Page 6 - National Seminar on Quality Improvement in School February 27-28, 2020

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LEADERSHIP FOR QUALITY
IMPROVEMENT IN SCHOOLS

India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
27-28 February 2020

Introduction

Globalization, in the new millennium, along with increased levels of technological advancement has become
the central driving force behind the rapid, social, political and economic changes which are re-shaping the
educational landscape of the countries across the globe. Globalization has put pressure on education systems
to provide young people the knowledge and skills they need to adapt and function well in a rapidly changing
environment. This has led to schools being in public domain as never before. It has therefore become imperative
that schools transform to meet the expectations of a more knowledge empowered society. However recent
national and international surveys and studies have raised concerns about the quality of education offered
in schools in India. India has made significant progress in achieving universal access and enrolment at the
elementary level, while there has been a noticeable spurt in enrolment at the secondary level. The participation
rates of the disadvantaged social groups like SC/STs have also increased considerably. Still, the major challenge
before the education sector is less than optimum levels of student learning. Evidence suggests that learning
outcomes for children in Indian schools are not in accordance with corresponding grade levels. In this
context, with schools increasingly being seen as a unit for planning and development, the onus on improving
the quality of the school and transforming the teaching learning process is invariably on the school head and
school leadership development has become the new lever for quality enhancement of schools. Effective schools
require three elements: basic inputs, facilitating conditions and the will to change. The necessary inputs such
as minimum infrastructure, physical amenities like drinking water, toilet facilities, seating facility are essential
for the smooth functioning of school. In addition the school needs to have the sufficient number of trained and
competent teachers to teach the students; a well-developed curriculum, in terms of both scope and sequence;
adequate instructional materials for students; appropriate class size implying a sufficient supply of teachers and
classroom space; adequate time for teaching and learning; teaching practices that encourage active student
learning. The facilitating conditions are community involvement; school-based professionalism (which includes
the crucial role of the principal in school effectiveness) teacher collegiality and commitment, and autonomy
balanced with accountability; flexibility in curriculum and organisation. Considering the significance of school
heads in effective functioning of schools, the National Conference on ‘Leadership for Quality Improvement
in Schools’ is being organized on February 27-28, 2020.

School Leadership for Quality Improvement: Research Evidences

International research has provided consistent evidence which demonstrates the potential of Principals’
leadership, on school organisation, culture and conditions and through this, on the quality of teaching and
learning and student achievement (Leithwood&Jantzi, 1999a, 1999b; Silins&Mulford, 2002a; Marks &Printy,
2003; Mulford, 2008; Robinson, Lloyd & Rowe, 2008; Day et al., 2009; Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu &
Easton, 2010; Gu & Johansson, 2013; Bruggencate, Luyten, Scheerens&Sleegers, 2012). Research evidence has
also concluded that leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning (Leithwood
et al., 2006) and such influence is achieved through its effects on school organisation and culture as well as

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LEADERSHIP FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN SCHOOLS 1