Teacher Leadership – internationale Erfahrungen mit Führung von Lehrpersonen, Vernetzung und Entwicklung

Dr. David Frost befasst sich in seiner Arbeit und Forschung seit vielen Jahren mit dem Zusammenhang von Führung und Lernen. Seit den späten 1980er-Jahren arbeitet er an der Entwicklung von Strategien, die Lehrpersonen befähigen, effektive «Agents of Change» zu werden. David gründete das HertsCam-Netzwerk, das eine grundlegende Alternative zu dominierenden Konzepten der Entwicklung von Schulen und Lehrpersonen darstellt. Seit 2008 arbeitet HertsCam mit Partnern in vielen Ländern – in Europa, im Nahen Osten, in Zentralasien und darüber hinaus – am Aufbau von Programmen zu Teacher Leadership. Nina-Cathrin Strauss hat ihn interviewt.

David, what do you think is the current focus of the discussion on school leadership – also against the background of Covid-19 and the challenges in schools in the United Kingdom?

I have not been spending time in schools this year largely because of the pandemic, but I remain connected to teachers and school principals through virtual meetings, so I have some idea of this and I am very aware of the debates through the media. Obviously, at present, schools are very engaged with the immediate day-to-day challenges of making their schools ‘covid-secure’. Government policies in response to the pandemic have thrown a harsh spotlight on issues about school autonomy because the government is both expected to provide reliable guidelines, but at the same time to trust schools to make decisions for themselves. What really drives school principals to demand clarity from the government is the question of legal responsibility.

If people suffer ill health or lose their lives because of Covid-19 infection, school principals are fearful of being held to be liable in a legal sense. Morally of course, they want to do their best for their students and the community, but the question of legal culpability is compelling.  While the pandemic is the most urgent focus of attention, good school principals and their staff are nevertheless concerned about their schools as organizations and they remain keen to build the sort of organizational capacity necessary for success in the long run.

You have long worked on teacher leadership as an aspect of school leadership and have shaped the concept of non-positional teacher leadership. What does it mean and what are some examples in practice?

Teacher Leadership – internationale Erfahrungen mit Führung von Lehrpersonen, Vernetzung und Entwicklung weiterlesen