LEADERSHIP, EDUCATIONAL QUALITY AND INNOVATION

Day 1: Leadership: why is it important, what needs have to be addressed, examples of approach

• Introduction, ice breaking, presentation of programme
• Schools are facing complex transitions that have an impact on all levels and for all stakeholders There are a lot of exciting challenges to be realised such as: developing basic skills, literacy and key competences, thinking skills, language skills and creativity.In addition, the Covid pandemic created an urgence to act immediately and effectively.
• Education in the 21^st Century: Competent – Connect – Communicate– Collaboration – Creation – Critical
• Vision and forecasting: our “take on education” seen from the 3 horizons
• GPS method : brainstorm technique to discuss about the innovative gamechangers in educations
• Digital transformation in education: innovations to keep an eye on
• Developing future oriented scenarios and involvement of different stakeholders in education

Day 2: Leading schools into innovation / change: only inspirational and strategic leadership provides a vision and direction towards effectiveness and success in these matters.

• Coaching change processes
• Development of strong vision and making choices
• Kotter’s 8 steps and variations
• School culture andschool organization
• Shared or co-creative leadership – situational leadership – educational leadership – transformational leadership
• Appreciative inquiry
• Sustained and durable leadership
• Processes of innovation – ex. Hype circle Gartner
• Toolbox for leading change _ Tips on how to innovate and still manage the work pressure
  • Early adopters
  • Nudging – Quick wins instead of big revolutions
  • Co-creation methods: world café, scenario writing and storyboarding, design thinking, elevator speech
  • Change in infrastructure
  • Solution for an authentic urgency
• Qualitative school organisation: communication platform, communication channels, HR…

Day 3: Didactical and pedagogical processes, the course also explores didactical / pedagogical skills for teachers who want to enable dynamic learning in tomorrow’s learning environment based on new learning theories.

• Participants will get to know new teaching and learning methods that address the educational challenges of the future: embedded learning, student centred learning, situated learning, experimental learning, active hybrid learning, SMAC-approach…
• Based on a per-task the needs of the participants will be assembled and the examples will be chosen in line with those needs.
• Study visit to a school, where an observation exercise will be carried out using the newly acquired insights. The observation is based on the ‘Classroom Walkthrough’ methodology.

Day 4: Learning organisations; relation and interaction between leadership, innovation and education quality

The course wants to contribute to the empowerment of schools as learning organisations. During the course sessions we have a look at different aspects of education quality and the role of the school team to achieve good quality.

• Innovation as change, capacity development and change-management skills
• Cyclic systems, Team school golden circle (Simon Sinec)
• Single, double and triple loop learning in learning organizations
• From sharedambitions towards a strategy: professional development plans, co-teaching, brainstorm rooms, mentorship programs, observations…(learning culture), 360° feedback
• Professional development plans in view ofhuman-centred approach and quality of education
• Visualization of educational quality and data-based quality, school data literacy

Day 5:

• Development of personal case
• Transfer exercises
• Presentation of ‘Master Piece’ on own context
• Evaluation, certificates and farewell

Note: A voluntary cultural activity of half a day is planned during the course week. The cost is not included in the course fee.

• Understand the structure, attitudes and behaviour associated with leadership;
• Be able to self-reflect on the own leadership;
• Distinguish different types of leaderships that can be used in different situations;
• Understand the effect of innovation as being a change; Gain insight in the concept of education quality;
• Understand the relation between leadership, innovation and quality;
• Improved knowledge of other European educational systems;
• Improved insight of differences and similarities between European countries, resulting in a better understanding and respect;
• Pick up ideas from other countries which they can incorporate and transfer into their own practice.

• It was amazing how different our education systems are, but at the same time how similar our challenges and problems are. During the course I’ve learned a lot about possible solutions I hadn’t imagined before.
• Thanks to the trainers and the reflection exercises, I developed a quite different idea on leadership. Now I understand why some of our changes didn’t work out as planned.
• The relation between leadership, innovation and quality was the backbone of this course and will be the structure of my next approaches at school.