Insights into Finnish School Leadership
Delve into the unique approach of Finnish school leadership, emphasizing distributed decision-making, trust-based relationships, and a focus on teacher development rather than testing. Explore the shift towards valuing lifelong learning, shared management, and the integration of strategic planning at the district level.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
You are allowed to download the files provided on this website for personal or commercial use, subject to the condition that they are used lawfully. All files are the property of their respective owners.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Schools in Finland Leadership| Chris Bauman| #1107614005 Principal s review : https://youtu.be/mJkKs7blk6U
Report https://youtu.be/7xCe2m0kiSg
At a student level No emphasis on individual testing no regular national tests No enhanced learning programs for the young, focusing on slow learning, valuing lifelong learning
Distributed leadership Those who have the capacity to make decisions are encouraged to make them.
The foundation of Leadership At a teacher level Success is through Trust A culture of trust, co-operation and responsibility https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2017/aug/09/worlds-best-school-system-trust-teachers-education-finland
Why be a teacher Finnish teachers are drawn to the profession because of the regard in which it is held in helping bolster and build a wider social mission of economic prosperity, cultural creativity and social justice.
Teachers given responsibility Flexibility in what and how they teach. Performance isn t observed and graded. Instead, annual development discussions with school leaders provide feedback on a teacher s own assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Problems are solved through cooperation https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2017/aug/09/worlds-best-school-system-trust-teachers-education-finland
Principals Must have been teachers before they take on the top job? What are the advantages of this?
Steer rather than control Strategic thinking and planning is done at a District level.
Distributed Leadership In Finland, principals are responsible not only for their own schools but also for their districts. There is shared management and supervision as well as evaluation and development of education planning.
Aim To become more successful and more scaleable
School leaders step beyond the boundaries of a school to influence the environment .. What is environment? p74
Effective networked organisations are able to learn continuously, not just as an aggregation of individuals, but also collectively as a group.
A process rather than an event Sustaining communities of schools: Schools need to work together in a co- operative way, with a collective and distinctive vision, are managed in terms of resource allocation and infrastructure. But the government leadership hasn t been strong, so progress is slow.
Moving towards co-operation: Currently though the government still seems to support both competition and co-operation between schools . This needs to be clearer.
Providing leadership training and support: Communities require training and support to be successful.
Sharing practice: It is essential to define, share and disseminate good practices What is something that Taiwan does well? Can you think of an area where Taiwan needs to improve?
Challenges Declining enrolments Declining resources Increased attention to special educational needs More emphasis on integrating educational provision with health and social services Self evaluation and auditing responsibilities Continued emphasis among principals on their teaching contributions as well as on their increased leadership responsibilities. P89
Weaknesses No quick intervention practices if the system is to fail
Future Directions Pedagogical leadership for learning may need to become more informed by research More clearly defined roles Leadership succession - national strategy and possibly mentorship Distributed leadership can lighten the load System leadership to share common resources and to help, support and learn from each other, as they learn to lead together. Such system leadership is a relatively new departure in Finland and the subject of the next section.
National Leadership The government closed schools in response to the coronavirus and pushed for more remote working. https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finland_closes_schools_declares_state_of_emergency_over_coronavirus/11260062
Top 5 reasons that Schools in Finland are succeeding https://youtu.be/UfmFIEh2QjU
Discussion How do you think finish leaders can cooperate more in the current environment?
