The Role of School Principals in Improving Learning

In 2019, the principal of”Nuestra Señora del Pilar,” an educational center in Villagarzón, Putumayo, in Colombia’s Amazon region, received the “Gran Rector” award from the Compartir Foundation, a prestigious accolade awarded annually to the best teachers and principals of the country.

Professor Orlando Ariza’s achievements can be summarized in the eight years his school went from being considered a “last resort” for underperforming students, to being ranked third in its category in the ISCE educational quality index.

The work of principal Ariza and his team is a proof of the theory set out in international studies, i.e. that the leadership of management teams has a positive impact on the learning of children and adolescents, and when this leadership is poor or non-existing, it can even have the opposite effect and make learning difficult. The pedagogical leadership of principals is the second most influential factor in students’ learning, after teachers, and can explain the 25% variation in learning attributable to educational variables.

Recent PISA international test results show that in Latin America, one in two young people cannot understand what they read. Today we know that attending school does not necessarily mean learning, and that in socio-economic and cultural contexts as complex as those faced by millions of Latin American families, schools and other educational institutions play a leading role in creating opportunities for inclusion and development for children and young people.

In this context, providing school principals with the tools needed to exercise their pedagogical leadership is pivotal to enhance educational quality. Examples such as principal Ariza’s should be replicated, not as isolated cases, but as part of education policies promoted throughout the region.

The capabilities to define strategies that guide school work and encourage students and teachers to foster learning, are not built spontaneously, but should be promoted with effective and sustained opportunities for professional development. In this sense, Latin America has a long road ahead.

About 730,000 school principals are currently serving in compulsory basic education in our region, in a variety of contexts, working conditions and qualifications that directly impact the ability of these teams to exercise successful leadership. School principals are expected to perform administrative functions, but also—and above all—leadership and to chair curriculum and teachers’ meetings, as well as to maintain interactions with students, teachers, families and the community.

Although at least 50% of Latin American countries require some sort of prior training to manage a school, required qualifications are not sufficient and these should be supported by two other key training actions: professional onboarding, through programs to assist new principals in the first years of professional practice; and, throughout their careers, with continuous training.

An important action to promote the improvement of professional development processes of school management teams is to disseminate the criteria for identifying innovative management practices, which can be used when undertaking such interventions at the local, regional or national level.

A recent report by CAF “Innovative experiences in professional development of school principals”, reviews the essential features to ensure an innovative training program design. In short, its content is expected to be standards-based, with an emphasis on pedagogical leadership, developing a coherent curriculum, considering field experiences and methodological processes, proposing active pedagogical experiences based on adult learning, as well as systematic field practices and experiences. Similarly, its structure should promote professional socialization and onboarding, as well as continuous evaluation of participants, and should aim at improvement and training of solid teams of teachers.

Although there is little information in Latin America on the impact of training programs on leadership practices of school management teams, the report summarizes the characteristics and results of some of the region’s most relevant experiences, including: Mentoring Chilean principals, Principals as Transformation Leaders in Colombia, and the School of Principals of the Dominican Republic. Similarly, it refers to international experiences with different lessons, as in the cases of England and Singapore.

These reviews confirm the need to develop and apply benchmarks and standards that guide the definition of roles and responsibilities of principals, and thus, their training processes, either prior to taking office (onboarding) or during their career, including support strategies such as mentoring and coaching.

Experiences like principal Ariza’s in Colombia prove that leadership of school principals, managers and coordinators is a key piece in fostering a positive school climate that can encourage a shift in institutional culture, focusing on creating personal and social development opportunities for students and their families.