School principals in England had an unusual welcome this past September. Secretary of State for Education Charles Clarke, the country's top education official, made a live Webcast to thousands of school leaders. Then, for a week, Clarke talked online with educators about touchy subjects such as official school inspections, school funding, and the sidelining of the arts amid the relentless focus on literacy and numeracy.
Clarke willingly put himself in the "Hotseat"—an online exchange run by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL).
The Hotseat is only one of the innovative features in a matrix of online and face-to-face professional development provided by the U.K. government-financed NCSL, headquartered in Nottingham. Recent Hotseat guests have fielded questions about urban leadership, school bullies, and national strategies for improving primary education.
It's important to offer "enticing Hotseats," including views from prominent education experts and government ministers on compelling topics, to draw people to the online community, says Aidan Melling, NCSL online community manager. There's been a threefold increase in Hotseat participation by educators in the last year, during which the NCSL doubled its online membership to 35,000 registered users, he notes.
The high-profile Hotseat exchanges between government leaders and school leaders create a win-win situation that benefits both groups by promoting critical dialogue. "School leaders no longer need to be passive recipients of policy and guidance but can be actively involved in the development of the education service," according to Tony Richardson, NCSL director of online learning.
NCSL officials say the well-thought-out blending of technology with face-to-face professional development will raise England's profile as a provider of educator leadership training. Nearly 15,000 school leaders are expected to take part in the NCSL's 22 professional development programs, which include online components and training at its $42 million Learning and Conference Centre in Nottingham or various satellite centers around the country.
Among NCSL's programs are leadership training for aspiring principals (or head teachers, as they are called in England), new head teachers, and current head teachers, each with online forums providing opportunities for mentoring and reflection.
Online Collaboration
In the last year, a new venture called Networked Learning Communities has drawn together leaders from nearby schools, local education authorities, universities, and community groups. With about $87,000 a year in government aid, each of the 110 networked communities formed so far aims to take part in ongoing collaboration on common problems. For example, eight rural schools in sparsely populated Shropshire have focused on management issues for small schools. In another collaboration, an inner-city school in London has chosen to work with a suburban university and other community groups to find new ways to engage students in learning.
In an external evaluation of NCSL's online communities by the University of Bristol, one school leader reported that the online exchanges have "led to the sharing of good management practice with honest advice being given and sought," adding that "the loneliness of headship has [been] reduced as communication has developed."
The online exchanges are often informal, frank, and practical. "Head teachers have referenced the online communities as a place for peer support, somewhere to bounce ideas around," says Melling. School leaders also save time by consulting the online communities when they "share and discuss policy documents, ask for ideas on specific initiatives that other teachers have already been through," or even post meeting agendas online for discussion before the actual face-to-face meetings, he adds.
Those who take part in online communities also develop skills and know-how that make them more effective in implementing technology initiatives in their own schools, he says.
The national reach of the NCSL's programs for head teachers and aspiring head teachers and the center's effective use of technology outdistance comparable programs in the United States. Clearly, the U.K. government's support for the NCSL has been a key factor in its growth and success. The college has a mandate and funding to reach all school leaders in England, emphasizes Melling. "We would never be able to reach so many of our target audience in any other way."
