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COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN SCHOOL HEADS

Under SEAMEO INNOTECH’s current thrust to be the hub of teacher education institutions in the region, the Center gathered 12 experts in school-based educational leadership and management for the “Workshop on the Development of a Competency Framework for Southeast Asian School Heads” last June 2-6, 2003.

The curriculum development workshop is premised on the fact that despite the critical role of the school head in the growth of education in the region, it remains underdeveloped among present Southeast Asian school heads.

The experts acknowledge that not all the identified issues facing school heads could be resolved by training. They do believe, however, that most school heads have unfilled professional development needs in personal effectiveness, school-based program planning, curricular and instructional leadership, school performance monitoring and evaluation, and change management.

The workshop used a modified version of the DACUM (Developing A Curriculum) process, a popular approach to occupational analysis and curriculum development. Brainstorming, facilitated discussion, peer critiquing and participatory decisionmaking techniques were used to get the consensus of the group on the responsibilities, tasks and competencies of a school head.

To come up with the competency framework, the participants reviewed the position of the school head and identified general and specific areas of competencies. They reviewed, refined and sequenced these competencies and from among them they identified those that are entry-level and advanced. After rating the competencies, the competency chart was reviewed for a final round.

The framework took into consideration the differences between countries in demographic and educational profile, such as the Philippines’ predominantly female crop of school managers, or Cambodia’s teaching force being made up by a big number of upper-secondary graduates.

The finalized Competency Framework for Southeast Asian School Heads will provide the blueprint for the next phases of the SEAMEO INNOTECH’s LearnTech Project. This includes the development of learning materials, authentic assessment instruments and a learning support delivery system. The first activity will be to use the Competency Framework to evaluate the Center’s existing educational management learning materials to determine the scope of revisions or new material development needed.

The Competency Framework will remain a dynamic document to be periodically reviewed and revised to reflect the changing realities and contexts of Southeast Asian school heads.

The LearnTech Action Research Project is part of a strategic initiative for strengthening SEAMEO INNOTECH’s capacity for enhanced service delivery in the Southeast Asian region. The project will develop and pilot test a modular learning system in the Southeast Asian context using print, CD and Web materials. INNOTECH will link up with partner institutions to support the development and delivery of the flexible learning program and facilitate agreements for granting of academic credit.

SEAMEO INNOTECH plans to undertake an extensive regional validation process before finalizing the Southeast Asian Competency Framework. This will involve a sample of educational leadership and management specialists from SEAMEO member countries.

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