Teachers as leaders

The Ministry of Education is convinced of the importance of teachers. They can contribute to their school’s success. We want teachers to take on a catalyst role through a continuous commitment to improvement.

To achieve these aims, my ministry has embarked on a training programme on Reflective Practice, Inclusive Leadership and Student Engagement for all stakeholders. The programme, entitled “All Together Now”, is a visionary plan for the next decade: 2014-2024.

The specific goals of the training sessions include the identification of conceptual framework based on a critical-democratic perspective that honours equity, social justice and diversity in educational leadership.

The implementation process consisted of a workshop for 34 groups of middle management educators employed with the Ministry for Education and Employment in Malta. Over 1,000 participants were involved. The implementation process started in the middle of November 2013 and was concluded in the beginning of April 2014. The six-hour sessions involving each of the 34 groups were delivered and evaluated anonymously.

Each programme consisted of three parts:

•  Reflective practice and inclusive leadership

•  Student Engagement and the problem of deficit mentality

•  Social Justice education and leadership

This was developed to support the equity, diversity and social justice component of the Malta Education Strategy 2014-2024. The broader plan includes professional development for all levels of those who work in the Ministry of Education and Employment and in state schools.

The programme also included conceptual component and practical group exercises with each component. During the coming scholastic year teachers, kindergarten assistants and LSAs will participate in the same seminar. However before the end of the scholastic year two colleges: Gozo College and St Gorg Preca College, released teachers early making it possible for them to attend a seminar spread on two half days.

In the meantime the senior management team of all middle schools were invited for a seminar on Collaborative Leadership. All senior management teams will be invited to this seminar in the next scholastic year.

Through practical sessions cooperative leadership skills were identified and discussed. This was also done through case studies. The session was enjoyable, refreshing and all had the opportunity to reflect, comment and collaborate in a relaxed atmosphere which helped all learn more on the individual leadership skills of all participants.

There are several positive lessons learnt from the construction, implementation and evaluation of the programme. The programme is an excellent example of participative professional development aimed at bringing about system wide educational reform that honours the views and input of those directly involved in the field.

It is based on democracy, equity, diversity, social justice beliefs, values and principles that are consistent with distributed leadership. The programme is also meant to build sustainability and capacity building with regard to the understanding, enacting, and developing a national education strategy.

“All together now” also aims to bring about a better understanding and enactment of participative aspects of educational leadership that are fair, just, equitable, and honour diversity in its robust sense. It aims to bring about a change in all stakeholders’ understanding and practices of equity, social justice and diversity.

Griffiths Darrin, in his Principals of Inclusion (Word & Deed 2013) writes:

 “We need to concentrate on the ‘why’ of education. Growing inclusion demands that we change how we conceptualize our roles as principals and our purposes within the system. In this regard we have important roles to play as public intellectuals, critiquing an education system that focuses on efficiency and quantitative data rather than on serving our students in a holistic way. Assuming this role is critical to our becoming empowering advocates for inclusion in our schools.”

Formally or informally, we believe that the teaching profession in Malta and Gozo should exercise leadership but to do so teachers should also assume the role of learners. Learners model continual improvement, demonstrate lifelong learning, and use what they learn to help all students achieve.