The talk that Beatriz Pont offered at CosmoCaixa Barcelona about leadership in management teams was, surely, one of the few in which having your mobile phone in hand and tweeting is not a sign of bad manners, but quite the opposite. Framed within the series of conferences that EduCaixa organizes about the (R)educational evolution, it was a participatory, digital afternoon, open to dialogue, like the education we need for the 21st century.
"Schools have the enormous challenge of preparing students for skills we don't yet know, for jobs that don't yet exist," remarked the analyst from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). And what the most recent studies prove is that school principals are key pieces to achieve these objectives, "as they are the ones who can facilitate the creation of the right climate for teachers to teach well and students to learn better."
However, this climate is not created with a snap of the fingers, but requires a complete rethinking of the principal's role. "School leadership must be a shared leadership," points out Beatriz. That is, going beyond administrative functions and working hand in hand with teachers, getting involved in pedagogical processes and in the definition of the academic curriculum, and helping to set common objectives.
"It's about, for example, looking for projects in which work is done at the school level as a whole and not just each teacher in their classroom with their students." And given the data from the international survey on teaching and learning from 2013, which indicate that in Spain 90% of teachers do not usually observe others' classes, it is also necessary to "open the doors of the classrooms" and seek interdisciplinary approaches, in addition to "listening to the students, who are the ones who best know what works and what doesn't." In short, "making education an educational process in which all involved have a share of responsibility."
Nor should we forget that a leader is made, not born. For this reason, Beatriz emphasized the importance of training principals specifically for the position, instead of passing the buck to the oldest teacher, as is usually done. And for this, public policies must come into play. "State governments," explained Beatriz, "can define national training programs, collaborate with local administrations, and structure voluntary or mandatory initial training."
"Schools are not islands," Beatriz declared, "and we have to work with governments, with other centers and with the environment to create a learning community." Because, in the 21st century, we must make diversity a strength and stop enclosing ourselves. Only then can we include differences and erase inequalities.
Illustration: Paola Villanueva
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