Prospects in Principal Preparation
校長培育之展望 ERIC文摘
Fledgling prospective principals, perched at the edge of insulated academic nests, often find themselves ill-prepared for their maiden flight into the blustery skies of school leadership. As practicing administrators will attest, the match between formal pre-service training and the actual demands inherent in being a principal is not a particularly good one.
初出茅廬的準校長,猶如身處在學術孤立的鳥巢邊緣,經常發現自己首次的飛行毫無準備,就馬上要進入狂風大作的學校領導天空中。因為實務中的行政人員將證實,成為校長在正式職前培訓及實際需求間的搭配,先天上就不是特別的好。
Today, however, as reform and restructuring efforts gain momentum and greater awareness exists regarding the critical role principals play in the success of school improvement efforts, this situation is starting to change. More energy is being devoted to assessing and addressing deficiencies in preservice training so that future principals will be better prepared for their baptism into the realities of leadership.
然而,今日隨著改革和結構調整的努力而有更多更好的看法,即是校長在成功的學校改革中扮演著關鍵角色,這種情況正在開始發生變化,更多的精力專注於評估和處理有缺陷的職前培訓,使未來的校長當他們進入實際領導的洗禮時將有更好的準備。
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DEFICIENCIES PREVALENT IN TRADITIONAL PRINCIPAL PREPARATION PROGRAMS?
在傳統校長培育課程中有哪些是普遍欠缺的?
Administrator training has failed to keep pace with changing times and changing expectations of leaders. As the NASSP publication DEVELOPING SCHOOL LEADERS: A CALL FOR COLLABORATION (1992) notes, "Preparation programs in educational administration have been locked into modes of thinking and structures of practice that have been overtaken by changes in the environment."
行政人員的培訓並沒有跟上時代變革的腳步與領導者變換的期盼。因為在NASSP所出版的「學校校長的發展:對於合作的需求」(1992)指出,“在教育行政部門裡的培育課程,思維模式及實務訓練已經被閉鎖住,以致於跟不上環境變化的腳步。”
Typically, students are inundated with theory but have few opportunities to wrestle with applying educational theory to specific professional problems and challenges. Although some preparation programs strive to etch the relationship between theory and practice in students' minds by offering internships or mentorships, in many cases students are still shortchanged because insufficient time is spent carefully planning, and then supervising, these experiences.
學生通常是被理論所淹沒的,而幾乎沒有機會運用教育理論,去努力處理特定的專業問題和挑戰。雖然一些培育課程提供實習或安排導師,力求能在學生的心中畫出理論與實踐的關係輪廓,但學生在許多課程中仍然被欺騙,因為沒有花足夠的時間去仔細規劃與督導這些課程的經驗。
The potency of internships as a learning tool can also be diluted by a lack of collaboration between professors and field supervisors, insufficient attention to trainees' emotional development and social support, or absence of a specific plan for solidifying trainees' cognitive linkages between theory and practice within the context of the internship (Schmuck 1993).
實習本身的效力可視為一種學習的工具,也能夠降低在學術專業人士與現場督導人員之間的合作隔閡,對培訓成員的情緒發展和社會支持沒有充分的重視,或對於培育成員在實習內容中理論與實務間的認知,是缺乏特定具體規畫的。(施米克1993年)。
Administrator training programs are also found wanting when it comes to preparing students for the hectic pace and varied content of principals' work (Anderson 1991). In addition, strengthening aspiring principals' conflict resolution skills and face-to-face communication skills, and educating trainees about the emotional demands of the principalship are not high priorities in most traditional programs (Anderson). Another area frequently slighted is that of helping trainees assess and respond effectively to "human situations" (Schmuck).
當談到為忙碌步調及內容豐富之校長工作的準備中的學生,行政人員培育課程也被指出是令人不滿意的(安德森1991年)。此外,在大部分的傳統培育課程中,像是加強擬任校長解決衝突的技能和面對面的溝通技巧,並教育學員有關校長角色的情感需求等,都沒有優先受到重視(安德森)。經常輕視的另一個領域是,幫助學員有效地評估和應對“人的情況“(施米克)。
Some even suggest that university-based preparation programs may inadvertently produce "trained incapacity" in principals since the set of skills necessary to survive in graduate school are very different from those required to succeed as a principal (Bridges 1977).
有些人甚至認為,因為在研究所學習的必要技能,很難能成功地成為校長,一個大學本位的培育課程因此可能會不慎產生“訓練有素的無能“的校長(Bridges 1977年)。
Murphy (1992) considers the present system in need of major surgery, characterizing it as "seriously flawed and...wanting in nearly every aspect." He asserts that changes need to be made not only in the content and pedagogy of preparation programs, but also in methods used to recruit and select students, assess academic fitness, and certify and select principals and superintendents.
墨菲(1992)認為目前的制度是需要大手術,制度本身有著『嚴重缺陷...幾乎每一個方面都不足』的特色。“他斷言認為不僅在培育課程的內容和教學計劃需要作出改變,而且也要在招募和選擇學生的方法上改變,並且評估學術體質、認證及選擇校長和督學。
HOW HAVE SHARED DECISION-MAKING AND DECENTRALIZATION AFFECTED PRINCIPALS' PRESERVICE TRAINING NEEDS?
如何使共同決策及權力下放影響校長的職前培訓需求?
With the advent of decentralization, it is becoming less common for principals to simply execute decisions and implement solutions handed down from above. Unlike the past, when the principal was the sole figure at the helm, principals are increasingly expected to tap into problem-identification skills and problem-solving skills resident within staff and community members. Today, how decisions are made is considered nearly as important as which decisions are made. As school-based management becomes more prevalent, and more players participate in the decision-making process, it is vital for principals to be well-versed in group process skills and problem-solving strategies (Murphy and Hallinger 1992).
隨著權力下放的出現,校長只需執行決定和實施上級授予的解決方案,這將變得越來越普遍,不像過去校長是全權操控,校長越來越被期待能夠和具有辨別問題及解決問題的技能的學校團隊成員與社區居民合作。今日,如何作出決定與決定的作成被認為幾乎是一樣的重要。以學校本位的管理將更加普遍,並且將有更多的成員參與決策過程,精通組織發展的過程技能及解決問題的策略對校長而言是相當重要的(Murphy and Hallinger 1992)。
Although there are many benefits associated with shared decision-making, expanding the pool of decision-makers increases the probability that "the values that underlie the school's operation [will] become an arena for conflict" (Murphy and Hallinger). In light of this, it is prudent to provide trainees with the opportunity to examine and prioritize their education- and leadership-related values and to hone their conflict management skills.
雖然共同決策有很多的益處,但擴大決策者的領域,學校運作的背後的價值觀(將)成為檯面的衝突,這種可能性是會增加的。有鑑於此,提供機會去審查校長及優先處理教育領導相關的價值觀,並鍛煉他們的衝突管理技巧是必須審慎進行的。
CAN PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING MAKE TRAINING PROGRAMS MORE RELEVANT
RELEVANT 問題導向學習之培訓課程
Originally used primarily in the training of medical students, problem-based learning (PBL) is a promising strategy that has recently appeared on the horizon of principal preparation. Instead of lecturing or leading a discussion, an instructor using PBL presents students with a hypothetical situation (called a project) that is likely to confront practicing administrators. After exposure to theory and research on the topic, the class divides into small groups and attempts to devise a solution to the dilemma.
問題導向學習(PBL)最初的使用係在於訓練醫學院的學生,是一種很好的策略,且近來已應用在校長培育領域。此種方式取代以講述或帶領討論的方式,而是藉由指導員使用PBL來呈現行政人員可能遭遇實務的假設情境。並將班級分成小組進行,再經由探究理論與研究的主題,藉以嘗試解決問題之困境。
Edwin Bridges (1992), a pioneer in the use of PBL in educational management classes, identifies three major goals emphasized in problem-stimulated learning, one form of PBL: (1) the development of administrative skills, (2) the development of problem-solving skills, and (3) the acquisition of the knowledge base that underlies administrative practice.
學者Edwin Bridges在教育管理課程上是使用PBL的先驅,並確立PBL在問題刺激學習上之三項主要目標,分別為:
(1)行政技能之發展。
(2)問題解決方法之發展。
(3)以知識獲取為基礎的行政實務方法。
Although the application of PBL to the training of school administrators is still in its infancy, members of Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University have already put a hi-tech face on the concept by creating a problem-based computer simulation called In the Center of Things (ITCOT).
雖然PBL教學法的應用對於學校行政人員訓練仍處於起步階段,但Vanderbilt大學的Peabody教育學院已藉由發展In the Center of Things (ITCOT)的問題導向電腦模擬操作置於在高科技的面項當中。
Designed to teach students to think strategically about instructional leadership and school improvement, ITCOT allots students $30,000 and 2,000 hours to address problems contributing to low test scores in a hypothetical elementary school. Students are supplied with a "knowledge-base" of thirty-three programmatic approaches to improving student achievement. To give students a taste of the complexity and uncertainty of actual school improvement efforts, the simulation calculates the costs and benefits of each strategy depending on which other strategies have already been decided upon and at what point in the process they were utilized (Hallinger and McCary 1992).
此問題導向學習法旨在教導學生關於教學領導與學校改善的策略性思考,而上述的ITCOT例子則分配給每位學生30,000元與2000小時以致力解決在一個假設性國小情境學生成績低落的問題。而學生提供以知識導向為基礎的33種方案取向,作為改善學生的學習成就方法。為了使學生具有複雜性與學校改善中不確定性的嘗試,此種模擬計算各策略中的成本與效益,而這些策略取決於過去曾決定使用與使用於過程中為考量。
CAN PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING MAKE TRAINING PROGRAMS MORE RELEVANT
問題導向學習模式可以使更貼切培訓系統嗎?
Originally used primarily in the training of medical students, problem-based learning (PBL) is a promising strategy that has recently appeared on the horizon of principal preparation.
問題導向學習模式原先是主要使用於醫學院學生的訓練,現在逐漸使用在校長培訓之中。
Instead of lecturing or leading a discussion, an instructor using PBL presents students with a hypothetical situation (called a project) that is likely to confront practicing administrators. After exposure to theory and research on the topic, the class divides into small groups and attempts to devise a solution to the dilemma.
替代傳統的演講式或討論式教學,PBL訓練模式提供學生一個執行行政可能遇到的假設情境。在經過主題教學與研究後,會分作小組嘗試解決這個矛盾問題。
Edwin Bridges (1992), a pioneer in the use of PBL in educational management classes, identifies three major goals emphasized in problem-stimulated learning, one form of PBL: (1) the development of administrative skills, (2) the development of problem-solving skills, and (3) the acquisition of the knowledge base that underlies administrative practice.
Edwin Bridges是在教育管理訓練課程上使用PBL的先驅,指出三個問題刺激學習的主要目標: (1)行政技巧的發展 (2)問題解決技巧的發展 (3)從行政練習上獲取相關知識
Although the application of PBL to the training of school administrators is still in its infancy, members of Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University have already put a hi-tech face on the concept by creating a problem-based computer simulation called In the Center of Things (ITCOT).
儘管PBL在學校行政上的應用仍處於未成熟階段,在Vanderbilt 大學裡的皮勃狄教育學院已經開始投入高技術人才研發一套PBL電腦模擬系統,稱為ITCOT
Designed to teach students to think strategically about instructional leadership and school improvement, ITCOT allots students $30,000 and 2,000 hours to address problems contributing to low test scores in a hypothetical elementary school.
ITCOT係設計來教導學生如何策略性思考教學領導與學校改進等議題。ITCOT分配給學生3萬美金與2000個小時來處理一間低得分的虛擬小學。
Students are supplied with a "knowledge-base" of thirty-three programmatic approaches to improving student achievement. To give students a taste of the complexity and uncertainty of actual school improvement efforts, the simulation calculates the costs and benefits of each strategy depending on which other strategies have already been decided upon and at what point in the process they were utilized (Hallinger and McCary 1992).
學生有33種提高學生表現的系統化策略。為了讓學生感受到現實學校的複雜性與不確定性,這套模擬系統會針對既定策略的使用與進行之程度,計算下一個策略選擇的成本效益分析。
WHAT OTHER SKILLS DO ASPIRING PRINCIPALS NEED?
還有甚麼其他技巧可以提升校長需求?
Whereas past research sought to identify particular behaviors associated with principal effectiveness, more consideration is now being given to the thought processes from which principal behaviors germinate. As Hallinger and McCary (1992) state, "It is not enough for principals to have a repertoire of behaviors; they must know how and when to use them, and they must be careful to monitor their effects on student learning."
然後,過去的研究希望辨識出校長效能的獨特行為,現在則投注更多關注於校長產生此行為時的想法與意念。如同Hallinger與 McCary指出:學會校長套裝技能是不夠的。校長們必須要知道何時與如何使用這些技能,而且校長們必須謹慎地監控他們在學生學生方面的影響。
By emphasizing strategic thinking skills, instructors can increase trainees' understanding of what elements to consider when deciding which behavior to pull out of their administrative hats. A strategic approach to leadership involves forethought and planning, awareness of how actions within a social system are related and affect one another, and purposeful coordination of resources (Hallinger and McCary).
藉由強調策略性思考技巧,教導者可以增加受訓者在行政執行時的行動選擇。一項領導策略方法包含了前思考與計畫,社會系統裡的任一動作如何互相影響,與有計畫的資源協調。
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