A Fork in the Road

Narrative Problem Solving for School Leaders

By: J. Michael Wilhelm

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eText | 2 November 2018 | Edition Number 1

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A Fork in the Road presents the narrative approach to problem solving often employed by mediators and therapists as lens through which school system leaders can view the component parts of the difficult issues they face to better define and resolve them. Narrative problem solving is based on the precept that humans construct an understanding of their problems from the stories they hear and tell about those problems. Therapists and mediators deliberately mine these narratives to understand the origin, nature, and the extent of their client’s problem, and to reveal the alternative storylines and possible resolutions embedded in those stories. This same approach can allow board members, practicing and aspiring superintendents and other school administrators to view an institutional problem from a distance and learn the differing perspectives of those involved and affected to better under the problem’s reach and risks, and explore possible solutions. The book provides an explanation of narrative problem solving and a series of essential questions to guide the reader through the process. It offers twelve stories in narrative form that invite the reader to explore institutional challenges through the narrative lens. An analysis of each story explores the possible path to resolution embedded in the stories.

Industry Reviews

Books on school leadership all too often present the work of leaders too neatly and simplistically, leaving the reader wondering why her or his own experience is so different and, often, resistant to solutions described in those books. Mike Wilhelm’s volume will feel like home to practicing leaders, and particularly to central office and school board leaders. Its twelve stories are a pleasure to read: their characters come alive in the narrative; the core parts of each leadership challenge are made plain; and the reader is invited inside the problem-solving process to engage in deeper thinking about resolution. Wilhelm’s descriptions, drawing on his own long experience as superintendent, will resonate with readers’ own stories. Discussing them with colleagues offers powerful opportunities for leaders – whether practicing or aspiring – to make sense of the very real challenges of their work. This book is a much-needed resource that district-level leaders and professional learning programs, whether pre-service or in-service, will find engaging, provocative, and extraordinarily helpful in practice.