Leadership Styles and Leadership Types in Educational Context and Practice: A Critical Analysis of Issues in Educational Leadership Discourse.

Improvement of schools requires effective leadership. Effective leadership behavior can be demonstrated through the leadership type or style practiced. However, the interpretations and usage of leadership style and type in educational leadership and practice have become a bone of contention among practitioners and researchers. This position paper discusses the varying paradigms of the interpretations and usage of leadership styles and types, which have created confusion in educational leadership and practice. The paper deconstructs the various arguments that have advanced leadership behaviors explained in some academic literature as leadership styles. However, they are supposed to be construed as leadership types and vice versa. It has also highlighted the differences between leadership styles and leadership types with examples and demonstrated how they should be applied in school leadership. The paper also explains the types or styles of leadership practice that will enhance improvement in schools, as well as children’s academic performance.