Director certification program

Director certification program
The goal of this component is to improve professional competencies of school directors through initiation of Certification Program and continuous professional development. The expected result of the activities in this component is establishment of Certification Program and system of professional development of directors. Director competencies in human, material and financial resources management, leadership, organizational and communication skills and strategic planning and visioning skills upgraded.
 

The objectives of the component are the following:

·         Development of Certification Program with modules;

·         Training of trainers to deliver the Program;

·         Training of qualified directors;

·         Designing model for in-service training of directors after they are certified;

·         Continuous enhancement of the quality of directors Certification Program;

·         Development of structured school management system guide;

·         Providing institutional support for the Program;

·         Providing sustainability of the Program;

·         Monitoring and evaluation of activities;

Development of Certification Program with modules;

The writing of the Director Certification Program started in August 2004 by defining the Program with 6 modules. The group of trainers also defined each of the six modules with topics to be covered in them. The topics were divided among the members and they worked on the topics in pairs. SEA facilitated the writing of the Program by organizing work sessions for working on the modules. The first version of the modules was developed in early October and was finalized at the workshop that took place from 30 September – 3 October 2004 in Skopje.
From October 15 to October 17, 2004 a three day workshop was organized in Skopje for revision of the training modules developed by the group of trainers. The revisions and discussions were held with the D-r. Andrej Koren and Ksenija Mihovar Globokar from the National Leadership School form Slovenia, from where the Director Certification Program originates. They provided their feedback and suggestions on the content and the format of the materials and the guidebooks for the trainers. SEA and World Learning organized this workshop to support the development of the training modules which are part of the Macedonian Program for Certification of school directors

The final version of the Director Certification Program consists of the following 6 modules and topics:

Introductory module (link to Module Mac) (link to Module Alb)

Learning styles;

Quality;

Teams and teamwork;

Management and leadership;

Management of change in schools.

Organizational theory –(link to Module Mac) (link to Module Alb)

Organizational theories;

Leadership;

Organizational climate and culture.

Communications in the educational organization module –(link to Module Mac) (link to Module Alb)

People in the organization;

Communications;

Meetings;

Managing conflicts.  

Head teacher as pedagogical leader module –(link to Module Mac) (link to Module Alb)

Head teacher as pedagogical leader;

Professional development of employees;

Professionalization of teachers;

Motivation of employees.

Planning and finances module (link to Module Mac) (link to Module Alb)

Vision and mission;

Planning;

Decision-making;

Finances.

Legislation module (link to Module Mac) (link to Module Alb)

Education Laws and Ordinances;

Responsibilities of Directors;  

Pedagogical record keeping and documentation;

Assessment and advancement of students;

Labor Law

Law on public procurement.  

Training of trainers to deliver the program;

The first workshop with the G13 group of trainers was held in Skopje from May 10 – May 12, 2004. This workshop was organized jointly by SEA and World Learning.  The workshop included presentation of the importance of Director Certification program for the Ministry of Education and Science. Also, during the workshop the Slovenian Directors Certification model was presented to the G13 group members

The second workshop was aimed to improve the facilitation skills of the G13 group members. The workshop was held in Skopje from May 16-May 18, 2004.  D-r. Dave Carter facilitated this interactive workshop and gave insight to the G13 group in encouraging active participation; group dynamics; feedback; individual learning styles and individual facilitation stiles.

The G13 group attended the workshop on Strategic planning organized by FOSIM for primary school teams from May 20- May 22, 2004 in Ohrid. The workshop was facilitated by D-r. Konstantin Petkovski and D-r. Metodija Stojanovski and the goal was to help school teams in the developing of school strategic improvement plans

From May 29 – June 30, 2004, the G13 group together with the DCP Coordinator and DCP Assistant Coordinator attended the first round of training in the Slovenian National School for Leadership in Education (NSLE) in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia. World Learning and SEA organized the training and NSLE, as training provider, created a program for the members of the G13 group. The program was comprised of six modules, 4 of which were delivered during this first phase of training for the G13 group.

Upon the return of the G13 group from Slovenia a five day workshop was conducted providing information on the US system and certification procedures, school management and leadership training. The workshop took place in Mavrovo from July 5 – July 9, 2004 and was delivered by D-r. Donald Beaudette, professor of School Management at Boston University. The goal of this workshop was to give the G13 group perspective not only on a European but also on an American model for director certification.

The second phase of the training in the Slovenian National School for Leadership in Education (NSLE) in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia took place from August 20 – September 4, 2004. During this phase, the Slovenian experts delivered the last two modules of the program to the G13 group.

On September 3rd the participants graduated from the NSLE. Each participant obtained a certificate for successful completion of the training program for trainers along with the program for school directors. The ceremony for delivery of the certificates was opened by the Director of the National School for Leadership in Education, Mr. Andrej Koren, in the presence of Mr. Roger Steinkamp SEA Chief of Party. The State Secretary of Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of Slovenia Mr. Borut Chwatal and the State Secretary of Ministry of Education and Science of Macedonia Mr. Zoran Popovski also attended the ceremony and expressed MoES support for the group and the Program.

From November 30 to December 2, 2004 in Skopje, the members of the G13 group prepared and delivered pilot presentations of segments from the Macedonian Program for certification of school directors, which they developed. These presentations were delivered before Slovenian consultants, MoES representatives, USAID Macedonia representatives and SEA staff. The presentations were conducted in pairs and were the final part of the training program for the G13 group.

Certification of trainers and promotion of the Program

On December 22, 2004 a big media event was organized to promote the Program and the trainers. All secondary and primary school directors were invited. The Minister, Mr. Aziz Polozani and USAID Mission Director, Mr. Dick Goldman, gave opening addresses. They were followed by the State Secretary for Education, SEA Chief of Party and World Learning Country Director. Valentina Mucunska Palevska, G-13 member, gave a presentation with short summary of the Director Certification Program. Latif Ismaili, also a G-13 member, spoke about the training they had in Macedonia and in Slovenia. There was media coverage from both the National and private TV stations. All daily newspapers gave reports on the event.

Training of qualified directors;

In line with the Memorandum of Understanding signed April 5, 2005 SEA Project in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science organized training cycle for qualified directors. 268 directors, divided in 3 cohorts were trained from April 2005 to April 2006.

The following were the 3 training cohorts and the schedules of the training workshops.

Cohort I - 82 secondary school directors completed training under the following schedule:

 Cohort II - 130 primary school directors completed training under the following schedule:

Cohort III - 56 primary and secondary school directors and directors of students dormitories completed training under the following schedule:

Director Certification Ceremony

On May 12^th 2006  in hotel Continental in Skopje a certification ceremony was held on which, the Minister of Education and Science Aziz Pollozhani, and USAID Mission Director Dick Goldman congratulated the 268 first certified school directors in the Republic of Macedonia. The directors of these schools completed the demanding professional certification training, as required by the Macedonian Education law. The certification program continues, with training provided by institutions accredited by the MoES. It is open to all interested candidates who aspire to be school directors.

Providing institutional support for the Program;

·         Close collaboration with MoES in all activities

·         Training of Inspectorate

     In close collaboration with MoES SEA is planning training for State Educational Inspectorate. The goal of the training is to present DCP with its 6 modules to the Inspectorate.

Workshop 1                 26.04.2007

Workshop 2                 10.05.2007

Workshop 3                 17.05.2007

Providing sustainability of the program;

- Education Laws

Amendments in the Primary and Secondary Education defining Director Exam as one of the criteria for being director were adopted September and October 2004.

- The Rule Book defining the program and the Director Exam was adopted in May 2005.

- Accreditation of training providers

In February and in March 2006, the Ministry of Education and Science accredited the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje; the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Bitola, the American College in Skopje and the Pedagogical Faculty at the South Eastern European University (SEEU) to provide the training for directors and candidates for directors.

On May 22^nd 2006, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between USAID and SEEU on providing training for the remaining up to 450 school directors through SEEU.

Majority of trainers who were trained and certified to deliver the training and were engaged with the SEA DCP trainings joined the Pedagogical Faculty at the South Eastern European University (SEEU) and signed Memorandum of Understanding to deliver the director training Program in line with the SEA DCP quality of training.

Until now 126 candidates for directors in Cohort 4 and 101 candidates for directors in Cohort 5 have been trained in director training Program. Currently around 100 candidates from Cohort 6 are undergoing the training Program. (http://www.seeu.edu.mk/macedonian/TTCenter/main.asp)

Monitoring and evaluation of activities;

Monitoring and evaluation of the activities has been organized from day one by SEA/RME team.

Training of the trainers was monitored and evaluated by international and local experts. Development of the Directors Certification Component was monitored and evaluated by experts from the Slovenian School for Directors (NSLE).

Evaluation team composed of Slovenian and US experts on certification reviewed the certification process in early October 2005. The report from the mission gave a very good overview of the current situation and gave clear recommendations regarding the quality of training, trainers and the director’s exam.

Follow up activities; 

Designing model for in-service training of directors after they are certified;

The project is exploring ways to provide continuous information and training for school directors. Directors associations will be the most likely vehicles for serving school directors. SEA will facilitate contact with relevant professional associations outside Macedonia. Information from these organizations is essential for directors to stay abreast of current practices.

Professional development of school directors

Regional workshops with secondary school directors 

Strumica, February 9, 2007

Struga, February 12, 2007

Skopje, February 14, 2007

SEA DCC organized regional workshops for secondary school directors to present current issues in the area of school governance and improving school effectiveness as  topics relevant for their professional development. The following topics were covered:

- Accountability, Autonomy and School Effectiveness

- Can Accountability Be Seen as a Lever Of School Improvement? (live link)

            - Improving School Effectiveness (live link)

            - Code of Ethics (Live link)

            - The Role of the director in supporting SEA CDC activities

            - Information on Educational Randezvous 2007

Continuous enhancement of the quality of directors Certification Program;

The project is exploring ways for continuous enhancement of the quality of directors Certification Program.

Development of structured school management system guide;

The project will develop a , structured school management system guide for schools. The HICD project identified the need for such a guide so stakeholders such as the inspectorate, school boards and municipalities have a reference for the selection and evaluation of school directors. The project will form a national task force to produce the guide and bring in expertise as needed. This activity will provide an opportunity to incorporate the guide into the director certification training program and perhaps review other content. Eventually, workshops with school directors will be held in collaboration with the Inspectorate to introduce them to the guide.