Digital age, new learning culture: Who must head our public schools?
Within the past few years, I've had the privilege of being asked by some private schools (some following the national curriculum and others the international one) to develop the criteria for screening candidates to fill vacancies for school heads and managers.
In some cases, I've been requested to chair some of the interview meetings. I take such responsibilities seriously in the sense that my reputation is on the line; and, the schools must benefit from the selection of the very best candidate.
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Change leaders
I choose to be guided by the wisdom of Peter Drucker (1909 - 2006), the iconic management guru of the Claremont Graduate University, California. He noted that when managers or heads of organisations failed to perform satisfactorily, the persons to blame were not the failed managers, but the people who appointed such inept managers in the first place.
Exercising bad judgement in the selection process comes at a cost and some damages are irreparable, especially so in education which concerns the growth of potentially rich minded impressionable youngsters. As it's often said, "The mind is a terrible thing to waste."
To thrive in a competitive world, organisations tend to need change, not merely manage things. A change for the better, of course, is the spirit.
Again, Drucker put it like this: "In a period of rapid structural change, the only ones who survive are the change leaders. A change leader looks for change, knows how to find the right changes, and knows how to make them effective both outside the organisation and inside it."
ICT and E-Learning
In developing the criteria for screening successful candidates, the following traditional guidelines and requirements are used: educational qualifications; experience; appearance; comportment; language abilities and so on. Additionally and equally important, what vision does the prospective candidate have for the school - let's say in the next four years or so, and how do they plan to execute it?
In a category all by itself, and for which I base 20 per cent of the qualifying criteria, is ICT. What ICT skills does one have to run a more efficient organisational processes? How comfortable are they in their own ability to train the teachers under their purview to use ICT to manage and improve instruction?
Are they exuding confidence and enthusiasm for E-learning in the digital space?
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These days, other questions have to be raised: What experience does the applicant bring to the school, for example, in fund raising, knowing that schools need money to operate? What is the sense of beauty to elevate the landscape to acceptable green levels?
It doesn't matter what barrel-sized degrees, haughty positions or umpteen experiences one has, or how good they seem at interviews, they will still have to cross those bridges to be considered. That is the wave of current expectations in this century. It's not business as usual to follow tired traditions only to have bottlenecks to block progress.
And much as possible, the expectations need to be measurable and managed. It's impossible to manage what you can't measure.
Minister
In the foreword to the National Pre-Tertiary Education Curriculum Framework, the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, noted, "Our approach to teaching and learning needs to change and our intended outcomes must contribute to the achievement of national development priorities and global sustainable development goals."
He stressed the need for technology to be used as a tool for enhancing the learning experience for all learners, "The school curriculum is then positioned to develop graduates who are problem solvers, can think creatively and have both the confidence and competence to participate fully in the Ghanaian society as responsible local and global citizens."
Investing in Science and Technology is being fostered to bend the curve of development and maintain Ghana's relevance in the global economy.
The framework noted that the coming years would represent an important challenge for Ghana on its resolute journey towards the goal of integrating ICT in education delivery.
"The development and integration of persuasive features in ICT tools used in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning will be vital if Ghana is to succeed in producing more quality products from its schools."
School leaders these days are expected to promote and sustain a dynamic, digital age learning culture that provides an engaging education for all learners.
Quality experiences
Experience needs to be defined properly. There's experience, and there's rut. A bald-faced rut is where someone does the same things repeatedly for 10 or 20 years and expect a different result.
On the other hand, the right experience involves trying something new, being innovative, and even attracting others to emulate such novelties. And that's what we should expect from both staff and students.
One may walk into a good many of the schools in this country - including the public ones - check the offices, grounds, classrooms, toilets, and the lack of quality leadership abounds like a sore thumb.
Even in cases where there are computer labs, the computer just sits collecting dust, and school managers sit aloof to such decadence.
So in the selection interviews, applicants have to show how they applied the numerous workshops and experiences they'd garnered over the years.
How, for example, do they lead the youngsters to think for themselves and get important things done to develop agency for their own lives and own the school through their own efforts?
At the end of the day, how do we lead and manage change in this era of exponential possibilities and growth is what is going to propel the whole nation forward, even in these trying times.
— The author is a trainer of teachers, leadership coach and quality education advocate.
Email: [email protected]
Blog: www.anishaffar.org