“There is great potential for global competencies to transform society and shape the future of Canada and the world. This requires leaders* at all levels in the education system to work collaboratively towards a common vision and across all domains of change.”
Shaping Change: Leadership
Leadership is a pivotal component of the change process. Education systems that have undergone reform or are currently in the change process point to the need for leadership, and research shows that it can take many forms. Phillips and Schneider’s (2016) review of Idaho, Utah, and Florida’s shifts to competency-based education reinforces that leadership is crucial and can also start at various places. Leadership also evolves over time. As the direction of change stabilizes (e.g., made evident by legislative change, in many cases), then a clearer pattern of leadership distribution follows. Mourshed, Chijioke, and Barber, for example, found that leadership gradually devolves toward the “front lines” of education (2010).
In Canada, the leadership dynamic appears to be iterative but similar across provinces and territories. Although this is not documented clearly in the literature, reform ideas regarding the need for and direction of change emerge from thinkers and policy-makers in the province or territory’s ministry (who have been influenced by academics, school superintendents, principals, teachers’ associations, and others) who either push upward for change or find opportune moments to suggest change when questioned. At the political level, ministers and other elected officials will declare a need for change, but this declaration has already been informed by the work of ministry officials. By the time the public sees or hears about change, especially system change, the government, and particularly the minister responsible for education, is the one calling for change as well as for consultations regarding change. At this point, leadership flows from the political level to the ministry level to leaders within stakeholder groups (e.g., school boards, superintendent associations, teacher’s associations), who look for leadership in their constituencies (e.g., school principals). In short, leadership of reform may look from the outside as if it flows from the top down but it is far more back and forth than appearances suggest. Whereas this multi-directionality means more opportunities for synergy, the multiple hand-off points in this distribution of leadership also means having strategies in place for ongoing reciprocal communications.
For more information, and to consult the references indicated above, please click here to download the pan-Canadian systems-level framework on Global Competencies.
Key Points of Shaping Change
LEADERSHIP MODELS
· Leadership is essential in any intentional change process.
· Leadership can come from all levels––across many, if not all, domains of change.
· Leadership for system reform is more of a reciprocal relationship than a pure top-down or bottom-up path.
COMMUNICATION
· Communicating a coherent message across leadership levels is vital to the change process.
· Ongoing reciprocal communication is grounded in true partnerships and collaboration throughout; it is open and transparent.
CAPACITY BUILDING
· System change is supported by strong and sustained political and ministry leadership that embraces moving forward (e.g., changing the Education Act, as in Alberta and Quebec).
· Ministries of education and superintendents support leadership at all other levels.
· Leaders are actively identified and engaged at all levels and across stakeholder groups.
*The term leader in this context is used broadly and can mean both official and unofficial leaders across the education system. This could range from those at the top of the system (e.g. Premier and Ministry of Education officials) to those at the bottom (e.g. Principals and teachers). Leaders can also be identified from those in the community who have an interest in the development of student global competencies (e.g. Elders and employers).
