Leading schools in changing times

Ola Hoff Kaldestad2009

Schools are complicated institutions

Peter Senge: Schools that learn (2000)

Systems Thinking

The Knowledge promotion Reform 2006

In order to climb the PISA ladder

http://www.snabbstart.com/bilder/880f4463ad

FOUR PILLARS OF EDUCATION(UNESCO, 1996)

New Public Management (in England)

1. Individual responsibility*2. Risk-minimisation (e.g. ‘educational triage’) 3. Transmissive teaching (e.g. closely defined syllabi and teaching strategies)4. A focus on measurable outcomes *5. Detached relationships, related to performance (e.g. commodification of pupils) 6. Competitive working relationships seen as key to create improvement *7. Trust based primarily on systems of monitoring and motivation (theory X) (also

see Elliot, 2001, O'Neill, 2002)8. Customer-supplier relationships with the environment (e.g. parents) * 9. Conformity, associated with external control and risk minimisation (Thrupp &

Willmott, 2003) 10. Strong ‘heroic’ leadership (e.g. ‘superhead’ )Critics: e.g. Ball (2001); Thrupp and Willmott (2003); Alexander (2003) NPM: e.g. *Hood (1991); Enteman (1993); Fergusson (2000)

OLA HOFF KALDESTAD

To be a true teacher, you must be a learner first:

Indeed, teachers` own passion for learning inspires their students as much as their expertise do (Senge 1999: 332).

Schools-as-learning-communities

1. Shared responsibility among all members 2. Considered risk-taking and experimenting to improve teaching and learning 3. Social constructivist thinking & reflective practice, prevalent and dominant 4. A focus on activities which improve every member’s educational experience5. Mutual care & respect6. Working relationships that tend to be collaborative, but embrace diversity, and

seen as key to improvement 7. Mutual trust (theory Y)8. Partnerships with the environment (for example, parents) 9. Diverse interests and talents embraced10. Distributed leadership

e.g. Jeffrey, B. & Woods, P. (2003) Mitchell and Sackney (2000); Sergiovanni (1999); Retallick et al (1999); Fielding (1999)

Inservice-training program for new school leaders

• A ministry-made curriculum frame• Invitation to universities and teacher-training

colleges to tender• Cooperation between institutions that delivered

tender• Three out of eleven were selected• My institution in cooperation with five nabour-

institutions in Western Norway got one of the contracts

To become a leader, you must first become a human being.

Confusius

Our Model

• The role of school leadership, attitude, educational credo, how to create trust

• Cooperation and teambuilding. Building a learning organization

• Development and improvement. Leading a learing organization

• The learning environment and pupils learning• School management

OLA HOFF KALDESTAD

The leader as a Servant

• It has been shown again and again in combat that when people`s lives are at stake, they will only reliably follow commanding officers who they trust, who they perceive as having their well-beeing at hart (Senge 1999:334).

OLA HOFF KALDESTAD

Aims and Values are of Importance

Learning and change are facilitated when values and goals are articulated, shared, consistent, and connected.

OLA HOFF KALDESTAD

OLA HOFF KALDESTAD