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Invitational Education Leadership
From Peter Wong....Good Insights! And, encouragement for the U.S. 'Sleeping Dragon' to wake up....
**Dear all Pl see the preceding and it accounts so well why IE is so significant and
crucial as we are targetting
to develop the teachers' quality through our
training, consultation and sharings especially in our HK IE Project
that
recruit 30 new schools every year!! To improve the effectiveness and
quality of teachers and IE definitely
speaks to the 'heart' of the needs and
are the main reasons why Finland could rise to the top of the world
in
their education offered to young people!!! I am going to share this as one of the important evidence in
the conference
presentation of why IE is so curcial in teacher's education and our work
with schools. Hopefully
the 'sleeping dragon' in US could be awaken and
catch up with the rest of the world!!! Enjoy Peter **
How Did Finland’s Schools Get to Be Number One?****
In this article in *American Educator*, Finnish researcher
Pasi Sahlberg analyzes the reasons for his country’s
remarkably effective
schools. As recently as the 1960s, Finland’s schools were mediocre at best –
on
a par with Malaysia and Peru. Today, they rank first or second in
international comparisons. ****
According to Sahlberg, this happened for three reasons.
First, Finland made the decision to recruit the best and brightest
to the
teaching profession and provide research-based, nationally coordinated
university training, practice teaching
and induction, and professional
support – all at government expense. “Among young Finns,” he says,
“teaching
is consistently the most admired profession in opinion polls of high-school
graduates… Because
teacher education is so strong, Finnish teachers are very
well prepared to take a teaching job as soon as they are assigned
to a
school.” There is little turnover or attrition in the profession.****
Second, teachers (all members of a single union) are
autonomous, trusted, and respected. There is no mandatory national
curriculum, no formal teacher-evaluation process, and only one high-stakes
student assessment – for college admission.
Curriculum planning, student
accountability, and teacher evaluation take place at the school level,
guided by a
general curriculum framework, classroom assessments, and
continual feedback from the principal and colleagues. “Student
assessment in
Finnish schools is embedded in the teaching and learning process and is used
to improve both teachers’
and students’ work throughout the academic year,”
says Sahlberg. “… Since Finnish teachers must
design and conduct appropriate
curriculum-based assessments to document student progress, classroom
assessment and
school-based evaluation are important parts of teacher
education and professional development.”****
Third, Finnish teachers devote serious time to interacting
with their colleagues. They are with students for fewer hours
than teachers
in the U.S. (about 600 hours versus 1,080), spending two hours of
contractual time and additional
voluntary hours each week planning
schoolwork with other teachers. “An important – and still voluntary –
part
of Finnish teachers’ work is devoted to the improvement of classroom
practice, the advancement of the
school as a whole, and work with the
community,” says Sahlberg. “Because Finnish teachers take on significant
responsibility for curriculum and assessment, as well as experimenting with
and improving teaching methods, some of
the most important aspects of their
work are conducted outside of classrooms.” ****
Sahlberg concludes that these three factors are connected.
“The Finnish example suggests that a critical condition
for attracting the
most able young people is that teaching be an independent and respected
profession rather than
just a technical implementation of externally
mandated standards and tests,” he says. “Teachers’ strong
competence and
preparedness are the prerequisites for the professional autonomy that makes
teaching a valued career.”
**** ** ** ** ** *Bobby Moore, Ed.D.* Senior Director - Client Engagement | *Battelle
for Kids*
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Invitational / Transformational / Ethical
Leadership
Transformational Leadership 'Walk-The-Talk' Self-Assessment Rubric
Enter content here
Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Also see 8th Habit, below)
Covey - The Eighth Habit - Find your voice / Help others find theirs
Leadership - Changing Minds
'Changing Minds' - FROM-TO Chart
Crucial Conversations - Vital Smarts - Webinars
Crucial Conversations - Vital Smarts - Case Studies
Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman
Primal Leadership - Daniel Goleman
Irony in Learning About Honesty in Leadership - Misquoting John Paul Jones
Transformational Leadership - Analysis of Chapters (scroll across Chapter Titles for useful details - especially 22 Stimulating
Creativity & 23 Leading Innovation)
Top 10 Educational Leadership Books
Leadership & Professionalism
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Teacher Leadership
Teacher Leadership Standards
Teacher Leadership: 10 Roles
Teacher Leader Blog: Very Insightful
Curriculum Leadership - Baseline Essays
5 Toxic Beliefs That Ruin Careers - By Geoffrey JamesPeople who hold these beliefs tend lack the energy required to create their own success. Don't
be one of them. The Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament
is, in my opinion, one of the best business books ever published. One passage, in particular, contains a world of business
wisdom: "As a man believes so is he." (23:7) In the past, I've written in this blog about the beliefs that make people more successful. However, I've observed that there are five other beliefs that consistently make people less successful. Make sure you
don't subscribe to any of these 1. My self-worth is based on what others think of me. Some
people define themselves based upon how they guess their boss, co-workers, relatives and friends see them. When they are convinced
that others think poorly of them, such people lack the self-confidence necessary to consistently take action. 2.
My past equals my future. When some people experience a series of setbacks, they assume that their goals are
not achievable. Over time, they become dispirited and discouraged, and avoid situations where failure is a risk. Because
any significant effort entails risk, such people are then unable to make significant achievements. 3. My destiny
is controlled by the supernatural. Some people believe that their status in life–or even their potential
as a human being–is determined by luck, fate, or divine intervention. This all-too-common (and ultimately silly) belief
robs such people of initiative, making them passive as they wait for their "luck" to change. 4. My
emotions accurately reflect objective reality. Some people believe that their emotions are caused by external
events. In truth though, emotions are determined by the perception of those events, combined with preconceptions
about what those events mean. Such people find it difficult or impossible to "get out of their own heads" and see
situations from another person's viewpoint. 5. My goal is to be perfect or do something perfectly. Because
perfection is unattainable, the people who seek it are simply setting themselves up for disappointment. Perfectionists blame
the world (and everything in it) rather than doing what's necessary to accomplish extraordinary results. That's why
"successful perfectionist" is an oxymoron. If you're suffering from any of these five beliefs, I strongly
recommend expunging them in favor of better beliefs. I explain how to do this in this post "How to Be Happy at Work" (in the post, I call them "rules", but that's the same thing as "beliefs.") Like
this post? If so , sign up for the free Sales Source newsletter.
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Resources and References
Inviting Educational
Leadership: Fulfilling Potential and Applying an Ethical Perspective to the Educational Process
John M. Novak
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