My Educational Philosophy
My philosophy on Educational Leadership is reflected by John C. Maxwell who said, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I have been fortunate to have had a number of role-models who have guided and taught me that the foundation of any educational institution is the people. I believe that building positive relationships ensures that everyone within the learning community feels valued and respected, and when issues do arise they can be dealt with in an atmosphere of trust and respect.
I believe that a learning community should have learners at their centre and this should be reflected through their mission statement, their curriculum and evident in every interaction within the community. I believe it is the responsibility of the leaders in education to ensure that every child is learning, and that there are academically rigorous and developmentally appropriate learning experiences and assessment methods in place that align with the school’s mission and vision statement as well as the IB philosophy.
As educators, our ultimate goal is to develop young learners who are able to confidently express themselves, interact with and help others within and beyond the classroom environment, or as the IB refers to as developing a global citizens and lifelong learners. I believe that educational leaders are the role model leading, guiding and encouraging the community to work together to instill in our young learners this same passion for questioning and learning so that they become life-long learners.
I view the role of a leader as mentor and facilitator – ensuring support is available to all members of our learning community and that up-to-date, pedagogically sound, effective, teaching and learning experiences are available to our staff and students.
I believe it is the role of the educational leader to develop their community of learners and encourage all members to learn together, share best practice, but also their questions, concerns and inquiries through discussion and communication. As a leader, I support a collaborative approach to decision making, valuing and appreciating the expertise and insight of the community, I believe it is essential that all members work together to understand and respect each other’s perspectives.
As a learner myself, I am an advocate in lifelong learning and have extended this support to our community establishing access to a coaching and counseling programmes as well as developing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and a Teachers Teaching Teachers weekly programme, and opportunities to share. I believe an educational leader is responsible for providing opportunities for professional forums to encourage collaboration and to involve all members of the community in decision making. Research shows that student achievement is maximised when the learning community takes responsibility together and all resources are utilised effectively using current research, practice and understanding as to how best our students learn. Our PLCs have worked to review our reporting procedures, assessment strategies and scope and sequences to ensure our curriculum continues to be relevant, accessible and contextually significant whilst being challenging to our students.
I believe an effective leader possesses strong communication skills and is open to involving members of the community in decision-making procedures and respectfully sharing ideas and opinions. Through PTC courses, I have had some training in both Cognitive Coaching and the use of the Seven Norms of Collaboration. Through these learning opportunities, I have continued to develop my own leadership skills to ensure that I can support the needs of our learning community, be they academic or pastoral. I believe educational leaders need to ensure that, as well as being confident and concise communicators, also need to be active listeners and develop skills in order to listen to understand.
I believe an educational leader needs to be a visible and active participant in the learning community. and ensure I do this by managing the morning duty, greeting students as they arrive each morning, regularly visiting classrooms, attending grade level and department meetings, interacting with students, teachers, hosting parent workshops, and maintaining a working partnership with all members of the community.
In essence, I believe I am best described as a reflective learner and leader, driven by reflections, wonderings, connections and the need to better understand, so that I can continue to learn, guide, lead and teach those in my learning community so that as a community we can work towards our educational goals and meet all the needs of our learners.
I believe that a learning community should have learners at their centre and this should be reflected through their mission statement, their curriculum and evident in every interaction within the community. I believe it is the responsibility of the leaders in education to ensure that every child is learning, and that there are academically rigorous and developmentally appropriate learning experiences and assessment methods in place that align with the school’s mission and vision statement as well as the IB philosophy.
As educators, our ultimate goal is to develop young learners who are able to confidently express themselves, interact with and help others within and beyond the classroom environment, or as the IB refers to as developing a global citizens and lifelong learners. I believe that educational leaders are the role model leading, guiding and encouraging the community to work together to instill in our young learners this same passion for questioning and learning so that they become life-long learners.
I view the role of a leader as mentor and facilitator – ensuring support is available to all members of our learning community and that up-to-date, pedagogically sound, effective, teaching and learning experiences are available to our staff and students.
I believe it is the role of the educational leader to develop their community of learners and encourage all members to learn together, share best practice, but also their questions, concerns and inquiries through discussion and communication. As a leader, I support a collaborative approach to decision making, valuing and appreciating the expertise and insight of the community, I believe it is essential that all members work together to understand and respect each other’s perspectives.
As a learner myself, I am an advocate in lifelong learning and have extended this support to our community establishing access to a coaching and counseling programmes as well as developing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and a Teachers Teaching Teachers weekly programme, and opportunities to share. I believe an educational leader is responsible for providing opportunities for professional forums to encourage collaboration and to involve all members of the community in decision making. Research shows that student achievement is maximised when the learning community takes responsibility together and all resources are utilised effectively using current research, practice and understanding as to how best our students learn. Our PLCs have worked to review our reporting procedures, assessment strategies and scope and sequences to ensure our curriculum continues to be relevant, accessible and contextually significant whilst being challenging to our students.
I believe an effective leader possesses strong communication skills and is open to involving members of the community in decision-making procedures and respectfully sharing ideas and opinions. Through PTC courses, I have had some training in both Cognitive Coaching and the use of the Seven Norms of Collaboration. Through these learning opportunities, I have continued to develop my own leadership skills to ensure that I can support the needs of our learning community, be they academic or pastoral. I believe educational leaders need to ensure that, as well as being confident and concise communicators, also need to be active listeners and develop skills in order to listen to understand.
I believe an educational leader needs to be a visible and active participant in the learning community. and ensure I do this by managing the morning duty, greeting students as they arrive each morning, regularly visiting classrooms, attending grade level and department meetings, interacting with students, teachers, hosting parent workshops, and maintaining a working partnership with all members of the community.
In essence, I believe I am best described as a reflective learner and leader, driven by reflections, wonderings, connections and the need to better understand, so that I can continue to learn, guide, lead and teach those in my learning community so that as a community we can work towards our educational goals and meet all the needs of our learners.
