Leadership skills for success in education

1. Leadership skills for success in education Dr Šefika Alibabić, Full professor University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy Sofia, November 2017.

2. ***** “It is better to have an army of rabbits, led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a rabbit”!!!

3. The objectives of the topic • To inform, • To intellectually provoke, • To search in own experience, • To motivate leaders of educational organizations/ institutions to acquire and develop leadership competences for successful education

4. The content structure of the topic consists of answers to questions based on research findings and examples from practice: • WHYare leadership skills and competences a base for successful education? • WHICHleadership skills make an educational organization leader successful? • HOW to develop leadership skills? • WHENto acquire and improve (develop) leadership skills?

5. Whyare leadership skills and competences a base for successful education? • The essence of management in education; • Leading and managing on different levels and in different domains; • Changing environment and needs development. Example from practice

6. The essence of management in education The main preoccupation (starting and closing point) of management in education must be the purpose, goals and outcomes of education, while the control procedures and patterns, guiding, directing, encouraging ... employees, are only mechanisms in the service of the main preoccupations.

7. Leadership by levels • Educational system level (education policies) • Educational institution level • Educational process level • Leadership in educational policies • Leadershipin school directors • Leadership in teachers

8. Changing environment – requirements and needs global environment immediateenvironment education (the head of the institution)

9. Which skills? • Factors that “make” a leader • Manager/leader on the way to institution’s strategic development • Educational needs of the director (head of the institution) • “The pool” of competences (leadership competences as a core) Example from practice

10. Factors that “make” a leader • Hereditary • Educational • Environmental • Situational

11. Manager/leaderon the way to institution’s strategic development

12. Results of needs research(Alibabić, 2011) • List of activities (partial) for which directors need continuous training Priority list of training topics Activity Mean value • Talks (with students, employees, parents) 14,85 • Decides14,82 • Performs pedagogical supervision 14,80 • Creates positive relations in school 14,72 • Motivates employees 14,65 • Plans14,63 • Solves interpersonal relations problems 14,50 • Criticizes constructively 14,25 • Advises 14,15 • Delegates tasks 13,80

13. Results of needs research 2011. 2016. Talks (with students, employees, parents) Decides Performs pedagogical supervision Creates positive relations in school Motivates employees Plans Solves interpersonal relations problems Criticizes constructively Advises Delegates tasks Solves interpersonal relations problems Creates positive relations in school Motivates employees Decides Plans Talks Lobbies Criticizes constructively Performs pedagogical supervision Negotiates

14. “The pool” of competences Leading with a compass – The Four Principles Paradigm (Covey,2000.) Leadership domains (association to geographical map) Leadership principles (association to geographical directions) Students Teachers Parents Teaching Education policy Local community Resources Education technology Security (sense of own worth, identity, emotional stability,self-esteem and personal strength) Wisdom(knowledge and experience) Power(Courage, making decisions and acting, overcoming old habits and cultivating new ones) Guidance(Understanding the signs that lead us through life, anticipation)

16. Howto develop leadership skills? Permanently and systematically • Through formal education programs • Through informal education programs • Through self-learning projects • Through experiences What programs to choose? Example from practice

17. When to develop leadership skills? Always permanently and continuously “I grow old learning something new every day .” (Solon, ca. 639-559 B.C.)

18. Recommended literature • Alibabić,Š., (2011) Education of School Leaders – from their Educational needs to Training Models , S¶TRA -journal for Research on Education, Psychology, Traditional Sciences and Systems, Health and Consciousness, Volume 10/ 2011, New Delhi, pp. 85-103. • Alibabić, Š., Miljković,J., Ovesni,K. (2013), Pedagog u kontekstu menadžment izazova, Zbornik: Pedagog između teorije i prakse, Beograd, Institut za pedagogiju i andragogiju Filozofskog fakulteta. • Covey, S., (2000) Principi uspešnog liderstva, Beograd,Grmeč. • Fairholm,M.R., Fairholm,G.W., (2009) Understanding Leadership Perspectives, New York, Springer Science and Business Media. • Hodzic,S., Ripoll,P., Lira,E., Zenasni,F., (2015) Can intervention in emotional competences increase employability prospects of unanployed adults?, Yournal of Vocational Behavior, Elsevier, 88(1915)28-37. • Ladkin, D. (2010) Rethinking Leadership: A New Look at Old Leadership Questions. Cheltenham, Northamton: Edward Elgar. • Marićević,L. (2014) Faktori liderstva, Andragoške studije, br.1, str. 91-107.