Getting Started
'My prescription for change is schematic; it is high on armchair theory and minimizes practical problems. Yet, it is important that the curriculum is rewritten from the bottom up, rather than the top down; from the blackboard jungle, rather than from the ivory tower. The diverse lives of children in the classroom must provide the raw material.'
- Lee, R. (1983)
'The GA believes that teachers should be accountable, but also that they are autonomous professionals driven by educational goals and purposes: that is, they are the curriculum makers and the subject leaders.'
- GA (2009)
Curriculum making is not new. The two quotes above, from 1983 and 2009, complement one another and both make clear that teachers are the real driving force behind curriculum change. Governments may set an overarching vision, but it is teachers in schools who interpret and deliver the curriculum to their students.
A pivotal role in this process of adaption and innovation is undertaken by the subject leader, a role that is distinctly different from a curriculum manager. Leadership involves setting a new direction or vision for a group that they are then encouraged to follow, whilst a manager is tasked with controlling or directing people and/or resources according to principles or values that have already been established.
The difference is best explored by considering what happens when one is present without the other.
- Leadership without management sets out a vision without giving too much consideration about how that vision can be achieved or measured.
- Management without leadership maintains the status quo; people continue to do whatever they do and are not encouraged or empowered to innovate or change (e.g. football referees have to referee to the rules - they manage the game).
- Leadership combined with management, however, sets a new direction and manages the resources in order to achieve it.
Barack Obama - Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
On 25 February 2009 Barack Obama set out his vision in his inaugural Presidential Address to Congress. He stated his vision for the USA, but also highlighted how the country would finance those changes.
In schools, leadership is the important element that harnesses the energies and commitment of staff, students and parents, whilst management ensures the efficient administration and organisation of the school.
Leadership skills of course need to be complemented by skills in management; an effective subject leader strives for excellence in both.
Activity 1: Your Role and Skills
Consider your current role. What opportunities do you have for leadership? What skills in management do you possess? To what extent do you combine both successfully? How might you become a more effective subject leader?
References
GA (2009) A Different View: A manifesto from the Geographical Association. Sheffield: Geographical Association
Lee, R. (1983) 'Teaching geography: the dialectics of structure and agency', Journal of Geography, 82, 3, p. 108
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