High Quality School Leadership Gaby Hostens IIEP, Paris January 22nd 2008

1. High Quality School Leadership Gaby Hostens IIEP, Paris January 22nd 2008

2. Introduction a. Renewed interest in high quality school leadership e.g. OECD: thematic review Improving School Leadership England: establishment of National College for School Leadership b. Focus increasingly on distributed leadership

3. Political context for developing school leadership in Flanders a. Freedom of education - Free choice for parents/students: to choose a school Benefits: * Competition among schools driver for quality * Choice among a diversity of interesting pedagogical projects Drawbacks: school choice contains risks to equity * Concentration of disadvantaged students * Larger differences in the social composition of schools * Achieving a social mix in schools is difficult

4. - Freedom to establish a school Benefits: * A large diversity of providers, pedagogical projects * Providers are the employers * Providers enjoy pedagogical autonomy Drawbacks: * Often a less professional approach to attracting and hiring school principals * Opposition against compulsory school leader certificate

5. Evidence of importance of high quality school leaders OECD publication Schools and Quality (1984) - A commitment to clearly and commonly identified norms and goals - Collaborative planning, shared decision-making and collegial work in a frame of experimentation and evaluation - Positive leadership in initiating and maintaining improvement - A strategy for continuing staff development related to each school’s pedagogical and organisational needs - Working to a carefully planned and coordinated curriculum that ensures sufficient place for each student to acquire essential knowledge and skills

6. - A high parental involvement and support - Maximum use of learning time - The pursuit and recognition of school-wide values rather than individual ones Role of headmasters critical in achieving these objectives Building a distinct school ethos -) enhances the quality of teaching and learning But also: school leaders are the interface between policies defined at a higher level and their implementation at the school level

7. A more challenging context for school leaders a. Institutional challenges - Greater ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity - Effective use of resources - Greater entrepreneurial spirit - Outreach to the wider community

8. b. Curricular challenges - Changes in the curriculum : cross-curricular, key competencies - Rapid changes in the curriculum to respond to societal demands - Technological innovation in teaching resources - New models of learning c. Challenges for governance - School-based management - Greater accountability through inspection and external assessment - New forms of partnerships Role and responsibilities of school leaders are critical

9. But: - Leadership challenges differ greatly between countries oand within countries, levels of education and types of schools - Lack of effective preparation and support for school leaders Great need to attract high quality school leaders

10. 5. New public management in education, schools a. Human resources management - Job description: * Rationale for the job * Result areas * Competencies * Hay Management: a format - Evaluation - Professional development - Contracts of limited duration rather than tenure

11. b. Performance management - Objectives to be achieved - Resources provided to attain them - Autonomy in processes, actions - Monitoring performances - Accountability Change managers Knowledge management in schools Rewards and sanctions for performance

12. Attracting and developing school leaders a. Policy context in Flanders - No official certificate is required - Pre-service training vs in-service-training - Autonomy of school boards to attract and hire school leaders - Job descriptions and evaluation of staff: compulsory

13. b. Job description for principal, headmaster - Rationale for the job - Result areas * Mission statement of the school * Long term planning of school policies * Organisation of the school * Quality assurance * Personnel policy * Coaching of students * Communication and cooperation with parents * Consultation and cooperation with internal stakeholders * Consultation and cooperation with external stakeholders

14. * Material and financial policies * Administration * Public relations * In-service-training – Professional development Important to strike a balance between - Administration - Management - Leadership for learning

15. c. Competences - Subject-matter knowledge - Future-oriented thinking - Problem solving skills - Focused on the objectives, results - Team leadership - Motivation - Organisational talents - Persuasion - Empathy - Flexibility

16. 7. Attracting potentially excellent candidates a. What policies can help? - Planning for leadership succession - Broadening eligibility criteria - Professionalising recruitment practices - Providing adequate remuneration

17. b. In Flanders a more professional approach to recruiting headmasters - Before: * Amateurist * Political nominees - Now: * Professional assessment * Timely identification of potential candidates * Selection committees of professionals * Non-teachers can apply * Developing leadership capacity in schools through middle management * Financial fund for professional development

18. Distributed school leadership School leader: a challenging job Meditation by John Donne “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main” How about school leaders? a. Distributed school leadership = sharing of roles and responsibilities between several members of the team: division of responsibilities - Role for middle management - Leadership team

19. b. Form of distribution depends on context factors e.g. Governance structure - Type and complexity of schools - Traditional cultural factors Middle management, a vital role to relieve senior management from burden, work overload. Teams can capitalise on a wider range of expertise closer to application