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Experiences of school management in Finland Tapio Erma Principal Olari Secondary School Espoo, Finland. Olari Secondary School. Upper Secondary School (age group 16-18) Upper Comprehensive School (age group 13-15). Topics.
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Experiences of school management in Finland Tapio Erma Principal Olari Secondary School Espoo, Finland Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
Olari Secondary School Upper Secondary School (age group 16-18) Upper Comprehensive School (age group 13-15) Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
Topics • The context of school management- the Finnish educational system- three levels of curriculum- the municipal bodies in ed management • A principal’s role in school management Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
From a ”head teacher” to a professional leader with competence, responsibility and power • From obeying rules to leadership and management • From a narrow set of tasks to a comprehensive mgt of a school Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
Three levels of curriculum • The national core curriculum • The local curriculum • The school-level curriculum Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
Decentralization of the curriculum Cal Eng Bel G/NW Centralized Decentralized Fin Net Swe Por Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007 Source: SLO 2005
The school curriculum is to include.. • mission statement and values • characteristics of school culture and working methods • counselling and guidance plan • objectives and core contents by subject • student welfare services • assessment of students’ learning • evaluation of operations Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The municipal bodies in Ed mgt School Board School office Senior ed officer Board of Governors Principal Senior mgt team Board of Student Union Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
Senior mgt team • staff welfare • student affairs • curriculum development • evaluation of operations • information activities • pedagogic development Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The principal’s role Tapio Erma / August 31, 2007 / Lima
The mgt of staff • to recruit • to show respect and interest • to direct (but not control?) • to train • to delegate Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of motivation /1 • The general idea: there are recognizable motivation factors that can be affected Source eg Brophy 2005 Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of motivation /2 • Only a few examples: - academic expectations- teacher enthusiasm- teacher behaviour towards students- opportunity to act with peers- stimulating working methods- supportive classroom climate • - (positive) feedback Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of motivation /3 • How?- raising awareness- setting standards- support for teachers- in-house training- optional subjects Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of resources /1 General purpose funds Lesson hour frame General principle: resources distributed on the level the work is done => principal’s mgt role Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of resources /2 • The lesson hour frame- = how many lessons paid / a week- mgt task: how to spend the frame so that * it is fair * it focuses on the main purpose * enough is allocated for supporting work- not a democratic decision but based on discussion- a principal counts lessons, not euros Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of curriculum /1 • The four levels of curriculum:1) the rhetorical (as in policies)2) the planned (as written)3) the delivered (what is taught)4) the received (what’s in students’ minds)The mgt task: the rhetorical = the received? Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of curriculum /2 • ”The students must be given opportunities to test and find working methods suitable for their own learning style.” • For example: • visual, kinesthetic, auditive • global and analytic styles • experiential, experimental learning Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of curriculum /3 • How?- evaluation- listening to students’ voice- questionnaires, interviews Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of student welfare /1 • The general idea: a child with a problem cannot learn – the school should support the child by trying to solve the problem. • Impossible? Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The mgt of student welfare /2 • a student welfare team • health services • a psychologist • a social worker • learning difficulty tests • immediate reaction to problems • cooperation with homes • school lunch Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
The principal’s role Tapio Erma / August 31, 2007 / Lima
Challenges • learning problems • mental problems • pressure from families • a principal’s work too wide • too many in remedial teaching Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
Examples of training for principals How to • interview applicants • lead a project / change • lead an evaluation discussion • discuss difficult matters • evaluate the work of a school • manage finances • communicate with different kinds of people • market a school • activate students in the decision making • meet with aggressive children/parents • manage learning difficulties Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007
References • National core curricula http://www.oph.fi/english/ tapio.erma@espoo.fi Tapio Erma / Lima / August 31, 2007