Jayson W. Richardson

Educational reform in Georgia: recommendations for building leadership capacity as a critical success factor for instructional change

Abstract The article presents recommendations for effective building of leadership capacity in the context of the educational reform in post-Soviet Georgia. The Government of Georgia has introduced several reforms since passing the educational reform law in 2005, among others also continuous professional development programmes to upgrade teachers’ competencies to face the evolving challenges of the modern classroom. Nevertheless, the practice of teaching has remained top-down and teacher-centred, the same as practised in the Soviet era. While teacher professional development is essential for successful educational reform implementation, this article also points to the importance of school leadership in creating the conditions in schools that support teachers’ implementation efforts. The majority of Georgian schools lack such capable leadership. The recommendation for leadership training that will support stretching the practice of leadership over multiple leaders in Georgian schools was made based on research, and on recognising the country’s systemic weaknesses in policy and practice of school leadership. While the presented recommendations are specific to Georgian context, they are also generalisable to the post-socialist countries that are facing similar policy and practice weaknesses, and could thus benefit from the application of a similar approach.

Go online or get sidelined

Synopsis n n n n nYoung professors Baxter, Jim, and Robert are eager to start a new graduate certificate in educational leadership with a focus on technology. The department supports their initiative. The department is even supportive of offering this certificate fully online. Support waned when, in an effort to boost student enrollment, it is suggested that additional graduate courses and programs within the department also move fully online. In department meetings, faculty members argue about the rigor of online courses and if it is possible to convert existing courses and programs to an online delivery format. Tammy and Larry are veteran faculty members who do not want to teach online and have made it clear to the rest of the faculty they are not eager to change. When there are not enough students to offer their programs in the traditional format, all faculty members are forced to begin teach online. n n n n nResearch methodology n n n n nThis is a disguised field-researched case. n n n n nRelevant courses and levels n n n n nThis case may be used in a variety of graduate business or education courses, such as introduction to business, business ethics, educational leadership, technology leadership, or higher education. n n n n nTheoretical bases n n n n nStudents should have some understanding of systems change, ethical decision making, and human resources development.

Are Changing School Needs Reflected in Principal Job Ads

The roles of the school principal continue to evolve due to shifting demands as well as ever-changing organizational needs. As new leadership skill sets emerge, we might expect school systems to respond by actively seeking different credentials, experiences, and dispositions of their principal candidates. This study of 279 principal job advertisements from 7 states showed little reconceptualization of building-level leaders’ roles and responsibilities. The number of job advertisements that merely noted traditional, management-oriented responsibilities dwarfed those position announcements that mentioned more future-oriented job roles. Potential implications of the ubiquitous similarity of principal job advertisements include failure to adequately match candidates with organizational needs and an inability to sufficiently adapt to changing societal contexts.