School leadership matters in OECD countries

Beatriz Pont

Education and Training Policy Division

OECD Education Directorate

International Conference School Leadership Development Strategies

Dublin, November 7, 2007

Background: The ISL activity

AustraliaAustriaBelgium (French)Belgium (Flanders)ChileDenmarkFinlandFranceHungaryIrelandIsrael

Korea The NetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPortugalSloveniaSpainSwedenUnited Kingdom (England)United Kingdom (N.

Ireland)United Kingdom (Scotland)

Network of experts

Started in early 2006 : brainstorming on key topics to analyse

International organisations

The objectives

To provide policy-makers and others with timely analysis to help formulate school leadership policies leading to improved teaching and learning:

i) Synthesising research on issues related to improving leadership in schools;

ii) Identifying innovative and successful policy initiatives and practices;

iii)Facilitating exchanges of lessons and policy options among countries; and

iv) Identifying policy options for governments to consider.

Key issues to respond to

What are the roles and responsibilities of school leadership

How to best develop effective school leadership

Complementary ways of looking at school leadership

Analytical strand: Country Background Reports to focus on Country Background reports: Policies and structures that impact on the role and development of effective school leadership (January 2007)

Innovative practices strand: Case studies to innovative practices • New models of school organisation and management that

distribute leadership roles and responsibilities in innovative ways (UK October 06, Finland, January 07; Belgium April 07)

Conference in England July 2006

• Promising programmes and practices to prepare and develop school leaders (Austria, April 07, Australia, Aug 07)

Conference in Dublin November 2007

Outputs and calendar of the Activity

Why is school leadership a policy issue?

Evidence shows that: • Principals have an indirect impact on schooling outcomes

• Principals are important for school reform

• Pressing issues of attracting, training and developing good leaders as well as replacing existing ones.

• Shortages of high-qualified school leader candidates across countries. Either for retirement reasons or for lack of attractiveness to the position

At the same time: • Rising expectations of schools and schooling

(knowledge economy, globalisation, migration, …)

• Greater accountability for schools and principals

• Changing systems and school environments (decentralisation and autonomy)

Today’s focus: Professionalising school leadership

Concerns related to the quality of school leaders

i) Many principals complain about lack of training and development – Denmark, 90% felt need for mandatory training

– Ireland: 18% of those participating in induction felt prepared for post

ii) International research evidence stress the significance of school leadership preparation for school improvement (Bush and Jackson, 2002; Møller, 2006)

iii)Research evidence also shows some key features to successful training programmes– Mentoring and coaching/collegial work

– Work based learning

– Coherence in curriculum

– Focus on leadership for learning

iv) Different approaches to training across countries, not necessarily consistent

Today’s focus: Professionalising school leadership

The context of leadership development:

i) Almost all principals or candidates have received teacher training:

ii) Participation in training can depend on the formal requirements for school leader’s selection

iii)The length of tenure in the position can have strong influence in the type of training provided.

The approaches:• Skills development prior to becoming principal (System

wide pre-service training):• Encouraging induction programmes• Promoting skills development on the job (training for

acting principals)

Leadership development approaches

Today’s focus: Professionalising school leadership

The practice:• There is a wide range of approaches and support

• Timing varies from 2 months to 2 years part time

• Content varies from procedural to school reform

• Wide range of institutions providing training

• Quality control

• Difficult to measure the impact

• need to develop a solid base of empirical research to inform design

This conference will help us understand the practice better:

• Innovative case studies: The Victoria, Australia and Austria case studies

• Country roundtable discussions

School leadership: The policy

School leadership: The policy

School leadership: the policies

activity documents to be found in:http://www.oecd.org/edu/schoolleadership

Thank you very much.

Beatriz.pont@oecd.org