EDAS 645
PHILOSOPHY OF LEADERSHIP PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This paper is a statement of your personal philosophy of educational leadership, which should
focus on the purpose of leadership, which is why leadership is carried out and not so much how
it is carried out. Your purpose of leadership is to emphasize the long-range impact you believe
leadership should have on stakeholders and on the community—the outcome of leadership. As
you convey your philosophy, you are to focus on its outcome rather than on methods and
practices. Those are tools of carrying out your philosophy; therefore, a simple discussion of
leadership strategies does not make up your philosophy of leadership.
INSTRUCTIONS
This academic paper must be supported by the body of knowledge in the field, which is to
include references to the literature from educational philosophy, psychology, curriculum, and
learning theory. Treat this as a position statement, a persuasive paper. Make declarative
statements of “ought” and “should.”
The length requirement is 4–6 pages; use current APA format and include a minimum of 4
references.
HEADINGS: To ensure the paper meets the requirements of the rubric, you are to include the
elements listed below. Note the required headings that are to be placed in the same order in your
paper as they appear in the outline below.
1. Title Page
a. Title: Consider the title of your paper to be your motto, slogan, or bumper-sticker version
of your philosophy. It should be clear enough to give the reader some idea of what you
believe about the purpose of educational leadership. Avoid statements that sound vague
or flippant or that focus on procedures and practices. Consider adding a subtitle. Subtitles
can bring clarity to the main title.
b. Other Information on Title Page
• Candidate Name
• Candidate ID#
• Course# and Section
• Professor’s Name
2. Abstract
• Place the abstract after the title page and before the introduction to the paper.
• The abstract should be what you would write on an employment application or what you
would say verbally in an interview if asked directly about your philosophy of educational
leadership.
• First Sentence: Write your thesis statement first. It should state what you believe the
long-range impact leadership should have on stakeholders and on the community.
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• Paragraph: Subsequent sentences should practically explain what you will do in your
leadership to carry out the philosophy you stated in the first sentence.
3. Introduction (Do not use a heading for this section.)
• The purpose of the introductory paragraph is different from the abstract. Do not simply
copy the abstract.
• In this section, introduce your thesis statement that will be developed throughout the
paper.
• It is best to place the thesis statement at the end of the introduction. This serves as a
transition into the rest of the paper.
o Thesis Statement: The thesis statement and introduction to it should focus on the
purpose, outcomes, goals, and impact of educational leadership. It should not address
how important it is to have a philosophy of leadership and should not focus on
practices. Focus on the “why” instead of the “how.”
4. Philosophy of Educational Leadership (first heading)
• This section should flow smoothly from the previous one and should continue to focus on
the “why” of educational leadership—the long-range impact you believe leadership
should have on stakeholders and on the community. Save the “how” of education for the
next section.
• This is the core part of the paper where you expound more specifically on your thesis
statement.
• State what you believe. Don’t feel obligated to embrace a particularly established
philosophy. However, you are to situate your beliefs among others by citing ideas that
illustrate yours or are in opposition to yours.
• Refer to the knowledge base in educational leadership that includes psychology,
philosophy, and theory. Don’t try to cover everything; just identify one or two key
theories that might illustrate your own beliefs about the purpose of leadership.
• Be cautious about assigning to yourself a label that you do not fully understand. If you
don’t understand all that the label entails, you could unknowingly convey inconsistent
ideas throughout your paper.
5. Leadership Practice (second heading)
• This section should flow smoothly from the previous one.
• Address what you will implement in your leadership practice, which is the “how” part of
leadership.
• What practices, strategies, or methods will you tend to use most frequently? Why?
• What do you hope to accomplish by using these strategies?
• Now would be a good time to go back to the introduction and ask yourself, “Did I address
leadership practices in the introduction instead of the purpose/impact of leadership?” If
you did, revise the introduction so that it addresses the purpose of leadership. Come back
to this section to focus on the process of leadership.
6. Relationships (third heading)
(Remember that the questions listed in this guide are only to stimulate thought. You are not
required to answer them systematically. Doing so might make your paper too rigid.)
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• What is the role of the follower/faculty?
• What is the role of the leader/administrator?
• How should they relate to each other and why?
• What other relationships are important in educational leadership and why?
7. Diversity (fourth heading)
• What diversity factors need to be taken into account by the leader?
• How do factors of diversity impact leadership?
8. Your Choice of Headings (optional)
• You may insert optional headings here to address issues that are important to your
philosophy of leadership.
• Here are some ideas you might want to consider:
o My calling
o Parent role and relationship with leader
o Current critical issues in leadership
9. Conclusion (final required heading)
• Your conclusion should tie in with the introduction somehow so that your paper
displays coherence.
• If your introduction included a metaphor, quote, theme, etc., it would be appropriate
to tie back into that.
• Both the introduction and conclusion should focus on the thesis of the paper, which is
to address the purpose/outcome/impact of leadership (not the processes of
leadership).
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
FAQ
Q: I would like to use a paper or parts of a paper I wrote for another class. Is this okay?
A: Yes, as long as you do the following:
• Get the permission of this course instructor.
• Ensure that your paper meets the rubric for this course.
• Cite yourself as current APA format requires.
• Insert a statement in noticeable font on the title page such as this: “Portions of this paper
were drawn from a previous work submitted in EDUC ****.”
MISCELLANEOUS TIPS
• State where you agree or disagree with some of the leading theories and theorists.
• Because this paper is made up of your personal views, it will be graded on how well you
followed the rubric, supported your ideas, and presented them in a clear, consistent manner.
You may disagree with the instructor without any penalty.
EDAS 645
• Avoid dwelling too much on biographical or testimonial information. How you came to
believe what you do is not as important as what you believe and your rationale for it.
REFERENCES
You must use your textbook as one of your references. Incorporate into the paper some key ideas
from the textbook to support or illustrate your philosophy of educational leadership or to cite
ideas that are in opposition to what you believe. You may use a variety of other sources, such
as…
• Your methods and psychology textbooks
• The Bible (Current APA permits you to cite the Bible in the body of the paper, but it is not to
be listed on the reference page. So ensure that you have the correct number of sources listed
on the reference page, which cannot include the Bible.)
• Educational journals
• Books you’ve read that have influenced your philosophy.
• Do not use Wikipedia as a source in an academic paper. Because it is an open environment,
the information is constantly being changed by registered users and is not always reliable.
• Include at least four references (You may use the Bible in the body of your paper as long as
you cite it according to current APA format, but it cannot be listed on the reference page.)
• A variety of resources should be represented: books, journals, online, Christian, secular, etc.
POINT OF VIEW
Because this is a Personal Philosophy paper, you may use first person pronouns such as “I” and
“me,” but do not overuse them. For example, try not to overuse “I believe…” or “I think…” This
is a position paper; therefore, it is assumed that the entire contents contain your beliefs and
thoughts. Do not use “I feel…”
PRONOUN USAGE
Two problems students frequently have in their writing tend to be (1) pronoun-antecedent
agreement and (2) the gender issue of “he or she.”
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Pronouns must agree in number with their
antecedents. It is incorrect to write, “Each principal [singular] should manage their
[plural] own school.”
Gender Issue: It is considered sexist if you repeatedly use singular antecedents and
follow them up with masculine pronouns. For example, “Each principal should manage
his own school.” It is also problematic if you redundantly use “he or she” and “his or
her.” (Please don’t use “he/she” or “his/her.”) Some writers solve this by stating to the
reader that, for simplicity’s sake, the pronouns will be masculine or will rotate
periodically between masculine and feminine. This can be awkward and cumbersome.
But there is a better solution!
To assist in avoiding both of these problems, it is recommended that you write in plurals as
consistently as you can. For instance, use students, principals, teachers, parents, schools, etc.,
instead of their singular counterparts. Follow these antecedents up with “they” or “their.” This
avoids the gender issue altogether. When you find that you must use a singular, you may
EDAS 645
periodically use “he or she” or simply restructure the sentence to avoid the “he or she” if
possible. Rare use of it is fine.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarized papers will be rejected. Every paper will be evaluated for originality by SafeAssign,
which reports to the professor the degree to which your paper is suspected of plagiarism. The
following tips will help you avoid any problems with plagiarism:
Direct Quotes: No more than 10% of your paper should be made up of direct quotes.
Therefore, do more summarizing and paraphrasing than quoting. Short quotes should be
in quotation marks and longer quotes should be indented (see APA). If you do not set off
direct quotes in this manner and/or do not cite them, it is plagiarism.
Ideas and Facts: If the idea or fact is not your own, you must cite its source. When not
directly quoting, summarize or analyze the idea in your own words.
