Principals require professional learning that is explicit and connected to their needs (Kochran, et al., 2002). In particular, they need learning that is contextually based, emphasises real life problem solving to support leading and managing teachers and schools successfully (Bush & Glover, 2004; Lazaridou, 2009). According to Pierce (Fenwick & Pierce, 2002c; Pierce, 2000), the 21st century principal is being asked to do more and more. She believes if a governments’ goal is to attract new principals or for current principals to remain in their jobs for longer, principals need to learn how to develop strong committed teams and distribute leadership. Southworth(Southworth, 2008) goes further to suggest working across schools, between schools, regionally and nationally; learning from each other’s practices: a combination of external and collegial supported learning.
Principals are expected to be the leaders of organisational transformation (Bush & Glover, 2004). More so in decentralised environments. For example, in New Zealand and Finland the school leader is responsible for all that happens in the school from property to learning (Pont, et al., 2008). A trained teacher does not necessarily make a quality property manager. Principals therefore, require learning in some areas that is far more generalist.
Mohr and Evans’s seven core beliefs provide a coherent and cohesive list of learning that works as a point of reference:
Page | 81 x Principals foster more powerful (teacher) and student learning by focusing on their own
learning
x While we (value) principals' thinking and voices, we want to push them to move beyond their assumptions
x Focused reflection takes time away from "doing the work" and yet it is essential x It takes strong leadership to have truly democratic learning
x Rigorous planning is necessary for flexible and responsive implementation
x New learning depends on "protected dissonance", a safe environment in which to take risks with ideas and ask tough questions (1999, p. 130).
For principals’ learning to be successful there needs to be an interlinking of external support, intervention, and school to school interaction. Learning that is personalised, challenging, reflective, flexible, and safe.
Up until the year 2000 when the United Kingdom’s National College for Leadership6 was established, the United States of America, with predominately-graduate programmes was the indisputable leader in the field of principals’ development. Importantly, in that era of change Dembowski (1998), posited two differing views of learning. Firstly that principals’ skills are developed largely on an ‘individual basis,’ (p.6) and often not transferable. Secondly, that graduate school research is valuable in informing leaders and providing a strong knowledge base. The discourse around meaningful principals’ professional learning being university based continues to be divided (M Brundrett & Dering, 2006; Gunter & Ribbins, 2002; Huber, 2004).
Page | 82 The assumption that mandated formalised professional learning supports principals to do their job more effectively, is yet to be proved (Davies & Ellison, 1997; Lashway, 2003b; Levine, 2005; J. Reeves, Forde, O’Brien, Smith, & Tomlinson, 2002). Nonetheless the concern remains that if
principals only access informal learning within the school setting that this can be too inward looking and conservative (Thew, 2002). As well, centralised programmes open themselves to manipulation by government policy (Thrupp, 2005; Wright, 2001). Brundrett (2001) for instance, applauds the United States for building state requirements alongside university programmes. He believes decentralisation ensures levels of academic rigour are maintained. In saying that, an overhaul of graduate programmes is required to meet the practising principal’s needs. Levine’s belief is that universities are out of step with what is needed (Levine, 2005).
Despite the rhetoric for and against Master’s level learning, the centralised model of the United Kingdom’s National College for School Leadership is being attributed with improving systematically the work of school leaders and influencing international programmes (Bush & Glover, 2004; DfES, 2004; Southworth & Doughty, 2006; A. Walker & Dimmock, 2004). The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted, 2003) identified between 70 and 75% of head teachers in England doing a fairly good job of meeting headship criteria. They attribute some of this to the incremental learning of principals centralised through NCSL.
Regardless of whether knowledge is delivered through a government programme or university accredited programme, the school principal requires professional learning to support strong
pedagogical understanding in their organisation (Patuawa, 2007). Principals’ learning links strongly to Day’s premise that enhancing and improving teacher qualities is central to the principals’ role (Day, et al., 2010).
Discerning what contributes to quality principals’ learning is central to this review of the literature. Lindeman was a true futurist when he wrote:
Page | 83 Small groups of aspiring adults who desire to keep their minds fresh and vigorous; who begin to learn by confronting pertinent situations; who dig down into the reservoirs of their
experience before resorting to texts and secondary facts; who are led in the discussion by teachers who are also searchers after wisdom and not oracles: this constitutes the setting for adult education, the modern quest for life's meaning. (Lindeman, 1926, pp. 4-7)
His notion of experiential learning using discussion to disseminate practice resonates well with what principals say they need (Hill, Harvey, Harrison, & Clarke, 1999).
Professional learning is required to continuously focus on improvement (Evans & Mohr, 1999). As with double loop learning (Argyris & Schon, 1974), there has to be revisiting and checking, to see who, why and what impact? Praxis is another form of reviewing learning practices deemed successful when considering leadership learning (Kemmis & Smith, 2008). Both are forms of meta-learning; people
learning about and reviewing their own learning. Meta-learning improves understanding through inquiry:
Needing to know, even when what you find out is something you think you didn’t want to know. It means reserving judgement and being open to new ideas, gathering the necessary information, and questioning and challenging your own beliefs and perceptions(Stoll, et al., 2003, p. 165).
Stroud (Stroud, 2006) determined through his small-scale study in the United Kingdom that there is still a ‘dearth of literature related to head teachers in general,’ (p101). This is not just a United Kingdom phenomenon. According to Campbell (2003), who considered the American literature there is little reporting in her country on principals’ identified learning needs.
Undoubtedly, the job of principal is too complex to learn from one explicitly defined set of competencies. Essentially a balance of explicit and tacit opportunities delivered in a manner that considers principals as time-poor adult learners is best.
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