Developing a Culture of Leadership

AHDS Conference September 2011

Graeme Logan

HM Inspector of Education

Teaching Scotland’s Future

• Published January 2011• Following a national review of teacher

education• 50 recommendations, all accepted in full

or part• Government response ‘Continuing to build

excellence in teaching’

50 recommendations • The right people in the right numbers

(workforce planning) • Early phase of teacher education • CPD• Leadership • National Partnership

group leading implementation

Some Key points from ‘Teaching Scotland’s Future’

•School education can realise the high aspirations Scotland has for its young people through supporting and strengthening, firstly, the quality of teaching, and secondly, the quality of leadership.

•Teaching should be recognised as both complex and challenging, requiring the highest standards of professional competence and commitment.

•Leadership is based on fundamental values and habits of mind which must be acquired and fostered from entry into the teaching profession.

Leading Change

• Meaning of change or management of change?• The most effective way to manage change is to

create it.• Best practice or best problems?• Solutions focused approaches• Connecting to core purposes, aims and values • The quality of conversations • Timelines

Leading career long professional learning

• Balancing the ‘push / pull’• Clarifying expectations • Improving impact • Effective models of CPD • Core elements of CPD for all• Distributive leadership – an attitude/outlook not

just a role• Improving the culture and focus of CPD,

including PRD

Impact of CPD

Only 29% of teachers said they

frequently try to monitor impact, and only

22% said their schools did this

frequently. Forty-nine per cent of

teachers said they measured impact

infrequently or never; the figure for their

schools was 52%

Recommendation 37

At the outset of any CPD activity, the intended

impact on young people, and the aspects of the

relevant professional standard the teacher will

improve as a result of the activity, should be

clear. Subsequent PRD discussions should review

progress with previous intentions. this process should

be captured in a continuing online profile of

professional development.

Leading professional learning

McKinsey (2009) identified the best practice

internationally. Teachers:• Research, try and share best practice • Analyse and constantly aim for high,

internationally benchmarked standards• Analyse student data and plan tailored teaching• Map, co-create and articulate curriculum• Observe and coach each other

Leuven Scale of Involvement

Level Engagement Examples

1 Extremely low:the child shows hardly any activity

* No concentration: staring, daydreaming;* An absent, passive attitude;* No goal-oriented activity, aimless actions, not producing anything;* No signs of exploration and interest;* Not taking anything in, no mental activity

2 Low: the child shows some degree of activity which is often interrupted

* Limited concentration; looks away during the activity, fiddles, dreams;* Is easily distracted;* Action only leads to limited results.

3 Moderate: the child is busy the whole time, but without real concentration;

* Routine actions, attention is superficial;* Is not absorbed in the activity, activities are short lived;* Limited motivation, no real dedication, does not feel challenged;* The child does not gain deep-level experiences;* Does not use his/her capabilities to full extent;* The activity does not address the child’s imagination.

4 High: there are clear signs of involvement, but these are not always present totheir full extent

* The child is engaged in the activity without interruption;* Most of the time there is real concentration, but during some brief moments the attention is more superficial;* The child feels challenged, there is a certain degree of motivation;* The child’s capabilities and its imagination to a certain extent are addressed in the activity.

5 Extremely High: duringthe observation of learning the child is continually engagedin the activity and completely absorbedIn it.

Is absolutely focussed, concentrated without interruption;Is highly motivated, feels strongly appealed by the activity,Even strong stimuli cannot distract him/her;Is alert, has attention for details, shows precision;Its mental activity and experience are intense;The child constantly addresses all its capabilities: imaginationmental capacity are in top gear;Obviously enjoys being engrossed in the activity.

Leading professional dialogue

• What does CfE mean for you in your establishment?

• What have been the major changes/ improvements for children so far?

• What is your plan to continue with implementation?

Leadership – building capacity

“People look to those in senior leadership roles

to maintain equilibrium and to provide

direction. They expect this direction, not in the

form of questions, but in the form of answers”

‘Leaders staff should explore deeper questions

not provide pat answers’

Improving support for leaders• Progressive educational leadership

pathway needed• Impact of the routes to achieving the

Standard for Headship • Greater range of CPD opportunities for

experienced headteachers• Scheme of national leaders of education • Virtual college of school leadership • National ‘one stop shop’ for online support

Excellence is the result of:

caring more than others think is wise;

risking more than others think is safe;

dreaming more than others think is practical; and

expecting more than others think is possible.

We want our school leaders to be ‘Enthusiastic

sceptics in pursuit of excellence’

Graham Donaldson, September 2011.