World Educational Leadership Link (WELL) Project

Where do we start?

Today, perhaps more than ever before, we recognize as educational leaders that the problems that challenge our efforts to support the academic achievement of all students is a global issue. To achieve this goal we have outlined a pedagogical approach that is grounded in a framework for collaboration.

Framework for Collaboration

  • Each ELDA student would be paired with an experienced educational leader currently working in a school in your country for an initial one-year commitment beginning October 2010.
  • Each ELDA student will be given the name and contact information for their partner and would initiate the conversation through email. Afterwards, SKYPE or other technological connections can be arranged.
  • Critical questions constructed around specific themes will be developed by the students throughout the year.
  • Each pair of educational leaders will engage in dialogue regarding educational issues of mutual interest that they are facing.
  • Each pair will provide periodic opinions, and evaluation of the communication/dialogue process aimed at continuous improvement and learning for the relationship.
  • Language differences will be facilitated by electronic translators.

What can we learn from each other?

The collaborative framework we propose will support the following learning objectives:

  • Developing insights into educational leadership in a different country;
  • Gain an improved understanding of the leadership skills and attributes needed to facilitate greater student success and school development;
  • Contribute to the construction and support of an inquiry based educational approach that deepens understanding about how to connect with global practitioners;
  • Analyze school leadership practice from multiple perspectives and political structures taking cultural context into account;
  • Provide a conversational forum to examine the challenges and actions educational leaders could take in support of a `social justice’ agenda;
  • Provide an understanding of education and student success from the perspective of another culture, language, and country.

What would be required?

Collaborators involved in the WELL dialogue should be willing to make a commitment to the following:

  • Commit the time for connecting with their international partner through email, etc. three times a month, approximately 1- 5 hours;
  • Share their experiences, successes and failures;
  • Learn and discover more about educational leadership practice from multiple perspectives;
  • Explore new possibilities for student achievement;
  • Engage in discussions that motivate creative and imaginative leadership practices;
  • Participate in a research study that would examine the benefits and outcomes of this process.

What research contributions can be made?

Data collected on the WELL project can contribute important information about the improvement of leadership practice. Participants in this collaboration can help to transform leadership practice into a broader global framework. It also makes possible the enrichment of understanding of cross-national leadership issues, perspectives and solutions to problems. Each pair would engage in reflective practice and be asked to document:

  • Their learning about educational leadership as a result of their conversations with their international partner;
  • Their reflections regarding the actual process of collaboration, the factors that challenged them and those that supported the relationship.

Documentation of this pedagogical approach will provide an important tool in our continuing efforts to connect our students internationally. By engaging in reflective practice, this project cannot only benefit this first cohort of individual participants, but has the potential to provide formative assessment data that could benefit future participants.

Our focus at the School of Leadership and Education Sciences is to connect educational leaders in conversation around the world—here is an opportunity to begin the dialogue.

Please complete the reply form below.

Sincerely,

Rose Linda Martinez, Ed.D.
Director, Educational Leadership Development Academy
University of San Diego
martinez@sandiego.edu
619-260-8839

First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
Country:
Phone Number:
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Years of Leadership Experience:
School Name:
(check all that apply)
Number of Students:
Brief Description of your school community (for example: rural village, all girls, etc.):

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