On Thursday 15 February, 2:00 – 4:00 GMT, VVOB-education for development together with its partners launched a webinar series titled: “School Leadership Matters - Promoting Effective School Leadership in Africa” organised by the African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL). The inaugural session focused on why school leadership matters and highlighted the role of the ACSL in promoting school leadership on the African continent.
Why School Leadership Matters?
Governments in Africa have made great strides to ensure access to basic education. But being in school does not equal learning, and the quality of education remains a challenge. School leaders are essential to tackle this. Research has shown that effective school leadership contributes to better teaching and learning.
Drawing on the conclusions of an empirical review of research on school leadership, effective school leadership is critical to addressing the underlying factors of the learning crisis impacting the African continent, such as unprepared students, poor teaching quality, weak school management, and a focus on educational inputs that do not drive learning.
Speakers
In answering the question ‘Why school leadership matters’ during our inaugural webinar, the speakers highlighted that effective school leadership is the key to the strengthening of school systems and learner success.
The speakers included Dr Abdishakur Tarah, a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Nottingham Institute of Education, Nottingham Trent University, UK; Dr Quentin Wodon, Director of UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa – IICBA and Dr Michael Boakye-Yiadom, Director General of the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA), Ghana. In addition, Chantal Kabanda Dusabe, Acting Country Programmes Manager for VVOB in Rwanda and Dr Fay Hodza, the Regional Coordinator of the African Centre for School Leadership delivered messages at the webinar.
Keynote speaker
Dr Janet Okoko, a Professor of Instructional Leadership at the College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, Canada, delivered a keynote message. She zoomed on three big ideas around school leadership: concepts associated with school leadership, whether school leadership matters; and the applicability of global claims about effective school leadership in the African school context.
She challenged policy makers and other professionals who work on school leadership to think deeply and creatively about how to contextualise school leadership policies, practices, research and advocacy work.
Overall, Dr Okoko’s presentation underscored the importance of effective school leadership in Africa, highlighting its critical role in shaping teaching practices, improving student outcomes, and fostering positive school cultures. She discussed the four pathways of influence and the seven claims about effective leadership which provided valuable insights into the multifaceted nature of school leadership and its impact on educational success.
Her presentation concluded with thought-provoking question on how well current leadership theories apply to the African context. This question encourages further exploration and discussion on the applicability of leadership theories and practices in diverse educational settings. The African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) will continue to engage with this topic in 2024 and beyond, adding to current research and dialogues.
Education as roots and wings for young people
In his concluding remarks, Dr Fay Hodza, the Regional Coordinator of the African Centre for School Leadership summarised the overall driving force behind the school leadership matters webinar series using an African proverb that describes education as roots and wings for young people: “We desire to bequeath two things to our children. The first one is to give them roots, and the other one is to give them wings”. Dr Hodza highlighted that “The work we do in school leadership and education in general is to create roots and wings for our learners and our children”.
The next webinar will take place on the 2nd of May 2024. During this session, invited speakers will discuss and share experiences on breaking gender barriers in school leadership.
The webinar series – a collaborative effort
The School Leadership Matters webinar series is co-led by the following development organisations as well as academic institutions dedicated to promoting quality education:
- Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA),
- UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa - IICBA,
- The Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) under the auspices of UNESCO at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
- Nottingham Institute of Education at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom and
- Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
The launch of the 'School Leadership Matters' webinar series represents a significant step forward in advancing educational leadership and empowering school leaders. The series is an open platform for sharing and debating best practices and gaps in promoting effective school leadership in Africa — ensuring that school leaders are equipped with the tools and support they need to lead with excellence and positively impact student learning and achievement.
Watch the webinar recording.
