What this means

System leaders are principals, teachers, parents, students and community members (and university and college educators) who:

• Work with peers on a whole school strategy or in a cluster of primary and secondary schools (P-12 schooling) or a network
• Help to build research-practice links and professional networks
• Build partnerships with kindergartens and colleges/universities
• Develop good practice in school-family-community partnerships
• Lead work toward a school as a community hub and resource
• Strive to deeply understand the community context of a school
• Work closely with external agencies such as health services
• Lead partnerships to understand and protect ecosystems (e.g., schools involved in replanting areas and promoting biodiversity).

At the broader organisational level, it involves school community stakeholders (from principals to teachers and parents) who:

• Seek to influence systemwide educational policy through involvement in organisations such as the AEU, VASSP, VPA, Parents Victoria and VICCSO
• Promote good governance standards via ASCIV, DEECD, VICCSO and the principals' associations.

Such leaders lead within their own schools and communities and in the systems beyond. Understanding how the school, community, clusters and networks and education system all impact on each other, system leaders participate in the bigger picture.

This leadership is not confined to principals or Regional Network Leaders, although their roles are pivotal. Teachers, parents and students may be system leaders. As system leaders, they also seek to involve a school community in shared decision making.

This means unlocking the full potential of the ‘hidden leaders’ or non-traditional leaders in school communities. It also means developing the understanding that the more power and control we share, the more power we all have to use to improve outcomes.

Notwithstanding adequate time and resources for system leadership, two key questions thus arise:

• What are the capabilities needed by system leaders?
• How do we develop and support system leadership?

case study

To be developed.

ACTION CHECKLIST

To be developed.