Potentials, Prospects and Problems of Educational Leadership for Quality Education
The importance of effective leadership as a key factor for school improvement has been widely recognized in the literature. The proposed symposia will present the different aspects of leadership for quality teaching in Pakistan where the educational landscape is not homogeneous.There is a large public sector that serves the majority. In this sector, most of the schools use national/regional languages as medium of instruction and reach out to lower income and/or lower middle income groups in both urban and rural areas. Private school systems, on the other hand, serve the upper middle classes and/or elites. Majority of these schools are urban-based. These schools mostly use English as medium of instruction. Moreover, faith-based and/or community schools are also catering to the needs of different socio-economic sections of the Pakistani society. These schools in the rural and urban areas, affiliated with different systems, face different prospects, potentials and problems. These contextual differences pose varying challenges for school leaders at different levels.
Dr Moladad Shafa will present the findings of his ethnographic case study that was conducted to explore the work life of a government secondary school head teacher in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. His case study provides a deeper understanding of the nature of challenges a head teacher of a government school in the Northern Areas of Pakistan has to face. In his study, Dr Shafa has highlighted the overall role of a headteacher as a school developer while addressing the challenges for school improvement as he moves ahead.
Mohammad Jumma Abdalla and Rashida Qureshi will present the findings of a field research that explored the leadership role of a subject coordinator in one of the urban private schools in Karachi. Subject coordinators are considered to be middle managers in educational leadership hierarchy. Leask and Terrel (1997) put the middle managers at the centre of leadership for school improvement because of "the complexity of the organization and curriculum, the need for all teams to be fully involved in realizing the school vision, and in creating conditions for school improvement" (p. 2). Abdalla & Qureshi's presentation explores the multiplicity of roles a subject coordinator is subjected to play because of the school's expectations highlighting the challenges faced, especially in performing his/her role in teachers' professional development.
Dr John Retallick's research looks at the management practices and strategies in three successful schools in Pakistan. His research findings highlight the importance of "personal qualities of the people who are to be principals of the schools" (Retallick, 2004: 92) among the factors that contributed to the success of these schools. The three research studies, included in the symposia, are expected to bring out the peculiarities of leadership roles in different school systems and localities in Pakistan. The discussion will be based on the implications of these peculiarities for the quality of teaching in Pakistan while drawing insights into other similar contexts.