1. The new Norwegian ”Rector-school” – qualification for school leaders in Norway Looking ahead on school leadership 1 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

2. School leadership in Norway – a short historical outline The “old “ – school leader role - “The first among equals” The head teacher, primarily a teacher also doing administrative work. Reflected the way schools were governed by the national government, using economic and legislative means. Until the early 1990s: No formal education for school leaders required besides being a teacher. During the 80s and 90s: A more decentralized system – more power to the counties and municipalities. The pedagogical part of the school leader role became more emphasized, besides the administrative parts. Various kinds of courses offered for school heads, but not mandatory. 2 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

3. The new Rector-school – the programme for education of school leaders in Norway 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway 3 White Paper no. 31 (2007-2008) Kvalitet i skolen (Quality in the school):A new national program for education of school leaders shall be launched and be mandatory for new school leaders and for school leaders that lack such education. October 2009: 4 groups of universities and university colleges starts educating new school leaders, based on principles formulated by the Ministry.

4. Main principles: Leadership-understanding 4 distributed leadership - leadership is a function that is taken care of not only by the ones formally in charge, but of many others too. The formal responsibility is connected with specific persons, in formal positions. Important to focus both on the organizational perspective and the perspective of the individual. 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

5. Main principles: Competence 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway 5 When describing competence the course are intended to supply the school leaders with, The Ministry uses the official definition of competence given by OECD: ”A competence is defined as the ability to meet demands or carry out a task successfully, and consists of both cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions” The competence the course are intended to supply the school leaders with, can be specified into 3 kinds of elements: Knowledge, skills and attitudes.

6. Competence as knowledge, skills and attitudes 6 Knowledge  what the Rectors are supposed to know, be informed about, understand. Skills  what the Rectors are supposed to do, master. Attitudes  what the Rectors are supposed to stand for, identify with, commit to, signalize. 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

7. Competence–areas in the education 7 The Ministry has formulated 4 competence-demands or areas that shall be covered by the course ( The first is the most important): The student’s learning-results and learning-environment. Management and administration. Cooperation and organizational development, supervision of teachers. Development and change. A fifth competence-area - Relationship to the leader-role – is added to the 4 demands. The intention behind this area is that after the completion of the course, the leaders shall have accomplished a stronger identity as leader, and considerable more courage and power to lead. 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

8. 1. Students’ learning-results and learning- environment 8 Knowledge  what the Rectors are supposed to know, be informed about, understand: Learning-processes Tools for quality-development The mandate to the school from the society Learning-environment Skills  what the Rectors are supposed to do, master: Management by objectives Guidance Attitudes  what the Rector are supposed to stand for, identify with, be committed to, signalize: Level of ambitions Attitudes related to knowledge 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

9. 2. Management and administration 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway 9 Knowledge  what the Rectors are supposed to know, be informed about, understand: Legal regulations etc The formal curriculum Management/steering Skills  what the Rectors are supposed to do, master: Legal regulations and the curriculum Power and influence Attitudes  what the Rectors are supposed to stand for, identify with, be committed to, signalize: Attitude related to the responsibility of the leader Loyalty

10. 3. Cooperation and organizational development, supervision of teachers 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway 10 Knowledge  what the Rectors are supposed to know, be informed about, understand: Organization Working with the staff/personnel Skills  what the Rectors are supposed to do, master: Internal cooperation Team-building Motivation Attitudes  what the Rectors are supposed to stand for, identify with, be committed to, signalize: Attitudes towards others

11. 4. Development and change 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway 11 Knowledge  what the Rectors are supposed to know, be informed about, understand: The school’s context Change Skills  what the Rectors are supposed to do, master: Cooperation with external partners Development and change Attitudes  what the Rectors are supposed to stand for, identify with, be committed to, signalize: Attitudes towards the sector and the environment

12. 5. Relationship to the leader-role 12 Knowledge  what the Rectors are supposed to know, be informed about, understand: Leadership Skills  what the Rectors are supposed to do, master: To act as a leader To cope with stress and uncertainty Attitudes  what the Rectors are supposed to stand for, identify with, be committed to, signalize: Security in the leader-role Openness Own learning and development 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

13. ”The rector school” – will it bring us a new school leader role? 13 “The rector-school” expresses the expectations from the government towards school leaders and school leadership. The new or changed school leader role that emerges is a role where the emphasis on the school leader as a leader of learning- activities among the students is stronger. The new or changed school leader role that emerges is a role where the emphasis is on the leader of the school as a learning organization – an organization that develops all the time. It is a new focus on the personality and personlity development of the school leader. 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

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15. The NLA School Leadership Training Model 15 The NLA-model is based on five pillars: Tailor-made program Concern about the language issue Establishing a common educational language among the school-leaders involved Establishing a common language between university teachers and school leaders by participation in a reflection process Continual evaluation of the program 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway

16. Characteristics of the model and the progress in the courses 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway 16 Ideas picked from the Learning Organization Theory Focus on values Start: an introspective part Relations in the staff National school policy and on network-building between schools

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18. ”New in Hordaland” – follow-up new teachers in their first year of teaching 27.11.09 Einar Reigstad, NLA, Bergen, Norway 18 Purpose: Making it easier for new teachers to start their professional career New teachers are invited into a 1 year programme in a cooperation between schools and university/university college Supervision/mentoring from an experienced teacher in their own school Meeting others in a 2 days seminary and 4-5 shorter seminaries together with their mentors in a university or university college Has given good results and evaluations Will be mandatory for new teachers in Norway in 2010

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