此為英文文檔 Transforming head teachers into middle tier system leaders in Wales

CountryNote/InstructionalLeaders

attheMiddleTierNo.5/2023

Transformingheadteachers

intomiddletiersystemleaders

inWales

?IanGerrard.IanisaheadteacherandAssociateoftheNationalAcademyofEducationalLeadership.

Toimproveteachingandlearningoutcomes,teachersandheadteachersneedwhole-systemsupporttobuildprofessionalismandenhancetheirpractice.Rolesatthemiddletierofeducationsystems,orthoseprofessionalsworkingbetweentheschoolandcentrallevel,offeruniquecapacitiestofacilitatecollaboration,brokerknowledge,scaleinnovations,andprovideinstructionaldirectiontoschool-levelpractitioners.

Thisresearch,conductedasacollaborativepartnershipbetweenIIEP-UNESCOandEdu-cationDevelopmentTrust(EDT),exploreshowmiddle-tierinstructionalleaderscanbecomeanexusforchangetoimprovethequalityofeducation.Itfocusesonhighlightingpromisingpracticesgloballyandisdesignedtodrawoutinsightsandlessonsforbothpolicy-makersandpractitioners.

IIEPandEDTconductedcasestudiesinfivejurisdictions–Delhi(India),Jordan,Rwanda,Shanghai(China),andWales–wherenewroleshavebeencreatedorexistingrolesre-orientedtowardscoachingandsupport.Thestudiesexploredtheprofessionalpracticesandperceivedimpactsofinstructionalleaders,andtheenablingfactorspresentinthesystemsinwhichtheywork.

Thiscountrynoteaimstouncoverhowthe

middle-tierstructureinWaleshelpstolead

awholelearningsystemreformtoenhance

collaborativeprofessionalismamongteachers.

Methodology

Evidenceforthiscasestudydrawsfromdesk

andfieldresearch,whichincludedinterviewsconductedfromFebruarytoMay2020withindividualassociatesfromCohorts1and2;afocusgroupworkshopofassociates;andinterviewswithindividualswhohavecloseworkingrelationshipswithassociates(e.g.deputyheadsandschoolboardofficials).SomeinterviewsoccurredinWalesinpersonpriortotheCOVID-19pandemic,whilesomewereshiftedtoover-the-phoneinterviewsduringthepandemic.

BOX1

Anewassociateroleforheadteachers

Sincethedisappointingperformanceinthe

2009ProgrammeforInternationalStudent

Assessment(PISA),Waleshasreformed

itseducationsystemambitiouslyand

comprehensively.Onesuchreformincluded

thecreationoftheNationalAcademyfor

EducationalLeadership(NAEL)in2016.Its

specificgoalwascreatingaprofessional

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developmentprogrammetodevelopheadteachersasschool-basedsystemleadersandbuildcapacityforsystemleadership.In2018,thisprogrammewasofficiallylaunchedastheAcademyAssociatesProgramme(AAP),inwhichcurrent,high-performingheadteachersserveasassociates.

Participantsarereleasedfromtheirindividualschoolsonedayperweektofulfilassociateroles.Theassociaterolewasdesignedtoberelativelyflexibletotailorandbuildtheroleaccordingtoeachassociate’sexperienceandinterests.AsoneNAELstaffmemberdescribed,‘Westartoffwithacertainamountof[activities]beingmandatoryanddirected.Therearestillelementsthataremandatory,butwemoveintoaself-directedrole’.Associatesparticipateinseminarswitheducationexperts,communitiesofpractice,coachingsessions,andaresearch-basedpolicyproject,calledacommission,toprovideguidancetopolicy-makersonprominentissues,forinstance,well-beingandbetteroutcomesforallortheWelshcultureandlanguage.

Havingrecentlyinductedthethirdcohortofassociates,eachcohortconsistsofninetotwelveindividualswhomaintainthisroleforathree-yearperiod,creatinganewgenerationofschoolleaders.Uniquely,theassociaterolewasco-constructedbythefirstcohortwhiletheywereexperiencingtheprogramme.Althoughayoungprogramme,associates,programmestaff,andindividualswhoworkwithassociatesperceivedthatAAPisstartingtoaffectmindsetsandskillsinindividuals,schools,andthelargersystem.

Basedonanalysisforthisstudy,interestingfeaturesofthismiddle-tierinitiativeinclude:

—Associatesworkbetweenpolicyandpractice,allowingthemtoserveasanauthenticvoiceoftheprofessioninthepolicylandscapewhiletranslatingpolicyforschools.

—Adistributedleadershipapproach,wherebyleadershipfunctionsarespreadovermanyindividuals,facilitatingmorecollaboration:

educatorsandschoolsacrossWaleshavebegunworkingtogetherinnewwayswiththeideathatleadershipisforall.

—Theprocessofco-constructioncanopenmindsetsforchangeandenhanceparticipantconnectiontoaprogrammedespitebeingcomplexwork.

Middle-tierrolesshowpotentialto

coordinatethesystem

TheWelshmiddletierisdenselypopulated,with15differentagenciesandmanytrainingproviders,whichislargeconsideringthesystem’soverallsmallsize(Waters,Jones,andMacdonald,2018).Associateshavethepotentialtocoordinateacrosslocationsandsystemlevels.Itisinthiscontextthatassociatesweredescribedascatalystsorlinks.Thispotentialtoactasaconduitwasintentional:asaNAELstaffmemberoutlined,‘wewantedtodifferentiateitfromthesortofnormalsystemleadershipschoolleadersengagein…[theassociates]weretheinterfaceinthemiddleofatrianglewhichwasWelshgovernment,nationalacademy,andschoolleaders’.TheAAPappearstoexpandprofessionalnetworks,allowingforagreaterconnectionandalignmentbetweeneducatorsacrossthecountry.Anassociateexplainedthat‘everybodywasdoingtheirownthing…butit’sallstartingtoalign’.

Sinceassociatessimultaneouslyserveasheadteachers,theAAPisanopportunitytogiveheadteachersmoreofavoice,particularlywithworkaroundthecommission.Oneassociateemphasizedtheimportanceofspeakingoutfortheprofession,explainingthatpolicy-makers‘needtoknowtheimpact[policy]willhaveonschools…Ifeelwearetheonlyvoice’.Thisisencouragingtootherheadteachersasintervieweesmentionedtheyfelttheassociatesweretheiradvocates,sincepolicieswere‘beingcheckedbysomebodywhoknowshowitisinreallife’(headteacher).Betterrepresentationoftheprofessionisbeneficialnotonlytoheadteachersbuttopolicy-makers,asassociatesprovidethemwithacriticalinsight‘becauseyourcredibilityasaschoolleaderdiminishes

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quicklythelongerthatyouareoutofthatsetting…So…theotherpeoplearoundthetablehavetolisten’.Thestatusthatcomeswiththeassociaterolefurtherlegitimizesthisperspective.

Atthesametime,associatesspeakforthegovernmenttoincreasebuy-inforreformsastheycanbetterexplainpoliciestoschoolpractitioners.Associateshavelearned,amongotherthings,tobetterunderstandthewiderreformcontext:tohavea‘senseofthebiggerpurpose’and‘whythingsarehappeninginthewaythey’rehappening’.Thisenablesthemtoplayapivotalroleintranslatingpolicy,linkingtheWelshgovernmentandschools,actingasa‘missionary’(associate).Associatesserveaspolicyadvocateswhomakepolicymeaningfulforaschoolsetting.Theyhelpbuildownershipofreforms,sincetheycome‘fromthegroundupratherthan[a]pre-prescribedleadershipprogramme…Theyareencouragingautonomyfromleadersthemselves’(supervisortoanassociate).

Newleadershipskillshelpdevelop

collaborativeresponsibility

ByparticipatingintheAAP,associatesandtheircolleaguesdevelopednewinter-personalskills,involvingcommunicationandcollaborationskills.Morespecifically,inter-vieweesdescribedaredefinitionofleadershipstylesandashifttowardscollectiveresponsibility.

Associateshaverealizedthatthereisnotaone-size-fits-allleadershipstyle.Someareshiftingfromatop-downleadershipstyletoadistributedstyle,withleadershipfunctionsbeingspreadovermultipleindividuals,expandingleadershippotential(Spillane,Halverson,andDiamond,2001).Associatesattributedtheirabilitytoadoptthisleadershipapproachtothetrainingreceived.Itwasappreciatedbycolleagues,asadeputyheadhighlighted:‘Ithinkthedistributivenatureofleadershipismoreapparentthanitwas…sothathasbeenahugebenefit’.

Inhindsight,Iwastheheadwithcontrol…Thishastaughtmethatyoudon’thavetobelikethat.Forinstance,lastyear,[for]ourschooldevelopmentplan…Iendeduptotallygivingittothestafftowrite…Theydideverythingandtheyowneditanditwasthemostsuccessful[plan]in16years…thatpracticewasthensharedwithothers…Earlyintheschoolwehadthedelegationoftasks,truedistributedleadership.Allofthoseelementshavedefinitelyevolved.(Associate)

Thosewhoworkwithassociatesinschools,suchasdeputyheads,describedsteppingintoleadershiprolesthemselves.Anadditionallearningneedscoordinatorreportedfeelingmore‘confidentandinformed’,withsomeintervieweesbeginningtoleadprofessionaldevelopmenttrainingsessions.Thisapparentshifttodistributiveleadershipisespeciallypromisingbecausedistributedleadershipcanhaveapositiveinfluenceonoutcomeswhilecreatingaself-improvingsystem(HarrisandMuijs,2004).

Lastly,thisnewwayofworkingappearstobespreading,astheAAPhasraisedtheprofessionalexpectationsofschoolleaders,withassociatesservingasrolemodelsofcollaborativeprofessionalism.Aheadteacherexplainedthattheassociatecriteria‘mademereflectonmyownpracticeandthink…“Ioughttodoalittlebitmorearoundsupportingothers”’,sotheyestablishedtrainingsessionsthroughoutthecluster.Thus,associatesserveasthebenchmarkforbestpractices,advancingprofessionalstandardsforschoolleaders.

Programmeco-constructionservedto

challengemindsetstowardschange

Theprogramme’sfirstcohortco-constructedtheassociateroletogether.Thatis,theyengagedin‘themutualprocessofdevelopingsharedknowledgeandbuildingsharedmeaningbyrefining,buildingon,ormodifyinganoriginal…understandinginsomeway…leadingtosharedknowledgeandnew

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meaning’(EDT,2018:17).Associatesgaveregularfeedback–animportantaspectoftheirlearningexperience.

Thiswaschallenging;asanassociateexplained,theAAP‘reallytookyououtofyourcomfortzonebutthenwhenyoulookbackyousee[it]reallypushedyou’.Someassociatesexpressedthatthisprocessgavethemmoreownership,saying,‘wehelpedconstructtheacademy,soIthinkthat’spossiblywhyyoufeelarealbondwithit…itgivesyoufaiththatco-constructiondoeswork’.Whilehesitantatfirst,associatesbegantoappreciatetheabilitytoenhancetheprogrammeastheymadetherolemoreresponsivetotheirneeds.Therefore,theroleisnotfixed,astheyhaveagencytomouldtheirroletotheirstrengthsandcontexts.Asanassociatereflected,‘itishavinganimpactinmanydifferentways…we’vealltakenondifferentroles…we’reallgrowinginourownway’.Co-constructionallowedassociatestofeelmoredeeplyconnectedtotheprogramme,whileaddinglegitimacysinceitwasmadebyheadteachers.

Toprepareforco-construction,NAELfacili-tated‘a(chǎn)lotofworkonlearningmindsets’(EDTprogrammestaff).Thisincludedanincreasedwillingnesstogrow,withassociatesnotedbeingmorewillingtoworkoutsidetheircomfortzones.Thus,co-constructionseemstohaveallowedassociatestothinkdifferentlyandengagewithnewknowledge,whichhastranslatedintotheirwork.Theyfoundtheydevelopedamoreresilientmindset,‘tryingtofindsolutionstotheproblemsasopposedtopointingoutwhattheproblemsareandgoingaroundinthesamecircle’(associate).Thishasincludedawillingnesstotakerisksbyviewingnewtasksaslearningopportunities.

Anassociatedescribedtheco-constructionprocessas‘challenginginsomeways[but]alsoanopportunity’.NAELstafffoundthatastimewenton,associatesdevelopedagreateropennesstowardslearning.‘More[associates]areenquiringaround,“WhatcanIdonext?CanIdoamasters?WhatshouldIdoinordertocontinueimproving?”So,therehasbeenashift’.Intervieweesreportedthattheprofessionhasshiftedtoamore‘enquiry-

driven’approachtoprofessionallearning,withmoreopennesstotheprocessoflearning,enablingaself-improvingsystem.

Takeaways

Althoughnew,theAAPhasshownpromisethatasmallnumberofsystemleaderscanhaveasignificanteffectbyservingaslinch-pinsingeneratingself-improvinglearningorganizations.LessonscanbedrawnfromtheAAP’sstrengthsandchallengesexperienced.

1.Newprogrammestargetingthemiddletiershouldaddressweakpointsinthesystem

TheAAPappearstobesuccessfulasitfillsagapintheprofessionaldevelopmentofsystemleadership:itisdevelopingschoolleadersassystemleadersbyputtingschoolleadershipinthespotlightandservingasalinkinthesystem.NAELhascreatedtheAAPinitiativetobeamoreinclusiveorganization,bringinghigh-performingschoolleadersintopolicyreform,whichallowsforfurtherintegrationintotheeducationsystemanddiversityofthought.

2.Aclearcommunicationstrategycaneffectivelyboostvisibilityofnewprogrammes

ThemajorchallengestheAAPhasexperi-enced(recruitingdiversecandidates,develop-ingstablerelationships,generatingsupportattheschoollevel,andsettingthemselvesapartinthemiddletier)all,inpart,stemfromthecoreissueofcommunicationandmessag-ing.GiventhecomplexityoftheAAP,withthemanyactivitiestheassociatescompleteandtheprogrammeadaptsperyear,aclearcom-municationstrategyisespeciallycrucial.

3.Strongmonitoringandevaluationsystemsarecrucialforenhancingthelegitimacyandcredibilityofprogrammes

Giventheindividualizednatureofthispro-gramme,monitoringandevaluatingprogrammedesignandimplementationcouldhelptoestablishtheAAP’slegitimacy,boostvisibility,andallowNAELtoadapttheAAPasnecessary.Longitudinalsurveysmaybeanappropriatetypeofevaluationtohelppolicy-makersandplannersbetterunderstandtheimpactoftheirmiddle-tierprogrammingandimplementation.

Author

References

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4.Co-constructioncanbechallengingbutisbeneficialincreatingasenseofownership

Alessonlearnedthroughtheco-construc-tionwasthatwhilebeingessentialforsus-tainabilityandcreatingasenseofownershipamongassociates,co-constructionrequiredasignificantamountoftime.However,co-constructionhasfosteredamindsetshifttowardscontinualgrowthinparticipantsandincreasedownershipoftheprogramme.

5.Itisimportanttobalancedevelopingagencyinchangeagentswithintentionalroledesign

Forsomestakeholders,theassociateoffertoschoolsandleadersneedsbetterdefinition.Theacademymaywishtoconsiderwhetheraclearerroleforassociatesmaybenecessary,intermsofqualityassuranceandsolidifyingtheirpositionandrelationshipsinthemiddle

tier.However,theinformalnatureoftherole

allowsfortheAAPtobetteradapttothe

needsofthesystemandrelatetoschools.

Sinceassociateskeeptheirresponsibilityas

headteachers,theycanguidelocalactions

towardsreformprioritiesandserveasthe

voiceoftheprofession.

6.Mindsetsandcollaborativeresponsibilityare

essentialinpushingtowardsabroadersystem

change

Leadershipstyleshaveshiftedtowardsdis-

tributiveleadership,fosteringcollective

responsibilitywhilelinkinged