Leadership Framework

The purposes of the Ministry's Leadership Framework are:

• To inspire a shared vision of leadership in schools and boards.
• To promote a common language that fosters an understanding of leadership and of what it means to be a leader.
• To identify the competencies and practices that describe effective leadership.
• To guide the design and implementation of training and development for leaders.

The Leadership Framework consists of two parts:

1. Leader competencies, which are the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of effective principals, along with the leaders' practices, which are the actions, behaviours, and functions that research and professional experience have shown to have a positive impact on student achievement.
   
   Leader competencies and practices are organized into five domains:
   • Setting directions
   • Building relationships and developing people
   • Developing the organization
   • Leading the instructional program
   • Securing accountability

   Each domain is then described through the skills, knowledge, attitudes and practices relevant to the domain.
   
   

2. System practices and procedures that support principals to be effective leaders.
   
   System practices and procedures are organized into six main domains:
   • School and district improvement
   • Fostering a culture of professionalism
   • Leadership development
   • Administrative structures
   • Parent and community supports
   • Succession planning
   
   Each domain is then described through indicators relevant to the domain. The Ministry's Leadership Self-Review Tool (LSRT) provides a package of materials that boards can use to measure the extent to which their practices and procedures are supportive of their principals and vice-principals.¹
   The LSRT was distributed to boards in a CD format at the Institute for Education Leadership conference on December 11 and 12, 2007.
   
   

Notes:

1. The leader competencies and practices currently refer specifically to principals, yet many of these can be applied to system leaders as well. The Leadership Framework will be expanded to include competencies and practices tailored for board leaders which, in turn, have a positive impact on student achievement. Current policy work and consultation on the role of supervisory officer and director will inform the development of this next phase.