a larger organization which involves working
with and through other people to reach the goals of the organization.
Therefore, organizational decision making, in which stakeholders are
involved in determining the behavior of the organization, are necessary to
maintain an organizational culture that is founded on a shared vision for the
organization (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
Historically, decision making has been believed to be a scientific process
that is orderly, rational, logical, and sequential. Western culture has
continually supported the perception that large complex systems can be
broken down into parts of a whole to explain problems within the
organization and systematically organize a solution. Rational decision
making models have stemmed from this way of thinking. Two notable
contributors to the science of decision-making models are Herbert Simon and
Peter. F. Drucker.
Simon identified three major phases in the process of making decision;
intelligence activity, in which a search of the environment reveals
circumstances that require a decision; design activity, where alternative

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

courses of action are thought up developed, and analyzed; and choice

activity, where a course of action is selected from the options considered.
Peter F. Drucker, created a list of five steps to help an administrator
organize decision making. Those steps are: (1) define the problem, (2)
analyze the problem, (3) develop alternative solutions,(4) decide on the best
solution, and (5) convert decisions into effective actions (Owens & Valesky,
2007).
In more recent decades it has become more widely understood that large
organizations are complex, filled with uncertainty, instability, and
uniqueness. This makes the task of applying science to understanding
organization, unreliable. Decision making in an organization such as a school
may initially follow steps such as Druckers, but the action of the decision will
nearly always be followed up with additional decisions. Decisions made
within an organization will impact at least one of the four key organizational
factors of school climate; ecology, structure, milieu, and culture. Because
these factors interact and overlap, a change in one factor will result in a
change in each factor. Decision making cannot be approached as a one-time
deal. Organizational systems simply dont allow for it (Owens & Valesky,
2007).
The human resources development theory of educational practice has
taken over as the more widely accepted approach to education in recent
years. The theory of human resources development is based on theories and

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

concepts developed by scholars such as McGregor and his Theory X and

Theory Y, Maslows concept of motivation, Herzbers maintenance factors,
Likerts System 4 management styles, among others. These overlapping and
combined theories create a set of assumptions about an organization which
place the persons of an organization, their thinking, beliefs, abilities, and
socialization to the values and purpose of the organization, at the core of
organizations success (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
These assumptions of human resource development, paired with the
recognition of effective organizations being characteristically disorderly and
illogical, create a theory of decision making which involve participative
methods. Participation in the group process involves mental and emotional
involvement on behalf of individuals, as they are encouraged to contribute to
and share responsibility for group goals. Participation gives the individual
ownership of the decisions, resulting in a personal commitment to the
decision and its goals.
Making better decisions and fostering the growth and development of
organization members are two potential benefits of implementing
participative decision making. Three factors should be kept in mind as a
guide for administrators who chose to utilize the participative process. They
are: (1) The need for an explicit decision-making process, (2) the nature of
the problem to be solved or the issue to be decided, and (3) criteria for
including people in the process (Owens & Valesky, 2007).

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

In the course Organizational Development, I created a set of belief

statements that applied organizational theory to my own core beliefs and
values. In this game plan for administration I discuss my belief in
McGregors Theory Y as well as participate decision making. Further details

Artifact 5-1 Game

Plan Belief Statements.docx

is recorded as

There are many reasons for needing methods for decision making. A
school community has many different interest groups that will be affected by
complex organizational decisions, using a process will assist those involved if
there are a number of different ways in which the decision could be made.
Another reason for using a method of decision making is that often times we
will utilize a past solution when faced with a new similar problem, even
though that may not be the best approach. Additionally, while effective
school organizations are considered flexible, having constantly changing
expectations can be damaging to the organization. Standard policies and
procedures help to guide our day-to-day operations. Methods for creating
and modifying these policies are needed. Furthermore, simple and complex
problems often arise in a learning environment because people with diverse
goals, objectives, and expectations are involved. Lastly, decision making
can take considerable time if not managed effectively. Time which may be

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

better spent by the stakeholders involved completing other tasks (FLDOE,

2006). If not properly organized, participants in the decision making process
may not be aware of what their role is. Choosing an explicit method of
decision-making that is a publicly known set of processes and is acceptable
to participants should be the first step in the participative decision making
process (Owens & Valesky, 2007).
The Decision Making Methods module on the William Cecil Golden School
Leadership Development website, outline several decision making tools that
could be considered when choosing an explicit method of decision making.
They include Arguments for and Against, Weighted Ranking of Options,
Thinking Outside the Box, Prime Advocate/Devils Advocate, Mapping a
Process, and Being Prepared/Staying Educated (FLDOE, 2006). In the
educational leadership course, Organizational Development, I completed this

Artifact 5-2 WCG

Module Decision Making.docx

module and its corresponding activities.

is the product of this

module.
Identifying the problem to be solved or issue to be decided is the second
factor to consider when implementing participative decision making. The
nature of the problem or issue will lend itself to a better model of decision
making. Discrete problems are characterized as being clear-cut, having

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

readily separable elements, requiring a logical sequence of acts to reach the

solution that must be performed by one person. These problems are best
solved by an expert individual. Emergent problems are quite different. They
are characterized as being ambiguous, the elements of the problem are
intertwined, the solution requires coordination and interaction of a number of
people, and the dimensions and full nature of the problem are not able to be
fully known at the time of the decision making but will unfold as the problem
is dealt with over time (Owen & Valesky, 2007).
Determining who should participate in the participative process is the final
guideline. The intent of participative decision making is not to involve
everyone in the process. This would be time consuming, impractical, and
most likely very unpleasant. Edwin Bridges suggests two rules for identifying
decisions in which it would be appropriate to involve stakeholders. The first
is a test of relevance, in which the individuals personal stakes in the
decision are high. For instance, a teacher would have a high personal stake
in decisions relating to teaching methods, classroom management, and
curriculum. The second is a test of expertise, in which the stakeholder is
then deemed competent to contribute effectively.

An example may include

a decision on the organization of the related arts schedule, in which a math

teacher would not be qualified to contribute. In determining who should
participate in this process, it would also be advisable to determine if the
participants in the group would have any kind of control or jurisdiction over

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 5: Decision Making Strategies

the problem, if not then their efforts may simply lead to frustration (Owens &
Valesky, 2007).
In all Florida public schools, the school advisory council (SAC), represents
one form of participative decision making. The SAC committee is comprised
of administrators, teachers, parents, non-instructional staff, and community
member not employed by the school district. The SAC committee makes
decisions regarding the school improvement plan and school budget
(Beckham & Raiford, 2003). A record of the 2008-2009 SAC committee

Artifact 5-3 SAC

Committe Data.docx

enrollment is

A paradigm shift in educational practice in recent decades has been the

onset of the era of accountability. All education stakeholder groups taxpayers, parents, community members, politicians, and business leaders are demanding that schools measure success by whether or not students are
learning. To measure student learning, states have adopted a new concept
of targeted, accountable results for all students regardless of their diverse
backgrounds including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or ability.
These new demands on schools and districts require a change in how we
think about the teaching of our children. It has become necessary to

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manage inputs and processes to obtain targeted results, necessitating

personalized in instruction for every student (IBM, 2002).
In simple terms, student outcomes will improve if data is gathered about
student work. The data is looked at and analyzed for patterns, strengths,
and weaknesses. Then, a teaching style or method is adapted as a result of
the analysis. Schools that engage in data-driven decision making value data
analysis as a critical tool in meeting their instructional goals for student
learning. Data analysis is the force that drives instructional and operational
decisions, as it is used to improve student learning (IBM, 2002).
Using data-driven decision making give schools and districts the power to
manage learning results. Managing the learning results is a systemic
process, involving the whole school, administrators, teachers, and students.
First, the school or district determines a set of student performance goals
based on academic standards and benchmarks. An example of measureable
objectives based on data is included in this artifact which was a curriculum
writing project. The measureable objectives were the driving force of

Artifact 5-4
CurriculumWriting.doc

curriculum and instruction

Once that is done a school or

district must create processes for and assign resources to: hypothesis
generation, evaluating the links between instructional and operational inputs

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and student performance goals; data collection, ensuring that relevant data
is available and accessible; data analysis, to develop hypotheses about
appropriate interventions; and intervention, choosing those that are deemed
appropriate based on an analysis of results.
Data-based decision making is certainly at the top of the priority list in
Collier County where I completed my educational leadership practicum. At
Osceola Elementary, all staff member are a part of two professional learning
communities (PLC). Each staff member belongs to their own grade level PLC,
and is also a member of a vertical PLC which specializes in one particular
content area. Each PLC is required to develop a SMART (specific,
measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goal that is developed through
the use of assessment data collected and provided by Collier County. During
my educational leadership practicum this summer I compiles school
performance report from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, as well
as data on Adequate Yearly Progress. I developed and designed a template
that could be used to gain a visual representation of areas of progress and
challenges for each school and grade level in the county based on FCAT data.
This was an immense project, this artifact is an example of one schools

Artifact 5-5 Big

Cypress Progress and Challenges Report.xlsx

report

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How a school leader and an organization make decisions is driven by the

shared vision organization. The shared norms, beliefs, and values provide
the foundation in which decisions are made. Understanding and believing in
this theory along with utilization of best practice decision making strategies
will ensure that leaders make effective decisions to promote student
learning.

References
Beckham, J.C. & Raiford, S.A. (2003). The Florida school administrators legal
guide. Bulverde, TX: Omni Publishers, Inc.

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Florida Department of Education. (2006). Florida school leaders: The William

Cecil Golden school leadership development program.
https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/
IBM. (2002). Change toolkit. http://www.reinventingeducation.org
Owens, R.G. & Valesky, T.C. (2007). Organizational behavior in education:
Adaptive leadership and school reform (9th ed). Needham Heights, MA:
Allyn and Bacon.