Strengthening school leadership towards improving school resiliency

School leaders are pivotal in building the resilience of schools in the face of public health threats, natural disasters, armed conflict, political and economic crises, and other upheavals. They are critical in supporting improved teaching and learning through motivating teachers and students, creating enabling school environments, understanding local conditions, and mediating with the communities they serve. But school leaders in many developing countries receive little preparation for their role and frequently focus on managerial tasks rather than instructional leadership. The objective of this project is to contribute to improved quality and equity of the continued learning and wellbeing of girls and boys in the Global South during the prolonged school closures of the COVID-19 crisis and future emergencies. It aims to strengthen the practices of school leaders in a range of low-resource contexts using data-driven decision-making. It will do so by establishing the extent to which a blended online/offline approach helps school leaders to effect pedagogic change in their school systems, with a focus on digital practices. This project will take place in the Philippines, Kenya, and another country in sub-Saharan Africa. These countries share a concern with low levels of attainment among sub-groups of students, and a desire to strengthen the instructional role of school leaders and to enhance digital practices in education. They also represent a range of pathways to school leadership and degrees of autonomy in the role, thus maximizing the global good that can result from the project.