Educational Leaders for the 21st Century: The HEAD Foundation collaborates with UQ School of Education

• Post by: userWR4
• 19/12/2019
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The HEAD Foundation, with the University of Queensland (Australia) piloted the Certificate in Educational Studies in Leadership (CESL) programme in Indonesia from March to August 2018.

18 school leaders participated in the six-month programme which included three face-to-face workshops in Universitas Negiri Jakarta (UNJ) and an immersion programme in Singapore. During the programme, the participants were made to formulate at least one concrete project, which they then implemented and evaluated in their respective schools. The participants presented their individual projects at the end of the programme.

The first face-to-face workshop, held from 27th to 28th March 2018, focused on the foundations of leadership and introduced the theory of “Critical Reflective Practices” to the participants. They reflected on their school’s pedagogical practices and their understanding of leadership. The second face-to-face workshop, held from 24th to 26th April 2018, challenged participants to conceptualise how 21st Century Leadership in their context should look like, in light of disruptive innovations and technologies. The participants were also given time to discuss their individual projects with their groups and also seek council from Dr Vicente Reyes (Chief Investigator of CESL and Lecturer, School of Education, The University of Queensland). During the third face-to-face workshop from 25th to 27th June 2018, Dr Vicente Reyes presented a comparative study of Shanghai, Singapore and the Philippines to draw insights to the type of leadership and educational structure present in these countries. Participants presented their individual projects and received constructive and detailed feedback.

The penultimate event for CESL was an immersion programme in Singapore. The 18 school leaders came to Singapore to observe transformational leadership in action, both at schools and in industry. During the programme the participants visited two Singaporean schools, Fajar Secondary School and CHIJ Toa Payoh (Primary), the National Institute of Education, Singapore and Micromakers and ID Architects, Singaporean companies that have flourished because of transformational leadership. The participants also attended lectures and participated in discussions with eminent educationalists including, Emeritus Prof Bob Lingard (UQ), Prof Robyn Gillies (UQ), Prof S. Gopinathan (THF), Mrs Belinda Charles (Academy of Principals, Singapore) among others.

The programme concluded with a one-day conference in Jakarta at the end of August 2018. During the conference, the 18 school leaders along with invited officials and Indonesian educators had the opportunity of learning from distinguished speakers including Dr Sandra Wu (NIE), Mrs Margret Tan (Principal, CHIJ Toa Payoh), and Mr Vignesh Naidu (THF). Participants also presented their key learning points and shared the concrete project that they implemented in their respective schools.

At the end of the conference all 18 participants were presented with their Certificate in Education Studies in Leadership from the University of Queensland by Dr Vicente Reyes (UQ), Prof Dr Ahmed Ridwan (UNJ) and Mr Vignesh Naidu (THF).