learning-centred school leadership | steve munby, february 12, 2015

Learning-Centred School Leadership

Steve Munby

New Delhi

CfBT’s Mission

To provide outstanding, sustainable education solutions that transform the learning in schools for millions of children and young people worldwide

CfBT’s five proposition areas

1. School improvement

2. School leadership and management

3. Reforming national level education

4. Support for teaching English and other languages

5. Careers advice and guidance

CfBT India - overview

• Not for profit, established 2001.• Specialist expertise in education policy, system reform, school review

and assessment, teacher development and English Language teaching in school settings.

• Clients include national government and agencies, state government, donors (DFID, World Bank, ADB) and CSR foundations (Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Tech Mahindra Foundation).

Track record of innovative solutions responding to high priority policy areas:

• Supporting the development of PPP policy and projects – rooted in CfBT’s global expertise and leading-edge research.

• Developing strategic CSR planning frameworks • A tool for community accountability – an innovative lever to

improve quality which supports better school-based management.• Developing large scale school quality assessment tools –

supporting intelligent accountability as a key driver of school improvement.

1. Leaders who ensure powerful

learning for children and young

people

Key behaviours of inspiring teachers

1 Demonstrated genuine warmth and empathy

2 Created a sense of security about learning –

encouraging experimentation

3 Used highly interactive whole class instruction

4 Encouraged students to communicate

frequently with one another

5 Developed meta-cognitive skills

My teacher believes that all students can do well

My teacher believes that learning is important

My teacher seems to like teaching

My teacher expects me to do wellMy teacher is

interested in what the students think

Once a commitment is made, the goal

will seem larger, bolder, and more

exciting… leaders need to fix on it like

a laser beam. They need to see it

intensely, even obsessively. They feel

it. They hear it. They taste it. They

smell it. It becomes part of them, their

very identity, because it is something

they are committed to make happen,

come what may, whatever it takes.

Stephen Denning, The Secret Language of Leadership

2. Leaders who enable all staff to

develop their professional expertise

Leadership practices that have the most impact on student outcomes:

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Ensuring an orderly and safe environment

Resourcing strategically

Ensuring quality teaching

Establishing goals and expectations

Leading teacher learning and development

Effect size

Source: Viviane Robinson 2011 – Student-Centred Leadership

The more leaders focus their

relationships, their work and

their (own) learning on the

core business of teaching

and learning, the greater

their influence on student

outcomes

Viviane Robinson, 2011

The ―10,000-hour rule‖ — that this

level of practice holds the secret to

great success in any field — has

become sacrosanct gospel... The

problem: it’s only half true. If you

are a duffer at golf, say, and make

the same mistakes every time you

try a certain swing or putt, 10,000

hours of practicing that error will not

improve your game. You’ll still be a

duffer, albeit an older one.

Daniel Goleman

Linked with whole-school

improvement, it is

continuous not

occasional, and everyone

is an active

participant, fusing learning

and development with

daily professional practice.Professor David Hargreaves

3. Leaders who are enthusiastic

learners themselves

Like inquisitive scientists, the

best corporate leaders we’ve

researched remain students of

their work, relentlessly asking

questions – why, why, why? –

and have an incurable

compulsion to vacuum the

brains of people they meet.

Jim Collins

Managing the balance between self-

doubt and complacency.

Understanding yourself as a leader

Leadership Tensions

Demonstrating both power and

love in leadership

Leadership Tensions

Power without love is

reckless and abusive, and

love without power is

sentimental and anaemic

Martin Luther King

Be kind, for everyone you

meet is fighting a hard

battle.

Plato

“ If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together”

African proverb

4. Leaders who help to lead the

system

The remarkable transformation of

schools in London

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Government Office Region

National exam results for 16-year olds by region, 2001

Proportion of pupils achieving 5 or more good GCSEs

Source: DfE final data.

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Source: DfE revised data.

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National exam results for 16-year olds by region, 2013

Proportion of pupils achieving 5 or more good GCSEs including English and mathematics

Government Office Region

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PRIMARY SECONDARY

Difference between London and England: schools judged Good or better for overall effectiveness

Source: Ofsted

Gap between non-disadvantaged and disadvantaged pupil achievement (percentage of students obtaining five or more good grades in the school leavers’ exam for 16-year-olds)

Source: DfE revised data.

What are the causes of this transformation

Were there other factors?

● Is it due to the dynamic economy?

● Is it to do with ethnicity and the high mobility of

aspirational ethnic groups moving to London?

● Is it to do with resources allocated to London?

Four Reform Strategies

● London Challenge

1. A forensic focus on pupil data

2. Challenge advisers

3. Support from great schools and from outstanding school leaders

● Expert leadership by some of the school districts

● The creation of sponsored academies

● The introduction of Teach First

Four Policy Themes

● Long-term political commitment

● Focus on pupil performance data at pupil level, at

school level and at system level

● The use of school leaders as ‘system leaders’

● Practitioner-led professional development

Overall conclusions on system leadership and school improvement

1 School-to-school improvement provides a

faster, deeper and more sustainable improvement

model – both for individual schools and clusters of

schools, provided it makes the most of the best

schools and school leaders (rather than recycling

mediocrity). This builds capacity and has the best

chance of securing long-term sustainability

Overall conclusions on system leadership and school improvement

2 The quality of teaching and learning improves

fastest when teachers learn from, and with, other

teachers. A quality assured CPD model based on

in-class coaching and modelling is more effective

than one based on attending courses

Overall conclusions on system leadership and school improvement

3 Leaders of systems should:

Identify a small number of ambitious goals

Provide long-term strategic commitment with focused use of resources

Use data powerfully and bravely

Show power and love in their leadership