The key role of school leadership in educational reform.

GD&TĐ - Empowering school leaders with autonomy and accountability can create significant changes in the quality of education.

UNESCO has officially introduced the Vietnamese translation of the 2024/2025 Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM), themed "Leadership in Education: Leadership for Learning".

The event was held within the framework of a policy consultation workshop for teachers organized by the Ministry of Education and Training in collaboration with UNESCO, to mark the important milestone of Vietnam's first adoption of the Law on Teachers.

The report highlights the importance of educational leadership in improving the quality of teaching and learning, particularly in the context of Southeast Asia facing numerous challenges related to learning and inequality.

Currently, around 251 million children and adolescents worldwide are out of school, including 18 million in Southeast Asia. While many countries have made progress in access to education over the past few decades, the pace of improvement is slowing or stagnating. Even in some middle- and high-income countries, learning outcomes are declining.

Educational leadership - a decisive factor in school quality.

According to the report, educational leaders include those responsible for directing, organizing, and implementing educational activities at all levels, from principals and commune/ward administrators to policymakers. They are the ones who set goals, provide professional guidance, foster collaboration, and support the teaching staff.

Research shows that strong leadership skills can improve students' academic performance by 27%. The report also acknowledges the crucial collaborative role of learners, parents, and the community.

However, current leadership teams in many countries are still facing challenges. Globally, less than half of educational leadership training programs provide comprehensive content on core skills.

In middle-income countries, many school principals report spending more than two-thirds of their working time on administrative tasks, rather than focusing on their professional leadership roles.

"Educational leadership is more than just management. Principals and educational leaders profoundly influence the quality of teaching, inspire students, foster collaboration within schools, and help schools adapt to constant change," shared Anna D'Addio, Head of Education Policy for the GEM report team at UNESCO.

The case of Vietnam: a great opportunity amidst a period of transformation.

In Vietnam, the findings in the GEM report were published at a time when the education system is entering a period of significant reform, particularly with the implementation of the newly passed Law on Teachers.

Domestic data shows that school principals dedicate only about 21.5% of their working time to professional duties. At the same time, 64% of principals stated that they need further training in skills such as inclusive education, data utilization, and teacher support.

Vietnam can seize the opportunity to further improve the quality of education by strengthening school leadership training, improving the transparency of the selection process, and granting more autonomy to grassroots leaders.

At the same time, it is necessary to focus on building and developing leadership capacity at the system level, including the commune/ward level, which plays a crucial intermediary role in realizing local education policies.

UNESCO is currently supporting Vietnam in several programs, including: the Happy Schools Project, aimed at building a positive and inclusive learning environment; and the We Can Promote Gender Equality in Ethnic Minority Schools Project.

UNESCO also supports Vietnam in developing and implementing evidence-based education policies that align with international standards, such as the 10-year Education Development Strategy, policies on lifelong learning, and the effective implementation of the recently passed Law on Teachers.

"Vietnam is well-positioned to effectively implement the report's recommendations. Investing simultaneously in both school leadership and system leadership will help Vietnamese education develop more sustainably and inclusively," affirmed Anna D'Addio.

Recommendations of the report

The GEM 2024/2025 report makes the following recommendations:

Empower and strengthen trust in leadership by delegating genuine decision-making authority, coupled with appropriate support and oversight mechanisms.

Selecting, training, and recognizing leaders in an open and transparent manner, with standards appropriate to each country.

Fostering a collaborative environment in schools where leadership is shared among teachers, students, parents, and the community.

Investing in leadership at the systemic level, from central to local, aims to enhance capacity, align policy and practice, and contribute to sustaining change.

Established in 2002, the Global Education Monitoring Report is an independent publication spearheaded and published by UNESCO. At the 2015 World Education Forum, the report was tasked by 160 governments with monitoring and reporting on progress toward achieving education goals within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 on quality education, and overseeing the implementation of national and international strategies to ensure stakeholder accountability in education development.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/vai-role-then-chot-cua-lanh-dao-nha-truong-trong-doi-moi-giao-duc-post740370.html