The Authentic Self in
Educational Leadership
By: John A. DuBois
Introduction
“good education is always more process than
product. …Good education teaches students to
become both producers of knowledge and
discerning consumers of what other people claim
to know”
Parker J. Palmer
The Courage to Teach.
(2007, p. 96)
Research Questions
“What does it mean to be an authentic
educational leader?”
 “…authentic adult educator?”
 “…authentic educational leader as teacher?”
 “…authentic educational leader as principal,
superintendent, as parent, as a member of the
community, and as an educational expert?”
“…authentic adult educator?”
 Life Stages of an Adult Learner
“…inherent desire to experience real-life
experiences…”
“…authentic adult educator?”
 Transformative Learning
“…assumptions and past experiences are called
into question…”
“…authentic educational
leader as teacher?”
 Education
“…education is the ability to teach and learn
skills, knowledge, and develops character
based on the systematic method of
theoretical application taught by an
accredited institution.”
“…authentic educational
leader as teacher?”
 Professional Education Programs
“…lifelong learning – including competence
development – builds on four elements;
learning, teaching, education, and
development”
Kasworm & Hemmingsen, 2007, p. 456
“…authentic educational
leader as teacher?”
 Danish University of Education
Curriculum Modules
Module 1:
Adult learning and adult psychology
Module 2:
Learning in the workplace or
organization
Module 3:
Competency builders from a sociological
and political perspective
Module 4:
Comprehensive master’s project chosen
by student with interest in Adult
Learning and Human Resource
Development
(Kasworm & Hemmingsen, 2007, p. 456)
“…authentic educational
leader as teacher?”
 Student Leadership Development Institute
 Rutgers University, 2001
“Leadership development is a fundamental
responsibility of colleges and universities”
and “learning opportunities must be created
to allow students to apply and practice their
knowledge and to experience the
consequences of their actions.”
Connaughton, Lawrence, & Ruben, 2003, p. 48
“…an authentic educational leader as principal,
superintendent, as parent, as a member of the
community, or as an educational expert?”
 Professional Development
“… an ongoing process through which an
individual derives a cohesive sense of
professional identity by integrating the
broad-based knowledge, skills, and
attitudes with one’s values and interests”
(Ducheny, et al., 1997, p. 89)
Leadership Diamond Principle
 Strategy & Tactics
 Vision: “…sees the larger perspective, for visioning means
to think big and new.
 Reality: “…responds to … facts, for realism means to have
no illusions.”
 Ethics: “…always sensitive to people, for ethics means to be
of service.”
 Courage: “…a courageous leader always claims the power to
initiate, act, and risk. … with sustained initiative.”
Koestenbaum, P. (2002). Leadership: The Inner Side to Greatness. pp. 41-52. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Discovering Your
Authentic Leadership
“Authenticity requires a commitment to
developing yourself”
(Sims, McLean, & Mayer, 2007, p. 130)
 Through self-reflection on personal
experiences, a leader is able to integrate their
lives with others.
 The balance of internal and external
motivations and tensions empowers a leader to
make adequate decisions that will inevitably
make a positive difference in the lives of
others.
Principle Research
Question
“What does it mean to be an authentic educational
leader?
 What does it mean to be an adult learner about
becoming an adult educational leader?
 When do adults learn about becoming an authentic
educational leader?
 How do adults learn about becoming an authentic
educational leader?
 Where do adults learn about becoming an authentic
educational leader?
 Why do adults learn about becoming an authentic
educational leader?
Subsidiary Research
Questions
“What does it mean to be an authentic adult
educator?”
“What does it mean to be an authentic educational
leader as teacher?
“What does it mean to be an authentic educational
leader as principal, superintendent, as parent, as a
member of the community, or as an educational
expert?”
Students Teach Students
Leadership Institute
Vision:
“Empowers students with skills, knowledge, and
experience necessary to become educators for
tomorrow”
Mission:
“Students Teach Students Leadership Institute provides
students within the academic community to develop
and teach newly designed curriculum to their peers
within an adult collaborative learning environment.”
Students Teach Students
Leadership Institute
Program Objectives:
 Establish relationships with fellow educators within
their respective fields of study.
 Learn to teach what we know and how we know what
we know through personal story.
 Reflect upon our own personal experiences as an
authentic leader and educator within the classroom
and beyond.