1. Global lessons for leadership development Higher School of Economics October 2010 Michael Barber

2. The Building Blocks of World-Class Education Standards and accountability Globally-benchmarked standards Good, transparent data and accountability Every child on the agenda always in order to challenge inequality Human capital and collective capacity Recruit great people and train them well Continuous improvement of pedagogical skills and knowledge Great leadership at school level Structure and organisation Effective, enabling central department and agencies Capacity to manage change and engage communities at every level Operational responsibility and budgets significantly devolved to school level SOURCE: Barber 2008; Whelan 2009

3. 2 Known unknowns 21st century curriculum? The human capital model? School and out-of-school? Knowledge management? Technology?

4. 3 Survey of 1,500 leaders around the world: – a representative sample – a high performing sample – middle tier leaders Over 70 interviews A literature review Seven key messages We’ve undertaken the first international benchmarking of leadership development

5. 4 The survey involves England and seven other school systems Alberta Ontario Netherlands New Zealand SingaporeVictoria New York

6. 5 Great school systems require great school leaders SOURCE: Interviews; Whelan F, “Lessons Learned” (2009) 1 “One of the key revelations over the last ten years is that school leadership is not just an HR issue, it is a strategic issue.” “School leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning.”

7. 6 Across diverse systems school leaders have much in common VictoriaAlbertaSingaporeNether- lands GlobalNew YorkOntarioNew Zealand 2 Principals saying that supporting the development of individual staff makes a major contribution to the success of their school % of respondents

8. 7 They also have significant differences 2 High-performing group, % of principals working with teachers to support their development every day % of respondents GlobalNew Zealand SingaporeVictoriaAlbertaOntarioNew York

9. 8 8 There is a trend towards selecting earlier and more rigorously SOURCE: Interviews All school boards are required to have a succession and talent development plan. A number have developed sophisticated systems for identifying and nurturing leadership talent including York, which has identified 800 potential future leaders for its 200 schools Ontario Singapore Schools are responsible for identifying potential leaders, normally during their first five years of teaching. Once identified, teachers are put onto a “leadership track” which provides them with a series of opportunities to progressively take on greater leadership responsibilities, combined with a set of formal training programs. 3

10. 9 Formal qualifications sometimes contribute but are not universal SOURCE: Interviews 4 Victoria Available? Leadership focused? Alberta England Ontario Netherlands New Zealand New York Mandatory? Singapore

11. 10 Formal training Mentoring Coaching Working as a deputy head Discussions with peers Opportunities to take on responsibility Being identified as a potential leader 5 Learning by doing and discussions with peers are most helpful Learning through experience Learning from the experienced % of high-performing principals citing each experience as having a major impact on their development

12. 11 Focused networks are increasingly adopted to develop school leaders SOURCE: Interviews ▪ A school joins one of 60 networks consisting of ~35 schools ▪ A school can join any network in the city ▪ Networks provide both operational and instructional support ▪ Network staff include the Network Leader and 10–12 team members ▪ Networks are accountable: – Upwards to cluster leaders – Downwards to schools New York: Networks and clusters 5 1,600 schools 60 networks DSSI 6 clusters

13. 12 Formal performance reviews do not appear to make a major contribution except where they have consequences OntarioAlbertaNew Zealand VictoriaSingaporeNew YorkGlobal 6 High-performing group, % of principals stating evaluations or performance reviews have made a major % of respondents

14. 13 Middle tier plays five vital roles SOURCE: Interviews 7 Supporting weaker school leaders Delivering effective professional development Managing clusters and lateral learning Strengthening succession planning Strengthening and moderating accountability Barrier? Shock-absorber? Catalyst?

15. 14 Three final messages ▪ School leadership is moving up the agenda around the world ▪ There is a global trend towards school autonomy ▪ Hence, the increasingly high priority given to leadership development around the world

16. 15 One question In relation to leadership development, what is the system-level role in a highly devolved system?