This story about school leaders was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.
At the start of the school year, I overheard a principal speaking wise words to her students in a school assembly.
“Learners are like a box of popcorn,” she said. “Some of them pop immediately, but all of them will at some point, given time.”
Her words spoke of inclusion, differentiation and care. By laying out the vision and tone for the inclusive culture of her school, she provided a perfect snapshot of effective school leadership — a topic that we at UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report (which tracks progress on global education goals) think deserves more attention.
Despite school leaders’ limited recognition, their influence ranks just below that of teachers when it comes to school-controlled factors. They are not only leaders, but also managers and human resource professionals, data experts and counselors; sometimes they serve as teachers too.
A strong school leader is a valuable asset, able to mobilize academic achievement, address individual causes for dropouts and champion a positive school climate. A large cross-country study shows the impact they can have on teaching practices too.
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“Effective school leaders bring out the best in teachers, who in turn deliver the best courses,” UNESCO’s director-general Audrey Azoulay noted recently.
The responsibilities they bear are heavy. Worldwide, principals are expected to act as the captains and rudders for their schools’ ships: shaping vision, designing curriculum, ensuring students’ well-being, keeping them on course and monitoring their progress.
Principals also have to be adept in troubleshooting. From pandemics to natural disasters, school violence, teacher dismissals and about-turns in policy, school leaders navigate choppy waters.
Our recently published leadership report found that school operations are onerous. A survey of principals in 14 low- and middle-income countries showed that two-thirds of their time is spent on routine management tasks, leaving insufficient time for leading on teaching and learning.
Around one-third of public school principals and one-fifth of private school principals in OECD countries report they lack the time to focus on staff and student development.
Because the leadership role is so challenging, we must think harder about who should be leading our schools and the experience and skills they will need to succeed. The best teachers, for example, do not necessarily make the best principals.
In some countries, teachers are “tapped” by their principal to indicate they will become the next school leader when the position becomes free. Of course, a teacher may happen to be the right person for the post, but this does not mean we should forgo an open, competitive recruitment process to make sure we’re basing our decision on facts.
Only two-thirds of countries have recruitment processes based on merit in place. One complication is the invisible or visible thread that sometimes links school leaders to politics. Remarkably, we found that, globally, in 29 percent of countries in 2021, school leaders were still chosen based on their political stance more than their merit.
Untangling this, unsurprisingly, is not easy. It is linked to the degree of autonomy that school leaders have to make the changes they feel are necessary. At present, 31 percent of school systems in richer countries do not allow principals to hire and fire teachers, the very people who make or break a school’s success.
Without the freedom to make academic, financial or staffing decisions, innovation and adaptation are far harder. We must trust school leaders to use their skills. That includes allowing their decisions to breathe with sufficient support and resources.
Related: Kids worldwide face huge educational challenges. Is better leadership a solution?
Of course, there must also be some accountability as autonomy is granted. But the balance is delicate: Analysis of Programme for International Student Assessment data shows a clear link between the strength of accountability systems and principals’ stress.
With such complex roles to navigate, it is no wonder that principals’ workloads lead to burnout, and, in turn, to principal turnover. Making matters worse, globally, principals have unstable work arrangements, with only 37 percent on firm contracts, and they work long hours.
And they suffer from a lack of recognition, our report found.
One way to give teachers and principals greater recognition is to show them greater respect and support. Given the hopes that education systems have for school leaders to deliver, it seems right that they should receive training.
We should start now. Learning levels globally have been declining since 2010. Quality standards for many teachers in the richest countries are sliding as countries try to fill gaps in the workforce.
This is a mammoth problem to solve, and we need good school leaders to help us do it. But half of principals in the richest countries right now start their role having received no leadership training at all.
This seems unfair. It is also unwise, given how central they are to change.
Even though school leaders’ influence often goes unrecognized, their impact on student achievement, school climate and overall educational outcomes is undeniable. We must invest in fair selection processes and in leaders’ development and give them a chance to succeed.
School leaders do far more than we give them credit for. They deserve our support.
Manos Antoninis is the director of the global education monitoring report at UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
Contact the opinion editor at [email protected].