The role of leadership in successful vocational initiatives

Abstract

Vocational education is occurring in an environment of new technologies, global competition, and changing demographics that is transforming community colleges. Leaders with foresight and courage will have a positive influence on their institutions and promote the new vocationalism.The Role of Leadership in Successful Vocational Initiatives Michael D. SummersVocational-technical education conjures up a variety of images and perceptions based on one' s experiences as a student. Many are likely to recall the 1960s and early 1970s as a time when they built birdhouses, candlestick holders, or bookends in high school shop class. Students in the late 1970s and 1980s probably remember the incredible quantity of choices in office and technical programs offered at local community colleges. Students in the 1990s are likely to reminisce about education that saw an increased number of certificates and degrees related to computers, in addition to the numerous programs that were becoming connected to high schools, senior institutions, and employers. Today, community colleges are striving to understand and address the challenges of the new century. How will vocational education be remembered a few decades from now? Some scholars contend that the latest version of vocational education is already emerging. Called the new vocationalism by some while being touted as a myth by others, this latest evolution of vocational education is replete with several noteworthy features, including merging of transfer and terminal curricula, forging complex articulation agreements at multiple levels, and infusing a lifelong perspective in workforce development. Other critical components are an integral part of the new vocationalism, but this chapter focuses on the influence that community college leaders have on this newest version of vocational education.

A comparative thematic review of vocational leadership literature from the USA, Great Britain and Australia

“…Summers (2001) argued the essential leadership skills were foresight and courage, Walker and McPhail (2009) championed the need for spiritual leadership, and Basham and Mathur (2010) called for a balance of management and leadership. Wallin (2006) envisages three main skill areas: managerial skills such as budgeting and finance; relationship skills such as values and team building; and personal selfassessment such as knowing one's own strengths and weaknesses.…”