Join leaders of international schools for a day-long workshop in Paris with Chris Wright on School Leadership: four sessions covering: Basics of Leadership, Culture and Context, Pedagogical/Learning Centred Leadership, Collaborative Leadership.
CHRIS WRIGHT is an experienced educational leader. He has been head of three schools, has worked in the tertiary sector in education research and teacher education and currently works at a school system level as Director of Education for a school company that runs 50 schools.Mr Wright... Read More →
This session invites you to think critically about the nature of leadership and its role in schools. It starts by asking how our ideas about leadership have been formed. What or who has influenced my leadership? The activities in this session will help you to start forming your own philosophy of leadership: your vision of leadership, the beliefs and principles you hold, the values you live out and the impact your leadership has.
The role of the school leader is a complex one. School Leaders often lead and manage complex situations which require them to have a wide range of skills and aptitudes. The comparison is sometimes made between the school leader and a circus performer who has to balance an ever increasing number of plates within a complex social, political, cultural, economic and organizational setting. So what leadership intelligences do you need to lead a department or school effectively? ‘Leadership intelligence’ is a multi-dimensional, dynamic and developing concept. In this session we will explore the diversity of intelligences school leaders need.
A session in two parts – the first looking at the nature of pedagogical leadership, and the second how this links with school culture. “A pedagogical leader keeps the organization focused on the teaching and learning process among the children, staff, and families.” (Maggie Carter). So what does it mean to be a pedagogical leader and how do we develop a learning culture not only amongst the students but also staff? School culture affects the academic achievement of learners (Deal and Peterson,1999; van der Westhuizen et al). Another word for culture in relation to schools is ‘climate’. Research suggests that a positive school culture exercises an exceptionally positive influence on members of a school and is instrumental in directing the behaviour of both students and staff and achieving the goals of the school. It suggests that there is a relationship between an effective school culture and greater learner and educator motivation; dedicated and disciplined behaviour and good attendance; reduced failure and drop-out rates and involvement of the community and parents in supporting learning. In this session our professional inquiry will explore the key elements of school culture that can bring about this change. How can a school create a culture that might have to be counter to that from which students come?
Collaborative learning is all about people learning together. Transformative experiences in learning often take place when people are doing something together, whether it be kinaesthetic or cognitively working together to try and solve problems together. If they are engaged in that activity it is authentic learning. In this session we look at ways in which you can build up a collaborative culture amongst the staff. You will leave with a toolbox of collaborative activities to take back into your school.
