Some experiences of the countries on recruitment, training- fostering and assessment on competency of education managers in high schools

In this article, the authors desire to give an overview, in which some methods and models have been used in training, fostering, assessment and recruitment of high school leaders by so[r]

TRAINING-FOSTERING AND ASSESSMENT ON COMPETENCY OF EDUCATION MANAGERS IN HIGH SCHOOLS

Trinh Van Minh1 Vu Thi Thuy Hang2 Abstract

An increasing domestic and foreign attention is paid to recruitment, training and fostering and assessment on competency of high school education managers (Principals) Many forms, criteria, standards for selection and assessment are identified, accordingly, the orientation, even a philosophy of education can be identified through the use of “leaders” In this article, the authors desire to give an overview, in which some methods and models have been used in training, fostering, assessment and recruitment of high school leaders by some developed countries; and on this basis, some experiences are given for Vietnam

Keywords: Education managers; Recruitment; Training-fostering; Evaluation; standards for principal

1 Introduction

It can be said that the recruitment of school managers with priority criteria for excellent teachers or experienced educators in pedagogical activities has become anoverwhelming trend over many decades in the world However, in addition to other competencies that are differently established and arranged in the “standards for principal” of countries, in recent years, the role of “pedagogic leadership” of the Principal is increasingly important, with a significant role in the principal’s functions In this role, the principal must be able to lead the change process of the school with the voluntary and sustainable participation of all other members in educational community

However, there is a fact that the methods of recruitment, training, and assessment are diversely organized: for example, recruitment can be prepared in advance, in the teacher training

program (initial training) or through gradual professionalization of teachers who are assigned to

perform different responsibilities in the school before being assessed and recognized to get sufficient competency to undertake a key task in management and leadership

2 Concept of “Principal career”

The above-mentioned diversity of recruitment methods poses the question:Does “Principal career” exit or not? In other words, the question is, “Are education managers in general and high school principals in particular considered a profession or recognized as a profession?” Currently, there have been two contradictory trends, specifically:in traditional concept, principal is not considered a profession, because the principal is considered a teacher who has given up or restricted his professional activities to focus on pedagogical management and school management.Based on this concept, the position of manager is considered temporary and the teacher is always conscious of readiness for returning to teaching after a certain period In fact, this trend is currently in line with higher education management, where the principal is a credible person elected or appointed by colleagues (in the public mechanism) After finishing his term, the principal return to the position of the lecturer, and it happens naturally

However, in reality, very few principals at high school level returns to teaching role after spending time at the position of principal; rotation is still a mechanism applied in many countries in the world In his report, author Nguyen Van Quoc (Hai Duong Department of Education and Training), after the survey, states that the average number of years as an education manager in the province “as of December 2014 is 20 years, equivalent to the term of insurance contributionfor the retirement regime” [4]

The second concept seems practical and suitable for high education, in which the functions of leader are understood as a professional activity for excellent teachers or those who have stopped teaching These teachers are committed to choosing management for the rest of their career and they are aware of the request for career changeand live with a second career called managerial career.

3 Professionalization of the Principal career through training

Professionalization of the Principal’s career is currently an outstanding trend in the world through a variety of recruitment policies to select managers who are equipped with the knowledge, skills and passion for the profession to be undertaken by them

The principals or vice principals was recruited fromhighly senior teachers who after receiving adequate training, have extensive experiencesin teaching or lower level management in the past, however, this recruitment criteria is no longer the top priority We know that such traditional recruitment process will exist for a long time, however,recruitment of leaders and managers whose competency satisfies requirements are not guaranteed On the other hand, after being appointed to the manager position, the teachers will not have much time for professional activities

In the context of rapidly increasing quantity and quality requirements of the schools, it can be said that the distinguishing the two functions teacher and principal contribute to enhancing the role of principalas a manager cum a leader In many countries, particularly in Germany, there are a lot of policieson appointing the principalin high schoolswhen he/she hasa degree in education management or school management [5], without giving high important to teaching seniority, even without direct teaching experience In the United States, it is not a request that the principal of a high school must be a candidate who experience teaching; a degree in education management or school management [5] - necessary condition to apply for the position of principal In France, the appointment of the principal is not only related to the classroom teacher but also brings opportunity for a team of education or career orientation officers to hold the principaltitle in high schools.

Where the role of an principal is not only assessed in teaching capacity, the Principal plays many different roles such as: administrators, managers, heads, representatives, etcbefore increasingly diverse and complicated tasks such as management of facilities, human resource, finance, administration, expertise, relationship management, etc

In the UK, the Fast Track Teaching program was introduced in school in 2000, aimed at providing incumbent teachers, right from the beginning of their career, fast-growing perspectives with diverse assistances for vocational training and development The program is aimed at motivating and supporting young teachers to undertake tasks in the school.In particular, after one five-year period, young teachers must be able to undertake the duties of a school

principal, Vice Principal or an active and enthusiastic professional leader.[6]

In order to implement this program, young teachers are led by a system of advisors and they have access to and reference to a system of resources, a network of human resources established for such purpose (You can refer to this issue in the UK via the link.http://www fasttrackteaching.gov.uk/templates/index.aspáoáo)

4 Recruitment of a Principal for high school

Along with the development of the concept of management profession (Principal), the context of economic, cultural and social development of the age has also been posing new requirements for the function of school principal Accordingly, in the education systems of the countries, it is necessary to build new competencies in line with this progress These abilitiescan be demonstrated, identified during recruitment or will be trained from the beginning or during continuous training

Methods and conditions for recruiting a high school principal

In the world, there are a number of ways and conditions for recruitment of high school principals These prerequisites may relate to the professional field, the seniority, work experience of the teacher or the manager In addition, the recruitment comes along with a specific fostering period for principal in previous time, after taking office or in the first

Prerequisites: In most countries, to be appointed as a principal, the candidate must be

the teacher must be a teacher or manager with a 2-10 year seniority in the school In Europe and many other countries, including Germany and Finland, require that the candidate for principal position must achieve a higher education or master’s degree in education management and school management;however, there is no regulation onthe seniority This is also the case in most states in the United States, requiring the principals of high schools to get a professional degree in education management This degree may also be granted after being appointed; In this case, the candidate has to enroll for years before the appointment and finishes his/her degree after two years of appointment

If education managers have started their careers from teaching role, this requirement is non-compulsory, and the appointment of principals will be quite diverse

In Singapore, young teachers are regularly assessed in the competency prospects of the “leadership” and their managers In addition, experienced principals will have further tasks of guiding new principals starting their careers, in order to prepare them for the best performance of their new tasks

Principal is experienced teacher who are “thrown into the water”:That is the case in many

countries in the world today, especially in developing countries In such countries, the principal is appointed and works immediately without special training Even after being appointed, for the principals in the schools far from the big cities, the organization of retraining courses is almost infeasible due to economic conditions and difficult travel In these contexts, it is hoped to take solutions for use of new information technology, online training based on the needs of each object, each region and each country.Typical example is Africa, where UNESCO established International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IIRCA) headquartered in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia The Institute aims to develop information and communication technology in education to promote cooperation in training teachers and education managers [3] However, the application of information technology ineducation managers training and fostering in these countries is a big challenge due to underdeveloped technology infrastructure, unsecured network access, lack of necessary telecommunications equipment, unsuitable work habits (culture of new technologies utility), etc

5 Contents and methods of training the high school principal: some different viewpoints

The viewpoints of training education managers are inseparable from the role of the principal in the school, and it is not surprising that there are many opinions that there should be a qualitative change related to the objectives and training methods before changes to the important role of principal

5.1 Training contents

Traditional training programs that are widely popularized in countries for training newly appointed school principals, often includethe contents related to public management,

management concept for the principal’s functions, tend to be replaced, or no longer important in newly established programs considered as the latest and most suitable ones

In some other programs, the administration aspect is given more priority The technical design and management of training programs often aims atsatisfying specific needs, in the form of a list of subjects that the principal can choose according to his or her needs.

In the latest training programs, the introduction of exchange contents via network and the

role of “advisor” has heightened the exchange of experience between principals and became

one of the pillars of the retraining program,whichbring the awareness of the flexibility of the leadership process: transfer of experience, exchange of perspectives enable us to be better

prepared for specific situations Choosing a priority for personal development means personalizing the curriculum.

5.2 Training method

In the world, vocational training for principals can be implemented with many different methods and forms Organization solutions often depend on available resources and the competency to solve problems posed for training activities.A number of questions are posed regarding the method of training:

Principal training can be implemented before or after recruitment?

For a number of leadership positions, including the “principal”, a training process can be established in two stages: in the first stage, the training process is organized in academic

or professional institutions; The next training stage may be performed after being recruited by the employer (in some States in the US) The ratio between such two stages depends on

the conditions of the specific position and the complexity of the occupational functions Therefore, some training programs produce “ready to work” (turnkey) package products while in some programs, some abilities are required to be learntand trained at the facility after being recruited

However, as mentioned, in some countries, the recruitment of school principals is based on whether the candidates have specialized training degrees, teaching experience, and work experience in the field of education for a certain period; Ifrequested, the training shall be performed only after the task is received

Who is authorized to organize Principal training?

In the world, there is the opinion that let the profession itself determine the necessary

training methods and contents Therefore, in some countries, there are professional associations,

In addition, employers or recruitment agencies are obliged to organize retraining for their employees, especially when employers realize that initial training is not enough for the recruited employees to practise However, the Career Association and employers can authorize training for specialized training institutions by providing them with a pre-developed plan

Which form of training is suitable?

Traditional training programs include reconnected subjects or a list of “optional” short

courses The strength of the fist program type is that the contents areclosely linked, however, it

does not always meet the needs of diverse objects The training may be organized in centers or performed remotely Distance learning is especially performed in countries where population density is low and remote geographic distance, which takes a long time and high costs for distance learning Distance learning can be combined with self-training and consulting sessions.

Finally, there are new forms of collaborative work are being applied to information and communication technology advances, including: network work and establishment of online

forums, remote mentoring via e-mail These techniques have particular strengths for those who

have to learn while still performing work, by this way, they can organize their learning at the suitable pace and time

5.3 Pre-employment training

In some countries, such as the United States, for example, the pre-employment training in the higher education form with a Master’s degree is requested before practicing These training programs are designed to equip future principals with professional knowledge to be immediately used after finishing the programs In some other countries, although there is no such requirement, the universities provide similar training programs for education management In case of pursuing such programs, candidates for manager positions achieve an additional strength

In the 90s of the last century, the contents of the training program of American universities were criticized, therefore, they are basically reoriented Despite approval by the States, these programs are considered to be non-selective and unsuitable for emerging needs These programs are criticized due to their too theoretical contents and being taught by lecturers who are almost ignorant about work practices in a school

These programs have been reformed later, specifically, more internships in the school have been supplied and more personal activities have been organized depending on the learners’ needs and projects In addition, the States education authorities have sometimes loosen licensing conditions by allowing one part of the program to be implemented after recruiting new principals

5.4 Initial training after recruitment

last up to months After a fairly long time, the new principal is still considered to be in the training stage

For a candidate who has been appointed vice principal, this period will be extended until such person can completely take over the works in the school This extended period is for the recruited person to acquire the necessary competencies and experience that can be assisted by a mentor, an experienced colleague who tracks the activities and progress of new recruits, in a personalized form In France, the principal is naturally the one holding this role for the newly appointed vice principal.

Initial training is tending to be complicated and personalized, the training period is relatively long, the use of different training methods is coordinated and quite complex training programs tend to be organized

5.5 In-service training

After the initial training period, principals may have the need of continuing to be trained to update the knowledge learned in order to implement government-initiated innovations Continuous training can also lay the foundation for educational administration career when the principal is promoted or changed his/her function; this is also a personal development tool based on the principal’s career assessment methods.

With their diverse functions, continuous training should be organized practically, combined a variety of organizational methods and used a variety of resources In countries that invest heavily in retraining in office, research-based training has been successfully implemented People there think that research practice is a way to improve personal autonomy and the principal’s ability to manage change.

The benefits of research are clearly seen when the career progression of principals is regularly evaluated, such as the case in the UK Indeed, the principal career goes through many stages because the principal’s functions are prepared to assume the role of a “professional leader” with the expectation of being the principal A principal who has been affirmed may be considered a senior principal and assigned additional consultant and adviser’s duties Finally, as a leading head, the principal is invited to participate in the assessment, construction, design of school development plans, and is tasked with participating in directing the education system

How to gather the principal’s capabilities?

Personalization-oriented training needs to be closely monitored and conducted external assessment Therefore, personalization-oriented training is closely linked to the assessment stage

Two examples of the current Principal training system[5]

Training system in UK

In order to organize principal career training, UK has an agency called the National College of School Leadership (NCSL),

NCSL is responsible for organizing:

● training course for granting degree to the heads/principals (NPQH- National Professional Qualification for Headship)

● training courses for taking office ● retraining courses

These training courses are usually held at regional centers and in cooperation with the University Periodically, these centers are conducted external assessment

Training system in France

Training system in France is managed at the local level (Académie) and operated based on a National Human Resource Center, called the National University of Education (ESEN) The system provides in-service training courses for accession to office including training modules outside of the school and a companion mechanism undertaken by experienced principals Continuous training is less developed in this system The system is also regularly conducted external assessment

6 Assessment of the principal and the role of competency standards competency standards in the assessment

6.1 Competence standards for the Principal

In recent years, a number of researches have been conducted to accurately describe the role of principals through competency standards [2]

In fact, in different countries, the above factors are expressed in different priority levels and development orders, but they are quite similar in content

For example, in the United States, standards for Principal begin with professional

leadership, the competence to develop a school’s vision, and the responsibility to build a school’s own culture, before referring organizational and managerial competences The UK standards are more

detailed but also show the same priorities as the US The French standards set out first the

competences related to the organization, then the competence to build projects and implement school projects; for the implementation of a school project, emphasizing the competence to define project

objectives after discussions with employees; for project development, it is required to have the competenceto grasp national orientations and the competence to negotiate with educational authorities at all levels

Thus, the opposition of the two professional leadership styles mentioned above is reflected in these standards

6.2 What is the role of the standards for principal?

Competency standards for education managers are built in different countries but almost have the same objectives:

- The first objective: Standards are used as a basis for initial training and retraining of principals - The second objective: standards are used to publicize the society, school partners, students’ parents, local people’s representatives, and social and economic managers related to education, expectations they may have for the school and the school management team.

- The third objective: Standards are the basis for assessing the incumbent principal and identifying areas where the principal needs to be improved and self-trained.

In most countries around the world, similar standards are often developed on the principle of negotiation and agreement with employers, representatives of incumbent principals and experts In fact, despite the fact that all components have been accepted, there is still suspicion about their application to the principal’s assessment as well as the principal’s practice

6.3 Method of principal assessment

In the United States, the assessment of principals is conducted at the local level by specialized administrators and schools make similar recommendations (Lashway 2003) The

Center for School Leadership Developmentof the University of North Carolina recommends the

following assessment method:

School principals self-assess based on a set of standards that have been developed on a state or national scale The results of the self-assessment will be discussed with the superiors to identify areas where the principal needs to be improved The superiors are responsible for helping the principal determine some of his/her career development goals Each party participating in the assessment has its own strategy, which is the factors that allow measuring the results of the implementation of the set goals Principals and superiors meet regularly to monitor and evaluate the principal’s progress

In the report” Preparing Teachers and Developing Schools Leaders for the 21st Century» , OCDE, 2012, authorAndreas Schleicher, the representative of the research team, especially noted the model of Slovakia (Slovenia) of Former Yugoslavia, whereby high school principals were assessed on the degree of achievement of the goals set forth in the

school project The results of the assessment can then be used to adjust the principal’s salary.

6.4 A new trend in evaluating principals through school projects

Due to the importance of the principal’s strategic role in improving school effectiveness, the assessment of the principal’s competence occupies a very important position in professional development mechanisms and in the practice process

Most European countries have issued a type of assessment conducted by a organization or a system of inspectors However, in fact in the late years of the 20th century, the assessment of principal has not been systematically implemented in nearly half of the countries on this continent (according to a 1996 survey of EURYDICE)

In recent years, with the strengthening of decentralized policy in school management, the assessment of principal has tended to be replaced by the overall assessment of school Facing the diversity of schools, instead of using the general evaluation criteria and the form, the assessment agency focuses on the goals that have been discussed and negotiated with the school and the school leadership Therefore, each school’s development project or strategic

plan built on the advantages, challenges and available resources is in line with higher goals at

local, regional or national levels, becoming an important reference for assessment activities The progress madeassociated with the contribution of the leadership, the school employees and partnerswill be measured and assessed through the goals set by the school

7 Conclusion

After introducing some of the issues raised for school leadership and managers under the direct influence of the economic, political and social progress of education systems and some innovative solutions in several countries around the world, here are some highlights that need special attention regarding school administration, the following are some highlights that need special attention regarding school administration, recruitment and

development of principal career, assessment and training of principal The issues raised in the

following conclusions, although drawn from the practice of developed countries around the world, can be discussed regarding recruitment, training, development of principalcareer and assessmentofprincipalin Vietnam

Regarding school administration:

The principal must have the necessary facilities to make the school developed.

If being assigned the task of leading change and continuous improvement of the school, the principal must have the necessary means of action, that is, the ability to create and gather a team around and throughout the school and motivate that team This also means that principal must have the right to recruit their teachers;regarding their career

progression,principal also need to have a range of different incentives that can be applied

depending on the needs of every school member Such incentives include improvement of working conditions, assignment of specific rights, remuneration, finance, etc to perform their functions

Regarding recruitment and career development:

Organizing the recruitment and anticipate a career development roadmap Candidates for

leadership positions should be identified as soon as possible among the teachers who are interested or demonstrate appropriate qualifications (for example, the case of Singapore) This allows a well-organized transfer through the performance of tasks that are confined to the field of operations of a professional leader

Supporting and accompanying in preparing the functions for the principal and career start-up with an adaptive training program It is necessary to be aware of the complex nature of

the school principalcareer to provide support and guidance in accompanying the future principal before taking on the duties and in the first years of the principal career

Regarding principal assessment:

Assessment associated with the school project

Regarding teacher training:

The outline of school management should be included in the teacher training program to make contact with the principal’s function, including pedagogical activity This is the time to attract the attention of teachers who have interests and ability to work in management activities, and thereby identify potential principals In this regard, the reforms in recruitment and in the training of school principals that have been implemented in the UK are exerting their effects through a specific training institution (National College of School Leadership)

Preparation of future principal career before being recruited

This requires that the design of a school principal training program is an ongoing process that begins with initial teacher training and leads to a gradual diversification of a principal’s functions This also means that the teacher training program is not separate from the school manager training program

Research training and research adoption

In the context of continuous innovation to ensure that school performance is always improved, one of the principal training methods applied in developed countries is to train teachers and incumbent principals capable of reviewing their activities through specific researches This training should be initiated in the initial training stage and continued throughout the professional life, which gives the principal the ability to be autonomous and knowledgeable about his/her activities in practice as well as adapt them continuously in the process of developing the principal career

In summary, the issues posed in this article require a systematic and continuous viewpoint, from the first stage to the last stage, from the awareness of the principal’s activities as a career to the assessment and treatment stage Some of the highlights in the above conclusiondrawn from the reality of developed countries in the world can help us have innovative viewpoint on the related activities that so far has many concerns

References

1 Nguyen Loc (2015), “Approaches to competencies of education managers”, Proceedings of the Scientific Workshop on education manager training in the context of educational innovation, Hanoi University of Education

2 Trinh Van Minh, “The new role and competence of high school principals in the 21st century from the perspective of developed countries”, Proceedings of the Scientific Workshop on the topic KHCN-TB.21X/13-18 “Research and proposal of solutions to improve the quality of education managers and teachers for sustainable development in the Northwestern region”; 6-2016

4 Nguyen Van Quoc (2015), “Some opinions on education management careerand the issue of education management career training”, Proceedings of the Scientific Workshop on education manager training in the context of educational innovation, Hanoi University of Education

5 UNESCO, “Les nouveaux rôles des chefs d’établissementdansl’enseignementsecondaire”,

Research Report, Paris, 2006.

MỘT SỐ KINH NGHIỆM CỦA CÁC NƯỚC VỀ TUYỂN DỤNG, ĐÀO TẠO - BỒI DƯỠNG VÀ ĐÁNH GIÁ CÁN BỘ QUẢN LÝ

GIÁO DỤC Ở CÁC TRƯỜNG PHỔ THÔNG

Trịnh Văn Minh1 Vũ Thị Thúy Hằng2 Tóm tắt

Việc tuyển dụng, đào tạo - bồi dưỡng đánh giá cán quản lý nhà trường phổ thông (Hiệu trưởng) ngày quan tâm nước Nhiều hình thức, tiêu chí, tiêu chuẩn lựa chọn, đánh giá xác định qua nhận diện định hướng, chí triết lí giáo dục thông qua việc sử dụng người “lãnh đạo” Trong viết này, tác giả mong muốn đưa nhìn có tính chất tổng quan, số cách thức, mơ hình số nước phát triển sử dụng hoạt động đào tạo, bồi dưỡng, đánh giá tuyển dụng người đứng đầu nhà trường bậc học phổ thơng, từ rút số kinh nghiệm cho Việt Nam

Từ khóa: Cán quản lý giáo dục; Tuyển dụng; Đào tạo - bồi dưỡng; Đánh giá; chuẩn Hiệu trưởng