Improving School Leadership Guidelines for Country Background Reports

Improving School Leadership - Guidelines for Country Background Reports Education and Training Policy Division Directorate of Education Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Activity Themes Ø School governance and leadership Ø Enhancing learning and school leadership Ø The attractiveness of school leadership Ø Training and professional development of school leaders 2 Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

School governance and leadership 1 r How are the demands on school leaders changing? l l l 3 Challenges facing school leadership (Q 3. 3) Role of schools in broader community service and development – implications for school leaders (Q 3. 11) Role of school leaders in collaborative networks of schools (Q 3. 10) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

School governance and leadership 2 r What are the different roles and responsibilities of school leaders under different governance structures? What types of competencies do these roles and responsibilities entail? l Basic regulatory framework and its development (Q 3. 2) l Governance structure of schools (Q 3. 5) l l 4 Division of responsibilities among various government levels and individual schools, and related tensions (Q 3. 4 & Q 3. 6) Balance between autonomy, and transparency and accountability at school level (Q 3. 7) Organisation and leadership structures within a school (Q 3. 8) Tensions over the relative weight of different leadership responsibilities (Q 3. 9) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

School governance and leadership 3 r What types of competencies would be required from school leaders in different contexts? l l r Has this evidence informed relevant policy development and to what extent? Are there in fact a set of core competencies that all school leaders need, independent of governance structure and community context, and if so, what are they? l l 5 Research evidence on relationship between leadership skills and school characteristics (e. g. sector, size, student intake, behaviour, etc. ) (Q 3. 12) Research evidence on existence of core competencies (Q 3. 13) Has this evidence informed relevant policy development and to what extent? Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

School governance and leadership 4 r What are promising approaches to school leadership? l 6 Recent innovations in the organisation of leadership roles in schools (Q 3. 12) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Enhancing learning and school leadership 1 r Policies on teaching, learning and assessment l l r Role of school leaders in the development and evaluation of policies (Q 4. 2) What school-level processes can most effectively support leadership focused on the improvement of teaching and learning? l l 7 Major concerns (Q 4. 1) School accountability (Q 4. 3) Monitoring students’ disciplinary behaviour, learning progress and outcomes (Q 4. 4) l Monitoring curriculum development and implementation (Q 4. 5) l Evaluation of teacher performance (Q 4. 7 & Q 4. 8) l Teacher professional development (Q 4. 9) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Enhancing learning and school leadership 2 r What leadership practices are more effective in promoting learning in schools? l l r Has this evidence informed relevant policy development and to what extent? Which contexts and conditions are more conducive to learning-centred leadership practices? l l 8 Research evidence (Q 4. 10) Research evidence (Q 4. 11) Has this evidence informed relevant policy development and to what extent? Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Enhancing learning and school leadership 3 r What policies can most effectively support leadership focused on the improvement of teaching and learning? l l 9 Policy initiatives underway or planned (Q 4. 12) Priority issues and options for policy development (Q 4. 13) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

The attractiveness of school leadership 1 r Is the supply of high quality school leaders adequate? l Major concerns (Q 5. 1) l Changes over time in supply vs demand (Q 5. 2) l l 10 Changes over time in the composition of school leaders’ profile (Q 5. 3) Research evidence on reasons for wastage of qualified candidates (Q 5. 4 & Q 5. 5) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

The attractiveness of school leadership 2 r Are the employment and working conditions adequate to attract and retain high-quality school leaders? l l l 11 Recruitment, selection, terms of assignment, evaluation and renewal (Q 5. 6, Q 5. 7 & Q 5. 8) Design and competitiveness of compensation systems (Q 5. 9 & Q 5. 10) When, how and why school leaders leave their positions (Q 5. 12, Q 5. 13 & Q 5. 14) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

The attractiveness of school leadership 3 r What policies can improve the recruitment and retention of effective school leaders? l l 12 Policy initiatives underway or planned (Q 5. 15) Priority issues and options for policy development (Q 5. 16) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Training and professional development of school leaders 1 r How should we encourage talented teachers and people with leadership potential from other fields to consider careers in school leadership? l l 13 Main and alternative pathways by which people become school leaders (Q 6. 2) Major requirements to qualify for school leadership positions (Q 6. 3) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Preparation and professional development of school leaders 2 r What should be the core components of programmes to prepare the next generation of school leaders? l Regulatory framework and legislation governing the preparation of school leaders (Q 6. 4 & Q 6. 5) - types of institutions, financing, staffing - content, design and duration of programmes - actors, mechanisms and criteria for quality assurance l l 14 Induction and support for new school leaders (Q 6. 6) Research evidence on effective school leadership preparation programmes (Q 6. 9) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Preparation and professional development of school leaders 3 r What are the principal characteristics of effective professional development programmes for school leaders? l l 15 Professional development requirements and opportunities (Q 6. 7 & Q 6. 8) Research evidence on effective school leadership development programmes (Q 6. 9) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Preparation and professional development of school leaders 4 r What are promising policies and innovations in school leadership preparation and development? l Policy initiatives underway or planned (Q 6. 10) l Priority issues and options for policy development (Q 6. 11) l 16 Recent innovations in leadership preparation and development (Q 6. 12) Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006

Conclusions r r 17 What are the major strengths and weaknesses in current policy on school leadership? What are the trends and changes that might be anticipated in future policy development in the field of school leadership? Improving School Leadership - 1 st Workshop - 5 July 2006