Leadership and Management Development in Education (Education ...

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THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP83• Only modest demands are made of programme participants.• Its emphasis on practice is at the expense of theory and research.• Its reliance on practitioners to lead programmes limits innovation.• Its dominance of school leadership development is unhealthy.• It is unduly influenced by the government.Its demands are too modestInstead of the sustained engagement with research and literature, expected inthe best university courses, the College’s expectations of participants aremodest. Even the NPQH, the mandatory qualification for principalship, can beachieved by taking a 48-hours residential programme followed by a skillsassessment, although this is set to change in 2008. The decision to requireheadteachers to acquire a specialist leadership qualification has been widelyapplauded but there are criticisms of the scope and nature of the NPQH. It isunambitious in that it requires limited engagement with theory and researchand is focused primarily on applicants’ perceived ability to do the job. It isevident that it is below the intellectual level regarded as necessary in NorthAmerica (Bush 2004). The new model NPQH seems likely to provide a widerrange of learning opportunities for ‘trainee heads’ but the nature of thecontent remains unclear. Other college offerings are not formally assessed sothere is no straightforward way to judge the effectiveness of leadershiplearning despite the external evaluation programme (Bush et al. 2007b).Brundrett et al.’s (2006: 101) comment about the basic nature of NCSLprovision requires serious attention:Questions remain as to how far the governmentally inspired leadershipprogrammes have moved beyond the more reductivist elements of thecompetence paradigm towards educational programmes that develop thekind of reflective knowing and higher order cognitive abilities that willundoubtedly be required by leaders in the complex world of educationalleadership in the 21st century.The emphasis on practice is at the expense of theory and researchLevine (2005: 56) notes that the NCSL ‘acts as a bridge between scholarshipand practice, believing that research should drive practice and practice shouldfuel research’. However, the main emphasis is on participants’ experience andNCSL programmes have been criticised for neglecting theory and research.University courses, in contrast, continue to be targeted at leaders at all levels
84LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONand draw mainly on theory and research rather than participants’ experience.They are aimed at enhancing participants’ knowledge and understanding ofschool leadership rather than specific preparation for senior leadership roles,although many participants do become heads following such programmes(Bush 2006: 509). Brundrett et al. (2006: 103–4) argue that leadershipprogrammes should not be ‘isolated from the research, commentary andanalysis of a wider educational constituency. If school leadership courses areto be successful they must integrate the best of academic programmes and takefull account of emerging research evidence’. Southworth (2004: 351) claimsthat the college does learn from the wider leadership community, not least incommissioning research and evaluations, but the short-term nature of manyprogrammes, and the extensive involvement of headteachers in delivery, leadsto the inevitable conclusion that practice is regarded as more important thantheory and research.Its reliance on practitioners to lead programmes limits innovationAs we noted earlier, current and recent heads play important roles in the deliveryof NCSL programmes. This seems set to increase with their heavy involvement inthe new model NPQH. There is much to commend in this approach and it is usedin many other countries, as we noted in Chapter 5, but it does have certain limitations.Crow (2004: 303–4) expresses concern about the ‘conservative’ nature ofthis approach:[Socialisation] involves newcomers being trained by veterans who pass ontheir knowledge and skills of the role. Many of the college’s leadershipdevelopment efforts involve veteran headteachers sharing their expertiseand knowledge. This has also become a popular method in North Americanleadership development programmes … One question for reflectionand research is whether the use of veterans encourages an innovative orcustodial view of the role … If the goal of the learning is innovation andcreativity, the issue of serial socialisation is not necessarily the mosteffective method.Its dominance of school leadership development is unhealthyGiven its lavish funding, and its national profile, the NCSL has acquired anunhealthy domination of leadership development activities and an absolutemonopoly of the statutory National Professional Qualification for Headship.From 2009, it will not be possible to become a headteacher without the NPQH.
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ContentsNotes on the authorSeries E
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PrefaceThe significance of effectiv
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3The significance of leadership and
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