What is NCERLEADERS and the Education Management Programme?

NCERDLEADERS was created as a joint project between the UK based Voluntary Service Overseas, the Commonwealth Institute and the National Centre for Education Resource Development, Ministry of Education in Georgetown Guyana.

The site was developed by the VSO Education Management Specialist at NCERD and principally contains information relating to Education Management and Leadership in Guyana. It has been updated and refreshed in December 2015 with older, out of date material removed, incorporating a new look. We hope you like the improvements.

The project was developed to support Educational Leaders both at the national and local level as well as Headteachers, prospective Headteachers and teachers. Along with this, its main function is to provide a distance learning tool for the Guyana Education Management Certificate. 

As you will see, all of the materials for that programme are published on this site. They can be found on the sidebar to the right. Click on the link and you will find the text only modules. Below those, you will find a link to download the modules in PDF format. You can save them on your computer and read them when you like.

Links to other interesting areas and sites can be found on the tabs above. You will also find numerous links to other educational websites in Guyana and around the world. Feel free to look through them.

And finally, the Education Management Programme is equally valid in educational settings around the world, not just in Guyana. You can adapt the materials to suit your own needs. The resources are Free.

If you feel you want to comment on anything in the site, you can do so at the end of each article or you can contact us by email. See the sidebar on the right for details.

Motivating Children and Teachers

There are all sorts of things that motivate adults. They range from good salaries to favourable working conditions and promotion prospects to job satisfaction. But we all know that some of these are not easily provided. However, one of the biggest motivators is reward for a "job well done". It doesn't have to be a major ceremony in front of all one's colleagues but simply a word in a teacher's ear about something that they have done well, showing that you recognise it and appreciate him / her for doing it.

Some schools have been successful in rewarding teachers in a more formal way. For example, in one school, there are competitions for "Teacher of the Month", "Best Classroom" and even "Most improved punctuality and attendance" In this school, teachers strive to achieve those rewards which are presented each month in front of their colleagues. Another school presents them (not the attendance and punctuality ones) in assembly in front of the whole school and this also helps to motivate the children.

It doesn't have to cost money either. Just a simple certificate or even a letter will suffice showing how you feel about the work the member of staff is doing. These are easily made on a word processor if you have access to one. Think how you feel when somebody tells you that you have done well. Why not try it and let us know how you got on by making a comment from below?

It works even more so with children. But, stickers are expensive and not readily available in Guyana. So why not make some of your own? True, you will need access to a printer and a photocopier but it's worth the effort even if you are in an internet cafe reading this. It will only cost a few dollars and can be used again and again.

Children will work hard for a small reward and especially something they can stick in their books and show their parents. So, we're going to give you a headstart. We've prepared a few simple ones for you to download. They use Microsoft Word so they can be changed or edited as you wish. They are there for ideas. Also the children can colour them in to make them attractive.

Another idea is to have small posters with wording such as "Star of the Week", "Best Attender", "Best Punctuality" These are placed on the classroom wall and each week the name of a child is stuck onto it temporarily and replaced the next week. You can also do it as inter-class and whole school competitions.

So, why not use your imagination and create some of the resources for yourself to motivate your children. Here are some examples of what you might make.

Small Posters ............

Star of the Week Poster

Best Punctuality

Best Attender

Mini Certificates ..............

Well Done

Today's Best Worker

Star of the Week

I tried my best

Has worked well

Great Work

And small certificates...........

General Merit Certificate

If you find it was a successful strategy, just let us know by completing the comments below.

Applications for Education Management Programme

Applications

are invited from suitably qualified Headteachers,

Senior and Middle leaders in schools, Regional Education Staff and Officers of the Ministry of Education

Where to Apply

Guyana Ministry of Education

National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD)

Education Management Certificate Programme

The Programme is a Distance Education Course lasting 18 months, in two parts, covering every aspect of school leadership, leading to the Education Management Certificate.

Applicants must have significant experience and be working or have worked in the school education sector at least at Middle Leadership level (HOD, Level Head, SM, DHM or HM) or as a Regional or Ministry of Education Officer.

Application forms can be uplifted from the Regional Education Office or the Department of Education in Georgetown. They must be completed and endorsed by the REDO / PEO.

Success Quotes

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.

Keep steadily before you the fact that all true success depends at last upon yourself.

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.

The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.

A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience.

The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed in these two: common-sense and perseverance.

Failures do what is tension relieving, while winners do what is goal achieving.

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--which is:Try to please everybody.

Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time.

The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.

Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration and inspiration.

If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.

Impatience never commanded success.

The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do, well.

To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.

Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.

The man who makes a success of an important venture never wails for the crowd. He strikes out for himself. It takes nerve, it takes a great lot of grit; but the man that succeeds has both. Anyone can fail. The public admires the man who has enough confidence in himself to take a chance. These chances are the main things after all. The man who tries to succeed must expect to be criticized. Nothing important was ever done but the greater number consulted previously doubted the possibility. Success is the accomplishment of that which most people think can't be done.

And one quote just for fun.....

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a fool about it.

Leadership Quotations

Leaders must be tough enough to fight, tender enough to cry, human enough to make mistakes, humble enough to admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving.

Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.

The secret of a leader lies in the tests he has faced over the whole course of his life and the habit of action he develops in meeting those tests.

The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.
It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.

Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone, person to person.

Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.

My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group. There is much less competition.

Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.

One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.

Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.

A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame,

a little less than his share of the credit.

Management works in the system; leadership works on the system.

Leadership is a combination of strategy and character.

If you must be without one, be without the strategy.

The great leaders are like the best conductors - they reach

beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.

One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem

before it becomes an emergency.

Effective leadership is putting first things first.

Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.

GOOD TEACHING: THE TOP TEN REQUIREMENTS

The following article was written by By Richard Leblanc, York University, Ontario. It is an interesting view on the requirements of the classroom teacher. We thank him for his insight.

One

Good teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason. It's about not only motivating students to learn, but teaching them how to learn, and doing so in a manner that is relevant, meaningful, and memorable. It's about caring for your craft, having a passion for it, and conveying that passion to everyone, most importantly to your students.

Two

Good teaching is about substance and treating students as consumers of knowledge. It's about doing your best to keep on top of your field, reading sources, inside and outside of your areas of expertise, and being at the leading edge as often as possible. But knowledge is not confined to scholarly journals. Good teaching is also about bridging the gap between theory and practice. It's about leaving the ivory tower and immersing oneself in the field, talking to, consulting with, and assisting practitioners, and liaisoning with their communities.

Three

Good teaching is about listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different. It's about eliciting responses and developing the oral communication skills of the quiet students. It's about pushing students to excel; at the same time, it's about being human, respecting others, and being professional at all times.

Four

Good teaching is about not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid, but being flexible, fluid, experimenting, and having the confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances. It's about getting only 10 percent of what you wanted to do in a class done and still feeling good. It's about deviating from the course syllabus or lecture schedule easily when there is more and better learning elsewhere. Good teaching is about the creative balance between being an authoritarian dictator on the one hand and a pushover on the other.

Five

Good teaching is also about style. Should good teaching be entertaining? You bet! Does this mean that it lacks in substance? Not a chance! Effective teaching is not about being locked with both hands glued to a podium or having your eyes fixated on a slide projector while you drone on. Good teachers work the room and every student in it. They realize that they are the conductors and the class is the orchestra. All students play different instruments and at varying proficiencies.

Six

This is very important -- good teaching is about humor. It's about being self-deprecating and not taking yourself too seriously. It's often about making innocuous jokes, mostly at your own expense, so that the ice breaks and students learn in a more relaxed atmosphere where you, like them, are human with your own share of faults and shortcomings.

Seven

Good teaching is about caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents. It's about devoting time, often invisible, to every student. It's also about the thankless hours of grading, designing or redesigning courses, and preparing materials to still further enhance instruction.

Eight

Good teaching is supported by strong and visionary leadership, and very tangible institutional support -- resources, personnel, and funds. Good teaching is continually reinforced by an overarching vision that transcends the entire organization -- from full professors to part-time instructors -- and is reflected in what is said, but more importantly by what is done.

Nine

Good teaching is about mentoring between senior and junior faculty, teamwork, and being recognized and promoted by one's peers. Effective teaching should also be rewarded, and poor teaching needs to be remediated through training and development programmes.

Ten

At the end of the day, good teaching is about having fun, experiencing pleasure and intrinsic rewards ... like locking eyes with a student in the back row and seeing the synapses and neurons connecting, thoughts being formed, the person becoming better, and a smile cracking across a face as learning all of a sudden happens. Good teachers practice their craft not for the money or because they have to, but because they truly enjoy it and because they want to. Good teachers couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Educational Leadership in the United Kingdom

National Professional Qualification for Headteachers

This is self explanatory from the title. It has been in operation in Great Britain for about 10 years. In the first instance it was intended that all Headteachers would have this qualification prior to their appointment. In reality, particularly due to recruitment difficulties, many Headteachers are appointed with the qualification incomplete. There is usually a commitment to doing it whilst in post.

For those who were already in post when the qualification was introduced, there were two forms of provision:-

• The Leadership Programme for Serving Headteachers (LPSH) focuses on leadership skills and characteristics. This involves considerable personal assessment of the HT’s skills through peer assessment and senior and junior colleagues. It includes self evaluation and two extended residential courses.
• The Headlamp Programme is mainly skills based and caters for the individual needs of the Headteacher. Self evaluation is carried out by the HTs themselves with help from trained specialists. Training is geared to these needs and is conducted at intervals throughout the first year of being in post. There is considerable funding attached to this form of training.

The NPQH is a two year post graduate diploma. It is externally assessed on a continuous basis with final examinations. The candidates are assigned a serving Headteacher mentor who will guide them through the process.

Modules

• Strategic direction and development of schools - IEP / SDP / strategic and developmental planning.
• Teaching and Learning - Curriculum planning, assessment and monitoring and evaluation.
• Leading and managing staff – leadership styles and characteristics, personnel, motivation.
• Efficient and effective deployment of staff and resources – buildings, personnel, recruitment, budget.
• Accountability – self, governors, parents, children, staff

Characteristics of Leaders

• Teamwork and developing others
• Drive and confidence
• Vision and accountability
• Influencing and politics
• Thinking styles (the big picture)
National Standards for Headteachers

There are standards required of all in the teaching profession at the different levels of responsibility, including and especially headteachers. HTs are evaluated during the OFSTED process on these standards.

These are to be found at www.dfes.gov.uk

Shared leadership

There is a considerable move to sharing the leadership role in schools. Leadership teams are common with HTs, DHTs and senior staff. Leadership is often spread across different levels of teachers e.g. Heads of Department and Years. Accountability is important and especially ……..

“Shared leadership needs shared vision”

Emotional Intelligence

Control and awareness of emotions is a big issue in development of leadership skills.

• Self Awareness – recognising own emotions, strengths and weaknesses
• Self Regulation – control of own emotions
• Motivation – meeting goals and continuous self improvement
• Empathy – ability to put oneself in the shoes of others
• Social Skills
• Negative emotions – level of ability to deal with these e.g. isolation and pressure.

Styles of Leadership

• Instructional – focus on the learning of students and improving the effectiveness of teachers in the classroom.
• Transformational – capacity building, formal, continuous improvement.
• Moral – Values, aims, democracy.
• Participative – sharing the decision making and overlaps with democratic leadership.
• Managerial – efficient achievement of goals.
• Contingent – responds well to the demands for change.