Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) The concept of instructional leadership posits that strong leadership in education focuses on curriculum and instruction (Mitchell, Kensler & Tschannen-Moran, 2015). As an instructional leader, therefore, it is important to have a deep understanding and personal sense of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL). This paper will examine PSEL’s Standards 1-10, summarize each standard and describe my role in relation to each standard.

Standard 1: Mission, Vision, and Core Values

This standard holds that effective educational leaders create, promote and embody and mission, vision and core set of values that can be shared by all stakeholders within the educational system (Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, 2015). As I do not have a great deal of experience in creating such a vision, this is one standard that I need improvement in. For most of my educational career, I have followed others in the sense of accepting and adhering to their vision or to the common values and ideals presented in my workplace and academic environment. To go out and prepare this vision for others, as a leader, is a skill that I need to develop.

Standard 2: Ethics and Professional Norms

This standard holds that leaders should always be ethical and behave in accordance with the accepted norms of their profession, the end goal being to assist students in their academic development ((Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, 2015). This is an area that I feel especially proficient in, as I have always adhered to the ethical principles and values of the community and profession in which I am situated. As an instructional...

The object of this standard is to advance all students’ academic careers, and I am confidently proficient in this area (Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, 2015). My experience in multi-cultural schools and my global perspective frees me to be supportive of all cultures and to promote equity among all students. Cultural responsiveness is a critical aspect of promoting inclusiveness and fostering a spirit of community within the school.
Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Educational leaders should foster systems of education that are challenging and solid in terms of curriculum, instruction methods and methods of assessment (Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, 2015). In this area, I could use some improvement, as I have too little experience in truly creating a curriculum or implementing an instruction method that can really help all my students. In my experience, I feel like even when I use a variety of approaches and assessments, I am always still losing a handful of students between the cracks—so I would like to address this issue as an instructional leader in the future.

Standard 5: Community of Care and Support for Students

While I struggle with finding ways to reach all my students in the classroom, I truly do care for them all and—even…