Leadership and Management Development in Education (Education ...

THE CURRICULUM FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: CONTENT AND PROCESS39The discussion gives only an outline and does not reveal the details of theseprogrammes or the ways in which they are delivered. However, it is possible tosummarise the discussion and generate a ‘model’ for leadership development.Before doing so, it should be stressed that these programmes are contextspecificso the use of a common ‘headline’ term may not mean that there is ashared curriculum. Rather they may be the starting point for different interpretationsof leadership in diverse settings. Table 4.2 provides an overview of provisionin nine of the 10 countries (the details of China’s programmes are toolimited to include in the table).Table 4.2 shows that these programmes have several common topics, acrossnational boundaries, but also some themes which appear to be context specific.Five of these appear in more than half the countries and might be regarded asthe starting point for the creation of an international curriculum (Bush andJackson 2002).1. Instructional leadershipThis topic relates to the core task of schools, promoting and developing teachingand learning. The descriptors vary and include pedagogical leadership,managing teaching and learning, and ‘achieving excellence in teaching andlearning’. ‘Instructional leadership focuses on teaching and learning and on thebehaviour of teachers in working with students. Leaders’ influence is targetedat student learning via teachers’ (Bush and Glover 2003: 10). As this definitionimplies, leaders impact on student learning indirectly. They seek to achievegood outcomes by influencing the motivation, commitment and capability ofteachers. They also monitor and evaluate teaching and learning to check thathigh standards are being achieved. A course module on instructional leadershipneeds to address such themes.2. LawSchools operate within a specific legal framework and leaders must have regardto the law in enacting their roles. The purpose of a module on law is to ensurethat leaders understand the main legal requirements affecting schools and theirmanagement.3. FinanceThis topic is particularly important for decentralised systems where there are selfmanagingschools. Principals may be responsible for substantial budgets and needthe skills to set and manage budgets, audit spending and ensure that expenditureis targeted at meeting the school’s objectives. They also need to provide financialstatements to stakeholders, including school governing bodies.