Ensayo hemolítico

57 See also the introductory chapter to this Yearbook with its reference to education cycles based on an evolutionary process as conceptualised by Roberto Carneiro (1993).

lead does not need to be concentrated in the leader but can be dispersed within the school between people. There seems to be a growing understanding that leadership is embedded in various organisational contexts within school communities, not centrally in one person or one office. This reflects the need to develop school leadership models that mirror the

decentralised, self-governing trend that is increasingly established in many societies. An example of this is provided by a number of Danish vocational colleges, where the entire state subsidy per student is given to the sector department, which has to make ends meet for education expenses (salaries, equipment, teaching aids, teachers’ in-service training, etc.) and pay a ‘tax’ to the common budget of the college. This ‘inclusive’ method of financial and pedagogical management highlights the need for multi-skilled school managers at many levels of the organisation. Some schools even go as far as to give teams of teachers financial and strategic planning responsibilities in order to increase their capacity to meet the needs of individual students and the local labour market. Previously, vocational colleges were mostly managed by a narrow management team that would meet daily and take all the necessary strategic and financial decisions. Now practically every teacher is involved in managing resources and identifying priorities – based on the overall values and objectives agreed within the organisation. This trend in school organisation and management will become increasingly important if providers are to secure quality in all areas of their activities, from the provision of labour market relevant education and training to financial

management and dynamic interaction with the local and regional environment. The professionalisation and improvement of school leaders is necessary to be able to transcend the classic micro-management principles and move focus from

management towards leadership. One precondition for this move is that policymakers establish a practicable local

‘space for leadership’ Authorities must show trust in leaders. They must give them space to lead but with increased

accountability so that there are

consequences if the schools do not reach objectives or leaders do not live up to their responsibilities. In order to practice effective leadership, local checks and balances must be in place too: it is important to have a competent and effective board level in institutions with a well defined role and clear objectives. A second problem area is the lack of leadership tools. One such tool is the development of a culture of evaluation, and in this context it should be investigated if a number of management tools from the private sector could be used in relation to leadership in schools. However, schools do not deliver a standardised product, so objective setting is infinitely more difficult in an education environment than in a

production company.

The third major challenge is for school leaders to become proactive in meeting the needs of the surrounding environment. In most education systems it is fair to assume that teachers are not driven by a ‘winner’ approach, so school leaders must be able to create an institutional culture of pride, taking responsibility and displaying the ability to read the trends and agendas of the day. Requirements for results will increasingly appear from many sides and interests, so teachers and school

managers no longer have a monopoly in setting the professional standards in schools. The surrounding society will demand dynamic developments in a complicated setting and increased transparency in relation to results, efficiency, communication and dedicated services for a wide range of clients. So school leadership must be increasingly tailored to local requirements and the old concept of a principal being ‘first among equals’ is no longer relevant in a dynamic school environment. In such a setting, schools must attract and continuously develop leaders.

Conclusion: from vocational training institution to human resources development competence centre: delivering quality services in transition countries

Learning from the experiences previously presented both in the EU and ETF partner countries, this final section proposes an approach to a model of an human resources development competence centre.

Developing a quality human resources development competence centre in a transition country implies developing a functional organisation that can reverse the negative forces exerted by its environment and provide innovative answers to solve identified problems. In the figure above below we present a positive mirror of what was presented in the figure on p.52: the external forces influencing a vocational training institution. It proposes a series of functional answers from a training

institution in a transition country seeking to become not only a training provider but a human resources development

competence centre for its immediate environment.

Certain functions may help to transform a vocational training institution into a human resources development competence centre. These relate to applying quality criteria, providing services to the community, and playing a role in human resources policy development for its immediate environment in a lifelong learning perspective. The development of such functions should be supported. In this new approach, initial training becomes only one of a number of services to be offered. Continuing training becomes the training priority. For this, advanced links with the labour market must be established. Other functions are provided by those who are most prepared to do it. Through a partnership approach, the host building (previously the vocational training institution) becomes a hub and welcomes within its walls any relevant institution or service that can answer client needs in a similar way as in the Danish competence centres. As we wrote above, these are no

Answers to local economic environment

Answers to local social environment Institutional answers Function: health and safety Function: curriculum development Function: strategy development Function: research and development Function: guidance and counselling Function: human resources and labour market analysis Function: staff development Function: vocational training and lifelong learning delivery (initial and continuing) Human resources development competence centre