Improving School Leadership

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• Improving School Leadership
• 1st Workshop of Participating Countries
• Beatriz Pont
• Education and Training Policy Division

Workshop of National Coordinators July 5, 2006
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Purpose of the meeting

• Share information on progress in the activity,
  from OECD and countries perspective
• Clarify methodology and calendar
• Raise common issues of concern
• Explore other relevant work in this field
• Agenda

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Improving School leadership Update on the
activity

• Objectives
• Content
• Methodology
• Timeline
• Outputs
• Who we are

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High priority in OECD Education work

• OECD Teacher Policy Thematic Review (Teachers
  Matter, OECD, 2005)
• Education Chief Executives Meeting, Copenhagen,
  Sept. 2005
• Ranked 3 out of 20 Education Directorate
  activities in the recent Education Committee
  meeting (March 2006)

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High priority in OECD Education work 20
participating countries/regions (June 2006)

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium (Flanders)
• Chile
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Israel

• Korea
• The Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Portugal
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom (England)
• United Kingdom (Scotland)

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Why is it important?

• Rising expectations of schools and schooling
  (knowledge economy, globalisation, migration,
  decentralisation)
• From teachers with additional responsibilities to
  full time managers of human and financial
  resources
• Instructional leadership
• Staff evaluation
• Budget management
• Performance assessment
• Community relations
• Held accountable for results
• THE SUPER PRINCIPAL

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Changing responsibilities of school leadership

• But, principals development has not been a
  priority in school reform agendas until recently
  
• Shortages of high-qualified school leader
  candidates.
• Australia 92 of principals expected to
  retire/resign more than five years before they
  'have to'. (Grady et als (1994))
• Ontario, Canada 75 of principals and gt 40 vice
  principals expect to retire by 2007 (Williams,
  2001)
• England 4/10 deputy/assistant principals no
  plans to become a principal 4/10 principals
  considering early retirement (Earley et al,
  2002).
• Quality school leadership find ways to make
  school leadership an attractive career (incentive
  structure to attract and retain those on the job)

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The objective of the activity

• To provide information and analysis to help
  policy makers in formulating and implementing
  school leadership policies leading to improved
  teaching and learning.
• Objectives
• to synthesise research on issues related to
  improving leadership in schools
• to identify innovative and successful policy
  initiatives and practices
• to facilitate exchanges of lessons and policy
  options among countries
• to identify policy options for governments to
  consider.

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Key Issues to respond to

• What are the roles and responsibilities of school
  leadership
• How to best develop effective school leadership

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Roles of school leadership

• Role of school leadership under different
  governance structures
• Demands on school leaders
• Different roles and responsibilities of school
  leaders under different governance
• Types of skills required
• Is there a set of core competencies?
• Promising policies and conditions for linking
  school leadership with improving school outcomes

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Developing school leadership

• How can effective school leadership be best
  developed and supported?
• Should it be a career path? Types of profiles
  pedagogical or other
• Employment conditions
• support structures
• Type of training (pre-service, on the job,
  further training)
• Types of institutions to develop school leaders

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The methodology

• Analytical strand
• Country Background Reports Policies and
  structures that impact on the role and
  development of effective school leadership
• Innovative practices strand Case studies of
  innovative practices to complement analytical
  strand
• 1) New models of school organisation and
  management that distribute leadership roles and
  responsibilities in innovative ways
• 2) Promising programmes and practices to prepare
  and develop school leaders

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The methodology

• Additional research
• PISA data analysis explore PISA questionnaire
  for school principals in collaboration with
  Indicators and Analysis Division.
• Links school principals questionnaire to
  students variables (school engagement, motivation
  and attitudes and performance) in 2000-2006.

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The timeline

• Calendar
• 1-4q 2006
• 2q 2006
• 3-4q 2006
• 1-2q 2007
• 3 q 2007
• 4 q 2007
• 1q 2008

• Tasks
• Participating countries prepare Country
  Background Reports
• Activity workshop and international conference n.
  1
• Organisation of 1st set of case studies and
  visits
• Organisation of 2nd set of case studies and
  visits
• Activity workshop and international seminar n. 2
• Final international conference
• Delivery of comparative report

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Outputs of the Activity

• Country Background Reports (2006)
• International workshops (2006 and 2007)
• Expert papers/reports
• Selected case studies (2006-2007)
• A final international conference (2008)
• A final comparative report (2008)
• An activity website http//www.oecd.org/edu/schoo
  lleadership

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The staff

• Beatriz Pont Education and Training Policy
  Division beatriz.pont_at_oecd.org
• Fani Stylianidou OECD Consultant,
• fani_at_fani-stylianidou.org
• Hunter Moorman OECD Consultant,
  hunter.moorman_at_oecd.org
• Ross Wilkins - Assistant
• ross.wilkins_at_oecd.org

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• Thank you very much.
• Beatriz.pont_at_oecd.org