‘Leaders understand how to influence the direction of the school. They have a vision and bring people with them to implement change for the better. To influence change leaders need to believe in the school and understand the nature of educational leadership. They need to be able to read and comprehend the cultural context and the learning environment in all its dimensions, including political, economic and social. Their mission is to build awareness and lead strategies to improve learning and teaching by challenging teachers to use data and evidence to critically reflect on their practice.’
(Excerpt from Leaders Lead - L5 at Work Leading with Influence module)
Vision! Challenge! Influence! Evidence! Reflection! Culture! At the heart of high performing schools are 'switched on' teachers supported by really effective leaders. These leaders know how to get everyone involved in the excitement of learning. Resources, data, partnerships, strategic planning . . . the focus is on the learning success of each and every student, as well as building the skills and knowledge of staff and caregivers.
But school leadership is a demanding role and in these times of rapid change, not everyone is prepared for the challenge. Many leaders are retiring. Others are leaving early to pursue new directions. For those who 'stay the distance' and for newcomers, keeping up-to-date and getting involved in collegial professional learning is essential.
Leaders Lead - L5 at Work, a new online learning resource from Principals Australia (formerly APAPDC) is only a click away. This innovative package provides accessible and flexible professional learning materials for current and aspiring leaders. Grounded in research and good practice, the 15 web-based modules are the work of experienced practitioners. 'Leading Dynamic Schools', 'Leading Strategically for Improvement', 'Leading Wellbeing and Responsive Behaviours', and 'Staying Strong in Leadership', are some of the titles.
School leader wellbeing, understanding and developing leadership and leading all aspects of dynamic schools are the focus of the modules. Webpages, videos and downloadable activities are included.
Louise Bywaters, leadership thinker and key consultant for the professional learning L5 at Work modules highlights the essence of the online materials: ‘People who take on the job require a lot of courage and a lot of skills to build a community of educators . . . I am so pleased to see something that addresses the complexity of leadership in schools…we have a responsibility to capture that body of knowledge, build it, nurture it and then pass it on to the next generation of educational leadership’.
The Modules are structured around the L5 frame, some key propositions which were developed through extensive consultation:
The first proposition, Leadership starts from within is about integrity, the passion and the importance of leaders balancing their personal and professional demands (Duigan, 1997; DET Victoria, 2004; Lacey, 2002; Bolman & Deal, 2001). Sharing ideas and overturning fixed mindsets, overcoming teacher isolation and building a sense of pride in community achievements are all related to the proposition: Leadership is about influencing others (Lashway, 1998; Sergiovanni, 1994; Bolman & Deal, 2001). Collegial inquiry teams focused on local problem-solving and collecting data to inform decision-making about students and their learning (Lambert, 2002; Du Four & Burnette, 20-02; King, 2002) is the focus of Leadership is about developing a rich learning environment. Reflection, continuous dialogue, nurturing professionalism, making connections, critical and futures-oriented thinking and emotional understanding (Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2002; Leithwood & Duke, 1997) are the key messages in Leadership builds professionalism and management capacity. The final L5 frame proposition, Leadership inspires leadership actions and aspirations in others is concerned with redistribution of power and acknowledging the leadership potential of every person (Harris & Lambert, 2003), with leadership being measured through evidence of cultivating others (Fullan, 2001).
Jeremy Hurley, the National Coordinator of Leaders Lead, is enthusiastic about the use of the L5 frame: ‘We have taken the five propositions of the L5 frame and used them to interrogate what is happening in each of the fifteen areas that have been covered in the L5 At Work modules. You end up with a complex story about leading in that area. The more you unpack it, the more you can understand what it is all about’.
Accessible anytime, anywhere, the L5 at Work modules are unique. They accommodate all sorts of learning styles from theorist to reflector, pragmatist and strategist. Hurley emphasises usefulness as a key criteria: “We were quite clear and we've been quite determined that the modules were going to be useful for people . . . stuff that actually changes how you see things and your practices as well”.
Kate Castine, the project's professional officer, highlights the self-directed nature of the modules: ‘A structure, information, activities, and references are provided but how learners benefit relies on each particular learner…they can choose which modules they study, when they study them . . . and what they learn from them’. Kate also emphasises flexible assessment which is in the control of learners: ‘The only assessment provided is self-assessment unless they wish to use the modules for credit towards a higher degree and then the University will set and mark the assessment’. Accreditation at Masters level is currently being negotiated.
Practitioners and experts groups were involved in the development of the modules. Experienced school leaders were trained to write for online learning and feedback was continuously sought.
A unique aspect is that for each of the fifteen modules the capabilities and outcomes become assertions about the narrative of leadership. As Jeremy notes: ‘Through the assertions…we’re hopefully telling a story that their job is to lead. Their jobs are too huge. Unless they’re leading it rather than doing it themselves, they won’t manage’.
In Leading Dynamic Schools, the assertions highlight leaders being well-informed, interrogating leadership practices, engaging parents and families, emergent planning, and staff understanding their influence in student lives. Other assertions are about having an outward- looking perspective, being responsive to future community needs, building staff professional learning, high-level strategy and management, efficient school governance and embracing the future through nurturing leadership capabilities.
Readings, videoclips and workbook activities support each assertion within each module. In the module Leading Wellbeing and Responsible Behaviours, Galbraith’s article ‘Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does the Research Say’ is offered. Victoria Bernhardt’s (2008) powerpoint ‘The School Portfolio’ is available for viewing in Leading Data Guided Schools and Garry Costello’s ‘Listening to Student/Staff and Community Voice in Reculturing a School’ appears in the Leading Culture module.
At the heart of each module there are workbook activities. Conducting surveys in shopping centre or developing an interactive website survey, working with the leadership team to analyze elements which influence change, and using a maturity matrix to look at elements of the School-Community Partnership are some of the practical tasks. Rather than thinking about learning in isolation, the focus is on doing the activities with other members of the school leadership team or with committees or colleagues. In Jeremy Hurley’s words: ‘The way I see this working best is when a group of people get together to use it…we want people to establish collegial groups through the website”.
At the core of the Leaders Lead – the L5 at Work resources are theoretical frameworks such as communities of practice, transformational leadership, adult learning principles, situativity theory and experiential learning. It’s about engagement in relevant and practical activities; building on life and professional experiences; learning collaboratively and nurturing leadership in others.
Support for the program is provided by the peak owner associations of Principals Australia - Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA), Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA), Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA) and Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA).
The wellbeing and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education modules from Leaders Lead – L5 at Work materials are available for trialling. Current and aspiring leaders need only click on the website: www.leaderslead.edu.au and register. Access to other modules requires registration and payment of a subscription rate.
Reflecting the unique capacity of the online learning context, materials will be regularly updated as new research and resources become available. An online feedback button will be available in the future for quality control purposes. Additional modules are planned and requests for particular topics will be considered.In the words of Louise Bywaters: ‘This is just the beginning for L5 at Work - we all have a responsibility to read it, get into it, critique it, recraft it…We now build this resource into the 21st technological tools that we’ve got and take it somewhere no other nation has been able to go – building a network of communities informed in educational leadership’.
Discuss presentationReferences
Bolman, L & Deal, T (2001). Leading with Soul. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Department of Education and Training. Victoria. (2004). The Privilege and the Price: A Study of Principal Class Workload and its impact on health and wellbeing. [online]. URL: http://www.det.vic.gov.au/hrweb/ohs/health/prin.htm (Accessed 13/8/08).
Duigan, PA (1997). The Dance of Leadership: At the Still Point of the Turning World. Australian Council for Educational. Administration.
Du Four, R & Burnette, B. (2002). Pull Out Negativity by its Roots. Journal of Staff Development, 23(3), Summer [online]. URL: www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/burnette233.cfm (Accessed 13/8/08).
Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Harris, A & Lambert, L (2003). ‘What is Leadership Capacity?’ From Building Leadership Capacity for School Improvement. United Kingdom: National College for School Leadership.
King, D (2002). The Changing Shape of Leadership. Educational Leadership, 59 (8), pp. 61-3.
Lacey, K (2002). Succession Planning. In Leaders Lead: Beyond the Lost Sandshoe. Adelaide: APAPDC.
Lambert, L (2002). Beyond Instructional Leadership: A Framework for Shared Leadership. Educational Leadership, 59 (8), May, pp. 37-40.
Lashway, L (1998). Creating a Learning Organisation. ERIC Digest, No. 21.
Leithwood, K. & Duke, D. (1997). Defining Effective Leadership in Connecticut’s Schools. A Monograph prepared for the Connecticut State Department of Education.
Sergiovanni, TJ (1994). Building Community in Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Stoll, L Fink, D & Earl, L (2002). It’s about Learning. London: Routledge/Falmer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Susanne Owen is an educational consultant and researcher to a range of professions, with an academic background focused on teacher and leader professional development. She was a writer for some of the online modules.