An examination of how system orientated educational policies and processes affect leadership of transformative schools

In most Western countries, ministers, policy makers and think-tanks are pressuring education leaders to drive higher academic performance in K-12 schools. This agenda is largely shaped by a focus on learner performance in national high-stakes tests in literacy and numeracy in schools and advanced subject examinations throughout secondary school. Many education critics believe that broader measures of educational system success are needed to better reflect and serve the needs, values and expectations of society (Hattie, 2019; Hargreaves, 2003). Most leaders of public education systems use comparisons of international data, such as PISA results, to instigate change in their systems. Instead, I chose to investigate how system-oriented educational policies and processes affected leadership of transformation in schools. I used an exemplar case of Alberta, Canada to elucidate the larger case of New South Wales, Australia. My interpretations of the findings revealed the importance of district-level/state-level nurturing of principals and other school leaders to enable them to transform practices and to simultaneously strive for success for all learners. The study results reveal the value of a shared vision that underpins all leadership layers of the education system, with a focus on professional learning and valuing educational expertise. High performance is enabled through communities of practice that promote collaboration, joint problem solving, customised outcomes and professional growth. In New South Wales my results point to the need for clear policies and processes that promote leadership to enhance engaging teaching, learning and formative assessment practices. Expertise in management and compliance at the system level was well regarded but it was considered too far from the school level to optimise effectiveness. A shift towards transforming operational models to work in more differentiated ways was needed, where parts of the system were more tightly connected. Drawing from the analysis in both cases, the role of contemporary, evidence-based exemplar practices of professional learning was a powerful enabler of transformation. Findings suggest that levels of systems leadership have key roles in strengthening system coherence, emphasising educational expertise due to the nature of the work leading learning. There is also a call for specialised leadership recruitment and training practices with greater responsiveness to school needs. The shift towards more collaborative, multidisciplinary leadership structures is required for transformative school systems along with a mechanism to match leaders with schools to ensure the most appropriate level of ‘fit’ to diverse school communities. The use of nuanced examples and exemplars may play a role in supporting the change needed in leadership approaches to achieve improved systems for future students.

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