Introduction
According to the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) investigations into leadership effectiveness, “leaders who behave according to expectations are most effective” (Dorfman et al., 2021). Transferring this principle into IB® contexts means, in primis, validating the mandatory requirements gathered in the constitutional guideline Rules for IB Schools (© International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020). On a more extended level, considering the unique nature of each IB school (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020), effective IB leadership can be verified through five main areas:
- Compliance with the IB® Standards and Practices
- Sustainable and distributed leadership
- Students’ achievements
- Secondary indicators from the IB® community
- Individual global competencies assessment.
Body
Being a globally recognized IB® World School implies full compliance with the mandatory requirements set by the IB®, whose practical application depends on the in-depth knowledge and capabilities of the school leaders. The IB® framework is specific and rigorous; for this reason, the guidelines Rules for IB Schools and Programme Standards and Practices (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020) collect all the cardinal essentials for the accomplishment of any IB® school, hence the effectiveness of its leader.
The first sign of administration validness is to be found in the successful process for the mandatory school authorization as an IB® World School, from the consideration phase to the formal certification (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2015). The procedure implies creating a realistic and contextualized action plan as the start and endpoint of the program assessment (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2019). This comprehensively answers to all Programme Standards and Practices that, namely, “provide a set of criteria that can be used to evaluate the success of IB World Schools” (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020). As shown in Figure 2, the framework, which embraces the school’s purpose, the learning, the culture, and the environment, guides not only the authorization proceeding but also the evaluation to happen every three or five years, depending on the implemented programme. Yet, the positive confirmation of the evaluation process is another sign of effective school leadership (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2019). To be more specific, what is explained above finds its essence in the IB® 0201-01 and 0201-04 practices (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020):
- “Leadership 1: The school regularly reviews and follows all IB rules, regulations and guidelines to support programme implementation and ongoing development.
- Leadership 4: The school implements and reviews systems and processes to improve the operation and sustainability of its IB programme(s).”
With reference to what was stated by Hallinger et al. (cited in Hallinger, 2021), achieving cross-program coherence represents a big challenge for IB® school heads. And considering that principals move more often from school to school than teachers do (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2009), creating sustainable pedagogical leadership implies the wise application of the “distributed leadership” model (Bush, 2020) in school. To this end, Hargreaves (cited in Making the PYP happen, 2009), claims that the best long-term succession plan happens upon the development of “deeper and wider pools of leadership talent” across the school (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2009). Therefore, although the way schools organize their administration varies from context to context and from culture to culture, the strategic identification of valuable programme coordinators and subject leaders as key roles of the pedagogical leadership team (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2014) is additional evidence of the school head’s effectiveness and mastery.
A meta-analytical work carried out by Robinson, Loyd, and Rowe (cited in Moosung Lee, 2019) has identified five dimensions of IB® leadership practice that work as evidence of effective leadership because responding to relevant IB® Standards and Practices (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020). Table 1 reflects such correspondence. Going further, the essential job of leadership in every organization is to identify and clarify the “primary task” and support the staff’s efforts to accomplish it. In any school setting, the “primary task” is to improve all pupils’ learning. The “primary task” in an IB® World School is additionally reflected in the school’s mission statement, which must be aligned with the IB’s. Consequently, effective IB® school heads must first and foremost consider themselves as pedagogical leaders (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2009).
To complete the area of IB® effective leadership tangible verification, significant evidence can be found in secondary but meaningful indicators from the school community. These tangible manifestations are verbal, behavioural, and visual; they comprehend the school’s rules and regulations, rituals, ceremonies, traditions and discipline, facilities, community growth, and the rate of student and staff retention (van der Westhuizen et al., 2005). On an intangible level, instead, IB® heads may extend the evaluation of their leadership performances by self-assessing their personal global competencies. The most suitable identified tool related to this study context is the Global Competence Model™ (Global Competence Associates, n.d.). A personal interview on April 29, 2021, with Christi Hunter, President of the Global Competence Associates, revealed that “global competence implies the ability to interact positively and effectively with anyone in the world.”
Moreover, it embeds flexible, respectful attitudes, self-perspective included, and the knowledge of those historical, geographic, and societal factors that impact cultures. Thus, global competencies eventually allow effective interactions and relationships with people worldwide (Global Competence Associates, n.d.). The GCM represents a cluster of interconnected capabilities that collectively comprise global competence, which can be assessed personally.
Conclusions
Many are the factors that can help identify and verify the effectiveness of IB® leadership across the globe. The primary tools unquestionably refer to the structured and extended IB® requirements expressed in the numerous guidelines offered to all IB® educators that support and facilitate the school authorization, evaluation, and programmes’ implementation. In addition, the wise application of the “distributed leadership” model (Bush, 2020) among the key pedagogical roles ensures cross-programme coherence and, hence, stability in the overall school management and students’ academic achievements. These two aspects, along with the “primary task” establishment, are reinforced by applying the five leadership dimensions identified by Robinson, Loyd, and Rowe. At the completion of IB-related evidence, significant indicators are to be found in secondary but meaningful, tangible indicators from the school community that are verbally, behaviourally, and visually manifested. As leadership results from human interventions (Pont, 2008), it is considered sagacious to investigate and assess the personal global competencies as IB® knowledge catalysts and enhancers.
References
Bush, T., 2020. Theories of Educational Leadership and Management. Fifth ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Global Competence Associates (n.d.) Worldwide Leadership Global Competence [Online].
Available at: https://globallycompetent.com
(Accessed 1 November 2024).
International Baccalaureate Organization, 2009. Making the PYP happen: Pedagogical leadership in a PYP school. 2nd ed. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
International Baccalaureate Organization, 2014. MYP: From principles into practice. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
International Baccalaureate Organization, 2015. Guide to school authorization: Diploma Programme. 2nd ed. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
International Baccalaureate Organization, 2019. Guide to programme evaluation. 3rd ed. Geneva: International Baccalaureate Organization.
International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020. Rules for IB World Schools. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020. Programme standards and practices. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
van der Westhuizen, P. C., Mosoge, M. J., Swanepoe, L. H. and Coetsee, L. D. (2005) ‘Organizational Culture and Academic Achievement in Secondary Schools’, Education and Urban Society, 38(1), pp. 89–109.
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