seminar seven - deutsche gesellschaft für internationale · pdf file ·...

Seminar SevenincluSive

leaderShipSeminar seven addresses some aspects of school directors professional practice. It directly addresses standards 1, 2 and 6, through the following themes:

- Leadership

Inclusion – Programming for Special Needs

The Role of Technology in Learning

Teacher Development

Mentoring teachers

- Ethics for school directors

Standard2: Quality of Teaching and Learning

Standard 1: Leadership and Motivation

Standard 6: Profe-sional Ethics

acknowledgement:

The EU funded IPA 2009 “Teacher Training and Capacity Building of School Directors” project (implemented by a consortium led by GIZ IS) is grateful to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for the use of its School Director Training Programme (2012) and to the authors and coordinators of the School Director Training Programme: Dr. Hermann Scheiring, Carmen Mattheis, Selim Mehmeti, Vesel Hoda and Sokol Elshani. All content within this seminar, except the first section “Change”, is from Module 1 of the GIZ Programme. All new and updated material is designed to address the expectations contained in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(MEST’s) Administrative Instruction, “Standards for Professional Practice of School Directors”. This seminar is part of the updated training programme for school directors. The updated seminars will address these Standards both in content and practical implementation.

This seminar was based on the GIZ School Director Training Program (accredited by MEST on 10.02.2012 with official number 45/12 from the certified protocol of the Office for Accreditation) and updated on behalf of the GIZ International Services for the EU funded “Teacher Training and Capacity Building of School Directors” project by Selim Mehmeti, Osman Buleshkaj and David Lynn. These experts selected, integrated, revised and edited school management and administration training material from GIZ, MEST, EU Sector Wide Approach in Education project, USAID-Basic Education Project andKosovo Educator Development Programme (KEDP) to produce a comprehensive updated material.

diSclaimer:

This report has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

project deScription:

The “Teacher Training and Capacity Building for School Directors in Kosovo” is a project funded by the EU through IPA 2009 and managed by the EU Office in Kosovo. The project is implemented on behalf of MEST by a consortium led by GIZ International Services (GIZ IS) (including also Swisscontact and IP-consult). This project includes five components: (i) establishment and implementation of an effective and sustainable training system and establishment of a training programme; (ii) Capacity building of higher education public institutions in providing quality teacher training; (iii) Capacity building at municipal level and capacity building of municipal education directors; (iv) Capacity building of school directors; and (v) Information, Communication and Dissemination.

Development of this seminar and updated training material was a joint initiative of MEST and the project “Teacher Training and Capacity Building for School Directors in Kosovo” with the support of EU and GIZ IS as implementing partner.

contentS

1. introduction......................................................................................................................................................... 61.1. Purpose................................................................................................................................................................. 61.2. Expected Performance ................................................................................................................................... 7

2. leadership............................................................................................................................................................ 72.1. The Basics of Leadership ............................................................................................................................... 82.1.1. School Director’s Main Leadership & Management Responsibilities ....................................... 9

3.teacher development through mentoring – what’s in it for directors? ................................ 103.1. Mentoring & the School Director’s Role................................................................................................. 113.1.1. Mentoring in Kosovo requires Scaffolding........................................................................................ 113.1.2. Mentoring Process........................................................................................................................................ 123.1.3. Ten Tips for a Successful Mentor/Mentee Relationship ................................................................... 163.2. Plan of Action to Mentor in your School .................................................................................................. 17

4. inclusive education ..................................................................................................................................... 184.1. The role and meaning of inclusion .................................................................................................... 194.2. Understanding the concept of Disadvantage Groups ..................................................................... 194.3. Building awareness about discriminatory aspects of education ............................................ 204.4. Approaches to Inclusion............................................................................................................................. 214.4.1. Specific Strategies for including Girls and Young Women......................................................... 214.5. Specific Strategies for including Students with Special Educational Needs ........................ 234.6. Additional resources and activities to support school based inclusive practices .................. 24

5. the role of technology in learning & School operations ............................................................. 265.1. Role of school director in support of teachers in ICT use in teaching and learning .............. 265.2. School staff professional development for ICT use......................................................................... 275.3. Use of technology and school management ....................................................................................... 28

6. ethical leadership .......................................................................................................................................... 29Ethical Frameworks – Schools of Ethical Thought....................................................................................... 30

7. program Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 33

Glossary ...................................................................................................................................................................... 36References ................................................................................................................................................................. 37Annex A: Pre-observation Guide ..................................................................................................................... 38

Annex B: Post-Observation Conference ........................................................................................................ 39

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Seminar Seven - incluSive leaderShip

1. introductionThe underlying themesto this entire introductory training program have been about change and school quality. Research into effective schools has consistently determined that, over the past thirty years, the key to school quality is the leadership and management of the school director - the most pivotal one in the education system. This seminar looks at leadership one more time; at mentoring which is a special way to work with teachers, at programming for special needs students because this can be the most significant inclusion challenge, at technology in learning and finally the importance of ethical leadership practice. The seminar concludes by identifying “what’s new” in Kosovo’s educational system; all of which impacts on school and school directors.

1.1. Purpose

Kosovo is facing significant changes. First among these is the change to the Kosovo curriculum (KCF) which has a significant impact on the work of and expectations for directors.

The first concern of a school director is the quality of the teaching staff. Without good teachers a good school is not possible. The director needs to lead and support the teaching staff through the process of learning, understanding and implementing new curricula. It means learning how to lead change, to supervise and mentor teachers and being able, with teachers, to develop a school based professional development plan and program. Further, all of this ties in with the implementation of the new teacher licensing system. There is much to learn and even more to do.

Every school needs a boss, someone with ultimate authority and responsibility. But few schools need someone who is bossy! What schools need today is a coach; someone to guide them through an intense change process. This provides an opportunity for shared learning with teachers. Without being a subject expert school directors in other countries have learned to mentor teachers and extend their own knowledge in the process. This is now an expectation for school directors in Kosovo.

Teachers today are expected to respond to an array of student needs. Inclusion is a major policy initiative of MEST. It is one thing to welcome all students within a school; it can be another thing to care for their educational needs. ‘Programming for Special Needs Students’ is the topic of one lesson within this seminar.

MEST has made a significant investment in supporting teachers to get their computer driver’s license (ECDL). There are two reasons for this: technology makes school recordkeeping, managing and reporting more efficient. It is a form of communication that is in increasing use. Most importantly, it is becoming a major tool for learning; hence, the seminar provides a lesson on the role of technology in learning.

Finally a vital aspect of leadership is ethics. People will not follow a titular leader1 for long if they judge the individual’s character to be flawed, especially ethically flawed. People will tolerate those whose character is not respected but they will not respond to the person’s leadership with enthusiasm or commitment – a quality school is dependent on the leadership skills, management skills and the character of the titular leader.

Change is the first theme of this training program; it is also the last. What is changing? For what do directors have to be prepared? These are summarized at the seminar’s conclusion

1 A titular leader is a person who has a position of authority identified by a title. Not all titular leaders actually lead.

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1.2. Expected PerformanceParticipants are expected to achieve the following results in respect to ‘knowledge:’

Participants are expected to develop the following ‘skills:’

2. leadershipWhat does ‘leading’ mean? Does having a title mean that leadership will take place? Leaders are change agents. The result of their work can be seen in the improvements and positive differences in the institutions for which they are responsible.

Most leaders are not naturals at it. Fredmund Malik2, tells us that being a leader is a job like an architect. The primary capacity is an ability to work with people to achieve a common purpose. Leadership can be learned – and to be more than a ‘titular leader’ the‘leader’ should learn how to do it well. Leadership needs exercise and practice. It is based on purpose; good leaders base their practice on knowledge and skill directed at having members of a schoolcommunity achieve the school’s mandate to a level of high quality. To become a pilot one learns to fly a plane; leadership is no different. No one wants to fly with an untrained pilot!

Leaders manage but this is only one part of their role. Leadership is more than managing.Leaders are learners who bring people together so that what is accomplished by the whole is greater than any one member of an organization can accomplish. The qualities include being a visionary (having a sense that the school can be better than what it is), a coach, a developer of team processes, a tactician, a communicator, a competent manager and more.

Typical tasks for leaders and include:- Engaging school stakeholders in establishing goals and objectives for the school; Delegating

tasks and responsibilities;- Making decisions for the school and knowing when to engage others in the decision making

process;

2 Malik, Fredmund (2001): Führen, Leisten, Leben. Wirksames Management für eine neue Zeit. Heyne Business.

• understand the key aspects of personnel management and professional development

• understand the concepts and principles of practice for coaching/mentoring teachers.

• Become aware of the resources available to a school to support programming of special needs students.nxënësve me nevoja të veçanta.

• appreciate the potential for technology to be a factor in developing the competences of students

• understand ethics at a basic level and the role it plays in leadership and relationships.

• monitoring personnel performance and determine quality situation of personnel• teacher assessment in the context of teacher licensing • coaching teacher colleagues• planning professional development programs

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- Communicating and keeping colleagues informed respecting important developments that affect the school;

- Motivating and supporting colleagues;- Organizing and leading meetings - Moderating conflicts between different parties or groups- Being a continuous learner respecting leadership; especially leadership in education- Being visible throughout the school in order to be available to staff and to know what is taking

place.

2.1. The Basics of LeadershipThe chart that follows describes four styles of leadership with the advantages and disadvan-tages of each. A practiced leader will use different styles to suit different situations. This is called ‘situational leadership.’

advantages disadvantages

authoritarian (autocratic), Helpful and necessary in emergency situations

Emotional and social competences are less importantNo personal developmentNo development in staff of self-responsibility and building self-confidence

collegial

Staff can do a lot in self-directingCareful with staffHelpful for new or unsteady teachers

Not goal oriented (unfocused)Tasks are less important

co-operative

Task and personally orientedGoal orientedSetting of prioritiesValuable culture

Long discussionsDecisions need time

laissez-faire (free rein style) good and necessary for experienced of colleagues

No controlling, rules are in the centre, climate of school becomes less importance

activity one:1. Please think about the different leadership styles and about their advantages and disadvan-

tages. Which kind of leadership would be preferred by your staff? Which one by your pupils and which one by their parents?

2. Check your own style of leadership. What kind of leadership is similar to your own leadership style? Please talk about this with a person who knows you as a leader and gives you honest feedback.

3. What do you want to change in future - and what do you want to reinforce, based on all the feedback you get from other people?

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It is also important to realize one’s own strengths and weaknesses.

activity two:

1. Please make a list with all your competences and strengths and all your weaknesses.

2. Which element of your strengths and competences do you want to reinforce?

3. Which element of your weaknesses do you want to reduce or change into a strength?

Because everybody has a subjective view of his/her own behaviour it is very helpful to get real, trustful and honest feedback from somebody else, who knows your behaviour at work. That could be a good friend, a team partner or a colleague.

Getting honest feedback from other people like teachers, pupils or parents is necessary for leadership. But sometimes it is a long and difficult road to build a culture of feedback, an atmosphere of trust and honesty with professionalism in communication. It is important to attend to how you communicate and what you do to build trust and openness within your school (Seminar 4).Know yourself. Retain your strengths and use them to build additional leadership capacities.

2.1.1. School director’s main leadership & management responsibilities

The quality of the educational system depends on the quality of each school’s performance. High standards are achieved and maintained through the interaction among the director, teachers, pupils, parents and the wider community. To attain the best results for the school, it is imperative for the director to work in a team.

The MEST lists the responsibilities of a school director in laws and Administrative Instructions.

The most important ones are:

- To lead the school and encourage innovation;

- To constantly improve the standards of quality education;

- To provide equal education opportunities for everyone, with a special focus on girls, minorities, and children with special needs;

- To create a positive environment in order to achieve mutual respect, effective and valuable work and a feeling of responsibility between all relevant actors;

- To be the first representative of the school and to represent the school values towards the community and other institutions and bodies;

- To ensure that the school data entry is always accurate and reliable;

- To base decisions on school data / Education Management Information System (EMIS) data;

- To manage effectively the finances and other resources of the school to achieve the best results possible;

As school directors have the responsibility of managing and supervising all the processes and activities in a school, it is important to organize this in an effective and efficient way; one way is to work through the delegating tasks.

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activity three: - How can the director do general supervision of the work at school and manage this in the

most efficient and effective way?- How can the director determine duties for others who have special responsibilities?- What are the main principles that must be respected while delegating duties?

discuss these questions from the perspective of your school.

As a school leader you are also responsible for developing leadership from within your teaching staff, students and accepting leadership where you can find it from parents and members of the community. Most schools are too large to lead alone and they are too large for one person to perform all the tasks; hence the topic of delegation.The Supplementary Materials for Seminar 7 contain lessons on delegation which participants are strongly encouraged to read.

3. teacher development through mentoring – what’s in it for directors?In Seminar 2, participants learned about directors’ responsibilities for supervising teachers in association with the teacher licensing system. The place and importance of school based staff professional development was also emphasized. There is a third skill set directors can use to help guide this massive change about to take place with the Kosovo Curriculum Framework and that is through mentoring teachers. You do not have to be a subject expert to coach teachers. And, with today’s change agenda, there is nothing needed more by teachers than a good coach. A coach is a guide who mentors.

School directors must focus on balancing their traditional roles of monitoring and evaluation, and provide more constructive feedback and criticism to encourage teachers to improve their professional practice, hence mentoring.

This section is designed as a reading and support material. The purpose of this section is to provide information about, and help school directors understand, the process of mentoring teachers. They can mentor teachers and support them as they discover the best way to implement the new curriculum. Throughout this section school directors will gain information on leading, acquiring and creating a personal plan of action to mentor teachers in their school. In addition, small group work activities are provided throughout this section to help deepen understanding of the ideas in the text.

Role playing will be used in this lesson so that participants can observe the mentoring process especially using communication skills to provide constructive feedback. Following the training seminar participants will be asked to practice mentoring, both informally and formally in their schools. Seminar facilitator/s together with a senior expert will mentor and coach school directors when they conduct this work at school. They will provide site-based support for directors, evaluate their work and provide constructive feedback so that school directors can create their plan of action to mentor teachers in their schools.

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3.1. Mentoring & the School Director’s RoleSchool directors are responsible for balancing the regulatory needs of the MED and MEST with the individual needs of teachers and students. This places them in the middle of competing demands for resources – mainly time. Good school directors manage their time well and meet both sets of demands. They learn how to communicate the needs of teachers and students to MED and MEST officials as well as how to communicate the needs of MEST and MED back to teachers and students. The needs of teachers cannot be met or communicated if the director does not go into classrooms to work with teachers.

3.1.1. mentoring in kosovo requires Scaffolding

On 29 August 2011, the Minister of Education, Science and Technology signed the Kosovo Curriculum Framework approving it for official use. This Framework had the effect of shifting the national curriculum from a Learning Objective system to a Competencies or Learning Outcome system. Teaching in this new way will involve different approaches based on practical knowledge. Inclusion will be implemented in all classrooms and teachers will focus on links between theoretical and practical knowledge. Teachers will use student centered strategies and new technologies.

In addition, seven Curriculum areas were named within the Curriculum Framework that now defines new specializations for teachers in the future. They are: Languages and Communication, Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Society and Environment, Health and Wellbeing, and Life and Work.

Assessment of achievement and learning will be integrated into teaching and learning processes implementing continuous daily and random approaches while using multiple data sources. Therefore assessment for learning will be used primarily as tool to provide students guidance and feedback on what they have learned and how to adjust to learn more. On the other hand, assessment of learning will provide teachers with feedback so they can adjust teaching strategies. Directors need to understand the processes of assessment and guide teachers respecting the appropriate uses different forms of assessment.

Supporting teachers with changes to curriculum and assessment needs to happen through ‘strategically structured support.’ This is called scaffolding.

Scaffolding or strategically-structured support is a learning resource designed to promote deeper learning. The support is given during the learning process which is designed to meet individual needs of students with the intention of helping them achieve their learning goals.

In such as context, teachers provide sufficient support to promote learning when concepts and skills are being first introduced to students. The support may include the following:

•• Strategic learning activities

•• Learning resources

activity Four:

Discus how would a supportive system look like that is strategically structured in Kosovo in function of implementing curricular changes in teaching and learning.

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•• A compelling task

•• Templates and guides

•• Guidance on the development of cognitive and social skills

The strategically-structured support is used in various contexts:

•• Facilitating learning activities

•• Modeling a task

•• Giving advice

•• Providing coaching or mentoring.

These supports are gradually removed as students develop autonomous learning strategies, thus promoting their own cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning skills and knowledge. Teachers help students master a task or a concept by providing support. The support can take many forms such as outlines, recommended readings, storyboards, or key questions.

School directors need to focus on providing teachers opportunities rather than experiences of success or powerless. It is said “Give people a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach people to fish and you feed them for a life time.” School directors who provide answers or solutions for teachers enable them to be successful and consequently they may experience honor in that they achieve levels of performance expected in society. However they may become dependent upon continued support of school directors and never learn how to fish.

3.1.2. mentoring process

In the context of teacher professional practice, teacher mentoring usually involves classroom observation. However mentoring should not be strictly limited to issues around classroom observation. Mentoring can also be a professional dialogue between the two colleagues (or a director and a teacher) aimed at identifying potential solutions to professional practice difficulties.

In the context of mentoring which involves classroom observation, mentoring is aimed at enhancing methodological skills of teacher. Classroom observation is linked with a pre-observation conference and a post-observation conference.

3.1.2.1. Pre-observation conference

In order to serve as an effective observer of the teaching behaviour of another person, you must first carefully examine your beliefs about effective teaching and learning. Before the observing, you might ask yourself the following questions:•• What do I think is essential in the classroom process for learning to occur?•• Are my beliefs and expectations consistent the Kosovo’s Standards of Professional Practice for

Teachers?•• Is there anything distinctive about this particular subject or these students that might alter the

usual process of learning? •• When I say effective teaching, what standards am I using to determine effectiveness, e.g.,

student learning, a set of teaching behaviours, student enjoyment, etc.?

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A pre-observation conference begins the process of collaboration. As in any classroom observation context, the mentor and mentee will need to discuss and agree upon the purpose of the observation. What questions would the teacher like to answer? What does the teacher want the mentor to especially observe? Are there others (questions) the mentor might want to add3? What special interests, fears, and beliefs does the teacher have?Critical decisions need to be made during the pre-observation conference:(1) when and where to observe,(2) what features of the classroom on which to focus,(3) what methods to use in collecting data,(4) how to introduce the observer to the students,(5) how the data will be analyzed, and(6) who will have access to the results of the observation (in a mentoring context the data remains

strictly with the mentor and mentee).

In each of these decisions, the teacher is an active participant. The greater the role the teacher plays in making these decisions, the more valid the data collected will appear to him or her.

3.1.2.2. Observation

An important feature of the collaborative approach to classroom observation is the collection of descriptive – as opposed to evaluative – data which you and the teacher can analyze together as you seek to answer the questions posed during the pre-observation conference.

Descriptive data provide an account of classroom behaviour and interaction without making an effort to judge these events as good or bad, right or wrong, effective or ineffective. Description represents, in as far as possible, a neutral stance on the part of the observer. It avoids pejorative language and inferences. Judgments that are eventually made will be reached in collaboration with the teacher.

Observations can be collected in any number of ways and numerous observation instruments and methods are described in the literature. A general approach is to use a narrative system in which the observer attempts to record as much as possible of the verbal and nonverbal behaviours of the teacher and the students during the class period.

Whatever system is chosen, the major criteria should be that the approach provides for the fullest description possible of the classroom events under study with the least amount of observer inference and judgment required.

3.1.2.3. Post-observation conference

The post-observation conference is the final step of the mentoring/observation cycle. During this conference, data requested by the mentee is presented as is your feedback based on the data and discussed as a means of assisting the teacher to reflect on his/her practice and identify possible next steps to help achieving his/her overall goal.

3 Mentors need to be sensitive to inserting their learning agenda into the process. It is best included once a positive construc-tive relationship has been built with the mentee.

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The first post-observation conference with your mentee may make the teacher feel a little anxious, depending on how well the teacher feels the observation session went. Even if the session went well, the presentation of data by a colleague/mentor may make him/her feel they are being assessed. Reiterating that your role is to support his/her professional growth and that mentoring is a confidential partnership between mentor and mentee may help him/her feel at ease and more open to a professional conversation.

The presentation of what you observed provides you with an objective basis from which to guide the teacher to look back over his/her lesson and reflect on what worked, what might need improving, alternative strategies that could have been used and issues like that. It could also be used to identify possible strategies and approaches to try in the future and further skills and understandings that could be developed. Prefacing your questions with “I heard…”, “I saw…”, “I noticed…” is a helpful technique to ensure you bring the teacher back to the data that was collected – evidence of his/her practice – and use this as a starting point from which to develop new understanding and move to the next stage.

The final stage of the post-observation conference is to revisit the mentoring plan and agree on next steps.

3.1.2.4. Active Listening

Feedback is at the heart of active listening. To be effective, each of the following steps must be taken:•• Look at the person and suspend other things you are doing.•• Listen not merely to the words but the feelingsexpressed.•• Be sincerely interested in what the other person is talking about.•• Restate what the person said.•• Ask clarification questions once in a while.•• Be aware of your own feelings and strong opinions.•• If you have to state your views, say them only after you have listened, clarified and make sure

you thoroughly understand the person’s views.

Behaviours that reflect these steps include:•• Looking at the person and not doing other things with your hands etc•• Demonstrating empathy to feelings expressed through non-verbal behaviour•• Responding to person’s meta-messages (underlying meaning of a message)•• Paraphrasing person’s intended messages•• Asking for clarification to avoid making assumptions about what is meant•• Stating you views only after you are certain what the views of others are.

3.1.2.5. Giving feedbackwhen mentoring

Below is an elaboration of alternative ways of giving feedback. It is adopted from http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/resources/peer/instruments/index.html to illustrate how a mentor ap-

activity Five:

Look at ANNEX B, what do you think of the post-observation conference?

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proach to giving feedback determines or is determined by the approach and beliefs of the per-son giving the feedback. The feedback we give will determine whether we are achieving the end result – helping the mentee. In fact, sometimes we will have counter-effects if we employ the wrong approach to giving feedback.

opinion deScription

"I noticed that most of your questions called for factual responses."

"These are some of the questions you asked. What were you trying to achieve by asking these questions? Do you think the questions accomplished your objective?"

“You presented the assignment in a confusing way.”

“I noticed that the students had a lot of questions about…What do you think the problem was?”

“You give nice examples.” “These examples (list) helped me to understand the concept you were explaining.”

“Only a few students participated in the discussion you led. Why do you think that is?”

“This was such a wonderful sequence of questions that you asked, that I’d like to explore some ways to get more students involved in the conversation and thinking about the issues you raised.”

“Not many students responded.”

“Four students responded to questions in this section. The boy in the green sweater in the front row responded to 5 questions, half of all who responded.”

“You’ve made a lot of progress since I last observed your class. Well done!”

“I noticed that compared to the last time I observed your class, you have decided to try to wait longer after asking a thought-provoking question. It seemed to me the students have responded to this and your class discussions are less focused on you as the ‘all-knowing instructor’. Well done! How do you feel about this change?”

“In my class, I have done…” I know someone who tried…”

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“I don’t think your concern about (concern X) is important.”

“I hear you saying you are concerned about (concern X). Why is that? How do you see that issue affecting the class?”

“Why haven’t you tried…?” “Have you considered trying…? How do you think that would work in this class?”

“Yes, we all have that problem. There’s not much you can do.” [In response to hearing the mentee cite a constraint such as time or pre-determined curriculum as preventing them from trying a different teaching style]

“Lack of time is a common problem. I agree with you that it would be worthwhile to try to incorporate this method. Let’s brainstorm ways to work around this constraint…”

3.1.3. ten tips for a Successful mentor/mentee relationship

1. Set up a meeting schedule that works best for both mentor and mentee. It’s a good idea to avoid lunch and coffee break meetings for it is better to find times when the mentee does not have to give up a routine break time to meet. Ideally, you want to ask teacher to suggest some appropriate times of the month/semester in order to ensure teacher does not feel pushed and pressed.

2. Meetings require a professional and distraction-free setting. The first choice that often comes to the director’s and teacher’s minds is the “staff room”. Understandably enough, the director wants to avoid using her/his office so that teacher does not feel the aspects of power and hierarchy. It is a fact that schools may not have ideal necessary facilities for such meetings. In cases, where schools have staff professional development rooms, resource centers, and other similar professional facilities then those could be used. Alternatively staff rooms, when they are expected to be free or empty classrooms, should be utilized for such meetings.

3. Maintaining regular meetings between mentor and mentee is the best way to keep both parties engaged. Even if there are no urgent items of the agenda, avoid cancelling or putting off the meeting to a later date. Furthermore, mentoring should not be seen as a “one-off activity”, therefore mentors should be conscious to maintain continuity and have the meetings on a more regular basis rather than only when a class is observed.

4. Setup regular meeting dates in advance so both parties have time to fully prepare. Mentoring is not supposed to cause mentees additional stress, or to challenge them. It is meant to provide a comfortable environment where timely issues are discussed with the goal of making the teacher’s work easier and more effective.

5. Aim for quality of meetings, not quantity. Find ways to use your time as efficiently as possible so you can cover the most ground (but don’t rush!).

6. Both the mentor and mentee should make themselves available in between face-to-face meetings for phone and/or email contact when required.

7. Show interest and commitment to the relationship (through actions before words) by arriving at meetings on time and prepared, responding promptly to emails and phone messages and sharing openly and respectfully.

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8. Recognize that building trust requires time and effort from both parties. In school cultures where mentoring has not been applied in its true sense before, school directors can expect that initially teachers might show hesitation because they misperceive the purpose of mentoring to being evaluative (probably due to the prevailing traditions in the past). Therefore, do not aim to change this relationship from the very first meeting. Take the time it takes!

9. Stay curious and do not be afraid to ask each other questions at meetings.

10. Remember that mentoring is a “two-way street” – be sure that you are both using these meetings as an opportunity to learn! Do not aim to show that you are the expert or professional at any case. Be open and encourage mentee to express views. Recognize the things you may learn from them.

3.2. plan of action to mentor in your SchoolYour task is to begin planning to mentor teachers as part of staff development in your school as a sustained, continuous process. To do this task, you will create an Action Plan to continue mentoring the first teachers you collaborated with during the two week period and to broaden the activity by inviting other teachers to be Mentees.

Action Plans are used whenever you need to plan a small project. To draw up an Action Plan, simply list the tasks that you need to carry out to achieve your objective, in the order that you need to complete them.

Use the three-step process below to help you:

Step 1: identify tasks

Start by brainstorming all of the tasks that you need to complete to accomplish your objective to Mentor teachers, organize practice sessions or simulate teaching scenarios through Role Plays.

It’s helpful to start this process at the very beginning. What’s the very first action you’ll need to take? Once that task is complete, what comes next? Are there any steps that should beprioritizedto meet specific deadlines, or because of limits on other people’s availability?

Step 2: analyze and delegate tasks

Now that you can see the entire project from beginning to end, look at each task in greater detail.

Are there any steps that you could drop, but still meet your objective to Mentor teachers? Which tasks could youdelegateto someone else on your teaching staff? Are there any deadlines for specific steps? Do you need to arrange additional resources like reading materials, trainings?

Step 3: double-check

People/Equipment/Materials/ systemsYou may not need to think about all of these to complete your plan to Mentor teachers. For instance, to streamline the plan, you might only need to think about “People,” “Expertise,” and “Systems.”

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note:

Once you’ve completed your Action Plan, keep it by you as you carry out the work, and update it with additional activities if required.

learning from Your action plan

If you think you’ll be trying to expand your plan to Mentor teachers to more teachers in your school, revise your Action Plan after the work is complete by making a note of anything that you could have done better. You can also discuss and further revise you plan when you are being mentored and coached by your seminar facilitators.

tipAs you’ll be continuing to mentor teachers, consider turning your Action Plan into a checklist that you progressively refine and improve to make sure that you remember to do everything important for success.

Begin your mentoring process as soon as you can. As a school director you can offer to observe teachers in their class sessions as they experiment with new lesson plans and learning activities that the teacher developed to achieve learning outcomes. You can encourage other teachers to offer to observe their colleagues too. Encourage teachers to link formative assessment strategies with learning activities. Help them explore different formative assessment strategies to deter-mine what students learned and how effective the lesson was. When teachers invite you into their classrooms to observe, plan a pre-observation session (see annex a) so you understand exactly what it is the teacher is asking you to observe, and a post-observation (see annex B) session so you can ask the teacher what went well and what might be changed. If your relation-ship with the teacher is trusting, you might also give positive and constructive feedback to the teacher.

A new Handbook on mentoring teachers is available4. Participants are encouraged to study it and practice the skills.

4. inclusive education

Quality Education is a Human Right and by its nature should be ‘Inclusive. ’For this reason, inclusiveness has to be the basic philosophy of any quality education system.

what is an inclusive education?

Inclusive Education seeks to address the learning needs of ALL children/students with a specific focus on those who are disadvantaged (vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion). It implies that all students are able to learn together through access to all aspects of education.

4 Produced by MEST with support of EU SWAP Education project (2012)

Quality education a human right → gained through understanding discrimination → and employing strategies of inclusion

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4.1. The role and meaning of inclusionIn the Kosovo Curriculum Framework, inclusiveness is understood in its broadest sense to mean any circumstances which impede access to quality education and diversity in its different manifestations:

•• Students who are Girls

•• Students from poor /economically disadvantaged families

•• Students from rural/remote areas

•• Students from minority communities

•• Returnees and Students from Diaspora

•• Students with special educational needs:

o Students with disabilities (physical, visual, hearing, intellectual, developmental)

o Students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

o Students with communication problems

o Students suffering from illnesses or trauma

o Students with learning difficulties

o Students with specific learning difficulties

•• Talented and Gifted Students 4.2. Understanding the concept of Disadvantage GroupsFor both school directors and teachers it is important to understand that there are many words used to refer to those who are in some way excluded from education, such as disadvantaged, vulnerable, marginalised, excluded, minority and non-majority.

The word ‘minority’ in Kosovo is most commonly used to refer to what in other countriesis called ‘ethnic minorities’. While this may seem to some to be an exercise in pedantry, it is important to be clear about who is and who is not included when referring to specific inclusion issues.

The term disadvantaged is used to describe all those who do not have the same advantages as others to access equal or equitable opportunities in education (the term chosen could just as well have been vulnerable or marginalised).

The diagram below attempts to capture how disadvantages are often compounded, with each circle representing roughly the population share of members of that group. Gender (50%) and poverty (40-60%) are the largest, and most likely to adversely affect a child’s chance of getting equitable access to a quality education. ‘Free education’ is not free to those people in poverty , where both ‘direct and indirect’ costs can lead to exclusion from education. When there has to be an economic choice of which child to send to school it is most likely to be a boy. ‘Poverty.’ is one of the most frequently cited reasons for girls being out of school. But it should be remembered it is not poverty alone – it is a gendered decision on the part of the parents.

Those living in isolated and rural areas form the next largest group at 40%.

However, the groups that have received the most attention in Kosovo – minority communities (c. 8-12%) and those with disabilities (up to 10%) – are only a small proportion of the disadvantaged.

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The point of the diagram is to show how the degree of disadvantage is deepened with the overlapping intersections of the various areas of disadvantage. Perhaps the most extreme case in Kosovo would be a girl with severe disabilities from a poor family in the non-Albanian-speaking Roma community living in an isolated rural area. Her chance of getting equitable access to a quality education is slim.

Diagram: Degrees of Disadvantage

S = Special needs / disability

M = Minority group

L = Linguistic minority

Source: Janet Raynor: Including Inclusion: Report on promoting inclusion across all component activities in the EU Education SWAp project July 2010

4.3. Building awareness about discriminatory aspects of educationDirectors and teachers can gain a better understanding if they recognise that one of the problems for disadvantaged groups is that the classroom environment is not welcoming.

For example, an unwelcoming environment has been characterized as a “Chilly Climate” or a Discriminatory Approach (indirect discrimination); both are not usually done on purpose. Instead they happen because we are not aware of the impact of our behaviour as teachers on others. This becomes “Devaluation” where disadvantaged groups are either consciously or unconsciously viewed as less valued or less important persons.

Research supports that when teachers are not aware of this phenomenon they tend to generally: call on disadvantaged group members less; give them less attention, give less critical questioning and feedback, less encouragement and praise, give less non-verbal acknowledgement such as nodding and eye contact; resulting in less help overall for their learning. There is also research that shows disadvantage groups are devalued for their speech, their behaviour and not given the same acknowledgement for their achievements. You can help your teachers understand that

girls and women

isolated rural areas

people living in poverty

m

S

l

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This can result in being seen as:

•• Social Stereotyping - when we do not see ‘first the person’ and too often this results in many unintended negative learning experiences for students from disadvantaged groups.

•• Lowered Expectations - when we ‘categorize’ what we think people will and are suppose to do•• Harassment and Bullying –when we allow teasing, ignoring, acting in a rude or hostile manner.

activity Six: examine your own level of awareness - raising your own and your teacher’s awareness

Use the Checklist below to raise your awareness of reasons why disadvantaged groups may not feel welcome in our schools. Reflect on your own practice and discuss with other directors in your group the factors below:

common errors in assessing a chilly climate/discriminatory approach:

•Assuming that bias and discrimination require a conscious discriminatory ideology or a conscious attempt to discriminate against disadvantage groups women.

•Believing that discrimination is “out there” but not “here” -- that is, that discriminatory bias is in other environments and not in one’s own classroom or school

•Believing that discrimination, though present, is negligible in effect - the problem with this is that a large number of nearly negligible effects all working in the same direction can easily cumulate to very significant aggregate discrimination.

•Believing and not asking yourself whether the discrimination occurs, despite your own beliefs that it is not occurring or that no one intends for it to be occurring.

Source Adapted from: http://www.bernicesandler.com/id4.htm

4.4. Approaches to InclusionThere are many successful strategies to inclusion that you can review and discuss with other directors and your teachers. Remember that the critical importance of creating a welcoming and friendly environment for all students is the key to inclusive education in your school.

4.4.1. Specific Strategies for including girls and Young women

Research supports that boys get more time, attention and quality interaction in classrooms than girls and that there are key differences in Teacher Behaviour between girls and boys.

activity Seven: Look at the below charts and discuss with your partner if the below actions are evident at your school. Then, in the blank column write down actions you think you can undertake to support your teachers to improve their inclusive practice in the classroom.

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teacher practice true or False Support from the school director

The quality of teacher contacts varies between the sexes. This pattern of discriminatory teacher behaviour begins in preschool and continues through Grade 12.

Teachers give more attention, more instructional time to boys.

Boys receive more teacher reactions of praise, criticism and remediation and more precise teacher comments than girls in terms of both school work and conduct.

This pattern occurs, in part, because boys exact more attention from teachers by calling out answers eight times more often than girls’ and teachers typically listen to boys’ comments when they call out but girls are usually corrected. Even when boys do not proffer answers, teachers are more likely to request responses from them.

Teachers ask boys academically related questions about 80% more often than they question girls;

teacher practice true or False Support from the school director

Work and textbook exercises and writing answers to questions generally focus on knowledge and skills in isolation rather than in the context of real-life problem solving –more abstract in nature. Boys tend to favour this approach;

Girls tend to respond more favourably to ideas in context than in isolation, with greater interest on interrelationships with people in real-life situations;

Competitive classroom activities contributed to boys’ mathematics achievement, but were detrimental to girls’ achievement;

Cooperative activities contributed to girls’ acquisition of basic skills and to their achievement on high-level. These cooperative activities do not hinder boys’ attitudes or achievement and they align with more cooperative, integrated and inclusive education practices.

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4.5. Specific Strategies for including Students with Special Educational Needsas a school director you could discuss the following information with your teachers and encourage them to explore the following strategies:

The role and meaning of inclusion is the same for students with Special Educational Needs and/or students with disabilities as it is for other students from disadvantaged groups. It is about more than just giving students access to the curriculum. As a school director you always make sure that your teachers:

•• set suitable learning challenges

•• respond to students’ diverse learning needs and/or disabilities

•• overcome potential barriers to learning and assessment for particular individuals and groups of students

•• Individualize content and aims of learning/teaching through Individual Education Plan (IEP).

Particularly with students with SEN and/or disabilities these principles allow teachers to:

•• choose objectives for students with SEN that are different from those of the rest of the group

•• modify the curriculum to remove barriers so all students meet the same objectives

Planning for students with SEN and/or disabilities should be part of the planning that teachers do for all students, rather than a separate activity. It doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. When reviewing teachers’ annual, monthly and weekly plans, make sure that teachers are not simply writing brief notes in their lesson plans on the learning objectives and approaches they will use to remove barriers for students with SEN and/or disabilities. It is your responsibility to discuss with teachers and ensure that appropriate inclusive classroom activities are planned and implemented.

Teachers should also think about the questions they will ask different groups and individuals and the ways they will check that students understand. Some students with SEN and/or disabilities will show they understand in different ways from their peers (notably children with learning disabilities), so they should look at a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and can do. Your role is to support teachers in doing this.

A very valuable resource in working with students with special educational needs and students with disabilities is working with their parents. They can be of great help in understanding students’ needs, setting objectives, working together as well as assessing the progress. This is another responsibility of the school director that can be shared with and discussed with the School Board, the Parents’ Council and Students’ Council.

activity eight: develop a communication strategy to discuss teacher’s approach to lesson planning to ensure inclusive classroom practice. It could be a letter, a brochure or other form of information material.

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4.6. Additional resources and activities to support school based inclusive practices

resource 1: gender inclusive language – something you should strongly encourage your teachers to do

guidance to eliminate Stereotypes of gender, Special needs

Stereotypes create exclusivity and a sense of hierarchy that places one group of people below others and perpetuate negative social views of children/persons from disadvantage groups. Children/persons from disadvantaged groups are less likely to feel that they belong in the school and classroom and as a result may not be willing to participate and further may reduce their school attendance.

Use of Inclusive Language helps build a welcoming and friendly environment where all students feel valued and are more likely to participate.

Three general principles that reflect inclusivity are:

•• Don’t single out a person’s sex, race, ethnicity, or other personal traits or characteristics (such as sexual orientation, age, or a disability) when it has no direct bearing on the topic at hand. In other words, don’t create or promote stereotype based on unavoidable human characteristics.

•• Be consistent in your description of members of a group: Don’t single out girls and young women to describe their physical beauty, clothes or accessories or note a disabled person’s use of an aid, or refer to the race of the only minority in a group unless it is at that individual’s request.

•• Keep in mind that use of inclusive language is for general cases. Direct requests by individuals take precedence over general rules.

disabilities or Special needs

Unless you must write or describe for a formal report or meeting focused on special needs and disabilities avoid singling out one individual’s disability simply for the sake of identification. Recognize the person first not the disability. In your daily teaching ensure that you:

•• Use neutral language.

•• Avoid using words that imply victimization or create negative stereotypes. E.g., don’t use descriptors such as “victim” or “sufferer” for someone with a disease, just identify the disease. Avoid using words such as “Poor,” “unfortunate,” or “afflicted.”

•• Don’t say “courageous” when you can say “successful” or “productive”

on two internet sources given below you can find a number of daily activity plans for every grade/levelSuccess Link Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education : http://www.successlink.org/gti/lesson_unit-viewer.asp?lid=2301Diversity Council .org Rochester Minnesota: http://www.diversitycouncil.org/elactivities.shtml

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gender-neutral or inclusive language

General guidelines to follow:

•• de-gender, don’t Re-gender; for example de-gender chairman to chair, don’t re-gender it to chairwoman).

•• Create gender-neutral terms: convert adjectives to nouns by adding ist (e.g., active: activist).

•• Replace occupational terms containing man and boy, if possible, with terms that include members of either gender.

•• Avoid occupational designations having derogatory -ette and -ess (Masculine or feminine) endings.

•• When you must use gender terms be sure to use parallel terms; Man/Woman, Boys/ Girls, Gentlemen/Ladies, Guys/Gals

resource 2: how to overcome prejudice

•• DON’T pre-judge people. Get to know them as individuals before you decide whether or not you like them.

•• TREAT people the way you want them to treat you.

•• STAND UP for people who are being treated with prejudice. Don’t go along with the crowd when people are being unfair to someone.

•• LEARN about other cultures, countries, and peoples.

resource 3: resource Strategies for teaching Students Special educational needs (Sen) and/or Students with disabilities

how could you support the teachers approach teaching and learning with Sen students?

Start by understanding that there is a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities. You and your teachers need to anticipate what barriers to taking part and learning particular activities, lessons or a series of lessons may pose for the students with particular SEN and/or students with disabilities. In your teachers planning, they need to consider ways of reducing those barriers so that all students can fully take part and learn. In some activities, students with SEN and/or students disabilities will be able to take part in the same way as their peers. In others, some modifications or adjustments to the classroom environment or learning materials will need to be made to include everyone.

For some activities, your teachers may need to provide a ‘parallel’ activity for students with SEN and/or students with disabilities depending on their individual needs, so that they can work towards the same lesson objectives as their peers, but in a different way e.g. creating a storyboard rather than writing an essay. Occasionally, students with SEN and/or students with disabilities will have to work on different activities, or towards different objectives, from their peers.

activity nine: develop a draft action plan how to address some of the above ideas about inclusion at your school. Work with a colleague from a different school. Discuss differences and similarities between your schools when it comes to dealing with inclusion issues. Try this plan at your school and report back in the next training seminar.

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5. the role of technology in learning & School operationsintroduction

Step 1: Before you read this topic, you should reflect briefly on the steps undertaken in recent months in supporting teachers to use ICT in teacher and learning.

Step two: after you have read and analyzed instructions for school directors role in supporting teachers to use ICT teaching and learning, develop an action plan to support teachers in this field.

In the 21st century, information and communication technology (ICT) is a specific form of edu-cational institutional/school activity for enabling interactions amidst collaborative factors within the school. It is a new opportunity for students and teachers to engage in new ways of learning and using information. Therefore, competencies for the use of information technology in gen-eral, and knowledge of and independent use of computer software in particular, are gaining greater role and relevance every day in school life and lifelong learning of students and teachers.

Communications, functional skills of digital litera-cy, as well as key competencies in the technology area, are requirements of the new Kosovo Cur-riculum Framework.These are addressed within the core curricula of educational levels as well as in course syllabi for educational programs. ICT is represented also in the requirements of stan-dards of professional practice of school directors in Kosovo, according to which the school director must be familiar with and understand the role of technology in promotion of student learning and staff professional development. Knowledge of and understanding of ICT area is addressed through performance indicators where the school director: (i) Enables integration of ICT in support of teaching and learning, and (ii) use technology in school management.

activity ten: reading material - 15 minutes

5.1. Role of school director in support of teachers in ICT use in teaching and learningRecently, the use of ICT in our schools has changed considerably. This has enabled the school director to be focused on the ICT use to improve access, quality and equity in provision of educational services.

this lesson reviews the role of the school director in using ict for:- teaching and learning - Staff professional development, and- School management

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The engagement of school director in this component supports capacity building for ICT use in the learning process including where teachers use ICT to assist students in advancing their learning. Support for teachers in ICT use in the educational process enables them to:

Exhibition on Educational Technology ”21st Cen-tury Technology for 21st Century Students” (April 2012) organized by the Ministry of Education, Sci-ence and Technology (MEST), USAID Basic Educa-tion Program, and USAID Young Entrepreneurs Program was a good opportunity for educational stakeholders, including school directors, to see the results of the students’ work with technology. This experience must be developed at the school level with the support of school directors and school community.

5.2. School staff professional development for ICT useTeaching and learning quality is closely linked with staff professional development in using ICT in teaching and learning. For this purpose, MEST has started to implement teacher and school directors’ training in ECDL5 program in efforts to build capacities in computer use in teaching and learning process. Training attendees have experienced the following ECDL program modules: Windows XP, Word, Excel, Access, Outlook& Internet Explorer, and Information Technology Basics.

At this point, teacher professional development should be focused more on ICT application in teaching and learning, because the results of the study conducted by Kosovo’s Pedagogical Institute“ECDL – an opportunity to gain and certify ICT competencies”, show that ICT is not used in the learning process at all – especially in subjects other than ICT. Also, results show that students’ skills in ICT use are not at a satisfactory level6.The lack of computers and broad band access in schools is one of the influencing factors in student outcomes, but the lack of initiative on the side of school directors to implement in practice the gained skills is also present. Therefore, school di-rectors need to engage at a maximum to ensure ICT tools are used to implement ICT in teaching and learning through support for teachers’ professional development in this field.

5 ECDL is the European Computer Driver’s License.6 The study was conducted with ECDL standardized test with small sample of students (108). Study results indicate that only one student managed to pass 4 modules out of 7 from the program, 2 students passed

- apply ICT in curricula to assist students in achieving key curriculum competencies through information exploration and management

- use technology to facilitate student assessment process

- use computers, software, internet and other computer tools for communication and management purposes over classroom-based educational activities that support full development of student potential, and

- practice good pedagogical and electronic approaches as teaching and communication tools

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The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST), based on the Europe’s Digital Agen-da, has set the following priorities for ICT7:- Development and advancement of teachers’ skills in ICT.- Use of ICT tools and equipment in teaching and educational management.- ICT integration in educational contents and curricula.

In line with these priorities, schools should:

5.3. Use of technology and school managementUse of technology in school management, in addition to aspects discussed above (learning process and school staff professional development) also includes aspects related to the process of recording, collection, and processing of data for students, teachers, learning resources and school resources in general. This process does not affect improvement and advancement of school work and education system in general unless the data are analyzed, compared or used to improve school practices and approaches in fields not meeting expected outcomes. This means that school data management and making operable of a school database is achieved when the data is used to assess results of the institution’s work and serves as a basis for development planning of school activities.

EMIS function and purpose in the school and education system in Kosovo is to record and constantly update data produced by schools and other educational levels. This data can be used to assess progress or drawbacks in the education system, to assist school directors and decision makers in other educational levels to draft educational policies for making progress, and overcoming obstacles and identified defects in specific segments of educational process.

7 For more, see MEST priorities for ICT in Kosovo Education Strategic Plan 2011-2016 (page 157) http://www.masht-gov.net

•• Make a personnel development plan and should set ICT integration in teaching and learning as a priority.

Set as a school priority capacity building of students in computer use.

activity eleven:

•• What are main activities that a school undertakes for ICT use in the teaching and learning process? To what extent has ECDL teacher training and BEP Technology program and the EU ICT Education project contributed in this direction?

•• Does school have appropriate ICT equipment, with special emphasis on persons with special educational needs?

•• What is the role of school management in supporting students and teachers in ICT use in the learning process?

•• What are the experiences of your school in processing and using EMIS program data for improving and advancing school work? and

•• after you went over this topic: What activities will you undertake (or continue) for ICT use in teaching and learning, staff professional development and school management?

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6. ethical leadershipStandard #6 (professional ethics):

The school director acts with integrity, fairness, and high ethics.

The school director has knowledge and understanding of:1. The purpose of education and the role of leadership in modern society;2. The principle and practices of inclusion within the school and school-community;3. Various ethical frameworks and perspectives on ethics;4. The values of the diverse school - community;5. Professional codes of ethics.

This lesson addresses expectations 2 – 5. (Expectation #1 is addressed in the first seminar.)

purposes:

1) To introduce the concept of ethics including various ethical frameworks

2) To address issues of inclusion, diversity and fairness through resolving ethical dilemmas

3) To examine a professional code of ethics for school directors and consider what ought to be included for Kosovo

activity twelve:

Reading – 15 minutes

Historically philosophers and ethicists debated the differences among values, morals and ethics. Over time their definitions overlapped with the consequence that in many respects they look very similar as shown below:

values – (values) principles or standards of behaviour; one’s judgement of what is important in life8: Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what “ought” to be.Personal Values provide an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable, constructive, etc.

Morals – (morals) standards of behaviour; principles of right and wrong: relating to the standards of good or bad behaviour, fairness, honesty, etc. which each person believes in, rather than to laws9 (Good and bad; right and wrong)

Ethics - moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity.

To distinguish among the three definitions, consider them this way:

values emphasize what our attitudes, judgments and behaviours towards others ought to be. They reflect what is important to each of us as individuals. One’s real values are reflected in one’s behaviour.

morals are judgments about what is right and wrong. We make ‘moral’ decisions about our behaviour toward others; it includes whether or not we are honest (dishonest – partially honest wholly honest), fair, etc.

8 Source: Oxford Dictionaries On-Line9 Source: Cambridge Dictionaries On-line

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ethics are the personal code of principles (values) we live by. As well as personal codes of conduct or ethics, we often are members of groups who have standards or expectations for our behaviour based on ethical principles; that is, what is the right thing to do.

Dr. Kent Donlevy and Keith Walker described what ethics is and what the relationship between ethics and morals are. They tried to untangle the relationship this way:

“Ethics asks how one ought to act in relation to that which exists – humans and things? ... ethics is about actions and attitudes, who we are to people, how we treat people, who we are when no one seems to be looking ... it is about choosing to do more that the law requires and less than the law allows.” ... ethics are a set of principles that guide our attitudes, choices and actions. ... Ethics are the principles of obligation (i.e. a code to be lived by), ends motive and virtues that distinguish for us how we should determine right from wrong, good from bad, proper from improper, and virtuous from vicious.” (In the end), There are at least two dimensions to ethics:

1. The ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, virtuous from vicious, and propriety from impropriety; and,

2. The commitment and courage to do what is right, good, virtuous, and proper and to decline ... doing the unethical act.10”

Values and ethics, as Donlevy and Walker (2011) suggest, “need to be seen as two sides of the same coin:

– Values are important beliefs, desires and preferences that shape our attitudes and motivate our actions.

– Ethics are a sub-set of values, but refer to core principles (emphasis added) which determine right and wrong, good and bad, virtuous and vicious, righteous and sinful (i.e. honesty, promise keeping, respect, caring, etc.)

whole class discussion – re: their understanding of the content above (5 minutes).

activity thirteen: – (total maximum time 20 minutes)

Small Group discussions and reporting – Create four small groups. Ask the participants to read the first four ethical frameworks and related questions; then, have group #1 address question #1; group #2, question 2; group #3, Question #3; group #4, question #4.

Have each of the groups report back in relation to:•• The type of ethical framework considered•• What their consensus answers were to the questions posed•• What the process was like to reach a consensus

Ethical Frameworks – Schools of Ethical ThoughtDonlevy & Walker listed five (5) schools of ethical thought. While these “Schools of Thought” have been developed over time by scholars and philosophers, they actually represent common be-haviours by different people and sometimes groups of people in our society. The reason for iden-tifying these is to help school directors understand that when dealing with problem situations, the school director will be faced by people who view the situation from different ethical frames or perspectives.

10 Donlevy, K.D., & Walker, K.D. (2011) Working Through Ethics in Education and Leadership; Sense publishers. P. 1

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Below are statements 1 – 4; each accompanied by an ethical dilemma. An ethical dilemma is a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.

1. virtuous ethics – applies to individuals who consistently do the morally correct thing regardless of the consequences to themselves.

The question for school administrators is what do you do to a ‘good’ well behaved student who usually does the morally correct thing but makes the mistake of joining in the bully type teasing of another student? Should this student be dealt with as harshly as other students who participated in this act? What would you do in such a situation?

2. deontology in ethics – applies in situations where an ethical judgment is made and it is deemed applicable to everybody

Administrators very often face a deontological dilemma when they have to discipline students. Is it fair to all if the consequences for breaking a school rule are the same to everyone? Should the student in Statement #1 be punished to the same degree as the student who is a habitual bully? What if different consequences are needed to get each student in the incident to change their behaviour? Is the ethical standard that the school director intervenes and that is the act of consistency? Or to be consistent, does every student have to receive the same consequence?

3. teleological ethics – ethical decisions that provide the greatest good to the greatest number.

The simplest ethical dilemma is the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan in WW II. While tens of thousands of Japanese died and the landscape was ravaged; stopping the war saved the lives of countless military personnel and civilians caught by the battles of war. Was dropping the atomic bomb ethical? Were you the President of the United States in 1945 would you have approved the dropping of the atomic bomb?

4. relativist ethics – ethical decisions based on the understood ethical constructs of a community. School directors frequently encounter various perspectives from sub-elements of the school community: the views of parents (which are rarely uniform), one from teachers, one from community leaders and so on.

A young Serb boy is walking down a country road. He is attacked by a group of students just because of his ethnicity. He lives near a community that suffered greatly in the late 90s. The community retains a strong visceral attitude toward the Serb community. What is the ethical thing for the school director to do about the students who attacked the Serb boy?

5. postmodern ethics – Based on reason and individual consideration of what is right, good and “ought to be.” There is no universally applicable code of ethics recognized by postmodern ethics.

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activity Fourteen: resolving a moral dilemma (Maximum time – 45 minutes)

Ask each individual to prepare a response to the ethical dilemma posed below. Share the personal reflections with members of a group.

Your municipality is one that appoints school directors on merit. Candidates have to have exemplary records as teachers; they have to have provided leadership in the school to their colleagues, students and/ or community. You’ve been school director in your current school for five (5) years. One of your female teachers asks you for a reference in her application to be made a school director of a small school nearby. She has an exemplary record as an outstanding teacher. She is admired and respected by students, parents and staff colleagues. She has completed the Basic Leadership training program while she was on maternity leave.

Since returning from maternity leave, her colleagues have noticed a dramatic change in this teacher’s behaviour. Students complain that there are times when she is very arbitrary and her decisions are unfair. She has become aggressive, short tempered and abrasive with you and some members of staff. That is not a characterization of the individual prior to her maternity leave. Some have observed that the teacher is showing the classic symptoms of postpartum/post-natal depression.

Your municipality has rules respecting references. They are to be objective and based on performance especially results achieved with students. You are friends with this teacher and despite her current condition you believe that she would become as good a school director as she is a teacher. You are worried what would happen to her and to her school if she was appointed a school director now.

Would you write the letter of reference? What would it say? What would you do with this teacher? Why? Why not?

activity Fiveteen: Establishing a Code of Ethics for School DirectorsAttached, on the following page,is the Code of Ethics for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) in the United States. Attached also are the Performance Expectations for Standard 6.

Are you willing to meet the expectations in Standard 6? Why or why not? If you were developing a Code of Ethics for School Directors in your municipality, which of the 10 items on the NASSP list would you include? Are there any additional expectations you would add for Kosovo? Explain.

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performance expectations – Standard 6 naSSp code of ethics

The school director does the following activities to achieve the standard:

1. Examines his/her own personal and professional values;

2. Serves as a role model by:

••Reflecting a personal and professional code of ethics;

••Reflecting values, beliefs, and attitudes that inspire others to higher levels of performance;

••Accepting responsibility for school operations;

••Recognizing the good practices of others;

••Treating all people fairly, equitably, and with dignity and respect;

••Enabling access to all children regardless of physical or intellectual difficulties, sex race, religion or social standing;

••Examining and considering the values within a diverse school community;

3. Uses the influence of the position to enhance the quality of education rather than for personal gain;

4. Protects the rights and confidentiality of students and staff;

5. Recognizes and respects the legitimate authority of others;

6. Influences others in the school community to demonstrate integrity and exercise ethical behavior;

7. Ensures the school is publicly accountable;

8. Fulfills legal obligations and applies laws and procedures fairly.

9. Ensures a transparent and equitable process for the selection of students, teachers and others as school representatives in activities, events or for professional development opportunities.

… the school administrator assumes responsibility for providing professional leadership in the school and community. This responsibility requires the school administrator to maintain standards of exemplary professional conduct. It must be recognized that the school administrator’s actions will be viewed and appraised by the community, professional associates, and students. To these ends, the school administrator subscribes to the following statements of standards.

The school administrator:

1. Makes the well-being of students the fundamental value in all decision making and actions.

2. Fulfills professional responsibilities with honesty and integrity.

3. Supports the principle of due process and protects the civil and human rights of all individuals.

4. Obeys local, state, and national laws.

5. Implements the governing board of education’s policies and administrative rules and regulations.

6. Pursues appropriate measures to correct those laws, policies, and regulations that are not consistent with sound educational goals.

7. Avoids using positions for personal gain through political, social, religious, economic, or other influence.

8. Accepts academic degrees or professional certification only from duly accredited institutions.

9. Maintains the standards and seeks to improve the effectiveness of the profession through research and continuing professional development.

10. Honors all contracts until fulfillment, release, or dissolution mutually agreed upon by all parties to contract.

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7. program SummaryThis introductory school director’s training program was designed to provide participants the opportunity to learn knowledge and skills expected for use by school leaders in Kosovo. The program addressed all components of each of the six Standards. For each of the themes and topics in this program there is a need for school directors and other educational administrators to learn more. Take each theme and deepen your knowledge of it in order to improve your professional practice with the aim of raising the quality of Kosovo’s schools. Kosovo is undertaking an unprecedented change agenda. It will not happen unless there is a cultural change in the system meaning that more responsibility and authority is placed at the school and municipal level - particularly at the school level. This has to happen in life not just on paper. This means directors must become leaders of education not just managers of facilities. The school director’s business is people development. The director’s role is to get the best performance out of the school’s staff for the benefit of pupils for they are the primary learners and beneficiaries of schools. Expectations for them cannot be met without their teachers and school directors also being learners, especially lifelong learners with respect to education, in general, and teaching and learning in particular.

The first topic of the training program was ‘change.’ It is the last as well. Listed below is ‘what is new’ in Kosovo. Are you ready to lead the changes? They include:

change implications

•• The Kosovo Curriculum Framework and the Kosovo Core Curriculum

– Dramatic changes in teacher practices, higher expectations for students, and a focus on outcomes – competences; the curriculum becomes the basis for instructional planning; not the textbook

•• Increased autonomy, responsibility and accountability or schools

– School development becomes school based, meaning more responsibility for the professional staff which is accountable for school quality

•• Inclusion

– Teachers will have to learn to meet the needs of a variety of students. Teaching becomes learner rather than teacher centred. The question for the teacher becomes, “What do I have to have students experience and do in order to develop the competences expected in the curriculum?

•• Standards for School Directors

– Directors must lead educational development in their schools through professional practices equivalent to those in Europe.

•• Technology in Teaching & Learning & School Management

– Discovering what the potential of technology is in teaching and learning and discovering means for teachers and students to access the resources available in the community

– Becoming skilled in using ICT for management & communication

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Implementation of the Standard for the Professional Performance and the implementation of the Law on Pre-university Education and the Law on Municipalities in Education means the director faces an additional change agenda that is incorporated into or part of each of the systemic changes listed above. The changes specifically for school directors are:

change implications

•• School Governing Boards

– The director has to accept that the Board has paramount responsibility for the school but is entirely dependent on the director for capable advice and guidance;

– The director has to develop political skills; that is, skills in working with a diverse group with varying backgrounds and interests.

•• School Project Management– Determining what development needs require a group of

people working together to meet the need and then learning how to delegate clearly and support the work of the group.

•• School Self Assessment and School Development Planning

– The director needs to understand the entire process and be able to guide the use of the tools of planning and assessment effectively. Assessment is based on data and learning what data is important and how to interpret it. This requires skill and judgment development.

•• School based teacher professional development

– The director needs to learn about adult learning, how to identify needs and organize resources to meet learning needs;

– The director will have to distinguish among learning needs that relate to all teachers, learning needs that relate to groups of teachers and those of individuals and provide support to each.

•• Teacher Performance Assessment

– The director needs to learn what effective teaching is and how to assess the quality of teaching and learning taking place in classrooms.

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glossaryachievement – the degree of meeting specific objectives, for example personnel development objectives, objectives of the training programme, objectives of a class etc

competence- is the ability to do something; in teaching it involves an interactive combination of cognitive and meta-cognitive skills, knowledge and understanding of learning and a subject discipline, interpersonal skills, intellectual and practical skills as well as ethical values. Teacher’s competency profile is a basis for teacher’s performance evaluation.

effectiveness– the degree of achieving aimed at results in quantity and quality, for example the degree of meeting the objectives of personnel development.

efficiency– achievement of aimed at results with minimum expenditure and effort.

evaluation – is a judgment of the quality or value of the results achieved respecting an intended outcome or process; e.g. a measure of student competences, or an assessment of the quality of a process like teaching.

evaluation instrument– a form that provides the assessor an opportunity to measure, assess and judge the degree of personnel competence

indicators - Visible actions, behaviour or other proof that indicate presence, condition or conditions that are related to standards. Indicators may be used for evaluation of development towards achieving the standards.

matrix – isan instrument to set the main determinants’functional relations between the activities of the project, inclusion of entities at the time of delivering the activities or involvement in the project, as well as their visualization.

monitoring - is a process of continuously comparing forecasted results with the current results through regular systematic procedures for data collection on different aspects of education. (The purpose of monitoring is to assist the improvement of school works’ efficiency and effectiveness).

observation - to watch carefully the way something happens or the way someone does something, especially in order to learn more about it11

performance- is the entirety of work and results of teachers, educational administrators and professional associates.

personnel - is, all persons employed for provision of public education services, administrative and technical services for pupils specifically and for the society in general.

Quality indicators – Something that shows what a situation is like relative to a desired quality or outcome.

School legislation –is the entirety of laws and administrative instructions for organizing the school

Self-assessment - it is a process during which the institution, agency, programme or individual collects information about themselves and provides judgment of their value.

Standard – is a statement of objectives that define a group of expectations; a group of statements which define what stakeholders must know and be capable of doing in the education system;a group of statements that identifies what levels of achievement are expected and are attainable.

Supervision - isa process that provides stakeholders of all levels with continuous information on occurring developments.

11 Cambridge Dictionary On-line, July 24, 2012

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references:Assembly of Kosovo (2011) Law on University Education in the Republic of Kosovo no. 04/L-032Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (2008): Law on Education in the Republic of Kosovo municipalities no. 03/L-068.

Dr. Stenke Dor (2008): Basics of Evaluation, Lecture held with officials of the Ministry of Education, Pristina.

Grillo, prof.dr.Kozma (2002): Glossary Education (Psychology -Sociology - Education), “Light 2000”, Pristina.

Husayn, H., Salihaj, J., Nikoleta, M., Mrs, D., (2003): Governance and leadership in education, KEC, Pristina.

Malik, Fredmund (2001): Führen, Leisten, Leben. Wirksamesfür eine neue Zeit Management. Heyne Business

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2004): Framework of Professional Practice Standards for Teachers of Kosovo,

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2010): Criteriaand procedures for evaluating the performanceof teachers (2010).

Ministry of Education,ScienceandTechnology (AI 5/2010): Administrative Instruction Teacher Licensing.

Ministry ofEducation, Science and Technology (2011): Framework Curriculum for preschool, primary andsecondaryPristina.

Standards for the Professional Practice for School Directors (AI 4/2012)

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annex a: pre-observation guideName of the teacher: ____________________________________________________________

Observation Date: ____________________ Observation Time: ____________

Location: ____________________________ Class: _______________________

NOTES FOR PRE-OBSERVATION MEETING:

Description of Room:

Description of Students:

Class topic: _______________________________________________________

Goal(s) for the session?

1.____________________________________________________________

2.____________________________________________________________

Objective for the session? (What will the students be able to do/know by theend of the session?):

1._____________________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________________

Teaching Strategies? (What strategies/methods will you use to help thelearners to reach this objective?):

1._____________________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________________

Instrumenti(et) vlerësuese (si do të tregojnë nxënësit se dinë dhe janë në gjendje të bëjnë atë që ti pret nga ta?):

Instructor Concerns/Focus (What would you like the observer to pay special attention to?):

Post-Observation Conference: Date: ________________________

Time: ________________________

Location: _____________________

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annex B: post-observation conferenceAs soon as possible after the observation, the teacher and the school director should meet to share, analyze, and interpret the information collected. The observations should be discussed in an honest, non-judgmental manner with the observer leading the teacher to identify his/her strengths and areas in which change is needed. The conference should include setting goals for future growth and a plan for getting started to achieve those goals.

During the post-observation conference the observer might ask the teacher such questions as the following:

1) In general, how do you feel the lesson went?

2) Do you feel the pupils accomplished what you intended and planned?

3) Is there part of your lesson or activity that you feel worked well and that you particularly liked?

4) Is there any part of you lesson or activity that you feel could be improved? If so, how would you do it differently another time?

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