5th iNet International Conference, 26 28 November 2008

This new iNet publication provides a structure by which school leaders can integrate social, intellectual, financial and spiritual capital in transforming their schools. Understanding and applying the concept of alignment will be important to leaders at all levels of education.

• Read the first chapter
• Buy a copy in our e-shop
• Download a copy (iNet and SSAT members only)

Content

The author, professor Brian Caldwell, points out that every domain of a school needs to be strong, and aligned: facilities, curriculum design, pedagogical practices, teachers' knowledge and skill, response to society and community needs, plans and budgets.

Under the challenging heading, 'How well are you travelling?' the author provides a manifesto for alignment, which includes:

• Schools should have the capacity to attract and reward the best professional expertise from anywhere in the world
• They should be able to outsource work to address short-term needs, without threatening the security of staff with high-level professional skills
• The mountain of inappropriate paperwork and compliance requirements in schools should be reduced;
• Partnerships between schools and other enterprises should be given priority
• Every school leader should learn at first hand how transformation has been achieved in different settings
• Remuneration of public sector school leaders should at least match those in the private sector, reflecting the roles' complexity and the capacities needed for alignment and transformation

Three useful annexes provide self-assessment tools: for intellectual capital, governance and resources. With more than 50 elements, they show how the ideas expressed in this publication can be applied in practice.