The following nine videos focus on aspects of leadership in Indian schools. The videos show Indian school leaders talking about how they have implemented change to improve teaching and learning in their primary or secondary school. The aim of the videos is to encourage you to explore the use of similar practices in your own school.
The videos are organised according to nine themes:
The videos are linked to the themes of the TESS-India School Leadership OER.
Further details and ideas for linked discussions and activities to undertake with school leaders may be found in the School Leadership Video Resources notes.
A school leader talks about the changes he has implemented to improve student attendance. He outlines how he identified the issues involved and how he took steps to address them, including establishing good relations with parents.
This school leader enlisted the support of key people to make changes that had a direct impact on school enrolment and attendance. Who are the people that you need to have on your side to make improvements in your school? Can you think of ways to include them more in decisions and solutions for your school?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
A school leader walks around her school. She observes and makes notes on classroom teaching and learning in order to praise effective practice and attend to any shortfalls. The teachers and students do not react to her visits as they are used to them.
It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day management of your school, but if you make time to walk around it regularly, you will learn a great deal about its actual workings. How often do you sit in on lessons and talk to your students about their experiences in school? How else might you collect evidence so that you have a rounded knowledge of how well your school is performing?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
A school leader in a rural school talks about the importance of establishing an understanding of each student’s background and recognising the impact this may have on their learning and attendance. Although she cannot change the demands on her students to help with harvesting, she can work with them and their parents to minimise the impact of these responsibilities on their learning. In this way, she has managed to improve school attendance.
How much do you know about the factors that impact on your students’ learning? What student issues might you tackle if you had more information about them?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
Related TESS-India Key Resource:
A school leader describes a specific problem in her school, namely inconsistency in the teaching of reading and writing, and how she led a whole school initiative to address this problem. Having involved teachers in identifying the relevant issues, she then took action in a coordinated manner.
Are there areas of learning that you suspect are weak in your school? How might you investigate them further and who might you enlist to help you take action?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
Related TESS-India Key Resource:
Related TESS-India Teacher Development OER:
A school leader talks about the challenge of involving parents in their children’s education. She explains that, once a dialogue is established, it becomes easier to resolve factors which adversely affect a student’s learning.
Involving parents in the school is a key factor in supporting students’ learning. How do you encourage your students’ parents to visit your school? In what other ways might you encourage parents to support their child’s learning?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
A school leader describes the ways in which a student with a physical disability is successfully supported to participate fully in the school’s activities.
The school leader has a key role to play in ensuring that all students are included in the activities and opportunities available at their school. Physical disability, as in this video, is one condition that might exclude students from learning or from the facilities or resources at school.
But there are many other factors – such as social status, gender or visual impairment – that might lead to less favourable treatment. Are all the students in your school able to fully participate in learning? What can you do to reduce inequalities?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
Related TESS-India Key Resource:
A school leader actively monitors the learning environment in her school to improve standards. She observes lessons and talks to her staff and students, while at the same time noticing issues relating to punctuality and school cleanliness.
Part of the school leader’s role is to ensure that the school environment supports learning. Among the factors to be aware of are teaching quality, the provision of textbooks, student behaviour and the availability of washing facilities. What might you do to improve the learning environment for all your students in your school?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
Related TESS-India Key Resource:
Listen to what a school leader says about leading teachers and notice where she focuses her efforts. Notice too how the students’ experience is an important driver of her priorities.
When this school leader talks about leading her teachers, her prime focus is on how she organises them, but she also talks about how she fosters a collaborative spirit in the school and how she protects the time they spend with their students. How far does her approach relate to your priorities and preoccupations in leading your teachers?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
A school leader talks about how she enables the teachers in her school to use participatory approaches with their students. As a leader, she takes care to model these approaches herself.
This school leader checks that teachers are on task by talking to them as well as their students. Ensuring that the curriculum is being covered is important, but how will you find out about students’ learning experiences? How can you encourage a participatory approach in all lessons in your school?
Related TESS-India School Leadership OER:
Related TESS-India Key Resources: