Other routes to headship

While I concur with a number of points raised by Joseph Muscat (July 5), I am quite disturbed by others. Of course, I fully agree we need to "consolidate" the current diploma programme which is required for school headship. At the same time, I would like to remind Mr Muscat that it is not the only route to headship.

People who have an equivalent degree or, better, can apply (and as he, I'm sure, agrees these are on the increase mainly through the Masters degree courses they are following abroad). And, if one has a Masters degree, I am sure one will be considered more favourably, especially given the fact that the current diploma programme is not even a post-graduate one!

However, this is besides the point. We definitely need to review what the current course is covering. But, not only so. We need to review how this is being delivered, by whom, how it is being assessed and what is being achieved - its learning outcomes. A thorough review which involves discussions with current and past candidates should be undertaken. The Faculty of Education's board of studies should take this suggestion seriously and put it on its agenda for the next academic year.

However, it is here that Mr Muscat and I part company. I am concerned that he describes a proposal for a Masters degree as an "academic qualification" which "may sound good in academic circles". I am concerned that he turns a serious proposal into a mere academic exercise purely done by academics for academics! Why Mr Muscat draws the conclusion that a Masters degree is an academic one astounds me for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, as a member of the Deam board of studies he should be well aware of the numerous programmes that exist around the world that are mandatory or optional for aspiring heads. In fact, the Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQP) he refers to is just one of the many options and good examples available to us.

It is definitely not the case of one or the other. However, given the current provision of the diploma (which, incidentally, Mr Muscat does not refer to as an academic qualification, I wonder why?), we can easily adopt a tiered approach into headship.

I do believe, unlike Mr Muscat, that the timing is right to do this and far from premature. The emerging picture of school leadership in the late l990s in all countries has become increasingly complex. In Malta the pace of change shows no sign of slackening as the government continues to introduce new demands upon schools and to expect results within relatively short time-scales. Much of the impetus for implementing successive national reforms rests primarily with the leaders of individual institutions.

We do need to view leadership from a wider perspective than what the diploma currently offers. We need to prepare candidates aspiring for leadership positions in schools, especially assistant heads and subject coordinators who play a crucial role in school development initiatives. At the same time we need to think of teachers who are at the centre of school improvement. But of this later.

Secondly, it is not the title that determines whether a degree or qualification is academic or otherwise but the aims, the learning outcomes, the programme, its content, its delivery and its assessment procedures that do. These are the issues that matter. From the review I conducted of the various international programmes currently on offer for headship, the most effective ones are those based on a model of practice built on the supposition that each action/activity can be seen as being made up of three elements - why, what and how it is done.

These form the basis for the critique of practice. Building on this approach, competence is defined as the ability to combine all three elements to achieve an improvement in the school's functioning. The model opens up the issue of competence to professional judgment because intentions and the bases for decision-making become a crucial part of assessment.

The rationale for the design of such a model of practice is to enable practitioners to analyse and reflect on what they do and to develop their practice as a result. This should be the guiding light, the intent, behind any of our programmes and it is with this intention in mind that we spoke of a Masters programme - a programme which is academically sound and rigorous and professional by nature. The two go together. They are not mutually exclusive.

Thirdly, and this is linked to the last point raised by Mr Muscat. He argues, and he quotes extensively from a speech by the Scottish minister of education, Brian Wilson, that the head's role should be mainly focused on teaching and learning. This is no news to us. The research since the 1970s has highlighted this crucial role.

The paradox we are facing, however, is that in spite of the fact that we have had the diploma programme for 18 years, this area has never been truly addressed. In fact, the local research into headship conducted by the Faculty of Education over the years, and more so, that of assistant heads and subject coordinators, shows they spend little time in classroom to support teachers so that they can improve current practice.

And, with devolution of authority to the school site, NMC requirements, and the latest call to start debating the way schools should be managed, then we definitely need to develop courses and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities that can help existing and prospective leaders have a positive impact on their own and teachers practice.

I will end by presenting a number of issues that courses for those occupying or aspiring to occupy leadership positions need to incorporate.

Research in various leadership studies (for let us not downplay the role of research) both locally and abroad suggest that effective leaders are reflective, caring and highly principled people who emphasise the human dimension of the management enterprise.

They are people who place a high premium upon personal values and are concerned with cultural and structural changes. Given this, what are the implications for the leadership training and development of aspiring and serving school leaders? And this is the discourse that needs to be addressed by those who truly wish to consolidate and increase the relevance of current programmes. We need to start thinking of professional courses and directly link these with CPD opportunities for position holders, whoever these may be.

Programmes must have a focus upon critical thinking, emotional and cognitive, and intra- as well as inter-personal skill development. There needs to be courses on strategic planning, on modem management (accounting, costing, budgeting).

They also need to develop research skills. Heads need to start thinking of distributed leadership. Schools of the future need to have all its members of staff with the capabilities of conducting various forms of research which can determine future changes and developments.

Candidates also need direct investigative experiences which constantly allows participants to relate what they are "studying" with school life (this was, after all, the philosophy behind the creation of MBAs).

Candidates need to be encouraged to develop a reflective journal and portfolio as they go through the course. Shadowing heads during parts of the programme should also be considered. The international experience (attachment to schools, shadowing heads) is also beneficial.

While currently this is seen as an optional opportunity within the diploma programme, it should become a required experience. Special interest groups should be set up allowing participants other learning opportunities. And what about mentoring? Here experienced heads who may have retired can support newly appointed heads as they settle in their new posts.

From this, one can see that we are not only referring to content, but also to methods and approaches to outcomes. Programmes that tend to be remote from the field of practice, under whatever name they are given, will lose their relevance and effect on the person and the institution they work in.

These are the questions we should be debating. We need programmes that not only help to challenge the status quo, or help address current challenges, but also instil that sense of creativity within personnel to take their school forward to explore uncharted land and sea.