Copenhagen, Denmark - April 14th and 15th, 2008
                
Kate Griffin and Virginia O’Mahony on behalf of ICP attended the final Conference on Improving School Leadership held in Copenhagen on the 14th and 15th of April 2008.  The report on the activity is in its final stages of production and should be published within the month.  It will be available on the OECD website at www.oecd.org/edu/schoolleadership. (There will be a link from this website to the report.)

In summary the main findings are as follows:

The function of school leadership across OECD countries is now increasingly defined by a demanding set of roles. The role of principal as designed for the needs of the past is no longer appropriate. In many countries there is a lack of interest in the role of school leader and potential candidates are discouraged from applying for what is perceived as an overburdened position. These developments have made school leadership a priority within education systems. Policy makers need to enhance the overall quality of school leadership to make it sustainable.

The OECD has identified in this report four main policy levers which, taken together, can improve school leadership practice. 

1.    (Re)define school leadership responsibilities:

a)    Provide higher degrees of autonomy with appropriate support
b)    Redefine school leadership responsibilities for improved learning
c)    Develop school leadership frameworks for improved policy and practice

2.    Distribute school leadership:
a)    Encourage leadership distribution
b)    Support leadership distribution
c)    Support school boards in their tasks

3.     Develop skills for effective school  leadership
a)    Treat leadership development as a continuum
b)    Ensure consistency of provision by different institutions
c)    Ensure appropriate variety for effective training

4.    Make school leadership an attractive profession:
a)    Professionalise recruitment
b)    Focus on the relative attractiveness of school leaders’ salaries
c)    Acknowledge the role of professional organisations of school  leaders
d)    Provide options and support for career development

The ICP welcomes the findings of the OECD activity on Improving School Leadership and is delighted that the four main areas identified reflect so closely the views of ICP Council.

The conference was a very positive, upbeat event, and clearly there is a great determination to ensure that the work in this area continues. To this end a toolkit is now being prepared by Professor Louise Stoll for completion in September 2008. This toolkit will enable individual OECD countries and principals’ associations to use this report’s findings to influence policy makers in the formulation and implementation of school leadership policies to improve teaching and learning.

The challenge now for all the countries involved in the project is to ensure that the work in this area is continued in a way that will really make a difference to school leaders.

Kate Griffin, ICP President, and Virginia O’Mahony, ICP Executive Member, were delighted to be invited to take a full part in the conference. Following   Kate’s “expert” contribution to the (Re) Defining School Leadership Responsibilities section, she said: “The common areas of interest  are striking and this is not only true in the developed economies represented at this conference but also in the developing parts of the world, that are also members of ICP. The ICP will continue to develop materials that we hope will be of particular benefit to all our members.”