Author: goele

Ilse Flink VVOB-education for development in Rwanda
Chantal Kabanda Dusabe VVOB-education for development in Rwanda

The Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) has a strong vision to ensure that all schools have a quality school leader in place who supports teachers and holds learners’ aspirations high.  As school leadership reform has nudged towards the top of policymakers’ agendas, the provision of continuous professional development (CPD) to school leaders in Rwanda has also expanded. Since 2016, VVOB – education for development, an active member of the WISE ALL-IN community, has been working with REB and the University of Rwanda – College of Education (UR-CE) to capacitate school leaders as instructional leaders. Through two complementary CPD modalities – a one-year blended training diploma program and participation in professional learning communities facilitated by Sector Education Inspectors – school leaders are taken through the key building blocks of effective school leadership whilst also developing cross-cutting skills like gender-responsiveness, inclusive education, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). 

So far, more than 1,200 school leaders have been trained in 17 out of 30 districts. A recent external evaluation shows that the impact on the daily practices of school leaders is very promising. The CPD modalities are expected to scale up to the remaining districts so that all school leaders in Rwanda have what it takes to be effective instructional leaders. 

Changes in leadership beliefs and practices

In Rwanda, school leadership is traditionally top-down, with teachers accountable to headteachers who are, in turn, accountable to their hierarchical superiors at the district level. Changing this mindset and introducing shared leadership is an important element of REB’s vision of competent headteachers.  After taking part in the training program, school leaders have a better understanding of the value of shared leadership, and they change their perceptions towards it. Importantly, these changed beliefs translate into changes in practice. Some school leaders make time in the school timetable so that school-based mentors can set up communities of practice of subject teachers and organize formal induction programs for new teachers. Others create platforms for shared decision-making such as School Improvement Planning teams. As a result of this evolution towards shared school leadership practices, teachers, in turn, indicate having more decision-making power when it comes to school improvement planning and more autonomy in lesson planning and assessments. Teachers feel more valued and motivated and can approach their school leaders without fear of rejection or reprisal.

“I used to think that I am the center of everything in the school, but after studying about sharing responsibilities, I learned that everyone is responsible for every activity in school. If something is not right, everyone in school has the right to comment about it or come to me and say ‘this is wrong, let us change it’ . . . I have become more friendly with the teachers due to this collaboration and working together.” Headteacher, Rwandan Secondary School.

“There are leaders who thought that evaluating a teacher means focusing on what they do wrong, and punishing them. But, after the training, they have understood that evaluating a teacher means to advise and guide, not to threaten.” School-based Mentor, Rwandan Secondary School.

Key ingredients of effective CPD for Rwandan school leaders

What makes the CPD modalities for school leaders in Rwanda effective? There are many reasons, all of which are interlinked. At VVOB, we think the six key ingredients are:

1. Enabling policy environment: Improving the competencies of school leaders is high on the agenda of the Rwandan Ministry of Education and several policies have been developed to that effect. The CPD modalities put in place by VVOB and partners are aligned with these policies to ensures buy-in at different levels of the education system (Ministry, districts, and schools).

2. High need: To date, school leaders in Rwanda do not need to hold a specific school leadership certificate or diploma to qualify for their position. As a result, most Rwandan school leaders did not receive any training specific to their role when entering the profession. The combination of CPD modalities now provides what is often their first opportunity for deep, collegial reflection and renewed practice.

3. Design and content: The one-year training program and structure of the professional learning communities for school leaders have been carefully designed, building on the latest evidence on school leadership, the Rwandan professional standards for effective school leadership, and on principles for effective adult learning. The training program has been contextualized in collaboration with REB and UR-CE.

4. Strong, equitable partnerships: The partnership in place between REB, UR-CE and VVOB is long-standing, with clearly defined mandates and responsibilities for each stakeholder.

5. Synergetic effects: The two CPD modalities are not implemented as standalone activities. Other actors in the education system are targeted simultaneously, including through training on Educational Mentorship and Coaching for School-Based Mentors and Sector Education Inspectors and training on Educational Mentorship and Coaching for STEM subject leaders. District officials are trained in Effective School Leadership together with school leaders.

6. Iterative learning cycles: School leaders are trained in cohorts. After each cohort, the training program is improved based on the latest monitoring and evaluation (M&E) data. Data is collected on four levels: reaction, learning, behavior and results following the Kirkpatrick evaluation of the training framework. This allows for a deep analysis of results and enables program staff and partners to look at the challenges from different angles.

Download the midline evaluation of the ‘Leading, Teaching and Learning Together in Secondary Education in Rwanda” for free.

Content from a Premium Partner Mastercard Foundation

OPINION By Rica Rwigamba (Country Head, Rwanda, Mastercard Foundation) and Marianne Kiggundu (Country Programmes Manager Rwanda, VVOB ? education for development)

More children and young people in Africa have access to schooling, but unfortunately, being in school does not automatically result in learning at school. The continent faces a “learning crisis” that jeopardizes economic growth and the well-being of its citizens. Too many young Africans are lacking the skills needed to thrive in the future, yet these young people represent the potential and future of the continent. To tap into the opportunities of a rapidly changing continent, Africa’s young people need a relevant education which can help them develop 21st century skills. This requires robust investment in many aspects of the education system, including effective school leaders across the continent.

Young Africans can transform the region and create lasting economic change, but they need to be equipped to do so. To solve the learning crisis and allow young Africans to thrive and achieve their full potential, four critical pillars must be addressed:

1. prepared learners
2. quality teachers
3. inputs and monitoring focused on learning
4. and effective school leaders

Effective school leadership enables the three other pillars to come together. School leaders are responsible for the effective management of the school, providing academic leadership and strategic vision. Effective school leaders are especially important in schools serving the most disadvantaged and can support equity, inclusion, and community involvement. School leaders play a key role in influencing the motivation and capacity of teachers to deliver quality education in part by creating a supportive school climate and environment. School leaders provide mentoring, supervision, professional support, and guidance for teachers. They can identify strengths and weaknesses of their teachers and provide support for continuing development. Good teachers in turn, are central to enabling student learning and success.  Effective teaching inspired by the best leadership are at the heart of the learning process and are the most important school-based factors for improving learning.

In fact, research has clearly shown that school leadership accounts for up to 25% of variation in students’ learning achievements, second only to classroom teaching. A study by the World Bank found that the most effective school leaders achieved the equivalent of three extra months of learning per year, compared to their least effective counterparts.

Surprisingly, the school leadership level is often forgotten in education reforms in spite of the potential for impacting the success of students. The underutilisation of school leadership is even more surprising when we acknowledge how cost-effective it is for tackling the learning crisis.

Weak school leadership capacity remains a reality in many countries. A recent report on Secondary Education in Africa by the Mastercard Foundation offers important insights as to why. In Sub-Saharan Africa, limited school leader capacity reflects a historical legacy of seeing a school leader as a purely administrative role. Instead of appointing staff for their educational leadership capacities, promotion processes for school leaders were often exclusively based on social or political networks. This also explains the striking underrepresentation of women in school leadership positions in many of these countries, when compared to the proportion of female teachers. Generally speaking, women are underrepresented in educational decision-making bodies, such as boards and ministries.

Mastercard Foundation

More children and young people in Africa have access to schooling, but unfortunately, being in school does not automatically result in learning at school. The continent faces a “learning crisis” that jeopardizes economic growth and the well-being of its citizens. A robust investment in many aspects of the education system is needed, including effective school leaders across the continent.

Clearly, a fundamental shift is required. Training just one school leader could potentially improve the learning outcomes of all students in that school. This study calculated the expected return on investment of management training for learner outcomes and found that it is one of the most meaningful in education reform.

School leadership can be strengthened by providing professional development opportunities for school leaders. Good practices already exist, such as the programme implemented by VVOB and Mastercard Foundation in Rwanda. As part of the Leaders in Teaching initiative, we work closely with the Government of Rwanda to strengthen school leadership in secondary education. The programme started in 14 districts of Rwanda and will now be scaled up to all 30 districts. Even in these difficult circumstances of COVID-19, the ICT-enabled model for professional development of school leaders allows us to reach large numbers of beneficiaries.  Professional development of school leaders is provided through certified courses in effective school leadership and through professional learning networks of school leaders. Through iterative learning cycles, we are learning what works best while implementing the programme. An early impact evaluation showed improvements in learning among teaching staff, and more collaboration between the schools and wider community. A midline study highlighted that there is increased support for professional development of teachers in schools where school leaders have been trained.

With this increasing evidence available on what works and how, we are looking forward to taking a next step in strengthening school leadership across Africa. Existing innovative approaches on school leadership, such as the Rwanda case, which was recognized by the African Union as a top innovation should be further tested and scaled in other African contexts. . Strengthening in-service teacher mentorship and support has also been identified as key policy challenge in the KIX Africa 19 regional hub.

Based on more than a decade of experience in strengthening effective school leadership in Rwanda, we can leapfrog reforms in other African contexts and generate the impact African young people deserve. Existing school leadership standards can be contextualized and current professional development trajectories for school leaders can easily be adapted to new environments. We believe that this will truly make a difference for education in Africa, and can help the continent fulfil its potential as a region where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper.

Authors:

Rica Rwigamba (Country Head, Rwanda, Mastercard Foundation) and Marianne Kiggundu (Country Programmes Manager Rwanda, VVOB – education for development)

Chapter in “Education Reimagined: Leadership for a New Era” (pages 38-39) by WISE
Author: Chantal Kabanda Dusabe, Strategic Advisor in School Leadership for VVOB – education for development

INTRODUCTION

There is strong consensus within the international education community that effective school leadership is key to leverage the broader education workforce for better learning and more resilient education systems. However, school leaders’ roles and responsibilities are often still too contained to administrative or supervisory activities. The shift towards instructional leadership at school level can be facilitated through the professional development of school leaders to undertake instructional leadership and by providing the necessary tools, and by strengthening decentralised educational leadership capacity.

RWANDA IMPORTANT ACTIONS

In Rwanda, the government set out on a path in 2008 to firmly institutionalise such effective, instructional school leadership with the support of VVOB – education for development. Five important actions (in somewhat chronological order), over the course of nearly 15 years – not an unusual length of time for nationwide scaling – have led to this success and can inspire similar endeavours.

1. Set up a dedicated unit within existing structures To consolidate and sustain progress already made in pilot projects on school management and administration before 2008, Rwanda’s Ministry of Education and VVOB began looking at how and where to set up a department responsible for school leadership more broadly. In 2011, this collaboration led to the formal establishment of the School Leadership and Management Unit within the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB). The unit is mainly responsible for the quality of school leadership and management in basic education and, more specifically, for continuous professional development, peer learning, and the monitoring and evaluation of school leaders. A taskforce on school leadership, co-chaired by REB and VVOB, coordinates efforts of all partners in the education sector.

2. Define a common framework for ‘effective school leadership’ One of the first major accomplishments of the Unit was the formulation and introduction of evidence based professional standards for school leaders:

• Creating strategic direction for the school
• Leading learning
• Leading teaching
• Managing the school as an organisation
• Working with parents and the wider community

These five standards describe in detail the key roles, responsibilities, functions and necessary competences to be an effective school leader. They set a common framework for the recruitment, assessment, certification and professional development of school leaders.

3. Invest in accredited professional development of school leaders and government officials In 2013, work began on developing a system to extend professional development to school leaders and government staff at a decentralised level across the country, taking into account the abovementioned five standards. VVOB, REB and the University of Rwanda-College of Education (UR-CE) joined forces to design two continuous professional development (CPD) modalities. These were

• a CPD diploma course on Effective School Leadership, aimed at equipping school leaders with the competences needed to fulfil their roles. By 2021, around 3,000 school leaders had successfully completed the program, officially accredited by UR-CE
• additional CPD support in professional learning communities (PLCs) of school leaders, aimed at bridging the gap between the theory, policy and practice of effective school leadership, and at creating a forum for sharing good practices. By 2021, VVOB had trained close to 400 government officials at a decentralised level, to facilitate these PLCs and coach the school leaders participating in them.

4. Reach more school leaders online As points 1 and 2 show, scaling is about more than ‘reaching numbers’. However, numbers are important, especially if the issue at hand impacts many individuals, as effective leadership does. When it comes to reaching many people, ICTmediated learning has some obvious advantages. The government of Rwanda is also keen to harness the power of ICT.

In 2019, VVOB redeveloped the original training programs for school leaders for delivery in a blended modality by UR-CE lecturers. Future and current school leaders who want to obtain a diploma in Effective School Leadership can now learn the content online from their workplace or at home through a user-friendly interface. The limited face-to-face sessions are dedicated to deepening the understanding of the content through peer learning and interactive exercises, with offline alternatives for contexts of limited connectivity.

5. Promote distributed leadership in schools As effective teaching is the school-based factor with the greatest direct impact on learning outcomes, VVOB and REB also look to teachers to take up leadership roles. School-based mentors and school subject leaders, for example, are teachers selected by their peers to act as teacher leaders: they are expected to show personal leadership in professional development; they coordinate school-based CPD; they support new teachers; they stimulate reflection through lesson observations and feedback; and they are general coaches and mentors to support their colleagues in becoming better teachers. The support of the school leader for the school-based mentor remains, however, a key determinant for successful teacher leadership. Through this trajectory of institutionalising effective school leadership at different levels, VVOB started building an evidence base to demonstrate that the model ‘works’ and to gain eminent support within Rwanda – and across the African continent.

In close partnership with the Government of Rwanda, the Mastercard Foundation and the Belgian Government, VVOB is initiating the African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL), an initiative by and for Africans and African-based partners.

The Centre, a multistakeholder initiative, is currently in its foundation phase and will be hosted by the Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Education, a key strategic partner. The ACSL is set to support African governments to build a supportive school leadership system with the objective of improving teaching practices and, in turn, learning outcomes. Drawing from evidence on the effects of school leadership, supportive educational leadership at policy level will enable effective and scalable professional development of school leaders, resulting in more effective school leadership. Effective school leadership, in turn, will support effective school-based teacher mentorship and support, resulting in improved quality of teaching, learning and learning outcomes.

A review of empirical evidence on school leadership in Africa

In the run-up to the establishment of the Centre, a review of empirical research on school leadership in Africa took place. This review offers insights in what constitutes effective school leadership on the continent: research question (RQ) 0. The review considers the key competencies and practices that are associated with effective school leadership (RQ1), the key features of effective and scalable continuous professional development (CPD) for school leaders (RQ2) as well as how local, national and regional policies promote or inhibit school leaders’ leadership practices in Africa (RQ3). 

In a next step, a representative panel of policy makers, CPD providers, experts and development partners were brought together in Kigali-Rwanda from 30th to 31st March 2022, in a workshop to discuss this empirical research and to build consensus around what constitutes effective school leadership on the continent. It was also an opportunity to share the Rwandan experience in promoting effective school leadership. 

Building a consensus on what constitutes effective school leadership in Africa

Before the panel workshop this expert panel participated in a survey and shared their opinion on statements on effective school leadership in Africa that came out of the review of empirical research. In addition, they shared their opinion on proposed ambitions and priorities for the African Centre for School Leadership. In that first survey round and through subsequent discussions during the panel workshop, the panel reached a consensus on a number of statements. For instance, consensus was reached that school leadership is effective when it improves students’ learning results (RQ0). A consensus was achieved on the competencies that an effective school leader should possess, including the ability to create a learning-enabling environment and, among other things, supporting teachers’ professional development (RQ1). Concerning CPD for school leaders, the panel agreed that for CPD to be effective, it must contain gender-responsive and gender transformative pedagogy to address current gender and equity gaps. Furthermore, for school leadership CPD to be sustainable and scalable, strong engagement between CPD providers and government is required (RQ2). 

One of the interesting areas that came out of the panel discussions is the topic of Ubuntu School Leadership. The panel agreed that Ubuntu School Leadership could be an emergent approach on school leadership in Africa highlighting unique aspects of leadership, starting from assessing available resources, attending to others’ needs, and raising expectations and commitment to organisational goals. It was agreed that the topic of Ubuntu school leadership needs to be further explored and studied. Another area that panel members agreed needs further research is the interplay between gender and school leadership. A support area for the African Centre for School Leadership that has been discussed with the panel of experts is on CPD of school leaders and the provision of guidance on how CPD can be organised by CPD providers in an effective, scalable, and sustainable way on the African continent. 

 After discussions in the panel workshop, some statements on effective school leadership and proposed ambitions of the Centre were reformulated and reshared with the panel in a second survey round with the purpose to finetune the consensus or identify clear areas of non-consensus.

Way forward

The workshop was an opportunity to engage a representative panel of policy makers, CPD providers, experts, and development partners on the African continent in the foundation phase of the ACSL through the consensus building around effective school leadership in Africa. This is in line with the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together”.  

In the next step, the second round of the survey with focus on the statements which did not reach consensus, will be completed. The results of the consensus building exercise will also be disseminated during a regional conference in July 2022, in Kigali.  In addition, a framework about effective school leadership and effective CPD for school leaders in Africa will be developed based on the results of the consensus building exercise.

Watch the highlights of the African Centre for School Leadership panel workshop held on 30th – 31st March 2022 in this video.