Governance and School Leadership in the Flemish System
Diversity and Partnerships
Gaby Hostens
OECD-workshop
Brussels, 1-2 February 2007
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Political context
Constitutional context
Educational context
Governance in education
Attractive, Developing and Retaining Effective School Leaders
Performances of Flemish schools in international surveys (PISA,
TIMSS)
Major challenges for education policies
I.
Political context
1.
Belgium : a federal country
2.
3 Communities :
Flemish : ± 6 mio = Dutch-speaking
French : ± 4 mio
German : 0,1 mio
3.
Competencies in education
Systems have grown apart
Governance : the role of ministers of
education
Funding mechanisms
Curricula
Quality assurance mechanisms
Teacher salaries
Performances of the systems
II.
Constitutional context
Has impact on governance
1. Freedom of education
a.
Freedom for providers = freedom to start a school
Great diversity of providers
*
Private organisations
*
Municipalities, provinces
*
State → Community
b.
Freedom to choose a school = free choice for parents
Schools compete for students ! Quasi-market
Informed choice ? Voice ?
Equity ?
c.
How to implement freedom of education ?
Providers :
*
Financial support
*
Pedagogical autonomy
*
Obligation to enroll students
Great responsibilities
-
Parents, students
*
No fees during compulsory
education
*
The right to enroll
*
Geographical accessibility
d.
A great diversity of providers. Diversity of
-
Pedagogical projects
Denominational, non-denominational,
official schools
Size of school boards
Impact on governance
Impact on school leadership
2.
The right to education
a.
Entitlement to the school of your choice
b.
Entitlement to high quality education
= a challenging curriculum
c.
The right to enroll
3.
Equal treatment of students, teachers, parents, schools
But : objective differences are allowed
III.
Educational context
Defining characteristics/features of the system
1.
A large diversity of relatively by autonomous
providers
2.
Autonomous providers
-
have networked
have been networked
Catholic schools
State, community schools
Municipal schools
Provincial schools
3.
National core curriculum = a minimum
4.
A compulsory ‘schooling’ period of 12 years
5.
No national exams (A-levels, Bac, etc.)
No standardised tests at key stages
6.
Schools that meet legal criteria issue valid diplomas
7.
Input funding based on enrolment figures
= No output funding based on performances
Funding mechanism : sensitive to student
enrolment
8.
Accountability mechanisms
Inspectorate
Free choice?
IV.
Governance in education
Introduction :
Many layers of government
Involvement of a great many stakeholders
Heavily institutionalised
1.
Different layers
a.
Organising bodies = school boards
→ Bear the full responsibility for operation
of their schools
-
Employers
Pedagogical autonomy
Quality outcomes : performances
Financial management
Infrastructure
But organising bodies, school boards
For community schools = school group
For municipality schools = municipal council
For private schools
*
Religious congregations
*
Diocese
*
Local organisations
*
Etc.
School boards = Schulträger
Critical in education in Flanders
Central role in organisation of schooling
b.
Communities of schools in primary education
and
secondary education
Regional networks of schools
A limited number of competencies
Diversity in communities of schools,
differences in :
*
Geographical spread
*
Size : number of schools, number of
students
*
Impact on individual schools
Policy objectives :
*
Achieve a more rational school landscape
*
More rational use of resources
*
Better career guidance for students
c.
National networks of schools = umbrella
organisations
Membership : voluntary vs
compulsory
Roles :
*
Representation
*
Capacity building
*
Curriculum development
*
Professional support
→
Important actors at macro level
2.
Involvement of stakeholders
a.
Teaching unions. Reflecting diversity of the
schooling system !
Representative unions are members of
appropriate committees at every level :
Local
:
Schools
Regional :
Communities of schools
National :
Umbrella organisation and
Government
b.
Umbrella organisations (providers)
c.
3.
Other stakeholders such as parents, teachers,
students, social partners, etc.
Well developed legal framework for
participation at :
School level
National level
→ Monitoring by the inspectorate
Advisory bodies
a.
Flemish Educational Council = VLOR
Composition : all relevant
stakeholders + elected headmasters
and teachers
-
Competencies :
*
Advice
*
Consultation
*
Study
→ Involvement of a great many people
→ VLOR : important actor in policymaking
b.
Flemish University Council = VLIR
c.
Flemish Council for Colleges for Higher
Education = VLHORA
4.
Negotiating bodies
Minister of education
+
Umbrella organisations,
representing the school boards
+
Teaching unions
Checks and balances
Governance structure : lean and mean ?
Decision-making process : slow !
V.
Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective School
Leaders
1.
Diversity in school boards, organising bodies
↓
Impact on school leadership
Impact on attracting school leaders
2.
Differences in challenges and approaches
a.
Size matters
b.
Professional vs less professional approach to
attracting and selecting headmasters
Scouting potential candidates
Closed vs open system
Assessment mechanisms
c.
Training and professional development
Pre-service training :
*
Certificate in community education
*
No certificate in private or municipal
schools
In-service-training for headmasters
*
A wide supply of academic and other
courses
*
Peer learning
VI.
Performances of Flemish schools in international
surveys. PISA, TIMSS
1. Does the system achieve quality?
a.
Excellent average performances
b.
Consistency of performances across
Age cohorts : 13 vs 15-year-old students
Subjects
: Mathematical literacy
Scientific literacy
Reading literacy
Surveys
: PISA – TIMSS
Periods
: 1995 → 2003
c.
2.
A large cohort of excellent performances
Does the system achieve equity ?
1.
Large gap between excellent and low
performances
2.
Large impact of socio-economic background
3.
Weak performances of first and second
generation immigrant students
High
Bel -Flemish
Mathematics
Communityperformance
Hong Kong-China
Finland
Korea
Liechtenstein
High performance
540
Netherlands
Japan
High
performance
Canada
Belgium
Low social equity
Switzerland
High
Australia
New Zealand
Czech Republic
France
Strong impact of social
background on
performance
Sweden
Austria
Moderate impact of
social background on
performance
SlovakCommunity
Republic
Poland
Norway
Luxembourg
United States
520
Iceland
Denmark
Germany
Bel Ireland
- French
Hungary
Macao-China
social equity
500
Spain
Latvia
Low performance
Low performance
480
High social equity
Low social equity
Portugal
Russian Federation
Italy
460
Low Greece
Performance
VII.
Major challenges for education policies
1.
Good governance
a.
School leadership : effective school leaders
Shortages
Quality of candidates
Training and professional
development
Mandate vs tenure for heads of
secondary schools
b.
School leadership : effective school leadership
One-man show versus team leadership
2.
c.
Involvement of all stakeholders
Participation in elections
Genuine involvement in committees
d.
Professional school boards
Good pool of excellent candidates ?
Achieve quality and equity in the system
Mitigate impact of socio-economic
background
Raise performances of immigrant students
Narrow achievement gap between schools
→ Effective school leaders