leadership tankonyv 2009 2

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THE ROLE OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIPIN THE IMPROVEMENT

OF LEARNING

Country Reports and Case Studies of a Central-European Project

2009

Prof. Michael Schratz

Dr. Lenka Slikov Ph.D. Mgr. Elika Kkov Mgr. Ea Keclikov

Dr. Mria Szab a Rsz

Ing. Vladimr Lak Prof. PaedDr. Alena Hakov, PhD.

Dr. Justina Erulj Mag. Polona Peek

Prof. Gbor Halsz


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HE ROLE OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP IN HEIMPROVEMEN OF LEARNING

Country Reports and Case Studies oa Central-European Project

9


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HE ROLE OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIPIN HE IMPROVEMENOF LEARNING

Country Reports and Case Studies o a Central-European Project

2009

Pro. Michael Schratz

Dr. Lenka Slikov Ph.D. Mgr. Elika Kkov Mgr. Ea Keclikov

Dr. Mria Szab a Rsz

Ing. Vladimr Lak Pro. PaedDr. Alena Hakov, PhD.

Dr. Justina Erulj Mag. Polona Peek

Pro. Gbor Halsz


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ImprumChie Editor: Emese Ibolya

Responsible or publication: Pter ordai,acting director

Design and layout: Bernadett BaukPrint: Innovariant Nyomdaipari K.

Written by: Pro. Michael Schratz, Dr. Lenka Slvikov Ph.D.,Mgr. Elika Kkov, Mgr. Eva Keclikov, Dr. Mria Szab,va Rvsz, Ing. Vladimr Lak , Pro. PaedDr. Alena Hakov, PhD.,Dr. Justina Erulj, Mag. Polona Peek, Pro. Gbor Halsz

empus Public Foundation

H-9 Budapest, Lnyay u. .Phone: +6 7 Inoline: +6 7 E-mail: [email protected]

www.tka.hu

empus Public Foundation 9

All rights reserved. No parts o this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any orm or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,

without the prior permission o the publishers.

Tis publication was unded by the Hungarian Ministry o Educationand Culture.

Contents

. Country Report and Case Studies AUSRIA 7

. Country Report and Case Studies CZECH REPUBLIC 9

. Country Report and Case Studies HUNGARY 57

. Country Report and Case Studies SLOVAK REPUBLIC

5. Country Report and Case Studies SLOVENIA 67

6. School Leadership and Leadership Development in Five

Central European Countries SYNHESIS REPOR 85


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Pr. Michal schraDepartment o eacher Education and School Research

University o Innsbruck

Country Report and Case Studies AUSRIA

DeAR ReADeR,

In 8-9 the empus Public Foundation implemented a project with the title:Te Role o School Leadership in Creating a Learning Environment that is Conducieto Eectie Learning with Special Regard to the Improvement o the Quality o eacher

Actiity supported by the Hungarian Ministry o Education and the EuropeanCommission. Te initiative was implemented within the ramework o a ministerialcollaboration the Central European Cooperation or Education (CECE) with the

participation oAustria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia and wasbased on the results o the OECD report on the eect o school leadership on theeciency o learning(Leadership or Learning).

Each country nominated experts, who have a thorough knowledge o theircountrys education policy and the most important development and innovation

programmes undertaken in the given eld. Tey met at international workshops inthe ramework o the project in order to nalize country reports and case studies onthe given subject. Finally, a synthesis report was elaborated in order to identiy regionaloutcomes, conclusions and policy recommendations or relevant stakeholders.

Tis publication includes all 5 country reports, 2 case studies rom each countryand the nal synthesis. Its most important aim is promoting educational reormsin the region that seek to enhance the quality and eciency o learning, presentingbest practices, moreover supporting development programmes undertaken in the

participating countries.

Te Editor


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Country Report and Case Studies / AUSRIA

tABLe oF Contents

1..tHe ConteXt AnD KeY IssUes oF sCHooLLeADeRsHIP DeVeLoPMent 10

.. Roles o leadership development in the improvement o national education .. National context o educational leadership and management development .. Development o learning as a strategic goal .. Leadership/management development as an important actor in improving

the development o learning 5.5. Research on educational leadership/management development 6

.6. Proessional organisations/associations or school leaders 6

2..tHe CHAnGInG RoLe oF sCHooL LeADeRs In tHeCoUntRIes oF CentRAL eURoPe 7

.. Legal ramework 7.. Key competences o school leaders 9.. Appointment o school leaders 9.. Qualication o school leaders .5. Sharing leadership unctions .6. School-level strategy making

3..LeADeRsHIP DeVeLoPMent APPRoACHes 22

.. Responsibility or leadership development and educational management training .. Distribution o content .. ypes o leadership/management training programmes .. Forms o leadership/management support beyond (initial) training 5

4..ReCoMMenDAtIons 27

5..CAse stUDY 1: tHe LeADeRsHIP ACADeMY 29

5.. Background 95.. Philosophy 95.. Goals 5.. Principles 5.5. Social Architecture 5.6. Processes 5.7. Conclusions

6..CAse stUDY 2: tHe LoWeR seConDARY sCHooL oF H. 33

6.. School Context 6.. Buildings and Surrounding 6.. Focuses and Projects 6.. eaching Sta 56.5. Analysis 56.6. Conclusions 7

7..ReFeRenCes 38


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1.1. tHe ConteXt AnD KeY IssUes oF sCHooL LeADeRsHIPDeVeLoPMent

1.1. Rl ladrhip dvlpm i h imprvm aialducai

In German-speaking countries, the organizational structure o schools is marked by avery fat hierarchy, which has resulted in the emergence o a `myth o equality amongthe teaching sta. Te existing inner hierarchy is thus concealed and the distributiono organizational tasks is too complicated. Moreover, heads o school are oen regardedas being primus inter pares a act generating additional problems in the saeguardingo organizational tasks. As a result not only o a fat hierarchy in schools but also ouniorm teacher training, little or no ormal distinction exists among members othe teaching sta, this phenomenon being in marked contrast with the situationcharacteristic o the world o economy today. Heads o school are looked upon as elitemembers o the teaching proession rather than teachers with a specic vocation.

As a consequence o this primus inter pares myth, heads o school view their`managerial unctions mostly through the prism o assumed expectations, wherethe rules and laws laid down need to be both observed and applied strictly sincethe hierarchical structure o the school system oers them no other alternative osaeguarding their proessional positions. Tereore, newly-appointed heads o schoolare oen awed at the administrative problems with which they are aced, condent asthey are in dealing with educational problems, being experienced teachers themselves.However, quite oen, when aced with unamiliar challenges or the rst time in theirnew managerial unctions, they are bound to change their views. Tis can be seen quite

clearly in the ollowing interview with a newly-appointed headmistress:I thought, at rst, that the administratie tasks would present the greatest diculty sinceI had no experience in this eld. Howeer, administration proved to be no problem at all.Te main diculty was that o haing to deal with people 30 people, would you beliee.Te situation was in sharp contrast to what I had expected. At the beginning, I thoughtthat dealing with people would be easy all you needed to do was to make an eort to bepunctual, make sure you did not to orget your appointments, and not to be too proud toseek adice om other heads o school or the local authorities. Howeer, this was not aproblem. Te main problem, to my mind, is actually that o dealing with people.

Tis statement, made by a newly-appointed headmistress, leads us to assume thatthe organizational unctions o the job are marked to a considerable extent by onesmanner o leadership and not so much by ones amiliarity with certain acts (although,obviously, amiliarity with guidelines in ormal issues is always a precondition ortackling specic issues.) At the same time, a change o awareness becomes apparent,an awareness which extends rom a rather limited attitude towards tasks o leadership

which are aligned to ormal aspects o the job prole (or quite oen only to thestructure o an organizational unit) towards an open-minded plan o action whichis aligned to the situation and the requirements o communication. In this way, it ismore likely that the problems, diculties, worries and needs o colleagues becomeapparent.

Te distinction between leadership, management and administration has only

become a topic with a stronger ocus on school autonomy, where heads o school haveto take on more o a leadership role in schools. Te distinction between the meaningo these unctions is quite blurred, while a school heads day is mostly driven bymanagement and administration. Te Austrian name Schulleiter or Schulleiterin, does,however, signal leadership (direct translation: school leader) as a key competence.

Leadership is becoming more o a challenge, especially among younger schoolleaders, as they have been involved in school development processes and now tendto see their role as that o visionary leaders. In the last century headships have beenoccupied by lower age groups. In Austria retirement age is 65 years or men and 6

years or women. For each year o early retirement monthly payment is reduced by,%. Many school leaders work until their retirement age, the average age o schoolleaders eventually retiring is 6 years.

Tere is no statistical data currently available on the ag e distribution o principals,but there is a noticeable d ierence in various school types. Primary school leaders are,generally speaking, younger than heads in charge o lower secondary schools; the latter

are younger than heads in academic secondary schools and upper secondary vocationalschools.

1.2. naial cx ducaial ladrhip ad maagm

dvlpm

Heads o schools play a key role in supporting each individual school in schooldevelopment schemes. Quality development and quality assurance, personaldevelopment, public relations work and resource management thus play an ever-


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increasingly signicant role in the eld o school management responsibilities,management having to cope with a new set o values comprising the schoolsand education development agenda. In order to gain additional insight into the

potentialities and constraints regarding the behaviour o heads o school in the lighto the background to educational de velopment, Schratz, Pisek & Wopner completeda study () to obtain answers to the ollowing questions:. What changes have taken place in the last ew years within the ramework o laws/

decrees/enactments?. What was the basic intention underlying these changes?. What theoretical/empirical assumptions relating to school development are the

reasons behing such intentions?

. What is the relationship between established changes and the development oschools and education?

Some o the ndings om this study are:

Since the 99/9 Academic Year, Austrian schools have had the possibility oexercising more independence in their school lie. Schools can thus administer a

wider scope o de velopment in determining proessional and pedagogical priorities,particularly in consideration o the interests and capabilities not only o the pupils, butalso o the teaching sta; they can take into account the necessities, needs and oerso the regional milieu; they can also administer part o their nancial means in a moreindependent manner etc. Te aim is to achieve a more varied school landscape along

with a more distinct prole or each individual school. More specically, this meansthat within a ramework determined upront (a maximum o 6 one-week periods insecondary modern schools and 8 one-week periods in the lower grades o the generalschools o academic secondary education), and cost neutrality and set regulations

being the necessary pre-conditions or the scheme, each individual school could, orexample, change the number o hours devoted to compulsory subjects, introduce newcontent, vary the size o groups, convert optional subjects into compulsory ones orinclude independent experts in their projects etc.Not only are heads o school to be actively involved in these changes. Tey should also

provide impulses or these areas. However, it is a procedure limited in its scope, giventhe act that the democratic process o decision-making is a methodology with legaloundations: the school curriculum has to be agreed upon by a two-third majorityo those voting in each o the groups involved by the committee in question, whichconsists o the head o school (a non-voting chairperson), teaching sta (i.e. all the

orm teachers in secondary modern schools and three representatives o general schoolsin academic secondary education) and parents (i.e. all the parents representatives insecondary modern schools and three representatives o general schools in academicsecondary education), and pupils representatives o general schools in academicsecondary education. Internal school measures are then to be evaluated regularly.

Tus the role o heads o school is undergoing a change, towards becoming a sourceo inspiration, a moderator o decision-making processes and the person responsibleor the implementation o decisions. Further development towards school autonomyin line with the principle o New Public Management will add to the new tasks oheads o school. Te Ministry o Education is now considering urther changes in areassuch as the expansion o nancial autonomy, the simplication and improvement oadministration, organisational procedures within schools and the autonomy within

schools o the teaching sta.Large-scale assessments, particularly those o PISA, have contributed to concerns

about how to establish quality awareness in schools. As early as 999, IS (Qualityin Schools), a national ramework or quality assurance, was introduced in order toassure good teaching and learning quality (c. www.qis.at). Te IS is an instrumentby which the Austrian Ministry o Education is determined to both encourage andsupport schools, thereby reviewing, monitoring, and developing the quality o their

perormance. eachers, students, and parents who work alongside each other insystematically addressing quality issues are an indispensable part o school culture.Autonomous quality assurance as well as quality development within schools are aprecondition besides being a starting point or a uture-oriented school system basedon high quality perormance.

Te core element o IS and o quality-related activity in each school is the schooldevelopment plan (Schulprogramm). It contains the schools guiding principles, anaccount o the status quo and o specic objectives o that school, while assessing

quality in dierent areas. Tis plan is a temporary agreement aimed to have an eectboth internally and externally: it serves as a guideline both or educational action andas public inormation as well as a planning tool and a yardstick to be applied to thedevelopment o schools.A similar programm called IBB (Qualittsinitiative Berusbildung: VE QualityInitiative, www.qibb.at) was introduced in or vocational upper secondaryeducation. Both quality development programme alternatives have contributedsubstantially to the development o quality awareness in schools, especially amongschool heads. Tey will need to be urther developed into a comprehensive rameworkor national quality control, which will serve as a steering matrix or all other levels


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within the system. Equally included in this ramework will be the developmentand implementation o national standards (Bildungsstandards) in year (primaryschool) and year 8 (general secondary school and academic secondary school), a newmechanism currently in its trial phase. Te results will urnish urther evidence orschool heads in monitoring the degree o success in their schools and will intensiyeorts aimed at improving the quality o teaching and learning.

In most Austrian national development strategies leadership/managementdevelopment plays an important part, e.g. it is part o IS and IBB quality strategiesand also o standards development as well as o the introduction o the new middleschool. At the same time, most strategic initiatives do not have a clear concept orleadership development. Te Leadership Academy was, thereore, ounded in bythe Minister o Education with the aim o supporting school leaders in their strategic

competences in the implementation o ongoing reorms

1.3. Dvlpm larig a a ragic gal

Leadership or Learning is a curricular core element o the Leadership Academy andparticipants portolios are expected to contain learning-related strategic elements.

Other national strategies where the deelopment o learning plays a dominant role are : Te introduction o educational standards, where a bank o test items has been

developed to help teachers and schools adjust their teaching to a competency-based model by putting the student, rather than teaching itsel, into the ocus oattention.

Te 5 plus Initiative, reducing the number o students to a maximum o 5 inAustrian schools, which is connected via a paradigm shi rom teaching to learning.

A support programme (consisting o booklets, a homepage, DVDs, in-serviceactivities etc.) has been developed to support schools in this transormation process. Te introduction o the New Middle School, which puts the ocus on learning

in heterogeneous classrooms without the streaming o students. In each Austrianprovince, a set o schools is expected to pilot new orms o teaching and, inparticular, learning with the aim o putting the student rst with support rom theregional school boards, the Pdagogische Hochschulen (PHs: University Collegeso eacher Education) and a nationwide initiative undertaken in Austria by theLeadership Academy scientic leaders.

1.4. Ladrhip/maagm dvlpm a a impra acr iimprvig h dvlpm larig

Several initiatives have been introduced by the Ministry o Education to supportleadership ocusing on learning, albeit in a manner not only restricted to the schoolhead but also including teachers. An example o this is the introduction o the so-called

early warning system (Frhwarnsystem), a regulation according to which teachersare required to contact parents immediately i and when they notice a decline in thelearning achievement or behaviour o a pupil or a student, and to arrange a meeting to

jointly nd a solution to (an) actual problem(s) with a view to improvement on thematter in hand. Te impact o this policy measure is noticeable in the decline o thenumber o retentions.

In 5 a policy initiative was introduced which concerns the school head inparticular, the so-called school-specic remediation policy (standortbezogenesFrderkonzept). Each school has to develop a school-specic programme as to howindividual pupils or students are to receive the support they need to be best supportedin their learning. Since teachers had previously been only used to administer and teachremedial classes, this implied a shi in their practices towards a more systemic way olooking at remediation. Most school leaders nd it particularly demanding having tointroduce an eective programme that deals with all students individually. It is tooearly today to substantiate the eectiveness o this policy based on evidence obtainedso ar.

Tere are some evaluation studies as part o international projects in whichAustria took part (such as Carpe Vitam Leadership or Learning[], see also Schratz,orthcoming), which cannot be seen as nationally representative ones. However, aresearch project unded by the Ministry o Education was launched in 6, with theaim o examining, with a particular view on learning, leadership practices in schools

that are participants o the Leadership Academy. Findings will not be available beoreearly 9.In the context o the Leadership Academy, Wilried Schley and Michael Schratz

() developed a diagram illustrating a chain o eects in their leadership work,serving as a mental web o reasonable relationships highlighting the process rangingrom leading to learning and back aga in (see table ). Tis chain o eects demonstratesthe theory o how leadership impacts people, planning, culture and structure andalso how, through interaction it generates action and results related to the goals oa particular school. It is used as a proessional development tool to sensitise schoolheads towards the need to bind together leading and learning.


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able 1: Chain o eects om leadership to learning and back (Schley & Schratz, 2004, p. 4)

1.5. Rarch ducaial ladrhip/maagm dvlpm

Several research projects and master theses/dissertations have been commissioned inconnection with the Leadership Academy, all o which ocus on leadership development.Te Ministry o Education has commissioned the University o Innsbruck to conducta pilot study on the eectiveness o the LEA, to be published in early 9.Tese publications are all in German (see, or example, Leadership au dem Prstandby Silvia Pool under http://www.leadershipacademy.at/publikationen.php).

1.6. Prial rgaiai/aciai r chl ladr

Tey do exist, but only in a loosely organized orm. Tey do not play a major rolein educational development. However, school heads themselves appear to bestronger i organized in unions. In Austria, several teachers unions exist, which are

part o the national rade Union Network. (sterreichischer Gewerkschasbund[GB]). Within the unions there is a dierentiation between various types o school(compulsory schools, academic secondary schools, secondary vocational schools andcolleges etc.) and dierentiation along partisanship, which is also an existing orm ocategorization (e.g. Sozialdemokratische Partei sterreichs [SP], sterrreichischeVolkspartei [VP] etc.). More recently, alternative groups o teachers and school

leaders have started their own union representation with the purpose o unctioningoutside the GB. School leaders do not have an extra representation among theunions but they are members o the teachers unions.

2.1. tHe CHAnGInG RoLe oF sCHooL LeADeRs In CentRALeURoPeAn CoUntRIes

2.1. Lgal ramwrk

Te duties and responsibilities o a school leader are regulated through laws establishedby the Austrian Parliament.

Bundesgesetz ber die Ordnung von Unterricht und Erziehung in den imSchulorganisationsgesetz geregelten Schulen (Schulunterrichtsgesetz 986 SchUG) 56:() Te school head has to arrange all matters regarding ederal law, except issues

under the jurisdiction o other elements o the schooling system or o supervisoryauthorities o education.

() Te school head is the immediate superior o all teachers working at the school,and o all other attendants. He or she is responsible or running the school and ormaintaining a regular relationship between the school, the pupils, legal guardiansand (at secondar y vocational schools) other sta entrusted with teaching duties.

() Te school head is responsible or advising teachers on their teaching and theircontribution to the education o the children; periodically, he or she also has tomonitor both the quality o teaching and pupils learning perormance.

() Apart rom his or her educational and administrative duties, the school head hasto see to it that all statutory provisions and instructions o supervisory schoolauthorities are observed. Another responsibility assigned to the school head is tocare or the guiding o ocial do cuments and the order in school. Te school headhas to arrange or a sta roster to be compiled or the supervision o students. Heor she has to report perceived deciencies to the the school supervisory authority.

(5) Other duties, incumbent upon the school head rom other, particularly relevantinstructions pertaining to public service law, remain unaected.

(6) In schools where a permanent deputy leader is appointed within the school, heor she has to assist the school head in ullling his or her duties. Individual duties


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incumbent upon this deputy head have to be determined by service instructionsgiven by the Federal Ministry o Education.

(7) In schools in which a teacher is appointed or the assistance o the school head, thatassistant has to ull all administrative duties linked to pedagogy-related work inthe school. Duties which are incumbent on this teacher have to be specied by theFederal Ministry o Education.

(8) In schools oering day care, where a teacher or educator is appointed or theassistance o the school head in supervisory duties, he or she has to ull alladministrative duties closely linked with the supervisory part o the school. Dutiesincumbent on this teacher can be assigned either by the Federal Ministry oEducation or by the school head.

Bundesgesetz vom 27. Juni 1984 ber das Dienstrecht der Landeslehrer (Landeslehrer-Dienstrechtsgesetz - LDG 1984):: Responsibilities o oce o school heads() Te school head has to ull all duties incumbent on his or her unction

conscientiously.() Te school head has to see to it that all teachers working at the school ull their

duties in a regular, appropriate, nancially conscious and economical manner. Heor she has to guide them, give them appropriate instructions, eliminate mistakesand grievances i and when they occur or are raised respectively, and ensureadherence to obligations relating to oce hours.

() Proessional advancement o teachers by the school head needs to be done bypromoting them with a view to their actual work perormance.

() As a general rule, the school head has to turn up at his workplace and stay in theschool building during teaching hours. In case o a temporary absence during

teaching hours he or she has to provide a substitute. At schools with teaching hoursin the mornings and aernoons, the school board can shorten the compulsoryattendance o the school leader, in which case a substitute has to be provided.

(5) Te school leader has to establish a strategic plan or sta requirements andpersonal development.

Te tasks dened legally in the laws reerred to above date back to 98 and 986respectively. Te corresponding duties have changed with an increased autonomyhaving been given to schools, which has also changed the role o school heads vis-a-visthe unctions specied above. As a whole, legislation aimed at school reorm has been

directed at schools, which means that school heads as the direct superiors o teachershave to take on a leadership role in putting reorms into practice in a proper manner.In a sense, thereore, the school head is responsible or implementing laws and otherlegal regulations as well as instructions issued by the educational authorities. Since itis his or her duty to evaluate the work o the teaching sta, a school head has a stronginfuence on monitoring both teaching and learning at the school in question.

Te strength in current policy on school leadership lies in the situation that schoolleaders have within the narrow autonomous decision-making options available

great reedom in leading their schools according to their own leadership expectations.Since there is little external control o individual schools, school leaders have theopportunity o running their school according to their leadership skills. Consequently,there are schools which are held in high esteem by parents, teachers and students, while

school heads also have a high reputation. Newspapers and journals regularly reviewschools, which creates a lot o publicity. A new Austrian school award, introducedby the Ministry o Education and to be oered or the rst time in 9, is another

policy measure to stimulate the competence o school heads in how they can motivateschools to apply or the award.

2.2. Ky cmpci chl ladr

Tere are no national competency standards although the idea is paramount in debatesnationwide. Competency-related expectations specied nationally or the training

programs which are compulsory or newly appointed school heads and are oered bythe University Colleges o eacher Education.

2.3. Appim chl ladrTe legal basis or the appointment o school leaders was regulated in 996 in theLDG (Landeslehrer-Dienstrechtsgesetz [Provincial Service Code]) at the provinciallevel and the BDG (Beamten-Dienstrechtsgesetz [Civil Service Code]) at thenational level. Initially, school heads are appointed provisionally or our years, butthe conditions or an extension o that appointment depend on the completion oa course in management training, to be nished within our years o taking up the

position. Moreover, the capabilities o school leaders also need to be proven.


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2.4. Qualicai chl ladr

Te main qualication which is required in order to apply successully or theposition o school leader, is to have enough teaching experience, and a school leaderis also expected to have had very good results in previous evaluations. Generallyspeaking, teachers only apply or school leadership positions or the type o school theyhave a teaching licence or, which means that they need to have a valid qualication(certicate) or teaching in secondary or compulsory schools. Tese pedagogicalguidelines have been set by the Ministry o Education and are applied all over Austriaor all types o schools. In private schools the criteria may vary, particularly in churchschools where head positions are decided by the respective church authority, but ithey are publicly recognized, applicants have to comply with the regulations o theteaching qualication o the respective school type. An inormal requirement or aleadership position can be associated with numerous school heads who as ormerteachers were members o the teachers union or they either belong to or are close toa political party.

I a vacancy or the position o a school head is advertised, anybody with thenecessary qualications (no certicate or diploma is necessary) is invited to apply

very oen teachers rom the same school apply. First, a committee rom the schoolscreens the applicants through presentations, interviews etc. and selects threecandidates ranking them in an order o priority and gives reasons or their selection.At this point, the shortlist is handed to the regional school board, which might changethe rank order, but cannot opt or candidates who are not on the shortlist. In 7-8

percent o cases, candidates high on the shortlist are accepted, while in - percento cases this is not what happens. Finally, the regional education authority, supportedby the teachers union, the local community and the school inspector(s), chooses acandidate rom this list. Te shortlist containing ederal school candidates is sent to

the Ministry o Education or approval. Te newly appointed school leader is theninstalled provisionally or a period o our years, during which he or she has to attendan obligatory management training course.

2.5. sharig ladrhip uciAccording to current policy, school leaders in Austria are still lonely ghters attheir workplaces. Tereore, leadership is rarely distributed among others, with theexception o large, proessionally oriented upper secondary schools. For people aected

at all levels o the system ministry, regional and local education school authority,school heads, teachers this entails a high responsibility and an agency o individuals

who eel that they have to do everything. As a consequence, those individuals areknown to have acquired a high capacity o problem-solving at the operative level. Teupside to this is the high competence o individual leaders at all levels, resulting inadministrative excellence and motivation o individuals. Te downside is the necessityo strong reliance on individuals within the system, something that does on the onehand more than occasionally lead to burn-out problems o engaged leaders, and, onthe other hand, hinders the introduction o systemic thinking and acting through thedistribution o leadership both at vertical and horizontal levels.Apart rom the distribution o leadership regulated by law (deputy heads, bodies),dierent tasks are shared among teachers to distribute leadership responsibilities at

various levels (class, year group, subject areas, library and laboratories, whole schooletc.) in a loose system.

2.6. schl-lvl ragy makigSchool level strategic planning and management has become important because othe greater autonomy schools have been granted. Te core element o this is the schooldevelopment plan (Schulprogramm), which contains the schools guiding principles,an account o the status quo and o specic objectives and which measures quality indierent areas. Tis plan is a temporary agreement with internal and external eectupon areas involved: It serves as a guideline or educational action, inormationto the public, a planning tool and a yardstick to be applied to the development oschools. Evaluation is an integral eature o the school development plan. It is neededto keep track o de velopments and to ascertain both the implementation and impact

o measures. It needs to be perormed at appropriate intervals, individually and jointly,by means o appropriate methods (see www.qis. or details). Te school head has theresponsibility o quality development within the school, an aim that requires particularleadership skills.


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3.1. LeADeRsHIP DeVeLoPMent APPRoACHes

3.1. Rpibiliy r ladrhip dvlpm ad ducaial maagmraiig

Te compulsory educational management training programmes or newly appointedschool heads are oered by the PHs (University Colleges o eacher Education). TeMinistry o Education set the prerequisites (see above) in order to standardise theprogrammes across dierent school types and throughout Austria. A coordinationgroup, consisting o representatives o the Federal Ministry, the providers o thetraining programmes rom the provinces and two members o the consortium oschool management trainers and mentors, concentrates on the quality control odiverse management programmes all over Austria and the proessional developmento trainers. In they commissioned an evaluation scheme or management

programmes in the Austrian provinces to nd out about their eectiveness and toidentiy new needs, i any, by participants.

Te second cycle o proessional development, the Leadership Academy, is a projectmodel unctioning as a joint venture by the Ministry o Education, the University oInnsbruck and a private consultancy rm.

3.2. Diribui c

EDUCAIONALMANAGEMEN

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Legal Administrative

Strategic leadership 5

Human resource management 5

Organizational development 5 5

Instructional leadership

Change management 5

Aspects o lie long learning 5

Blended Learning

3.3. typ ladrhip/maagm raiig prgrammTe conventional training programmes oered by the PHs (University Colleges oeacher Education) consist o a six week training course, organized in a part-timeschedule so that newly appointed heads can start working in their new position asschool leaders. Te programme envisages a course consisting o a social phase and an

individual phase, i.e. a phase o sel-study. Te social phase consists o a compulsorycore module and a compulsory choice, the so-called extended modules. Teseseminary-type modules are to be adjusted to the proessional experience o the

participants and are not only to arouse refection, but also, by using concrete examples,are to create signicant pedagogical tasks and topics o school leadership. Since the

programme is concerned with a comprehensive mixture o various types o schools,participation is regarded as a chance to extend perspectives. wenty-our working daysare allotted or the school management course ( study units (UE), each unit to last5 minutes). Each year, training normally starts in summer and is to continue or threeor our terms. Part o the course is held during non-teaching periods.

Te basic modules with the ollowing topics are compulsory :. Communication and leadership (with 8 UE = / days): Basic psychology o

leadership; a new comprehension o leadership/guidance; an analysis o approachto dialogue; consultation and discussion o problems.

. Confict management (with 8 UE = / days): work on case examples; personalattitude towards confict - situations and solutions; nature o conficts; diagnosiso conficts; specic strategies o confict management; dealing with confict as amanagerial task.

. Lesson supervision: analysis consultation assessment (with UE = days):analysis o pedagogical (didactic-methodical) dras; categories and methods o

lesson observation; cycle o consultation on lesson observation; re-registration andeedback procedures; educational supervision.. School development (with UE = days): an analysis o personal concepts; systemic

attitudes and strategies; cooperation and team development alternatives; simulationo a development process; supportive measures or planning, implementation andevaluation o quality control.

5. Educational rights, vocational rights, household rights (with UE = days): anadditional module oered or participants listed under the BDG (rom generalschools o academic secondary education and vocational schools o academicsecondary education) practice-orientated introduction to the basic issue o


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educational rights, vocational rights and household rights; search strategies, decision-making techniques, phrasing decisions, issue o notications; elaboration o caseexamples related to educational and vocational rights taken rom practical examplesaecting respective participants.

Additionally, heads o school o the category LDG are obliged to participate in modules o the voluntary-compulsory extended module course. Heads o school incategory BDG are obliged to participate in one such course.

Choice can be made om the ollowing modules (with a duration o 3 days respectiely): Educational, vocational and household rights (or heads o school in category LDG

see list above or contents)

Administration and school administration

. Personal development and collegial discussions Meeting techniques eective discussions ime management and sel-management Project management New curriculum role o the head o school opics o current interest (Suggestions are orientated according to the priority o the

respective educational policy, current necessities and needs o the target group.)Te Individual Phase, or sel-study, is compulsory or approx. 8 study periods, 5o which are intended or a study o literature, 5 or project work and or urtheroers o training relevant or heads o schools. Te individual phase can a lso be coveredby proessional learning communities or collegial team coaching. In the course o thestudy o literature, texts which have been chosen by the trainers are not only expected

to inspire an in-depth and extended analysis o course material, but also preparationor new topics. Te project work is designed to combine theory and practice, andshould subsequently be nalized in the orm o a written account o a project (about pages), to be produced in agreement with the supervisor (trainer). Sometimes aportolio has to be developed. Examples o suitable topics are listed in the study plan:An account o a school development process or a project in the eld o school autonomy,description o the practical implementation o the contents o a seminar and/or theapplication o literature in the daily task o teachers, a daily, written account o theseminar (innovation diary). Te project is to be completed within the basic moduleand is to be properly presented to other participants (via use o media tools photos,

wall newspapers, videos as well as home pag es on the Internet). Te attendance otraining courses or urther education, geared to the needs o heads o schools, along

with the topics selected or training purposes, depend on specic needs o individualtrainees and also on the inormation-related requirements o respective schools.Naturally, a trainee can take advantage o oers other than those o the regional in-service training institution, i a particular trainee wishes so. Te study plan identiestopics rom which to choose (e.g. school entrance, school autonomy, certain aspects omanagement as well as training or special skills required or leadership etc.).

3.4. Frm ladrhip/maagm uppr byd (iiial) raiig

For a long time there have been short-term options at regional level rather thansystematic proessional development programmes. Tese options were created insupport o the introduction o new reorm initiatives with a character that was tobe more inormative than a systematic proessional development scheme. Teirsignicance lies in their aim to keep school leaders abreast with innovation both atregional and national levels. However, their impact was only limited, ocused only ona particular type o thematic orientation.

In , the Austrian Ministry o Education created the Leadership Academy, withthe aim o addressing heads o Austrian schools as well as executives in the ministryand regional education authorities, members o the school inspectorate and in-servicetraining institutions. It is oered to school leaders who have proven qualications inthe area o school management, school law or school administration (or school headsa certicate o the school management training courses is a prerequisite in their rst

years o practice).Te Leadership Academy was set up as a one-year upskilling project by the Federal

Ministry or Education and the Arts and Culture with a view to instilling leadersin the educational system with a new notion o leadership geared to the specicrequirements and conditions prevailing in the eld o education. Participation is

voluntary and open to principals at all types o school, as well as to leaders in theschool administration, inspection and teacher education. LEA, short or LeadershipAcademy, was launched in . So ar ve cohorts (generations with their own proleand ocus), who translate themselves into participants, have received guidance indeveloping their own innovative projects at this institute.


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Te LEA concept is based on the assumption that school climate and school quality are largely infuenced by school leadership; that school heads are among the principal change agents at schools and that against the background o a changed socio-political environment, school leaders

would need to be able to deal competently with new challenges acing the educationalsystem.

LEA aims at generating a new, clear-cut and transparent notion o leadership, andat testing a leadership style based on appreciation, dialogue and shared leadership.Assigning all learning tasks to teachers and students and all management tasks toschool heads will all short o reaching the aim to be achieved. School heads shouldbe aware o their strategic role and they should assume responsibility or the eect o

leadership on the learning process aecting students. In line with the guiding principleo leadership or learning, LEA is seeking to build awareness o the act that anytype o leadership action must ultimately strive to create the best possible learningconditions or young people within a specic regulatory environment. Leaders whoinspire, those who clearly delineate tasks and are able to motivate while de-emphasizingdetailed instructions, will be able to eectively guide and shape developments by wayo outcome eedback and e valuation.

Moreover, the diversity o participants and the involvement in a systemic learningprocess automatically opens up a new vista o the system which acilitates a newawareness o the personal eld o work as well as the building o eective networks

within this eld, and also the establishing o links beyond system boundaries. Te best-case scenario will be or LEA alumni to utilise new cross links within a traditionallysegmented educational system and to arrive at a new concept o the system, which willconsiderably broaden the context o their day-to-day work.

Te key elements o the Leadership Academys programme are, thereore, individual

learning and individual development o leadership skills, project management andnetworking. Every year, a cohort o 5-7 participants progresses through ourForums, i.e. three-day learning sessions consisting o keynote presentations andsubsequent group processing, work in learning partnerships between two participantsand collegial team coaching (CC) groups, each comprising three sets o partnerships.Supported and assessed by their learning partners and CC groups, each participantdevelops and implements a project in his or her own institution. Learning partnersand CCs meet regionally in the interim between Forums and also come together

with other participants in regional networks.

I approximately out o a total o 6 Austrian school heads subscribe to thenew values and attitudes propagated by LEA every year, they will account or a notinconsiderable percentage o %. I the programme is to be continued consistently, theexpected outcome will be a lasting increase in leadership quality as well as a systemicchange in both the culture and concept o proessional work practice at schools.Further inormation on the Leadership Academy is to be ound atwww.leadershipacademy.at.

4. ReCoMMenDAtIons

In the Austrian school system various responsibilities concerning nancial, personaland other policy decisions are shared within the ministry by ederal and the provincialschool authorities, dierent layers o the school system and school leaders. Due tothe maniold negotiation processes, school leaders are only le with little autonomyin decisive decision-making or school improvement. Because o the ramied natureo the way in which the task o decision-making is shared throughout the system,there is too much loss o infuence, which makes it dicult to perorm results-basedmanagement or both policy makers in the ministry and school heads at the ar end othe line. Both are perceived to be toothless when it comes to having a lasting impact onthe development o both the at-large system and, in particular, individual schools.

Hence recommendation 1: Strengthening o the position o school leaders in theirunction both as individuals responsible or the improvement o the school and orthe ongoing teaching and learning process at the school.

Many qualied school leaders make considerable eort by putting into practicetheir visions and ideas on school improvement and on how to establish better learningor their pupils. However, many o those visions never become reality, partly dueto a lack o opportunities and resources, partly as a result o a shortage o capacitiesrequired to achieve their objective. Many o them eel overloaded with administrativetasks, especially school leaders at primary and general secondary school levels, leaders

who have little or no administrative support. Several provinces are either planningor introducing new regional structures to reorganize school administration. Itis recommended that all administrative work or a certain number o schools beorganized centrally and be managed by people who have the right skills to do the same

work in less time.


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Hence recommendation 2: School heads need some sort o administrative support tobe able to perorm the best possible leadership in their schools. Introducing a middlemanagement could take the burden o administrative work o school leaders and

would help distribute leadership within the school.A study on the micro-political situation o school leaders in decision-making

positions in schools has revealed that a recent tendency at ministerial level to introduceseveral reorm acts concerning the perormance o individual schools has placed ahuge burden on school leaders. Tis has caused the work o school leaders to ocusmore on problem-solving than on solution-nding. Tereore, decits arising romengagement with capacity-related issues o their work supersede thinking about next

practice, which creates a tendency o vicious circles in problem-solving at the level oschool management.

Hence recommendation 3:New reorms should leave enough room or school leadersto act as system thinkers in action (Fullan) in order to nd their own solutions that

will t into the context o their own school rather than turn them into problem solversxing errors in the overall system.

Successul schools need school leaders who are able to see problems with a visionthat extends beyond their own school buildings. Leaders at respective system levelsneed to engage other levels as well in order or policies and strategies to be shapedand reshaped, and the bigger picture that will emerge is to be communicatedamong individuals involved. o achieve this discursive development, networks andcollaboratives part o which already exist with the missing elements yet to be initiated

have to be nurtured and supported. Trough such collaboration, the dilemma betweentop-down versus bottom-up, local and central accountability, inormed prescriptionand inormed proessional judgement, could be dealt with constructively with a viewtowards system-wide change.

Hence recommendation 4: Leadership development needs to take place at all levelso the system by bringing together all schools types and levels by building networks,thereby creating a mindset or sustainable change.

Tere has been little research on matters o school leadership, which means that theoundations o research or evidence-based decision making are weak.

Hence recommendation 5: More research on school leadership is necessary ordiscussion in order to better understand a school leaders role and to establish a soundbasis or political decision-making.

5.1. CAse stUDY 1: tHe LeADeRsHIP ACADeMY

5.1. BackgrudIn the Austrian Ministry o Education, Science and Culture launched aninitiative to enhance innovative capacities o educational management at all levels othe school system. It was initiated as an innovative concept or the proessionalisationo 6 school leaders and other executives in leadership positions in the Austrianschool system in a very short period o time on the basis o the latest scientic ndingson innovation and change.

Te Leadership Academy thus addresses heads o Austrian schools as well asexecutives in the ministry, school inspectorate and in-service training. It is gearedtowards managers in leading positions and requires proven qualications in the areao school management, school law or school administration as application permit.

Te Leadership Academy comes alive through generations. Each generation iscomposed o 5 to participants rom the educational system, coming rom all

provinces and school types as well as the ministry and regional education authorities(e.g. inspectorate). Tis ensures right rom the outset that a systemic impact on changeand transormation is possible and that the whole system is involved in a jointlearning process. TeLeadership Academy is created in compliance with the principleso a learning organisation and cooperates closely with responsible decision-makers inthe ministry.

5.2. Philphy

TeLeadership Academy (LEA)creates an intellectual as well as practical ocus within anew paradigm o both personal and institutional improvement in leadership capacitiesat all levels within the school system. Te programme orproessionalism in leadershipis embarked upon a new understanding o theory and practice, which transorms theeducational system by assuming that the quality o leadership is the starting point orsystemic innovation. Te Leadership Academy creates a learning context aiming toinfuence thepatterns and habits o proessionals in leading positions with regard totheir capacity o de veloping and transorming their organisations.TeLeadership Academy unctions as a project organisation and is constituted throughgenerations which orm a nationwide network o change agents aer graduation.


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Participants have to complete a leadership programme which consists o our orumswith individual, school-based project work and learning group meetings in betweenbeore they graduate rom the Leadership Academy. It is carried out through a

project management team, a scientic research team, an organisational support teamlinked with the Universities o Innsbruck and Zurich, and the Ministry o Education.Network co-ordinators in all Austrian provinces unction as a regional support systemassuring regional networking. Te website www.leadershipacademy.at is a centralcommunication platorm, which oers participants o the Leadership Academyimmediate and project-ocussed support in the members sections.

5.3. GalTeLeadership Academy provides assistance in the capacity building, qualication andempowerment o leaders in the Austrian educational system. Leaders are motivated tostrategically target complex development tasks through priority setting, ocussing onactual solutions, individual development projects and by creating organisation proles.Participants learn to translate challenges into innovative development processes andentice and empower sta in their work environment to achieve top perormance. Te

Leadership Academyaims to create a new mentality o leadership which draws on trustand authenticity rather than on power through position. Te ultimate goal o the

Leadership Academy lies in sustainably improving the preconditions and the learningprocess that aect young people in all educational institutions.

5.4. Pricipl

Te Leadership Academy is committed to the ollowing principles: Oering sel-organised learning learning opportunities in a strong learningenvironment.

Enorcing individual and collective learning through co-operation and collaborationin work-based learning projects.

Combining personal initiative and responsibility with ownership and pro-activeparticipation.

Motivation through active participation in a demanding and sophisticatedqualication process, which yields immediate prot or the whole system throughaction-based thinking at system level.

Diversity through the pluralism o leaders rom diverse school types, regions andlevels o the hierarchy, which enhances system-based learning both horizontally and

vertically.

5.5. scial ArchicurTe Leadership Academy is composed as a network, its oundation resting on thesmallest organisational entity, the learning partnership. Tis learning partnership isthe home base or two participants, each o whom are aligned in a trustul, reciprocalcoaching partnership. Tey support each other through explorative questions, helpto dene project milestones and guide each other through their individual learning

processes. Tree learning partnerships respectively merge in collegial team coaching(CC) orming learning groups o six meant to consult and coach each othercollegially.

Collegial team coaching is organized along the lines o a solution-oriented approach,through which working in a problem space is transerred towards a solution space.Tis goal-oriented, creative and inventive work is the oundation and philosophy o theCC. Heterogeneous coaching groups o six are combined together at a regional level.Tese regional groups are co-ordinated by their respective network co-ordinators whoco-ordinate allLEA Generations in the Bundeslnder. One LEA Generation consistso 5 to participants orminglearning partnerships, CCs and regional groups.

5.6. PrcInterested leaders can register online at the LEA homepage www.leadershipacademy.at.

According to the regional contingents, they are nominated by the regional schoolauthority to the ministry, which is to process registration and participation.Kick-o takes place in theFirst Forum, which gives participants orientation on the

philosophy, organisation and structure o theLeadership Academyand the underlyingprocesses. Tey are introduced to the approach o setting their own goals and choosingtheir personal proessional projects which constitute the heart o their individualdevelopment. Centre stage takes the creation o trust into the network, the orming olearning partnerships and CCs and the elaboration o possible innovation themes.All participants o the samegeneration meet at threeForums, each lasting or three days,and a nal two-dayCertication Forum, which is dedicated to the presentation and


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appraisal o the results. Te certication process signies that participants becomemembers o theLeadership Academy. BetweenForums the learning partnerships andthe CCs meet regionally or locally. When considering their individual development

projects, they refect on the reactions o their stakeholder groups in their schools,education authorities and inspectoral systems or o those in in-service traininginstitutions. Tese processes are de veloped through cycles o anticipation, action andrefection. Te principle o ownership and responsibility is combined with goal andresult, which demands respect, openness and fexibility rom everybody involved.

In the Second Forum the individual development projects o participants aredened, developed and outlined, using project management methods and tools.In this phase the CCs are responsible or collaborative refection on individualdevelopment processes with a view to innovative ideas or changing the patterns o

thinking along old solutions. In the Tird Forum participants refect on their mutualexperience in the context o the implementation o their development projects. Tis isthe creative space where scepticism, resistance, conficts and tensions come to the orein the same way as agreement, motivation and enthusiasm do. Dierent workshopson communication, motivation, confict resolution and decision making are oeredas a support or individual learning and capacity building. Art workshops, dance orsurvival camp techniques support the holistic learning approach.

In the Certication Forum participants present their proessional learningprocesses and their results rst in the intimacy o their collegial team coachinggroups. Tey then decide col laboratively on one project o their CC to be presentedto other participants in a nal phase o parallel sessions. For successul certicationeach participant o theLeadership Academy has to hand in a thesis on their individualand proessional development process in a written orm.

5.7. CcluiTe Leadership Academy as a network organisation:Following the concept o network organisations as loosely coupled systems kepttogether through communication and identication, the Leadership Academy canbe regarded as a successul example. Participants have adopted the network culture

without diculty and have also integrated it into their (inter)actions.Tey practice sharing and caring in a successul manner, they communicateopenly with a high level o trust and develop mutual respect and understanding in

heterogeneous entities. Te notion o innovation and next practice is well anchored,even though not all participants have arrived at a change o pattern with the sameintensity. A qualitative change within their mindset has taken place and is becoming

visible in new ways o thinking and action taking shape. Leadership has become anattitude refected in their behaviour, and participants do not see leadership as a statusentitlement but a willingness o servant leadership and that o taking on responsibility.In this way a strong culture o acceptance and mutual support has developed.

Networkrucur can be seen in a variety o relationships. Te most intimate oneis learning partnershipwhich maniests itsel as a chance o genuine dialoguing , mutualcoaching and counselling, and each participant is part o this learning partnership.Te next, bigger network entity is the collegial team coaching group (CC), whichsupports the refection and development aspects o individual innovation projects.

Te regional networks constitute an even bigger entity and connect regional projects,orming strategic alliances while creating regional publicity.

Te prc in the Leadership Academy network are methodologically denedand give clear orientation. As a LEA member, each participant is amiliar with the

workings o a CC and is able to conduct collegial team coaching. Each participant isable to distinguish between dierent phases o an innovative development project andcan equally design such phases. Te processes o next practice and pattern changeare standard procedures or them. Also, they can systematically plan communication

processes and are capable o applying them strategically.An idiycan thus grow rom the culture, structure and processes o the network,

which denes the strategy o the Leadership Academy. Tis can be a springboard orvision building towards uture perspectives. Te ollowingLEA Generations haveshown how much potential, energy and attraction theLeadership Academy enolds.

6.1 CAse stUDY 2: tHe LoWeR seConDARY sCHooL oF H.

6.1. schl CxTe case (lower secondary) school is not ar rom the capital city o Vienna, thereoreseveral large companies are located in the area. Te village o H. and thereore thecatchment area or the schools students can be called an industrial community. Sincecommunities are responsible or parts o the school budget, this is an importantaspect.


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Te student population comes rom both blue and white-collar amilies, some havemore o an agrarian background as villages around H. are inhibited mostly by armers.Many people daily commute either to large industrial rms or to Vienna. Tat iswhy students, who are oen alone at home and are, thereore, called key kids, aphenomenon that gives rise to social problems that the school has to deal with, whilemany children also come rom single parent households.

Mention should be made o the act that aer some decline in student populationthe number o students attending H. Secondary School has or the past ew yearsbeen increasing. Tis is remarkable since a) the number o young people in Austriais generally decreasing , b) many parents try to send their children to the Gymnasium(academic secondary school) or prestige purposes, where student numbers still grow.One third o the students leaving HSH attend ve-year upper secondary proessional

schools (some also take part in g eneral academic upper secondary education) leadingto both proessional education and university entrance qualication, one third attendother types o school and one third nish compulsory school education aer anextra year at the polytechnic school to take up employment without delay. HSH isambitious to keep in contact with the schools which take on their students in order toobtain eedback on their urther educational careers.

6.2. Buildig ad surrudigTe school building was erected in the seventies o the last century and was reurbishedabout 5 years ago. HSH is situated at the center o the community and is part o aschool centre including a primary school and a polytechnic school. It is the aim o thesta to turn both the interior and part o the school surroundings into an attractive

place in order to put project-oriented learning into practice. With its attractive social

architecture HSH has become a place or students to live and gain experience in.Because o the attractive schooling opportunities that are available in the neighbouringcity, HSH is in competition with the academic secondary school in the vicinity. Tishas led HSH to oer a dierentiated educational prole.

6.3 Fcu ad PrjcParents, the school inspectorate, community representatives and others regard theschool as a place preparing students eciently or urther school education (upper

secondary) through teacher engagement and a new subject called socially creativelearning (SCL), which aims at preparing young people to be able to deal with confictsand problems in a productive way in their everyday lie.

For years SCL has been the highlight o teaching and learning. In this subjectarea teachers ocus their teaching on the personality development o their students bystrengthening their individual strengths. Creating a reliable learning environment isan important aspect o the schools approach to teaching and learning. Another ocusis inormatics and English as a working language in six subject areas. HSH is also a

pilot school or educational standards in mathematics, English and German. It oersso-called master courses or students aiming or urther school education.

Te school has a strong project orientation and it also organizes cross-curricularactivities across individual classes. Tey not only oer internal projects but a lso various

projects with the local community and clubs. In order to attract students rom moreremote areas the school leader aims at oering meaningul aernoon activities.

6.4. tachig safTere are 6 male and emale teachers at the school, whose average age is comparativelylow. Some teachers live at places as ar as a -hour drive away and still hold down this

job because they like the attractive teaching and learning environment. In 7/8 theschool had 8 students in 9 classes.

6.5. Aalyi

We have chosen this school because we have visited it in our Leadership Academy

research project as a case study or leadership or learning.As regards the uture direction o the school and its vision, several members o stareport that the vision and ideas do not only come rom the school leaders but that the

whole school is involved in nding a common direction. Interviewees have mentionedthat the school puts various projects into practice, which they see as an indication o

putting visionary ideas into practice, which is not a typical way o organizing teachingand learning in Austrian schools.

It is also remarkable that the school has a strong orientation towards the schoolpartners: Te close relationship between school, community, clubs, or example,becomes visible in projects aimed at recycling and health education.


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Almost all interviewees rom outside the school have mentioned that teachers at theschool show a high level o commitment in their work, which gives the place a highreputation.

Te school leader is characterized by her strong personal commitment and herindividual drive. Tey also mention her intense ambition or high perormance viacontacts, the excellent communicative climate and the amicable relationship amongteachers.

According to data emerging rom questionnaires, which do not refect such a highrating in actual results and inormation based on the heads sel assessment, she doesnot seem to have ully achieved her goals o putting those ambitious aims into practice,objectives such as mobilizing her teaching orce to the extent she was hoping to. Tisalso becomes apparent in the issue o building up an organizational inrastructure,

where questionnaire answers do not give her the sort o high credits that she is givenin other areas. Questionnaire data seems to highlight that the school leader aims atinstalling team work more intensively and that she is determined to give the structuralaspect o her work higher priority.

Te head hersel uses her competence to accept individuality and appreciateheterogeneity a relative high rating, which can be put down to the act that the shesees individual learning and individual support as a central educational challenge.

Working conditions are characterized by a relatively strong awareness oachievement and by a particularly good atmosphere, e.g. the sta room with its livingroom ambience.

Parents and community representatives also mention and document the act thatthe school head is seen working on the intensication o project-oriented learning.It is primarily her merit that SCL puts an unquestionable emphasis on teaching andlearning. Tis attitude has a high standing in the eyes o the school environmentincluding the school partners.

Te interview results by the parents show that the school leader shows characterstrength by walking the walk, by always being available or her sta and studentsand by her personal commitment. eachers and students do not seem to assess this

personality traits in the same way, which is attributable to the act that her personalcare is now seen as standard practice by many at the school.

6.6. Cclui

Te interviews and observations at the school give the impression o a school whichhas successully put leadership or learning into practice. Te school leader has astrong vision shared by most sta members. Te parents and the community standbehind the school and its sta. Tey eel that their children undergo the experience oencountering personalised learning, that they are taken seriously by their teachers andthat they also get the necessary support or learning.

Te school leader is not a charismatic leader in a traditional sense, she is more oan orchestrator o activities working behind the scenes, opening up opportunities,using relationships as a driving orce or enhancing commitment and thus creatingan atmosphere o warmth and excellent communication. Although she realizes herleadership ideas mostly via dialogue with individuals, she successully engendersorganizational capability, due mostly to the demonstration o her personalityeatures.Te strengths o the school community lies in its strong working relationships, which can besummarised by the ollowing characteristics: most members o sta eel connected to each other, openness, trust and condence characterize the interaction inside and outside the

school, continuity o leadership and sta, ormal and inormal leaders have a strong working relationship.


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7. ReFeRenCesSchley, W. & Schratz, M. (2004). Ergebnisorientierte Fhrungsverantwortung alsAntwort au PISA. In Lernende Schule (Schulleiterbeilage), 7(8), pp. S -.Schratz, M. (2007). Leading and Learning: Odd Couple or Powerul Match? InLeading & Managing (7) , S. -5.Schratz, M. (orthcoming). Leading and learning as a trans-cultural experience:A visual account. In: International Journal o Leadership in Education.Schratz, M., Pisek, R. & Wopner, G. (2002). Verndertes AugabenprolSchulleitung.

Wien: BMBWK (mimeo).

. Carpe Vitam is an international research and development project unded or three years untilDecember 5 by the Wallenberg Foundation in Sweden, with urther nancial support romparticipating countries. Te project is directed rom the University o Cambridge by John MacBeath,and co-directed by David Frost and Sue Swaeld. eam leaders in other countries are: George Bagakis(University o Patras, Greece), Neil Dempster (Grith University, Brisbane), David Green (Centre orEvidence Based Education, renton, New Jersey), Lej Moos (Danish University o Education), JorunnMller (University o Oslo, Norway), Bradley Portin (University o Washington) and Michael Schratz(University o Innsbruck, Austria).. Te Educational and eaching asks, i.e. the learning/teaching aims as well the contents o theindividual modules are classied respectively.

Dr. Lka slvikv Ph.D.Faculty o Education, Charles University o Prague

Mgr. elika KkvNational Pedagogical Institute or Further Education

Mgr. eva KclikvNational Pedagogical Institute or Further Education

Country Report and Case Studies CZECH REPUBLIC


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tABLe oF Contents

1. He ConteXt AnD KeY IssUes oF sCHooLLeADeRsHIP DeVeLoPMent 41

.. Te role o leadership management development in national educationdevelopment strategies

.. National educational programmes aiming at leadership/ managementdevelopment

.. Te role o improving learning as a strategic g oal in national educationstrategy documents 6

.. Proessional association or school leaders 7

2. tHe CHAnGInG RoLe oF sCHooL LeADeRs InCentRAL eURoPeAn CoUntRIes 47

.. Legal ramework 7.. Te competences o school leaders 8.. Appointment o school leaders 9.. Qualication o school leaders 9.5. Sharing leadership unctions 5.6. School-level strategy making 5

3. APPRoACHes to LeADeRsHIP DeVeLoPMent 51.. Responsibility or leadership development and educational management,

training and leadership management training programmes 5

4. CAse stUDY 1: BAsIC sCHooL teResn 52.. School characteristics and relationship with the local community 5.. School leadership 5

.. eachers and their participation in management, leadership and change enorcement 5.. Obstacles to management and learning 5.5. School educational programme analysis prorities 5

5. CAse stUDY 2: nAtIonAL DeVeLoPMent PRoGRAMMe 555.. Background 555.. arget Group 555.. Content 555.. Aim 56

1. tHe ConteXt AnD KeY IssUes oF sCHooL LeADeRsHIPDeVeLoPMent

oday the Czech school system is acing many challenges and changes which requirenew attitudes and new competencies rom headmasters and teachers alike.

Te Czech school system has undergone gradual reorms since . Powers havebeen shied to lower levels o administration. Te powers and responsibilities oschool heads have increased with the introduction o the concept o legal entity. TeSchool Act sets out the rights and responsibilities o individual partners in the newdecentralised and participative system, dening, at the same time, their roles.

Te role o the state is to speciy rules o the game, strategic goals and the generaldirection o development, to create conditions in the economic area as well as supportsystems, to establish the main principles o indirect management (curricular policy,evaluation, nancing, support or school and teacher activities) and to exert permanent

pressure or these common goals to be achieved. Te role o regional government andlocal municipalities is to assert authentic local interests and to assume responsibilityor the establishment, eciency and unctioning o the school network. Te role oschools is to exercise their proessional responsibility in putting into practise education-related goals that they set or themselves within the ramework o government decrees.Cooperation between public administration and sel-governing bodies as well as

participation by the society as a whole is needed at all levels.A number o undamental changes in the creation o the curriculum are also

brought into eect by the School Act. It introduces a system o multi-level educationalprogrammes. Te highest level within the system is represented by the StateEducational Programme, which is issued by the Ministry o School, Youth and Sports.Tis document outlines the core principles o the curricular policy o the state along

with its generally binding requirements. Te lower level o curricular documents, theramework o educational programmes (produced or all school levels), are also issuedcentrally, and they speciy general requirements while also dening a ramework orthe design o learning-related planning.

School Educational Programmes constitute the lowest level within the system.Te schools are to produce this curricular document independently. Every schoolneeds to assert its own curricular priorities, areas which are thought to be o crucialimportance to them. eachers are to opt or their own approaches and methods onhow to teach the students. eachers oer students not only actual knowledge, theirresponsibility is also to provide them with a systematic and balanced structure o basic


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concepts and relations that make possible the use o inormation in a meaningulcontext o knowledge and lie experience. A balance between knowledge, skills andthe acquisition o attitudes and values is very important. Te emphasis is put on theacquisition o key competencies; education has a new orientation, i.e. children are tolearn how to acquire knowledge, how to act and live together, how to solve problems,how to exist in society, while a system o values based on quality is also a key issuehere.

eachers need to cooperate more closely with each other; they need to discuss andexamine the curriculum o the subjects they teach. Te stress is put on the developmento integrated and linked curricular content, where new orms o tuition (e.g. projectteaching) need to be applied. In all school subjects, a number o new topics suchas European integration, multicultural education, environmental education and

education or a healthy lie style, emerge across the curriculum.School principals need to take on board all these changes as they have, by now,

become managers whose job it is to address issues on their economic and personnelagenda (sta recruitment, supervision, perormance evaluation and development),strategic planning, organizational development, data management and public relations.Headmasters are seen as representatives liasing with parents, school council, variousestablishments and diverse bodies o state control.

School headmasters are also leaders who motivate people and are in charge oteaching sta, individuals who orm new strategies and visions. Principals, thereore,have to solve a variety o problems, many o which are new to them. In order toobtain good results or all the reorms currently underway in Czech schools, it willbe necessary to have competent headmasters in the schools individuals who are notonly good managers but also good leaders.

1.1. T rl ladrhip maagm dvlpm i aial ducaidvlpm ragi

Te necessity o the deelopment o leade rship management is mentioned in all importantnational educational strategies:

a) Te National Programme or the Development o Education (Te White Paper)was adopted by the Czech Government on February 7th, (GovernmentDecree No. ). Tis do cument embraces training or managerial sta as the wayorward. Managerial sta at schools must have a clear idea o what they wish to

achieve and how they are planning to do it, given the particular circumstances o aparticular school. Tey should be aware o the act that no undamental change canbe eected unless they include committed teachers in the decision-making process.Tey must be prepared or situations where their colleagues will not necessarilyunderstand their intentions, or, worse still, will oppose them, and they must knowhow to handle them. Tereore, the training o managerial sta in the educationsector must become a priority within the system o teacher training, organized bythe Ministry o Education, Youth and Sports.

b) School Act, Act o Educational Sta criteria or the system o headteachercareer.

c) 6 MEYS standards, modules, obligatory content, system o accreditation.

1.2. naial ducaial prgramm aimig a ladrhip/maagmdvlpm

a)Compulsory management deelopment training, Positional raining I (PI), ormanagerial sta at schools and school-type acilities is designed or headteachers whohave been appointed to their position quite recently or are to assume this positionnow; or deputy headteachers or candidates who want to submit their bids to aselection procedure or a managerial position at a school or school-type acility. Tistraining course should make the participants suciently amiliar with basic educationand labour law and with school nance and unding issues in order to be capable orunning an educational institution.

Te training course encompasses 6 hours o instruction, 6 hours o participantssel-study, and a our-day study visit to another school. Te training course is to becompleted via a practically-oriented rst examination taken beore an examining

board, appointed by the Ministry o Education, Youth and Sports. Aer passingthis exam, successul course participants will be awarded a certicate. Te scope othe management development training, Positional raining I, is conceived in such amanner that it should prevent a school manager who has successully completed thetraining rom making blunders in the areas covered. Te training course also oersmanagerial sta at schools and school-type acilities a chance to network, which is animportant actor in mutual support and assistance. Te scope o P I is based on thekey proessional competences o managerial sta at schools and school-type acilitiesas well as on the specication o responsibilities ollowing on rom the provisions othe School Act.


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Te training programme is structured into 4 modules:. Legal undamentals. Labour law. School nancing. Organization o school-related and educational processes

b)Positional raining II (P II) or managerial sta at schools and school-typeacilities is designed or managerial sta who have held this position or 5 years ormore, headteachers who wish to strengthen their proessional competence andother sta determined to gain a better insight into school management issues. Tistraining course should provide participants with a more in-depth type o theoreticalbackground and related practical skills needed or the ecient management and

development o schools in line with the needs o the local community and theregion based on cutting-edge trends in education science and psychology, as wellas the school management segments o science, law and economy. Aer nishing thistraining course, the school manager will be assumed to have the competence needed tocreate a school strategy, to be capable o guaranteeing the high educational standardsexpected and also o contributing to the continuous improvement o the educational

process.He/she should also be able to secure equal opportunities or everybody and be

responsible or an eective and ecient use o all resources so that the school willbe able to meet its targets. Day-to-day school management, organization andadministration, avourable public relations aimed at the parents, municipality, regionand social partners etc. should also be within his/her grasp.

P II prepares trainees or managerial perormance at schools and school-typeacilities while oering them training in the eld o state and public administrationat a level considerably higher than P I. Te training course creates the preconditions

or gaining knowledge, skills and competencies necessary or proessional schoolmanagement capable o keeping up with changes in the system o management,state administration and sel-government. Te training should give the participantsnot only an in-depth understanding o school management issues, but also goodleadership, managerial and personal skills and competencies to cover all areas otheir proessional responsibilities. Te training course uses a number o dierent

practical training methods while reinorcing the Leadership and Education ProcessManagement modules in order to create stimuli or sel-assessment, development oemotional intelligence areas and social skills. Structured into 6 modules, the trainingcourse is scheduled or a -year period and is composed o a total o 6 hours o

combined training. Tis orm o training allows or a number o special needs to betaken into account, and to be determined mainly by the position and employmentrelationships o trainees. Not only do training patterns allow the proessional and

personal experience o trainees to be exploited, but they also create preconditions ora complex interlinking o theory and practice to a higher extent than is possible in acourse based on classroom teaching. Te training course will be wrapped up by theso-called nd management development exam beore an examining board. Onceagain, a trainee who has successully completed the training course will be awarded acerticate.

Te training programme is structured into 6 basic modules. Tese 6 componentsare compulsory and course participants are strongly advised to attend the practical

workshops.

Core modules:Module : School management theoretical and practicalModule : LawModule : Economy and nancial managementModule : Educational process control and managementModule 5: LeadershipModule 6: Managerial practicec)Further in-serice training o managerial stain the educational sector encompassesall types o managerial sta training except positional training and advanced study. Itserves to extend and/or deepen a managers knowledge and skills in various areas, and,as a rule, takes into account his or her current needs. Tis type o training providestrainees with the kind o knowledge and skills they need within the context o a schooland its agenda or uture plans, something that trainees have had no opportunity o

obtaining within the ramework o positional training or advanced study.Te content o training courses is not directly reviewed by the Ministry o Education,and it can cover a variety o problems. Additional advanced training options oeredor managerial sta in the highly diversied educational sector is provided by variousinstitutions: advanced study acilities, universities, secondary schools o education,oundations and companies. Positional raining I is organized by centrally supervisededucational centres unctioning under the administrative control o the Ministry oEducation. Specialists at the Ministry have trained instructors or individual modules,and evaluation tools have been developed or the assessment o both trainers andstudy-scope contents through a pilot project. Positional raining II has been tested


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by the Educational Management Centre and the Faculty o Education at the CharlesUniversity in Prague through a pilot project composed o combined learning as wellas distance learning, and the project is now ready or implementation at universitylevel.

We conclude rom our experience with the proposed Positional raining I andII that this is the most comprehensive orm o school management training in theCzech Republic. Tanks to their top-level trainers, students gain access to up-to-dateinormation and are able to make contact with leading lecturers in their local regions.From an organizational point o view, the training course is easily accessible since themajority (9 percent) o courses are launched regionally.

1.3. T rl imprvig larig a a ragic gal i aial ducairagy dcum

Te development o learning appears in the ollowing documents, aimed at a nationaleducation strategy, as a goal o strategic importance:

Te National Programme or the Development o Education (Te White Paper)

Strategy o Lielong Learning Education (Ministry o Education) School National Standards or Kindergartens, Basic and Secondary Schools

Framework Educational Programme School Educational Programme

According to the National Programme or the Development o Education, the so-called White Paper a crucial curricular document the changes which Czechschools are currently acing are putting new requirements on schools and teachers,

not only in terms o new proessional and personal qualities

leadership tankonyv 2009 2

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