Leadership development challenges in South African schools: The Advanced Certificate: Education (School Management and Leadership)

Abstract

A number of schools in South Africa appear to be struggling with the changes that the government is introducing to improve the quality of education and lay a strong foundation for the country's societal transformation. Leadership has been found to be one of the factors that are associated with how schools cope with change and its complexities. This article focuses on a conceptual examination of the national Advanced Certificate: Education (School Management and Leadership) programme's capacity for promoting sustainable leadership in schools. The findings from the critical analysis of the qualification's documentation suggest that the current formulation of this school leadership development programme does not address the complexities of leadership and change, and is thus unlikely to adequately contribute towards leadership effectiveness or its sustainability in schools. It may, however, contribute to short- term school improvements, policy compliance, management effectiveness or economy and/or administrative efficiency.     

Getting emotional: a critical evaluation of recent trends in the development of school leaders

Emotion is a growing focus for contemporary thinking about leadership in public policy and corporate arenas. In British education systems, three imperatives are evident: the idea that transformation is essential; leadership succession in crisis; and, more recently, that leaders must be able to run organisations that address the emotional well-being of staff and students. Viewed as a key outcome of schooling, its importance is mirrored in school leadership, especially professional development. This article considers whether this represents a step-change in leadership development praxis or is, instead, an invasive form of emotional engineering redolent of long-established orthodoxies of control and domination. If so, it is argued, leadership development as the advocacy of emotional acumen presents moral technology as a new form for intervening in leaders' emotional selves, thereby distracting them from addressing fundamental aspects of education for which they are primarily responsible.     

The educational system and national identities: the case of Spain in the twentieth century

The aim of this article is to study the construction of the Spanish education system and its relationship with nationalist education policies. Throughout the 20^th century, there has been a great deal of tension between Spanish nationalism and Basque and Catalan nationalism, in particular, over the establishment of a national curriculum that is the expression of different conceptions of national identity. In this period, the Spanish education system evolved from centralisation to decentralisation, and as a result brought about the creation of the Spanish national curriculum. The educational contributions made in Catalonia and the Basque Country were included in this process, which partially satisfied the aspirations of these communities.     

Sustainable leadership and the implication for the general further education college sector

The purpose of this article is to review the models of sustainable leadership which are currently available in the compulsory sector to establish whether the models are appropriate for post‐compulsory education, and in particular for general further education colleges. Due to the complexities of the environment in which further education colleges operate, models of sustainable leadership have not been applied to this sector. In order to achieve this, leadership challenges for further education will be explored and the sector's responses to these will be considered. Many of these challenges are based on government pressure for efficiency and effectiveness savings, and so will be contextualised in a new managerial framework. The article then goes on to examine current models of sustainable leadership, looking at whether they are applicable for general further education colleges. Should they not be appropriate, then a suggested model will be put forward which draws on the transferable components for existing models with additions which are appropriate to the post‐compulsory sector.     

the emergence of blissful thinking in the management of education

By the year 2000, the management of education in England had lost much of its capacity to ensure the commitment of headteachers and teachers. As market forces engendered competition among schools, the bureaucratic monitoring of schools by agencies of government increased on the grounds that objective and comparable data about schools should be made public so that parents could express a rational choice of school. Levels of stress increased; workloads intensified. Thereafter, a series of ‘softer’ approaches emerged in order to deal with this. They have coalesced around the concept of ‘leadership’, particularly distributed leadership and, more recently, emotional leadership and spiritual leadership. Distributed leadership draws on socio-cultural activity theory; emotional leadership is informed by positive psychology; spiritual leadership by eastern mysticism. Each has its advocates and its critics. At issue, however, is not so much their relative effectiveness but rather it is to relate them to the economic, cultural and political trends which have allowed them to emerge. These ‘soft’ normative leadership approaches have not supplanted a digitally-informed rational bureaucratic form in education; they are supplementing it. The theoretical stance taken falls within the field of critical theory.     

(Un)Critical times? Situating distributed leadership in the field

It is time to situate distributed leadership as a critical conceptualisation of school leadership; its popularisation has generally preceded conceptual and empirical development. Over the last 10 years distributed leadership has often been presented as a new construct of school leadership, though critique against education policy reforms and conceptual and historical links to the wider leadership field have generally been underemphasised. The theorisation and research of distributed leadership is currently situated at a critical point in its development; it is at the ‘crossroads’ of where it could dominantly be situated in the field of school leadership. A review of the literature and research suggests that distributed leadership is tending towards an uncritical position that is decoupled from critique of past and present education reforms and predominantly silent on how power relations at the local school level shape leadership activity.     

Interrogating conceptions of leadership: school principals,policy and paradox

Currently educational research literature demonstrates wide discussion and endorsement of ‘distributed’ leadership while concurrently traditional, hegemonic forms prevail in practice. This article investigates understandings about educational leadership held by Australian school principals. The article describes the contradictory conceptions about educational leadership currently in circulation. It interrogates underlying assumptions and questions how both hegemonic and newer leadership conceptions and assumptions serve educational leaders. Data from principals around the country and across education systems reinforced the predominance of un-theorised or under-theorised notions about leadership, with similar assumptions found in important policy artefacts and practices. This article emerges from interviews with 100 principals focusing on their professional learning needs, which revealed interesting ideas, issues and dilemmas concerning ‘leadership’. It fills a gap in research on distributed leadership by exploring contradictions inherent in policy, practice and understandings in this area. The article is structured into four sections. First, extant literature on this topic and the research are explained. Second, the article focuses on principals' conceptions about leadership and those inherent within important policy and practical artefacts. A discussion of the findings focuses on the discrepancy between theory and policy endorsement and the views of practitioners. Finally, the article canvasses the implications of the research.     

Too much or not enough? An examination of special education provision and school district leaders’ perceptions of current needs and common approaches

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between special education provision in Norway and school district leaders’ perspectives regarding (a) the need for special education and (b) the importance and prevalence of integrated and segregated approaches. Findings indicate that the percentage of students perceived as being in need of special education was significantly higher than the percentage of students who actually receive this support. However, districts in which an increased need was reported did not have lower enrolment in special education than regions in which participants felt that the level of special education provision was appropriate. No relationship was found between the percentage of students receiving special education and the importance placed on either segregated or integrated approaches. Whereas virtually all participants valued integrated solutions, segregated approaches received higher ratings of importance in districts where these practices were prevalent.     

Investing in Leaders and Leadership to Secure a Desirable Future

Investments in the select few who already are or will become academic leaders are essential but insufficient. Investments also need to be made in collective leadership because leadership is an activity or function, not merely a person. Both good leaders and collective leadership are needed in the never-ending journey toward selective excellence. A review of the challenges and opportunities manifest in the internal and external environments for higher education supports this claim and five others. First, there are certain non-negotiable strategies. Second, every leadership strategy is an intervention. Third, contingent leadership with multiple strategies is nearly mandatory. Fourth, organizational readiness for change is an enduring priority. Finally, leadership is founded on disciplinary stewardship. To thrive, kinesiology must be both a fortress discipline and an adaptive, connected discipline. Keeping the best of specialization, while combating fragmentation, stewardship must be firmly connected to faculty career identities and structures provided by existing and newly-configured sub-disciplines.     

高等教育领导的有效性分析

高等教育领导在高等教育行政管理中起着举足轻重的作用，它的发挥是否有效。将影响到整个高等教育事业的发展程度和发展质量。因此，分析高等教育领导的有效性十分必要。对于高等教育领导者来说．提高自身的领导素质、提高影响力、掌握必要的领导艺术以及运用科学而有效的零道手段．是实现高等教育领导有效性的重要途径，同时也不能忽略被领导者及领导环境对高等教育领导有效性的影响。     

浅论教育的素质

分析了我们的素质教育这个词语，它隐藏的同义反复毛病及其在实践上的模糊性；之后，推荐使用另外一个词语，教育的素质。文章认为，新词所关注的，显然就是提高教育质量的核心问题。全文的要旨在于说明，欲使我们的教育质量提高，首先要从影响特别是主导教育的群体自身开始，即改进教育的素质。这是提高教育质量进而提高全民族素质的关键。     

美国大学系主任管理和领导角色探析

在美国,系是大学最基本的组成单位。因此,大学系主任几乎负责与教、学、研及向社会提供服务有关的各项活动,通常扮演管理和领导的双重角色。其主要的工作包括开发师资、组织管理本系的各项日常活动和事务、领导本系的整体发展以及从事教学科研工作。显而易见,美国高等教育能够达到今天的水准与系主任的贡献是分不开的。中国高校正在面临、或在不同程度上进行内部结构和职能的调整和重组。尤其是许多大学纷纷成立学院。因而,对系主任管理领导角色进行重新定位具有深远意义。相信了解和借鉴国外的成功经验定有裨益。     

学习型干部视角下创新农村基层干部继续教育的思考

文章基于终身教育理论和学习型干部视角,通过对当前农村基层干部继续教育现状及存在的问题分析,提出创新农村基层干部继续教育的思想理念、制度机制、载体形式、内容方法四个方面举措,以期促使农村基层干部成长为学习型干部。     

道德领导对于提升校长领导力的可行性思考

萨乔万尼道德领导理论自提出以来,受到国内学者的高度关注,并得到了广泛传播,人们将其视为我国教育管理的＂解毒药＂。道德领导成为人们心中理想的领导模式,它对于提升校长领导力具有极大的作用。但是,因其本身的理想色彩,在当前社会道德正处于转型过渡时期的中国,它只能成为我国校长领导的补充,而不可能成为主体模式。     

School leadership and the cult of the guru: the neo-Taylorism of Hattie

As one of the central institutions of society, schooling is subject to significant public interest and scrutiny. Fads and fashion successfully developed elsewhere are often rebadged and relaunched in education for the purpose of improvement. Such interventions are often quickly identified as intruders and frequently fade into obscurity, but what of internal interventions, the education research that becomes widely accepted and promoted? In this paper I argue that contemporary thought and analysis in Australian school leadership has submitted to the cult of the guru. Specifically, I contend that dialogue (much less debate) has settled on the work of John Hattie’s meta-meta-analysis giving rise to the Cult of Hattie. This paper is not an attack on Hattie as a person, or even his work, rather an argument about the conditions which have facilitated the rise of a guru. I argue that the uncritical acceptance and proliferation of this cult is a tragedy for Australian school leadership.     

Imagining the shaping of reflective deliberative education leaders: The devil is in the detail

Abstract

In this article we critically engage with some of the challenges and issues pertaining to the implementation of the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership following a national agreement by the national Department of Education, provincial education departments and several universities. The rather idealised vision of the programme to provide learning opportunities to promote quality education in South African schools through the development of a corps of education leaders who apply critical understanding, values, knowledge and skills to school leadership and management in line with the vision of democratic transformation seemingly meshed with our own approach to the development of leadership. However, consequent to the planning, budgeting and implementation of this school leadership programme we realised that realities posed serious challenges. In this paper we narrate how it became increasingly clear how “the devil is in the detail”.     

中小学校长团队领导力研究

研究校长团队领导力,分析其构成因素,有针对性地提出提升团队领导力的途径,有利于学校进一步提升教育质量和管理水平,实现可持续发展。     

Transnational education as an internationalisation strategy: meeting the institutional management challenges

The importance of transnational programmes as part of the internationalisation of higher education has grown rapidly in importance in recent years. In this paper, transnational higher education is defined as the delivery of programmes overseas by a parent institution either operating directly or in association with an international partner. Whilst such programmes have been considered from a paedagogic perspective, their impact on institutional management is under-researched. Yet, it is clear that management practice is critical to success or failure. This paper is based on a detailed analysis of institutional audit reports prepared by the Australian Universities Quality Agency in the period 2008–12. The reports are used to identify key issues for institutional management. Building on this analysis, the paper aims to offer a theoretical insight into governance and leadership of transnational programmes and thereby provide practical guidance for strategy formation.     

VET leadership for the future – characteristics,contexts and capabilities

This paper examines leadership in Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector. VET leaders make a vital and growing contribution to learners, industry and society, yet research on their work is limited. This has direct implications for ensuring leadership is most effective, and for framing evidence-based capacity development. The current research draws together reviews of complex and often competing contexts, analyses of prior research, and results from a national survey of 327 practising VET leaders. Analysis of what VET leaders report doing in their jobs suggests that while they are attuned to the education-focused demands of their roles, they now need new capabilities to respond to internal and external developments. To identify the powerful forces which shape leadership, the study established criteria seen to mark out effective performance in each role. It highlighted a set of indicators identified by VET leaders as those most important in making judgements about the effective delivery of each role. Identifying indicators of effective performance is important, as it is these which, ideally, drive leaders’ aspirations and behaviours. The future capacity of VET in Australia will be underpinned by the capability and regeneration of its leadership. New programmes need to focus on concrete ‘change management’ skills, working through complex real-world problems and leading change in ambiguous environments. The more authentic and active modes of learning were advocated by VET leaders, who expressed an overwhelming preference for practice-based and self-managed, as opposed to formal, forms of professional learning.     

Making America’s schools great now: reclaiming democracy and activist leadership under Trump

Trump’s vow to ‘make America great again’ seeks to usher in a policy agenda reminiscent of an era that served as a boon to the rich while devastating poor, working-class, Americans, particularly people of color. His education policy and budget blueprint prove no exception, signalling troubling priorities for those who value strong public institutions, civil rights, and investments in public schools. In this essay, I argue that the current political moment requires an educational leadership committed to making America’s schools great now by reclaiming public schools as pillars of democracy through resistance, taking a stand on issues, and actively leading change. I conclude with calls to (a) resist efforts to dismantle education as a public good, (b) reclaim a vision of education grounded in equality, liberation, and justice, and (c) revolutionise how education leadership is conceptualized, practiced, and sustained.