Schools are complex social organisations, an intricate web of interdependent parts. They were invented to maximise student learning and develop compassionate, wise, knowledgeable and confident citizens. Everything about a school needs to focus on students learning with dignity and development of each individual at its heart.
While schools have much in common, every school is a unique community and leadership needs to be situational and come from within. Outstanding school leaders acknowledge this complexity and strive to improve the components and dynamics of the system. This includes concern for curriculum, assessment, the school’s culture and values, role of parents and the community. Above all, school leadership should be focused on improving learning through developing better teaching, as teachers are the most powerful influence on student learning.
Good leadership is a necessary condition for educational excellence and best schools understand the difference between leadership and management, viewing leadership as a process rather than a position of authority. Great leaders get the best out of the system by setting, implementing, monitoring, reviewing and refining goals, practices and policies so that student learning outcomes continuously improve. Lead-ership also involves, in the words of educationist-author Geoff Southworth, (Looking into Primary Headship) “lib-eration of talent”. Teachers and students, fully supported, are leadership resources of enor-mous power and potential. For this reason, leadership is best viewed as a collective respons-ibility and widely distributed.
Accountability and standards are, of course, critical. School evaluation practices, teacher appraisal and prof-essional development systems need to reflect the complex nature of the educational process and involve teachers as reflective practitioners conscious of their role in improving both their own and institutional practice. Involvement breeds confidence, commitment, ownership and dignity and can result in raising a wide range of educational standards as well as creating a culture of excellence based on the needs of the school at that particular time. All leadership is situational; inexperienced teachers need more directed support from experienced colleagues, and progress needs to be benchmarked to meaningful targets with individuals held to account.
While every school is unique and leadership should ideally come from within, there is particular value in sharing practice and experience with schools supporting each other as critical friends. One example of an initiative that focuses on developing networks and the capacity for school leadership is Leadership for Learning (LfL) at the University of Cambridge faculty of education. This is a vibrant network concerned with learning, leadership and their inter-relationship. LfL has developed a framework of ideas, principles and processes which have been successful in different contexts worldwide and which are currently being piloted by nine schools using educational programmes and qualifications designed by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), with a view to wider participation in the future. LfL practice is based on the following beliefs:
• Learning and leadership are a shared enterprise, as much as an individual one
• Leadership should be ‘distributed’ and exercised at every level
• Collaborative modes of working strengthen teams and individuals
• An independent, critical perspective, informed by research is vital
• The status quo and received wisdom should be persistently questioned
Nurturing student leadership has never been more important in a world where education is ever more about providing young people with the competence and self-confidence to tackle uncertainty. Employers are desperate for people who are adaptable, able to be “intelligent in the face of change”, work together and lead teams effectively. Leadership starts with ‘knowing yourself’ and developing self-confidence, empathy and resource-fulness. This cannot be taught but can be nurtured and needs to be infused in everyday school life and culture rather than become a mere marketing slogan. Schools are part of a community and must acknowledge their responsibility to contribute to and play a leadership role in community life. Learning and leadership do not begin or end at the school gate.
International schools are in a privileged position in that they have little excuse for not exhibiting and nurturing excellent leadership. Most have a large degree of autonomy and supportive communities. They are staffed by committed teachers, many with wide experience. The potential for networking and sharing research-based international best practices is unique. There is something inherently powerful about a community of schools and partners in so many different countries and contexts, sharing practice and learning from each other.
(Dr. Tristian Stobie is director of education, Cambridge International Examinations)