UOW - Australian Centre for Educational Leadership

The Director of UOW’s Centre for Educational Leadership, Associate Professor Narottam Bhindi, has been honoured by the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) with its prestigious leadership award, the Nganakarrawa Award....

Breakfast Seminar

In September 2006 The Australian Centre for Educational Leadership, in association with the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, presented a Breakfast Seminar conducted by Dr Dan Riley (University of New England): Adult Bullies in Schools. More than fifty participants from different educational sectors attended.

Dr Riley’s presentation provided an overview of the research by Duncan and Riley (2005), where they found that bullying is not restricted to the playground but exists in the staffrooms of Australian Catholic schools. The researchers drew upon the material of workplace bullying and highlighted its relevance to the teaching profession in both government and non-government schools. They provided a definition of bullying and reviewed relevant legislation designed to prevent its occurrence. Reports on teachers being bullied by their colleagues, students and parents both inside and outside the staffroom in Australia and overseas were noted. Specific examples of staffroom bullying and the adverse effects of bullying upon the targets, perpetrators and employers were reviewed.

The researchers profiled the targets and perpetrators and acknowledged the responsibilities of both to address unacceptable behaviour. Bullies were warned of the fine line between bullying and criminal charges. From the perspective of leadership, a protocol to prevent and respond to claims of bullying was advanced as well as a call for further research into this violation of human dignity.

Linking with Fiji

photo of Graeham and Narottam Professor Chandra receiving a folder on Educational Leadership Program from
Dr Bhindi

Centre Director, Dr Narottam Bhindi, has accepted the University of Fiji Vice- Chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra’s invitation to take up adjunct professorship in strategic leadership at his university. As a part of this honorary appointment Dr Bhindi will advise Professor Chandra in identifying, negotiating, and designing a specific program in educational leadership appropriate for Fiji and the South Pacific region. Dr Bhindi, who originally comes from Fiji, has worked for many years at the University of the South Pacific in a number of senior positions including the Director of the Institute of Education. He is highly regarded as an educational leader and an academic in Fiji and the South Pacific. The newly established University of Fiji is located near Lautoka and is supported by a network of prominent NGO’s. It is committed to the provision of innovative, internationally recognized, but cost-effective higher education in Fiji. Dr Bhindi hopes to explore links between the University of Fiji and the Centre and possibly between the Australian Leadership Consortium, which is a partnership between the Centre and the Flagship on Creative and Authentic Leadership of the Australian Catholic University.

The Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Barry Harper, said that the Faculty and the Centre would be delighted to receive invitations/proposals from South Pacific governments and institutions and aid donors to assist them in leadership capacity building in that region.

Distributive Leadership As An Emerging Concept

A Feature Article by:
Mr Greg Whitby,
Executive Director of Schools in the Parramatta Diocese

Educators today work in a context of perceived overload. In saying ‘perceived’, I am not denying the reality of social complexity, political agendas and unprecedented social change, and the effects that all of this has on school life.

However, one dominant perception can shoulder out others that are even more significant. It can define a collective mindset and inhibit creative responses to challenges.....

Professor Stephen Dinham Receives Carrick Award

The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education has announced the 2006 winners of the Carrick Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. The Carrick Citations, awarded for the first time this year, are part of the Australian Government's expanded programme of national awards designed to recognise and reward teaching excellence in the higher education sector.

These national citations recognise and reward the diverse contributions that individuals and teams make to the quality of student learning. The Carrick Citations are granted to people who have made a significant contribution to the quality of student learning in a specific area of responsibility over a sustained period, whether they are academic staff, general staff, sessional staff or institutional associates.

Professor Stephen Dinham from the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership has been awarded one of the inaugural citations. His citation noted his : "Pivotal Leadership in the teaching profession, linking teacher educators, professional bodies and practitioners through his research, award structures (QTA) and policy guidance on key committees."

The Minister, Julie Bishop stated: "These Citations acknowledge and celebrate the vital contribution made by individuals and teams to the quality of student learning, from undergraduate teaching to research supervision," Minister Bishop said. "They recognise a range of academic and professional support staff who are acknowledged by their colleagues as making an enormous difference to the learning experiences of their students. I congratulate the winners on their outstanding contribution to student learning."

Eminent Scholar Joins Leadership Centre

Professor Ross Thomas (2nd from left) is welcomed to the campus by (left to right) UOW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gerard Sutton; Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Barry Harper; Professor Stephen Dinham from the Faculty of Education and Director of the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership, Associate Professor Narottam Bhindi

UOW Visiting Professorial Fellow, Ross Thomas, is congratulated by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gerard Sutton

UOW Visiting Professorial Fellow, Ross Thomas, has taken up his appointment to the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership.

Centre Director, Associate Professor Narottam Bhindi, described Professor Thomas as an "iconic figure in educational leadership and management for over three decades".

"He is a scholar who will add great strength to the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership at UOW," Professor Bhindi said.

Professor Thomas is the former Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies and the Head of the Centre for Administrative Studies at the University of New England.

He is also editor of The Journal of Educational Administration, the longest established international journal of its kind. [Editorship of the journal will henceforth be located in the UOW centre].

Professor Bhindi said Professor Thomas has been an enthusiastic supporter of UOW's centre since its establishment regarding it as an outstanding example of co-operation and collaboration between university and education systems.

Kennedy Appointed Advisory Committee Chair

Graeham Kennedy M. Ed. Admin; Grad Diploma Ed Admin; BSc (Hon), Dip. Ed.; MACE

At its meeting on 18 May 2006 our Advisory Committee unanimously endorsed the recommendation that an independent eminent person chair our Advisory Committee for greater leverage and advocacy with other stakeholders, including the University. Accordingly it was resolved that the Regional Director of Education, Graeham Kennedy be invited to Chair the Advisory Committee, followed two years later by the Director Schools, Catholic Diocese of Wollongong. These resolutions reflect the very close and productive engagement between the major education stakeholders and the Centre. Mr Kennedy has accepted the invitation.

Graeham commenced his career as a science and mathematics teacher at Armidale High School in 1975 and worked in a variety of schools in rural NSW, becoming principal of Blayney High School in 1993.

In 1995 Graeham was appointed as district superintendent to Campbelltown district in south western Sydney. Since that time Graeham has undertaken a number of senior leadership roles in the Department of Education and Training including positions in the Department’s head office in Sydney.

Graeham has always had a particular interest in school leadership and in secondary school curriculum structures, especially as they relate to enhancing curriculum choice and opportunities for students. Of particular interest in that regard has been vocational educational options for students in the post-compulsory years of schooling.

In 2000 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study vocational education in the USA. The study focused on the role of vocational education in engaging students at risk of school failure. His studies took him to Berkeley, California; Boston; New York; Washington and Northern Virginia over a four-month period. Graeham ranks the study tour as one of the most professionally and personally rewarding experiences of his career.

Fifth International Conference on Educational Leadership

Attended by around three hundred local and international delegates the two-day featured five keynote presenters led by Prof Bill Mulford of University of Tasmania, Professor Patrick Duignan of Australian Catholic University and Steve Dinham from our Faculty each sharing their unique perspective on Distributive Leadership, the theme of the Conference. Nine speakers presented interactive workshops on related themes. more

"This plaque was presented on behalf of the Faculty of Education as a token of appreciation for the contributions made to the Faculty of Education and the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership, by the outgoing Director of the Catholic Education Office Wollongong, Mr Greg Whitby"

Bangkok Conference

An international conference organized conjointly by the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership, University of Wollongong and the Faculty of Education, Assumption University was held in Bangkok from 25 to 26 November last year. Three hundred delegates from Thailand, the USA, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia attended. Centre Director Dr Narottam Bhindi presented the keynote paper entitled Educational Leadership in Culturally Diverse Contexts.

In his paper Dr Bhindi argued that leaders operating in cross-cultural contexts need to address at least five key challenges, namely Understanding Contextual Complexities, Cultural Relativism; Acculturation /Adaptation; Managing Conflict and Harmony; and Developing Cultural Savvy. The Centre delegation included Prof Terry Burke and Doctoral candidate Madame Koolchalee Chongcharoen.

A troupe of cultural performers at the valedictory dinner of the International Conference for Educational Leadership conjointly organised by the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership UOW and Assumption University Bangkok

There have been several distinct waves or phases of leadership - including educational leadership - over the past century.

Early views and prescriptions of leadership were heavily influenced by portraits (or supposed traits) of "great leaders", larger than life heroic figures few of us could hope to emulate but people we could all look to for inspiration.

Launch of Australian Leadership Consortium

An Australian Leadership Consortium was officially launched at the University of Wollongong on Wednesday 20 July, marking an unparalleled higher education agreement.

The consortium will see a broadening of leadership training throughout the school sector and into other public sector organisations such as government departments, the police, and non-government organisations.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed recently between the Australian Catholic University (ACU National) and the University of Wollongong (UOW) paving the way for co-operation between ACU National's Flagship for Creative and Authentic Leadership and UOW's Australian Centre for Educational Leadership. The long-term vision is for the establishment of a broader national consortium of educational leadership involving centres across the country.

ACU National Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Sheehan AO, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, Professor Gerard Sutton, participated in the launch.

Professor Sheehan said, "Consistent with the shared goals of true collaboration, this consortium is committed to the benefit of all its stakeholders. The MOU has this important objective at its very core."

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, Professor Gerard Sutton, said the latest agreement would lead to joint ventures in leadership development in the Asia and Pacific region. The consortium would also allow for collaboration in research, professional development programs, exchange of visiting scholars and mounting joint conferences and seminars. "This Memorandum of Agreement represents a clear example of co-operation between universities in a significant area of higher education", Professor Sutton said. The areas of focus in leadership programs to be undertaken will include:

At the launch, the ACU National team, led by the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Sheehan, comprised of the Director of the Creative and Authentic Leadership Flagship, Professor Patrick Duignan; the Head of the School of Educational Leadership, Dr Annette Cunliffe; and the Manager of the Creative and Authentic Leadership Flagship, Soma Nagappan.

The UOW team included the Dean of Education, Professor Barry Harper; the Director of the Australian Centre for Educational Leadership, Associate Professor Narottam Bhindi; Professor Steve Dinham (Faculty of Education); Chris Carroll, Department of Education and Training; and Greg Whitby, Director of Schools, Diocese of Wollongong.

Professor Stephen Dinham Awarded 2005 Sir Harold Wyndham Medal

The peak award from the Australian College of Educators, the Sir Harold Wyndham Medal, was presented to Professor Stephen Dinham, Australian Centre for Educational Leadership, University of Wollongong, Faculty of Education, at a ceremony in Sydney on August 5.

Professor Dinham, Fellow of the Australian College of Educators, has made an outstanding contribution to the education of children and young people through his work as a teacher and teacher educator and through a body of research that defines and gives fresh insights into teachers' professional lives.

Professor Dinham began his teaching career as a teacher of Social Sciences in the NSW Department of Education, working predominantly in schools in country areas between 1975 and 1988. During this phase he developed interests in student retention and teacher satisfaction, pursuing these research interests in studies that culminated in his doctoral thesis investigating teacher resignation.

These interests in students' learning, teachers' work, work culture, and professional learning became the major focus of Professor Dinham's subsequent work in academia at the University of Western Sydney, University of New England, and more recently, University of Wollongong. His research continues to investigate a wide range of themes including quality teaching, successful teaching in the post-compulsory school years, teacher motivation and satisfaction, educational leadership and change, and teacher education.

From 1998-2000, Professor Dinham was the Chair of the NSW Branch of the College. Following the College's international conference, Priorities for the New Millennium, held in Sydney prior to the 2000 Olympic Games, Professor Dinham was invited by the NSW Minister for Education and Training to chair a steering committee to establish the NSW Quality Teaching Awards. The awards were to recognise and celebrate the work of outstanding teachers and to learn from what they do. His subsequent work in leading the QTA steering committee has established the awards as the most rigorous in Australia. His related research with Dr Catherine Scott and colleagues at UWS and UNE and educational systems has given us new insights into outstanding classroom practice.

Invitations have been extended to Professor Dinham to contribute to a wide diversity of groups in education including work at the Commonwealth level providing advice on teaching and teacher education and to the OECD on teacher recruitment and retention. He has served on the National Council of the College.

At the state level Professor Dinham has contributed substantially to the formative work of the NSW Institute of Teachers and to the work of the NSW Teacher Education Council.

Throughout his career Professor Dinham has responded continually to requests for professional guidance and support from individual schools, regional and state based groups, the Commonwealth, and international agencies. He has been a sought after speaker at international conferences where he has been an ambassador for Australian schools and their teachers.

Professor Dinham was invited to Fellowship of the Australian College of Educators for his contributions to educational research into teachers' lives and work, the status of teachers, and teacher professionalism. His contributions to education continue to be recognised nationally and internationally. He is a Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders and of the Australian Institute of Management.

For his sustained, considered, and greatly valued contribution to our understandings of teaching and teachers' professional lives, Professor Dinham is a most worthy recipient of the Australian College of Educators' Sir Harold Wyndham Medal. The medal, first awarded in 1994, honours one of Australia's greatest educators, Sir Harold Wyndham. It is awarded to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the education of children and young people.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells Addresses Centre Seminar

Senator Connie Fierravanti-Wells addressed a Centre breakfast seminar on Friday 29 July, 2005. The representatives from education and industry, more than 60, heard a personal story about the important role played by family and mentors in Sen Fierravanti-Wells’ leadership preparations.

Sen Fierravanti-Wells acknowledged the value of Wollongong’s cultural diversity as well as the support she received from her community and her schooling at Port Kembla and St Mary’s college. Centre Director, Associate Professor Narottam Bhindi, reported that it was encouraging to hear the senator acknowledge her migrant beginnings and her links to the Illawarra.

Seminar organizer, Lenore Armour, UOW Education Alumni Chapter Chairperson, said that Sen Fierravanti-Wells' experiences in the legal field and policy development were of particular interest to the audience. "It is important to understand the kind of challenges people face as they prepare for leadership positions", Armour said. The senator particularly promoted the importance of voluntary work.

Sen Fierravanti-Wells will be opening an office in the Wollongong area in the near future and said that she looks forward to continuing her service to the Illawarra community in public life.

New Centre Website

The Australian Centre for Educational Leadership website has received a major update. In addition to new colors and a new logo, the Centre website now includes news briefs and the latest information about researchers and graduate students, conferences and training opportunities, Centre research, course offerings, and more.

US Educators Hosted by Centre

Visiting educators from Nebraska were hosted at the University of Wollongong in partnership with the Centre and the NSW Department of Education and Training. On Thursday 21st July the visiting educators were treated to a day focused on the sharing of quality educational practices. Speakers included Dr Narottam Bhindi, Director of the Centre, Mr Chris Carroll, Director of the Wollongong SEA (School Education Area of the NSW Department of Education and Training), Christine Arthur, and Annette Brunt of the NSW Department of Education and Training.

Visit from British Principals Hosted

The Centre recently hosted a group of twelve visiting British principals at the University of Wollongong campus. The group, sponsored by the British Council, were treated to a full day of activities including an opening address by Mr Graeham Kennedy, Regional Director, NSW DET, Illawarra and South Coast Region, and a visit to two local primary schools, St Joseph’s Bulli and Russellvale Public School.

University of Wollongong Dean of Education, Prof Barry Harper, formally welcomed the group to the University and wished them well. At St Joseph’s, Principal Cheryle Brennan explained the principal review procedures, how technology is integrated with teaching and learning, and a new "staging" team-teaching programme being run at the school. The group also enjoyed interacting with school pupils and staff.

After lunch at Bulli Beach, Mr Paul Brightwell, Principal of Russellvale, fielded many questions on school leadership in New South Wales schools. Again, the group took time to meet with students and teachers from the school. Later, back on Campus, the Centre Director, Dr Narottam Bhindi, presented an interactive seminar on the challenges of school leadership development in Australia. This was followed by a contingent of British Principals presenting a highly informative seminar on the challenges of school leadership in Britain. These presentations provided a valuable opportunity for interaction with local school teachers and leaders and University colleagues. Click here for more photos from Principals' visit.

Centre Reinvigorates Ties with Australian Council for Educational Leaders

Dr Narottam Bhindi, Centre Director, has "reinvigorated" ties with the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) and reseeded the Council’s Illawarra-Shoalhaven branch. Bhindi has secured a pledge from ACEL's New South Wales State President, Rob Chandler, to provide start-up grant funding. The executive members of the branch include:

Recently Mr Graeme Sutherland, Principal of Kiama High School, was appointed as the Branch Secretary.

The branch's reseed meeting took place on 6 June, 2005 at the University of Wollongong campus. There was a strong commitment by all present at the meeting to ensure that events between the new ACEL branch and the Centre do not overlap. A second meeting was held on 29 July, 2005 at the University of Wollongong.

Workshops

Associate Membership

The Australian Centre for Educational Leadership, located at the University of Wollongong, is a consortium of stakeholders in the area of Educational Leadership. It works in close alignment with the NSW Department of Education and Training, the Diocese of Wollongong’s Catholic Education Office, various principals’ and professional associations, education alumni, and other providers of professional development and training in school leadership. Associate Membership enables you to:

Annual Membership is only $55.00 (includes GST) and is tax deductible. To join, fill out the membership form [pdf] and return it by mail together with payment. For further information, contact The Project Officer, by e-mail at mgale@uow.edu.au, phone at +61 2 4221 5074, or fax at +61 2 4221 4657.

Centre News

Director of Australian Centre for Educational Leadership wins Nganakarrawa Award

Breakfast Seminar