IMPROVING SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

MARGARET GRIFFIN

FROM EUROPE TO AFRICA

• Copenhagen, Denmark --Setting the Scene

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia --Extending basic education

• Libreville, The Gabon --The need for effective school leaders

• Khartoum, Sudan --Making effective school leaders

FINDINGS

• Assessment of where we are now• The urgent need for school leadership

training• Realistic expectations• Revised and updated curriculum to meet

current needs• Trained people are more important than

resources

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

• Leadership --The role of the Head

• Organisation, Management and Structure

• Financial Management

• Managing, Selecting, Training and Developing Teaching and Support Staff

• The Core Function- Teaching and Learning

SKILLS REQUIRED

• Leadership ability -- analysis, judgement and resolution of problems

• Professional competence --educational knowledge and ability

• Professional credibility and good inter-personal skills

• Clear values and educational vision to model and embed in school life

THE NEXT STEP

• The link between effective school leaders and effective schools is indisputable

• Training to improve and empower school leaders is essential

• There is widespread need, the task is immense, but a solution must be found

FINAL THOUGHTS

• “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe” H.G.Wells

• “Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends” Benjamin Disraeli 1879