Leadership and Management Development in Education (Education ...

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PREPARING AND SUPPORTING LEADERS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES57development, by the potential principals and/or system leaders. In many countries,aspiring principals must complete an approved pre-service qualificationbefore being considered for appointment. This focuses the attention of ambitiousteachers who know what is required to progress towards senior leadership.In other settings, there are no formal prerequisites except for the need to bequalified and experienced teachers.Formal preparation as a requirement for headshipOne of the first countries to require a specialist leadership qualification for itsprincipals was Singapore, which introduced the Diploma in EducationalAdministration (DEA) in July 1984 (Bush and Chew 1999). The National Instituteof Education received an annual intake of 50 vice-principals, selected andsponsored by the Ministry of Education. The DEA was a full-time pre-serviceprogramme, which included an internship of eight weeks at a mentoring principal’sschool. The mentors model their practice and also provide feedback tothe mentees on how they have handled a variety of school-generated tasks.Bush and Chew (1999: 45) conclude that ‘taken together, the internshipexperience and management theory input acquired through coursework providesfor a strong training background’. Chong et al. (2003: 168) add that theDEA ‘was known for its excellence in training school leaders’.The DEA was replaced in 2001 by the ‘Leaders in Education’ programme(LEP). The rationale for the change is explained by Chong et al. (2003):Whereas previously the compliant and efficient manager was valued in asystem almost completely controlled from the centre … the new educationalagenda demanded a new type of school leader who could copeproactively with a dynamic, complex and sometimes uncertain context.The old leadership thrived on conformity. The new leadership had to beambitious and independent, innovative and able to succeed in conditionsthat were less clearly defined. (p. 168)The main focus of the training is ‘action learning’. Participants create their ownknowledge through team learning, and this takes place through ‘syndicates’, agroup of six participants meeting weekly, and facilitated by a university professor.They know what knowledge they have created only when they come to theend of the programme (Chong et al. 2003).School leader preparation has an even longer history in the USA. Brundrett(2001) notes that it can be traced back to the nineteenth century and adds thatthe USA is the nation that first formulated a theory of educational administra-
58LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONtion. By 1945, 125 institutions, mostly universities, offered courses in schoolleader training and many states then required the successful completion of sucha programme before becoming principals or district supervisors (Huber 2004b).Bush and Jackson (2002) also note that most American states require aspiringprincipals to acquire an approved qualification, usually at master’s level. Since1994, providers in most states have adhered to the Interstate School LeadershipLicensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards. These are intended to shift preparationand practice away from management towards leadership and to focus onimproved student learning (Bjork and Murphy 2005). Preparation programmesgenerally include periods of ‘clinical experience’, to help in ‘bridging the gapbetween the academic and practice arms of the profession’ (ibid.: 8).Similar arrangements are in place in Canada. In Ontario, for example, allaspiring leaders must complete the Principals’ Qualification Programme (PQP)before being appointed as a principal or vice-principal (Bush and Jackson 2002).Candidates must follow 60 hours of practical experience, which involves takinga leadership role in their school, supervised by their principal. ‘The practicumis intended to enable candidates to put [their] knowledge … to the test in a realschool setting and to conduct a leadership project independently’ (Huber andLeithwood 2004: 261).In France, there is a clear distinction between primary and secondaryschools. There are no formal qualification programmes for primary headshipbut secondary leaders are expected to complete a comprehensive training programme.Aspiring leaders first take the ‘concours’, a four-hour written examination,followed by a presentation and an interview. Successful candidates thenundertake a six-month qualification phase, comprising seminars, and internshipsin schools, the private sector and a public authority. The schools providinginternships are selected according to the leadership qualities of theprincipal, who becomes the mentor for the aspiring head. Following this training,candidates are appointed to a school, often as a deputy head, for a two-yeartrial period. During this phase, there is further training tailored to the candidates’specific needs (Huber and Meuret 2004).Bezzina (2002: 11) states that, in Malta, ‘all prospective principals need to bein possession of a diploma in educational administration and management’. Theneed for preparation was taken seriously by most of his interviewees; ‘you neededthat kind of preparation and training and dialogue with your course colleagues’(p. 12). Significantly, though, the participants in his study regard their leadershipexperience as equally, if not more, valuable. ‘Most principals spoke of their periodas deputy principals as crucial to their professional growth’ (ibid.).In England, there is a statutory programme, the National Professional Qualificationfor Headship (NPQH). This was introduced in 1997 and will becomemandatory for all first-time heads in 2009. It is underpinned by the NationalStandards for Headteachers (DfES 2004a). These are set out in six key areas:
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ContentsNotes on the authorSeries E
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Series Editor’s ForewordThis seri
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PrefaceThe significance of effectiv
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PREFACExiiiChapter 7 shifts the deb
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9The future of leadershipdevelopmen
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THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMEN
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