1. Shared leadership
Finland
Eira Kasper

2. A pioneer in upper secondary education nationally and internationally
Innovation
Sustainable
development
Sense of community
Leadership and management
Economic resources
Service in secretarial office
Process of going to upper seconday school
FROM START TO GRADUATION
Recruitment process of students
Junior student
Motivated and cooperative learner
Student counselling
Support for students’
wellbeing
Curriculum
Staff
Core curriculum Strategies of the city of Vantaa
Laws and acts

3. Shared leadership Knowledge of experts to use
A leader doesn’t know everything
Commitment to objectives and development work
Culture of trust
Result of development work of many years
Student representatives
In teams
Team
Team
Management group
Principals and teachers
2 + 4
Teachers vote 4 representatives
for 2 year’s period
Members of management group are heads of teams
Team
Team
Team
Team
12 teams. Every teacher belongs to at least one team.

4. Motivated and cooperative learner
Global citizenship
Cross-cultural studies
Upbringing objectives
Sense of community
Support of growth process
Arrangements of studies
Music curriculum
Learning methods
Dance curriculum
Motivated and cooperative learner
Challenges for students of special interests
Good learning results
Skills for learning to learn
Media studies
Math and science IT
Foreign languages
Physical education
Visual arts Theatre
Support for learning
Everyone is taken care of
Individual
student counselling
Guidance of home room group
Social welfare of students
Activity of tutor students

5. Enthusiasm and skills for learning
At Vaskivuori School there are motivated, tolerant, active and cooperative young people in an international and inspiring atmosphere. A student is supported to meet and solve challenges he or she faces in learning.
High quality and up-to-date instruction At Vaskivuori School there is proficient and motivated contact teaching which guarantees extensive education and possibilities for wide-ranging post-graduate studies, and an unique study environment with chances for distance learning.
Business Idea of Vaskivuori School At Vaskivuori School there are motivated and versatile learners,
a qualified staff, knowledge of technology and an inspiring atmosphere. Everyone appreciates and encourages each other. You can feel the joy of learning and teaching at the School.
Skilful /qualified staff Vaskivuori School appreciates the development of the skills of qualified and inspired teachers, capability of the staff, the joy of teaching and job satisfaction. There is knowledge from learning technology to music and from physical education to humanistic subjects.
Appreciated and active School Vaskivuori School has attractive special fields. The School is frequently covered in the media and its positive brand attracts skilled young people now and in the future. The School has a visible and active approach.

6. Decision making power, examples
Teachers and students Curriculum A year plan Rules and regulations Projects School parties and happenings How to organise a school year
Teachers Division of classes for each teacher
Core curriculum, laws and acts
Strategies of the city of Vantaa
Legally a principal bears all the responsibility at school.

7. Why Shared leadership? (1/2)
By taking part in planning, preparation and decision-making process
commitment
initiating
learning
understanding of the whole organization
understanding of your own role in the organization

8. Why Shared leadership? (2/2)
getting to know all your colleagues from different subject groups
understanding of leaders’ work and decisions
increasing of job satisfaction and well-being
Curriculum is a process – not a book that collects dust for the next ten years Collective agreement: A teacher should use 50 – 107 hours in a school year for cooperative work outside classes

9. A story of the participatory leadership (1/4)
A usual practice in schools
There are subject teams at schools
Members of the management group are representatives of subject teams
Subject teams
At Vaskivuori School there have always been and are going to be subject teams, it is a self-evident structure that belongs to the school culture.
The two parts of the curriculum
In the curriculum there are two parts, the general objectives with e.g. cross-cultural studies and the objectives of subjects.

10. A story of the participatory leadership (2/4)
Started in 1990, the school of 300 students
Six teams for the six fields of cross-cultural studies
Every now and then students took part in teachers’ meetings
Quality Award in 1995
New start in 1996, the school of 600 students
Half of the teachers and students came from a different kind of school culture
A management group was founded, members were nominated by a principal from volunteers
The word TEAM became a swearword > the term changed into “operational group”
New operational groups/teams
Students’ role increased > to operational groups, to all teachers’ meetings

11. A story of the participatory leadership (3/4)
Next start in 2006, the school of 1000 students
The third part of teachers and students came from a different kind of school culture but with very positive expectations
12 – 14 operational groups/teams
The post of a vice principal was founded by the local authority
Clear instructions: a manual for operational groups/teams, a description of shared leadership etc.
Members of the management group are voted by teachers
A tighter connection between operational groups/teams and the management group
Fewer teachers’ meetings of 70 participators, more decision making power to the management group and operational groups/teams

12. A story of the participatory leadership (4/4)
Some tasks of principals are delegated to three teachers
Student representatives also in the management group
Process descriptions and instructions to update them
Award of the best quality practice (CAF) of the public sector in Finland in 2015
What’s next?
The school has a clear structure and clear descriptions of everyone’s responsibilities
The school is able to receive new challenges and changes
A new principal will start in the beginning of the next school year

13. Cons / Challenges
Teachers’ thoughts: they are educated to be subject teachers in classes not managers
Teachers might burn out, you have to take care of their job satisfaction and well-being.
Students come and go
As teachers gain more knowledge, they also see more room for criticism.
There may be many little bosses

14. A manual for teams Every teacher belongs to at least one team
Half of team members change every year
You may stay in the same team max two years
You may present three suggestions regarding your next team (the management group decides)
Selections are made before the end of the school year, a new team will be ready to start at the beginning of the school year
A yearly plan (a mission, objectives, description of actions, evaluation)
Minimum 6 – 8 meetings during the year
The management group decides which teams are needed in the next school year, usually 1 – 3 changes

15. Examples of teams Team of sustainable development
Team of well-being and safety
Team of support for learning
Team of international activities
Team of cooperation with working life
Team of staff’s well-being
Team of curriculum work
Team for development of leading of home room groups
Team for development of using IT in classes etc.

16. To become a skilful upper secondary student (1/2)
A problem:
Students at our school, especially girls, don’t believe in their possibilities and skills as learners compared to students in other schools in the area. Positive beliefs have a correlation of r = ,33 and negative beliefs r = -,26 for learning results.
A proposal of a team of well-being and safety A project not only for girls but for all the first graders
To become a skilful upper secondary student

17. To become a skilful upper secondary student (2/2)
Evaluation of the project at the end of the school year “The project plan was better than the activities we accomplished” A research in 2016
There are less negative beliefs in learning to learn skills than in other schools of the area.
Students’ positive beliefs in their skills have decreased less than in other schools from junior secondary to upper secondary.
How?
Teachers thought they failed to follow the plan!
All the teachers and many students took part in a process of making a project plan in teams and in subject teams. There was a lot of dialogue!

18. New findings in 2016 and 2017 (1/2)
Students’ sense of community above the region’s average
Only 3,4 % of students think the atmosphere should be better
Students take part in the decision-making process, above the city’s average
Studying the results of all upper secondary schools in the city, Vaskivuori was the only school in which the well-being of the students increased in the first two years of studying.
In comparison with the Vantaa area schools, in Vaskivuori school the cognitive and reasoning skills of the students improved especially in the first two years of upper secondary school.

19. New findings in 2016 and 2017 (2/2)
According to the survey of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health,
our teachers' sense of control over their work has improved time after time and we are now in the best 10 percent in results.
teachers’ experienced work atmosphere has improved every year since 2012
teachers’ experienced social capital has improved every year since 2012.

20. Students’ board applied for a school of the year award granted by the Teachers’ National Union ( )
“In our upper secondary school you can be who you are. We have students from the greater Helsinki region, but also students from further away come to Vaskivuori just to be able to study at our school. We have had few bullying cases in our school, which shows in bullying surveys.”
1/3

21. Students’ board’s application (2/3)
“People’s satisfaction doesn’t show only in surveys. The students and the staff feel welcome at Vaskivuori because of our team spirit and open-minded atmosphere. Many students stay at school until evening doing their homework or just spending time.”

22. Students’ board’s application (3/3)
“If someone dreams about making a music video, short film or his/her own production, you can assemble a crew for it with ease. The school is filled with different kinds of people, and everyone has the chance to be who they are. We are a big family where everyone has their place.”

23. Thank You
Eira Kasper