Rethinking Whole Child Development and education leadership in Iberia

The Porticus team in Iberia recently completed an education programme titled “Changing educational systems through Whole Child Development Leadership", with partners Fundación Europea Sociedad y Educación (EFSE) in Spain, and Universidade Católica Portuguesa-Research Centre on Peoples and Cultures (UCP-CEPCEP) in Portugal. It ran from January 2019 to June 2022, ending with an international symposium in Madrid on 9-10^th March 2023. 

What’s the programme about? 
It’s about supporting the integration of Whole Child Development (WCD) in public schools, reaching children in adversity, through the gateway of school leadership. The concept of WCD aims to provide an all-encompassing and inclusive range of support, addressing much more than traditional classroom-oriented activity so that children can develop to their full potential, both individually and in society.

“The WCD Leadership programme grew out of a really important question: are we only interested in academic education, the academic performance of our kids – or are we interested in a more holistic education – a whole child approach?” says Arturo Galán, Dean of the Faculty of Education of the National Distance-Learning University and responsible for the evaluation of the programme.

Within the programme, six dimensions of the child were defined:

 

Why is it necessary?
Spain has the second highest rate of early school leavers in Europe with poor performance rates caused in part by the inability to create opportunities for children living below the poverty line. Education systems in Spain and Portugal are failing to educate students from a whole child perspective. Traditionally, this has been a gap in school systems and is an urgent problem today. Key challenges include: a lack of WCD leadership development for school leaders; the need for more holistic pedagogies; lower engagement of school communities, and poorly formulated projects that fail to respond to student needs. 

What were the key objectives? 
To integrate a new WCD Leadership model in public schools to reach children in adversity in Spain and Portugal, and to be a catalyst for cultural change in the schools. The ambition was that a WCD approach would be recognized by the Ministries of Education of Spain and Portugal, and University and Master degree courses would also start to incorporate WCD modules. For Porticus, this programme aligns with our mission to champion human dignity and bring about systems change, working with a strong network of partners.

What was achieved? 
The programme schemes saw the participation of 14 public schools – 8 in Spain and 6 in Portugal – all serving children in adversity.  involved 1,000 teachers and over 12,000 students with 31 researchers, 47 school leaders and 11 mentors all helping to make 140 hours of training possible.

A WCD Leadership Model was created that included an in-depth conceptualization of WCD. A Position Paper was published, describing key concepts and defining six WCD dimensions along with four school domains (mission and vision, organizational design, curriculum, people), as well as explaining their application to educational leadership.

A programme website was launched, to collect and disseminate key outputs and content, including good practices in schools, in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.  And a WCD Leadership Training course was created using a common structure for Spain and Portugal, available in both languages, and adapted to each country’s context. As a result of Covid-19, the course was adapted to a fully online format in March 2020.

How did the programme work in practice?
We took a multi-faceted and inclusive approach to ensure everyone can support the WCD journey. Safeguarding protocols were implemented, following a 7-hour formation session with an expert, as a prerequisite for school participation. In the 14 public schools where training sessions were held, observers were present to gauge engagement and opportunities for improvement. Trained leaders then held workshops with teachers and with families to share learnings and keep them informed. In both countries, a team of mentors accompanied school leaders, supporting them in creating annual school plans with a WCD approach. 

What were some tangible results?
Tailored, annual strategic plans have been created and implemented in most of the participating schools. Evaluation protocols were designed and implemented, the first one being a qualitative training course process evaluation with results published in December 2020, and the second about the student experience of WCD education. A final report was published in May 2022 (link).

Several events were organized for school teams to learn from each other, and an online WCD Handbook has been created to provide open access to more school leaders.

A pilot version of the WCD training course has been rolled out in Angola, for 36 principals in 30 public schools, through UCP’s alumni network. 

What role did Porticus play?
As well as actively engaging in the co-creation of the programme, Porticus’ support has allowed partners to co-design this WCD Leadership model and implement it across two countries with different education systems. In addition to funding, Porticus activated its body of knowledge and network of experts, government bodies, universities and organizations, as well as bringing on board potential private and public funders.

The programme was shared among Porticus’ Global Learning Community, which brings together over 80 education partners across the world, while the end of the programme was marked with an international symposium in Madrid in March 2023. This facilitated the sharing of results and learnings with a diverse group of global experts, with 54 keynote speakers and panellists and over 400 participants.

Where can I find out more?
There is a dedicated website (www.wcdleadership.com) with full details about the programme, and a 5-minute video that showcases activities and results (link). Information about the symposium “What is new in educational leadership” and recordings of panels and presentations by experts is also included, in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Do you care for a one-hour, deep dive into WCD and school leadership around the world? Watch our international panel with Eileen O’Malley, Global Porticus Programme Manager, and partners from Argentina, Brazil, Peru and the US, facilitated by Utrecht University, in this link.

What’s next?
Beyond Porticus’ funding, training will continue to be offered by the partners in collaboration with public administrations, centres and universities.

In Spain, the WCD Leadership training is embedded in the official formation to be offered by Madrid Regional Government for school teachers and leadership teams. It is also integrated as a module in a formation programme offered by UNED to school leaders.

In Portugal, the course will be continue to be rolled out through official teacher-training institute “Centros de Formação de Associação de Escolas”. UCP-CEPCEP will also offer it to more schools in Angola.

Spanish partner EFSE will pilot the course in the Dominican Republic,  with 300 leaders of 155 public schools, supported by Acción Empresarial por la Educación EDUCA, a non-profit organization working with the Dominican Republic government in its Presidential Project for Educational Excellence. EDUCA is part of the Latin American Network of Civic Society Organizations for Education (Reduca), which works to improve the quality of education, thus opening opportunities for further scaling the WCD Leadership training if successful.

We hope this programme serves as an example that with collaboration and focus, change can be achieved. Especially in education systems. WCD is an evidence-based approach that can truly make a lifetime of difference.