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School Leadership Professional Development in Cambodia
In our schools, the quality of learning is the heart of the child.
The good teacher is the heart of the classroom.
The good school director is the heart of the school.--His Excellency Nath Bonrouen,
Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Education
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
October 2007
It has been almost two years since I last wrote about leadership development here in Cambodia. Our leadership workshops in ten provinces have been quite well received by school directors and other Ministry of Education officials. In fact, I am continually told that this project has demonstrated to people involved what leadership really looks like. The assessments that have been done show real and steady progress for some of the 500+ school directors (principals) that are part of the effort. Iv Sarik (my Khmer colleague and friend) has done a most amazing job. He is so skilled and so wise that he has made a huge difference by changing the hearts and minds of many people about the essential nature of leadership here in Cambodia. And now, Sarik and I are preparing and trying out Leadership 3!
The above quotation above from HE Nath Bonrouen is remarkable both in its sentiment and in its acknowledgement of the central role of leadership in schools. For the last 16 years there have been many efforts, by NGOs, the Ministry of Education and others to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Cambodia. Most of these efforts have born little direct fruit, but collectively have contributed to the place where the country finds itself today, making real strides at educational improvement. What is surprisingly new, however, is the recognition by policy makers, high level officials, mid level education officials and others that good, quality Leadership is the missing ingredient. A recent study done by a very reputable organization in Cambodia found that bad leadership was one of the top three de-motivators for teachers in the country (the other two being low salary and corruption). So there is a growing urgency to improve the quality of educational leaders from school directors all the way up the bureaucratic line.
As recently as 2003 there was little or no acknowledgement that leadership at the school level made much of a difference at all. School directors were viewed exclusively as managers. Their job was to implement the directives from their superiors. Without those directives, there was nothing to do. The ideas of leadership, self-initiative or creativity were not part of their job description or what anyone expected or wanted from them. It is not surprising then, that school leadership has been and remains weak.
There has never been a leadership preparation program for school directors in Cambodia. School leaders never had an opportunity to "get ready" for the role of being a leader. They were teachers one day and appointed to be directors the next. There have been, however, some efforts to provide in-service training for practicing school directors. In 1997, the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (MoEYS) in association with UNESCO/UNDP created a leadership-training program for a limited number of school directors. It didn't last very long. In 2002-2003 the Teacher Training Department of MoEYS created a training program for school directors in Management (with a very small component of Leadership). In 2003-04, as a volunteer I ran a small leadership training program for 60+ directors. Since 2005, the Cambodian Education Sector Support Project (CESSP) has been offering leadership training for lower secondary and some primary school directors in 10 provinces. Other NGOs have offered a variety of leadership trainings to small groups of directors in a number of provinces. All of these efforts have been helpful but, like the teacher development programs, have not born much fruit. Collectively, however, they serve as the catalyst to a new and deepening conviction that without strong leadership at all levels, school improvement simply cannot happen.
Increasingly, there is a belief here that in order to ensure that all schools have strong school directors it is essential to have both a set of leadership standards for school directors and high quality preparation and in-service training programs that teach to those standards. Leadership standards should state clearly the minimum competencies required of all school directors.
With the creation of standards, it is imperative that leadership development of school directors becomes part of the fabric of the education system. Leadership development for school directors must be both at the beginning (a comprehensive, high quality and mandatory leadership development preparation program) and on going throughout their careers (in-service leadership development opportunities that ensure continual professional growth). All of this professional development must be tied directly to the leadership standards. Without comprehensive nation-wide leadership development for school directors, leadership at the local school will continue to be only as good as individual school directors happen to be by chance. And that is not good enough. Cambodian children, all children, deserve better.
The last component of ongoing leadership development for Education in Cambodia is the initiation of a Masters in Educational Leadership program soon to be offered at the RUPP (Royal University of Phnom Penh). This program will begin to serve as the incubator for Cambodia’s future, truly professional and wise educational leaders. Some time, in the not too distant future, all school leaders will be required to have Masters Degrees in Leadership.
In summary, I believe that leadership development in Cambodia is beginning to occur. It has been, and remains, a very slow process. But, there are four emerging strategies that have great promise for making strong leadership possible:
1. It is possible that the MoEYS will adopt Professional School Director Leadership Standards which compliment the new Curriculum Standards and Teacher Standards.
2. Money from donor sources will be used to help create a one-year school director preparation program. This program will teach knowledge and skills in both Management and Leadership.
3. A continuous leadership/management professional development in-service program, with funds from MoEYS and donor sources, will be provided for school directors throughout their careers and offered through the national and provincial offices of professional development.
4. The development of a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership will be offered at the RUPP.
"Step by step" is a phrase used often in Cambodia to describe its journey to a new and better reality. School leadership professional development is one important part of that journey. And I am still most appreciative of the opportunity to be part of the trek!
John Morefield was previously Principal of Hawthorne Elementary School in Seattle, Washington. He has worked with the Danforth Program at the University of Washington on programs for school principals. He is a cofounder and board member of Powerful Schools. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of New Horizons for Learning.
You may email John Morefield at jmore44@yahoo.com.
© December 2007 John Morefield
http://www.newhorizons.org
info@newhorizons.orgFor permission to redistribute, please contact the author.
