Responsible Leadership

The world in which educational leaders operate is changing-from one dominated by national interests to oneof a global community. In this transition, schools must prepare the present generation of young people to participate as active citizens of the global community, rather than as spectators or tourists. Schools face major challenges as they prepare their charges for a world which requires (a) agreements among nations to share in managing the earth's fragile ecology; (b) sharing ideas on human, cultural, and economic capital and on manufacturing and medical technologies to improve the quality of life for all people; and (c) guarantees of global peace and security. Schools need to target their curriculum toward preparing youngsters with the desperately needed understandings, perspectives, and skills this global transition will demand. A different kind of school leader will be required-a multidimensional leader that understands the various dimensions of the learning tasks which schools must cultivate. In turn, these leaders must have a moral vision of what is required of them and of the whole community. A moral vision of taking proactivere sponsibility for making this kind of learning a reality is required.