Leadership for Radical Transformation in School Education
by Brian Caldwell
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Overview
Caldwell is a respected researcher who is very familiar with the New Zealand education system. He understands the notion of self-managing schools. In this address to an Australian Education Conference he looks at the aspects of leadership that make the most difference in terms of improving student outcomes. His findings are closely linked to New Zealand research findings, particularly those emerging from the Best Evidence Synthesis project.
Caldwell describes the five most successful resources that school leaders need to utilise and promote if they are to make a difference for students in their schools. They are:
- Intellectual capital, which is about how school leaders develop the quality of teachers’ work in classrooms. In particular, it is important for leaders to identify the evidence of best pedagogical practice, to make sure that is shared and understood by teachers, and to be involved in comprehensive staff development for all teachers in the school.
- Social capital, which requires the development of strong school-community partnerships. A high level of alignment is needed between the expectations of parents and other community members and the values and programmes of the school.
- Financial capital, where financial systems operate efficiently and there is a range of funding sources including contribution from the school community, and the allocation of funds reflects the educational priorities which the school has agreed on to meet the needs of their students.
- Spiritual capital, where there is a high level of alignment between the values, beliefs, and attitudes about life and learning held by the school and the members of its community. These values need to be in evidence in the practices of staff and students.
These four kinds of capital need to be at the heart of the school’s governance so that there is alignment between the development of governance and policy and the achievement of improved student outcomes. A school’s governance and its leadership need a strong sense of commitment to aligning school policy and practices.
Reflective questions
These reflective questions might guide you in your reading of this article:
- Review your school’s strengths in each of the four capitals. Make a list of what you are doing well in each one, and consider how you might strengthen your development of them. Draw up an action plan to make some specific changes.
- Caldwell says that the development of shared values within the whole school community and alignment between policy and practice are two aspects that help a school improve outcomes for students. To what extent has your school worked on articulating shared values and beliefs? Is there a strong alignment between your policy and practice? How might you improve in these two areas? How will you evaluate what improvement you are making in terms of student outcomes?
- What are the priorities that your school has agreed on to improve the outcomes of students? How is your professional development programme with staff aligned with these priorities? What examples do you have within your school of outstanding pedagogical practices?
Reference
Caldwell, B. (2007, August). Leadership for radical transformation in school education. Paper presented at ACER research conference – ‘The leadership challenge: Improving learning in schools’, Melbourne, Australia.
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