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“To Be a Leader Is Both a Privilege and A Great Responsibility”

Working in education provides leaders the opportunity to work with professionals from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and a wide range of pedagogical ideas and approaches.

School leaders can often share successful examples, strategies and processes that have made a significant positive impact on a community of learners.  They have improved the quality of education and outcomes for many students and inspired staff to learn, grow and flourish under their inspirational leadership.  

An experienced International School Leader, Dr Paul Walton brings his views on creating vibrant communities, developing staff and building a positive school environment.  He is a strong believer in high quality professional development for all staff, fostering a culture of collaboration throughout a school and lifelong learning.

Experience

With over 20 years of experience in education both in the UK and internationally, he has been a Principal of international schools in various countries and led schools to ‘Outstanding’ inspection ratings.  He has worked in Hungary, Malaysia, the United States, Slovenia, and Bahrain enjoying a rich variety of cultural differences, experiences and adventures.

He started his career in the UK as a computer science teacher, quickly moved into leadership and led schools on Teaching and Learning, Technology for Learning and Professional Development, and becoming an International School Principal.  

As a Principal and School Inspector, he has continued to visit, support, and learn from schools around the world, developing strategies for best practices to develop the highest possible quality of education throughout many British International Schools.

Starting Points 

I believe that understanding dedicated and passionate professionals starts with building trust, being consistent, and earning respect.  If compassion and understanding are not modeled, then this will not occur in the workplace.  Showing authenticity in your everyday approach will slowly create solid building blocks of building trust and then setting high expectations will lead to improved performance in others according to the Pygmalion effect (1968).

According to Covey (2006), the first steps in creating trust are through self trust and ‘in our ability to set and achieve goals, to keep commitments, to walk our talk’.  In a nutshell, it is created by actions and ‘doing what you have promised to do’.  Fulfilling the promises over time starts to create trust in any sector and having a high standard model for all.

I would personally recommend five points to address in the initial plan to create opportunities for everyone to work together to help build a positive school environment for staff.  The points below are some that I have implemented in British International Schools.  These are:

1. Demonstrate a Growth Mindset
2. Foster a Sense of Community
3. Engage in Open Communication
4. Celebrate Successes
5. Encourage Personal Growth

Growth Mindset

When facing a new challenge we often reference ‘Mindset’.  According to Dweck (2007),‘The growth mindset creates a powerful passion for learning’.  Moving from a current to a desired state in an environment requires perseverance and resilience.  Adopting a ‘Growth Mindset’ equips all staff with the belief to improve through hard work, good strategies, and input from others.  It creates a love of learning, embracing challenges, applying effort on the path to mastery and gives staff a greater sense of free will.

We expect our students to do this each day in class and this is the same approach needed when creating a positive community.  It reinforces what we ask students to do by modeling this ourselves.

Sense of Community

A sense of belonging starts with effort first.  Planning and creating meaningful opportunities for your team members to work together needs careful consideration to think about time, environment, purpose, support, and resources.  With this careful consideration, approaching each of these with empathy helps to understand the motivations and worries of members of staff.

These could include off-site functions, a social activity, team building, designated time for a clear and specific purpose of learning or student progress, work in the local area, etc.

Once staff have met in a safe and comfortable climate then follow-up sessions and meetings should be created to further embed this practice.

Over time, this will transform into trust, dependence, and a sense of working together for a common vision.  The staff will be professional first but will have a stronger respect and sense of care for one another personally.

Communication

Anticipate each interaction as an opportunity to demonstrate clear, consistent, and concise communication skills.  Ensure that you are listening actively, and giving your colleague your full attention during the conversation.  Be mindful of your body language and your non-verbal cues such as folding arms, avoiding eye contact, or creating barriers.  Use positive language to motivate and inspire action such as ‘Thank you, Let’s try, We can, Let’s do this, etc.’.  Be open to feedback and listen to the views of others to engage and realign staff when they have questions.

Demonstrate Empathy.  ‘Empathy’ as reported by (Forbes, 2021) is the most important leadership skill according to research, it is essential for happiness and performance and tops the list for enhancing innovation and retention. 

Staff appreciate honest and open communication, avoiding verbose and obscure language helps with engagement and understanding.

Successes

(Wang et al. 2017) stated when people ‘celebrate their achievements, they are more likely to remain motivated and pursue further goals, creating a positive feedback loop of success and satisfaction’.

Celebrating the successes of teams can create further bonds, comfort in this new environment, and extra motivation.  Leaders who focus on the successes of others first again demonstrate a humble, authentic, and ‘service-minded’ approach to leadership and a passion to put others first.

Celebrating quick wins and successes have a positive impact on individuals when building a collaborative environment and also through change management processes. This then creates a sense of purpose as mentioned in the 8-Step Process for Leading Change by Kotter (2002).  The sense of purpose and urgency can be clearly communicated to all staff together and one important aspect of change management is to celebrate successes and quick wins.  Kotter mentions ‘Nothing motivates more than success’. 

Personal Growth

Enable personal growth by applying various coaching methods, support, and mentoring.  Staff should be clear on their roles and responsibilities and receive regular feedback related to their performance.  The feedback should include constructive feedback, with encouragement to seek new challenges and to improve as a lifelong learner.  A key emphasis on active listening should be employed with guiding questions, a demonstration of empathy and a focus to help.  This is a supportive process in a safe environment that can foster further continuous learning in all professionals.

Outside of the meeting, professional development can be introduced in the form of online, in-person, guest speakers, external courses, and internal development.  There are many approaches that can be used to give staff autonomy and ownership and these can be aligned with the vision and development plan of the school.  

I am very motivated to help all staff improve and would encourage all staff to work with other schools as I have seen firsthand the huge impact of TeachMeets, workshops, and hosting professional development events.  I have implemented these in all schools I have worked in including the first TeachMeets from 2015 in Malaysia.  They are inspirational and are available for all educators to work together and make a difference for all students in all schools.    

A Step towards the future

In the next 5-10 years, I believe that a greater emphasis on Emotional Intelligence, Coaching, and Leadership will be included in schools not only for staff but wider opportunities for students as these skills are becoming more desirable in the global workplace.

Final Words of Wisdom

Start with the five building blocks listed above and then add more complex and innovative strategies on top of these.

Put the needs of your team first, and be visible and at the forefront of situations when a crisis, difficult situation, or the inevitable tough days are upon you, and behind the team when the plaudits arrive.  

Always celebrate the successes of the staff team.

References

• Carol S Dweck, (2007).  Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
• Stephen M, R, Covey (2006).  The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, 
• Kotter (2002) Kotter’s 8-step change model available from: https://www.mindtools.com/a8nu5v5/kotters-8-step-change-model
• “The Pygmalion Effect: Definition & Examples” Simple Psychology, (1968): https://www.simplypsychology.org/pygmalion-effect.html 
• “Empathy is the most important leadership skill.” Forbes, (2021): https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/09/19/empathy-is-the-most-important-leadership-skill-according-to-research
• Wang, W., Li, J., Sun, G. et al.  (2017). Achievement goals and life satisfaction: the mediating role of perception of successful agency and the moderating role of emotion reappraisal.

After the devastating earthquake of September 2023 in the Al Haouz region, Morocco, a plan for hope was envisioned.

The Moroccan Association for the Aid to Children in Precarious Situations (AMESIP) stepped into action and laid the foundation to create an ecological village. The vision; to provide a safe, benevolent living environment, in harmony with the urgent needs of the Amizmiz community.

Just 11 months later, on 1 August 2024, an ecological village, Douar Shems’y, opened its doors. Now it’s home to 144 orphaned children, offering them a safe haven, educational and psychosocial support, and a caring environment in which they can flourish.

This project is much more than a shelter: it embodies a holistic vision combining protection, education and sustainable development for the benefit of the most vulnerable children and families.

Why was it important for you to get involved in humanitarian work and this project in particular?

I served as a regional coordinator in ‘Latel’, a humanitarian organisation, conducting food collection and distribution campaigns, educational programs in schools, and operation of food warehouses.

After participating in a disaster relief mission following the 2003-2004 tsunami in SouthEast Asia, I was so affected by the experience that it led me to further volunteer and carry out humanitarian aid work all over the world. In partnership with Mission Enface, I built three schools in Laos serving 232 children and recently became an official partner and contributor to Save The Children, a global non-profit organisation to protect children in disaster and conflict areas.

After hearing about the devastation and loss for the children in Al Haouz region I felt compelled to support.  As a person, who’s passionate about education, I understand the importance of providing a caring, nurturing and safe environment for children where teaching and learning is at the heart.

Can you tell us about some of your other eco-friendly initiatives?

I aspire to be a positive contributor to the planet and caring for the environment is one of my core values. With the devastating bushfires in Australia to the extreme drought in Central and North Africa, I wanted to contribute by planting over 5,000 trees in Australia and Africa in cooperation with One-Tree-Planted, providing clean drinking water and sanitation solutions to remote communities through Water For People and supporting climate change research through TogetherBand.

Within the schools that I founded, I have ensured that the furniture, toys, and learning materials are eco-friendly and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. In each school, there is an integrated eco-curriculum embedded in the daily program, exposing and involving our little learners in biodiversity, plastic pollution, wild-life preservation, and teaching the children about the importance of being positive contributors to their communities and the planet.

What is the vision for the school and the village?

The vision is to support the orphans in their reconstruction process and guide them to a bright future despite the challenges they have faced. We have a dedicated team of educators, cultural specialists and social workers who will be present to carefully ensure their development and overall development. Each child is considered a seed of hope for the future of the country, and AMESIP has made a pledge to accompany them throughout their journey.

How is the school providing a supportive and inspiring learning environment?

The school strives to inspire in every facet from individualised and adaptive learning to the actual physical learning environment. The foundation of the school is to ensure a safe and development-friendly environment for children by providing them with quality infrastructure, educational programs adapted to their level and vocational training opportunities for adolescents. The primary objective is to create a stimulating and inclusive educational environment for the children of the village, with an approach:

“Growing in well-being and dignity”

In order to achieve this goal we will focus on five main objectives:

1. Rehabilitation and Education
2. New digital technology
3. Integral Psychological Support
4. Mental Health Education
5. Community Support

How will the physical environment support the children?

The architecture is very respectful of the natural environment of the region, so that children grow in symbiosis with their land. The design of the school comprises natural, eco-friendly furniture and materials. The rooms are without strong colours or other distractions to encourage optimal and uninterrupted learning.

The children also have access to a range of high-quality sports facilities and an educational vegetable garden; where children learn to grow seasonal vegetables while following food traceability for a healthy and responsible diet.

What makes the village ‘eco-friendly’?

Douar Shems’y is a model of eco-responsibility; respecting the environment and supporting sustainability. As well as the educational vegetable garden there are already a number of systems in place at Douar Shems’y that the children will learn about and be involved in, including a water treatment system which provides clean and accessible drinking water and a photovoltaic power plant that provides renewable energy to power the village.a

Is there a way that readers could support this project further?

Yes, if anyone would like to contribute to the sustainability of this unique project to ensure that Douar Shems’y continues to grow and offer a better life to its residents, there is a national fundraising campaign ‘kiwicollecte.ma’

Also, there are social media links that will keep you up to date with the campaign and news from the village:

Website: www.amesip.org

Facebook: Official Amesip

Instagram: shemsy_amesip

LinkedIn: amesip ong

Nurses remain an essential and trusted part of the health care system, and the nation faces an urgent need for nurses due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The World Health Organization is also celebrating the value of nursing by designating 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. In addition, 2020 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the 19th- century social reformer known as the founder of modern nursing.

The demand for nurses, and therefore for nurse educators, is likely to remain high, according to the National League for Nursing (NLN), as nurse educators are on the front lines teaching new nurses who are filling the shortages in hospitals and other health care settings.

Nurse educators will likely continue to be well paid. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate the median salary for nurse educators at $73,490. They may work in academic settings, but some expand their focus to teaching in schools, businesses, hospitals, and community agencies.

The NLN shares some key advantages of becoming a nurse educator:

– Intellectual stimulation. Nurse educators know the latest research in the field and have the ability to share it with others.

– Flexibility. Nurse education allows for more autonomy and a flexible schedule. Not to mention that technology allows educators to teach from anywhere in the world, at any time, from the beach to the ski slopes.

– Research. Nurse educators have opportunities for research and publication in scholarly journals to advance the field of nursing and their own careers.

– Meaning. The desire for a purpose-driven life steers many people to the nurse education field, where they can make a significant difference in a variety of ways.

– Fulfillment. Nurse educators rejoice in encouraging young students and take pride in their accomplishments.

– Impact. Nurse educators, by shaping and developing the next generation of nurses and by working in their communities, will continue to impact the shape of healthcare for future generations.

– Inspiration. Everyone remembers the teacher or teachers who made a difference for them by giving them that extra encouragement or helping them explore paths they might not have seen.

But quite possibly the number- one reason to become a nurse educator, according to the NLN, is the unique chance to “teach what you love.”

Many career tracks exist for potential nurse educators. Teaching requires at least a master’s degree in either education or nursing, but these degrees may be earned through a traditional college setting or through the variety of fully accredited programs now available online.