What to look for in school leadership 

Given our schools' responsibility for preparing the next generation for the growing challenges that lie ahead, effective leader development is perhaps nowhere more crucial than in the field of education-specifically, primary and secondary schools.

Historically leaders at the school level (principals and supervisors) began their careers primarily as classroom teachers. This common professional background has generated a population of educational leaders who share similar motivation, knowledge, and challenges. Because the teacher's world focuses on students, a transition from a professional classroom role to a managerial role can be particularly difficult, often seen as change of career rather than a promotion within a career.

And so some capabilities and skills need to be honed if not identified earlier

• Self-Awareness: Like all other leaders, educational leaders need to understand their individual strengths and development needs. This understanding is arrived at through assessment tools, simulations, experiential activities, and staff and peer feedback.

• Leading Change: Navigating and leading change is a critical competency for educational leaders. They must be able to articulate a compelling vision, assess a school’s or a school system’s readiness for change, develop strategies and plans for implementing change, support people in making transitions that enable the change, and deal with unanticipated problems that arise in the midst of change 

• Managing Conflict: Many school leaders have learned to deal effectively with conflict in the moment. They have learned how to listen to concerns and absorb criticism from others without retaliating and how to find common ground by putting the needs of students at the centre of problem solving. What they should additionally learn is to effectively anticipate and plan for conflict and repair relationships after a conflict. 

• Power, Influence, and Politics : This includes creating strategies that leverage relationships with power brokers and other stakeholders, such as school board members, other elected officials, and the general public, positioning oneself as a visible leader in the community. Understanding the difference between positional power and personal power, and how to balance the two, is particularly important for leading educational organizations.

• Using Teams: The goal is to use teams as effective mechanisms for tackling complex tasks that require a diverse set of knowledge and skills, dealing with controversial issues that need the input of multiple perspectives, and sparking creativity. 

• Building Capacity in Others: It is not uncommon to have school leaders say, “I need to take this back and use it with my staff.” These leaders often make decisions basis not only what they gained in the moment but also in what they are able to share with others following the discussion as a way of building these others’ leadership capabilities. 

Putting these variables into the checklist to develop leaders will bear fruit, create leaders who influence the countless factors that bear directly on student success and Develop Schools.

Tele-Education

Rita Wilson, Chief Editor

(Ex-chief executive and Secretary, ICSE)

The pivotal role of education as an instrument of social change by altering the human perspective and transforming the traditional mindset of society is well recognized. The universalization of education has become the top priority, especially for the developing countries. But the extension of quality education to remote and rural regions becomes a Herculean task for a large country like India with multi-lingual and multi-cultural population separated by vast geographical distances, and, in many instances, inaccessible terrain.

Since independence, India has seen substantial increase in the number of educational institutions at primary, secondary and higher levels as well as student enrolment. But the lack of adequate rural educational infrastructure and non-availability of good teachers in sufficient numbers adversely affect the efforts made in education.

Thanks to the recent development of video conferencing, new option for tele-education is now available. Tele-education, another term for distance learning, delivers the course content via several different means including web conferencing and video conferencing.

Distance learning can be synchronised or asynchronous but both may require a student to purchase printed materials, communicate with tutor via e-mail and listen to audio material that will benefit his learning. Synchronised tele-education involves more than one student and classes are scheduled at regular times and days of the week, requiring all students to participate at once.

Those who live in rural countryside areas, or who live in small villages and towns without a respectable university nearby, would normally have to re-locate if they want to further their education. To save on the stress and financial implications involved with re-locating, tele-education offers an effective and realistic solution to such a problem.

Technology and education are changing quickly. The way in which we engage, adapt and consume learning is becoming more and more advanced and versatile. With high speed internet access and up-to-date computer software, students and tutors alike can enjoy a convenient and beneficial interaction that doesn't interfere with other necessary commitments.

The government of Karnataka and the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru, have jointly launched a pilot project in Tele Education fourteen government schools in a far-flung area of Karnataka. Dr Gopal Naik, Professor of Economics and Social Sciences, and chairperson, Centre of Excellence for Urban Development, IIM-B, has said, "We found improvement in pass percentages in all the schools with the introduction of tele education. I will attribute the success to quality inputs - good teachers in the studio who could explain concepts very well; animation, which played a big role in making concepts clear; and the interactive nature of classes which had question and answer sessions."

In the future, it is expected that tele education technologies will become the primary means of delivery of distance teaching and cover a much wider area.