Leadership and Management Development in Education (Education ...

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4The curriculum for leadershipdevelopment: content and processIntroductionIn the previous chapter, we reviewed the evidence supporting the notion of specialistpreparation for school leaders and managers. Just as teachers, doctors,lawyers and pilots, for example, need specific training, this also applies toschool principals and other leaders. Appointing school leaders without suchpreparation is a gamble, and it is inappropriate to gamble when the ‘losers’would be children or students. If this central case is accepted, the debate shiftsto the nature of the development process. What should be the main componentsof leadership programmes?Bush and Jackson’s (2002) review of school leadership programmes in sevencountries on four continents, for the NCSL, led them to conclude that the outlinecurriculum differed little despite the evident diversity in culture and context:The content of educational leadership programmes has considerable similaritiesin different countries, leading to a hypothesis that there is aninternational curriculum for school leadership preparation. Most coursesfocus on leadership, including vision, mission and transformational leadership,give prominence to issues of learning and teaching, oftendescribed as instructional leadership, and incorporate consideration ofthe main task areas of administration or management, such as humanresources and professional development, finance, curriculum and externalrelations. (pp. 420–1, emphasis added)Despite these similarities, however, these authors add that ‘there are differencesin the learning experienced by participants (ibid.: 421). Watson (2003b: 11) asksthe key question; ‘is training to be related to the needs of individuals, to thoseof the school or to the needs of the national system?’ Where there is a mandatoryor recommended qualification, as in England, Singapore and much ofNorth America, it is inevitable that national needs have primacy. A nationalqualification requires a measure of consistency to reassure those recruiting lead-33
34LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONers that all graduates have achieved at least threshold competence. However,Watson (2003b: 15) also points out that governments tend to favour skillsbasedprogrammes, which are more difficult to standardise than those focusingon knowledge and understanding.Whether national, school or candidate needs are given primacy, the needsanalysis process is vital. West-Burnham (1998) stresses its importance in determiningthe nature of leadership development: ‘Needs analysis provides the crucialinformation to ensure that professional learning is appropriate, valid andrelevant’ (p. 99).The NCSL’s Leadership Programme for Serving Heads (LPSH) includes both 360-degree feedback and personal assessment to establish development needs for experiencedheads. Similarly, the National Professional Qualification for Headship(NPQH) adopts a curriculum based around national standards which are used toidentify the ‘professional development needs of headteachers’ (Male 2001: 464).360-degree feedback is a diagnostic process that has become popular in leadershipdevelopment programmes, including those presented by NCSL. Thisapproach draws on the views of colleagues about the performance and developmentof leaders. Alimo-Metcalfe (1998), drawing on extensive empiricalresearch, says that 360-degree feedback promotes self-awareness through ‘amore accurate insight into one’s own leadership behaviour … related to one’sperformance and potential’ (p. 37).In the next section, we examine the content of leadership development programmesin different parts of the world. Subsequently, we explore the nature ofthe learning process for school leaders.The content of leadership development programmesDay (2001: 582) defines leadership development as ‘expanding the collectivecapacity of organizational members to engage effectively in leadership roles andprocesses’. Bolam (1999: 196) argues that leadership development can begrouped into four modes:• Knowledge for understanding• Knowledge for action• Improvement of practice• Development of a reflexive mode.Content-led programmes, particularly those provided by universities, may beregarded as predominantly aiming at ‘knowledge for understanding’. Each programmehas a ‘curriculum’ that gives an indication of the topics to be included.Chin (2003: 60) notes the ‘diversity in the contents and methods of preparation
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9The future of leadershipdevelopmen
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THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMEN
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