Citizen Leader Lab

Vision: 

Leadership that builds a better future for ALL

Mission:

Develop leaders who can catalyse positive change in their institutions, communities, and broader society

Facilitate cross-sectoral collaboration to strengthen connections and partnerships across boundaries

Create opportunities for active citizenship

Engage with key public sectors, with education being a critical focus area. 

Purpose:

 To develop conscious leadership that builds social cohesion, uplifts communities, and works towards achieving a just society

Values:

We have Quality Relationships as the foundation for Trust

We have Energizing adult to adult relationships

We take Personal Accountability for everything we do

We show Radical Respect to our colleagues and clients

We have a culture of Abundance and Generosity

We are Professional in everything we do

The team leader is the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Lead of the organisation. She is involved in the design of the MERL for all the products/programmes of the organisation as well as for conducting research in the organisation. Her role entails:

• Guiding and overseeing the work of MERL staff and monitoring their progress, productivity and achievements. 
• Leading the preparation of funder reports and writing annual reports.
• Leading the updating of the theory of change for all the programmes in the organisation. 
• Leading internal and external evaluations and ensuring timely and accurate input. 
• Updating the MERL tools (surveys/questionnaires) and overseeing the data collection process and data analysis. 
• Writing research funding proposals.
• Publishing journal articles and presenting research data at national and international conferences.

Research and impact studies are part of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) team`s core focus and the LEAP project falls within the MERL role. The team regularly conducts nationwide impact evaluation studies to measure the efficacy of the PfP programme and the LEAP Project will be another aspect of this.  

Additionally, the MERL team members have previous research experience and are dedicated to improving the programme to ensure that we add value to the people we serve. The MERL team have published articles in the field of education and leadership development, and have presented the outcomes of the programme at various national and international conferences. The MERL Lead is part of a learning cooperative with members from various organisations employed in various roles who connect weekly to share challenges, skills and best practices.

The MERL team primarily works remotely with flexible schedules for meetings and collaboration sessions. The LEAP project will be an extension of these collaboration sessions.

Transformational leadership development and support for school principals in under-resourced communities in South Africa

The success of every school depends on effective leadership by school principals as well as parental and community involvement in the school. Effective leadership contributes to an improved education system, in which principals are key change agents.

Transformational leadership in schools is pivotal and is associated with setting the vision and direction of the school. Transformational leaders are change-orientated; form collaborations; build relationships; inspire others; foster mutual support; are good communicators and listeners; are considerate, are supportive and participatory in their leadership; and have a high regard for teamwork. All of these are important for forming positive relationships with teachers, students and parents and achieving school improvement.

Many South African public schools experience challenges in the classroom that are amplified by the socio-economic realities of the community. Challenges such as poverty, malnutrition, child-headed households, limited access to healthcare, crime, and violence, all negatively impact a child’s ability to learn. Principals need skills, tools, networks and support to deal with these challenges and to mobilise educators, parents and community members to better support learners to be successful.  

To address the needs that South African principals have, Citizen Leader Lab facilitates the Leaders for Education (LfE) (previously known as the Partners for Possibility) programme to provide transformational leadership development and support to school principals serving under-resourced communities in South Africa.

The Leaders for Education (LfE) programme, previously name as Partners for Possibility programme, was initiated in 2010 to provide transformational leadership development and support to principals. Members of the business community are invited to partner with a principal over a 12-month period and are supported through the experience of applying new skills and knowledge in their individual schools.

Underpinning the LfE programme is Asset Based Community Development, which empowers community leaders - namely principals - to drive the work needed to transform schools. The LfE programme is an effective framework wherein the principal brings his/her deep knowledge of education and the specific challenges of the surrounding community, and experienced business leaders lend their skills, social capital and hands-on input to develop and support schools in tackling these challenges.

Partnerships (dyads consisting of a school principal and a business leader) are grouped into clusters of 8-10 schools to allow for peer and co-learning. Unlike many leadership development programmes, the LfE programme offers peer learning as opposed to mentoring, which is normally a one-way learning process. The peer learning enables principals to learn from each other as well as from business partners in the circle.

Each circle is supported by an experienced Learning Process Facilitator (a trained and experienced coach), who facilitates regular meetings in which both partners share knowledge, experiences and good practice. Learning Process Facilitators (LPFs) support the growth of each individual and partnership through professional coaching. The LPFs help principals to unlock new possibilities and allow them to find their own solutions, rather than being told what to do. Furthermore, coaching has been shown to be a significant element of continuing professional development for principals and teachers.

The LfE programme design is based on the 70:20:10 model, where about 10% of learning comes from formal training in the form of three workshops with transformational leadership elements. Twenty percent of learning takes place through social learning – whereby participants gain new knowledge and insights through their engagement with other leaders from their cluster. Most of the learning that occurs (around 70%) is experiential learning, which happens as the participants work together to identify, prioritise and tackle challenges in their respective schools. It is well-known that people learn best from experiences. Principals and their business partners implement projects that generate tangible and intangible benefits such as infrastructure and equipment upgrades, as well as staff development. Citizen Leader Lab provides additional support to school principals through the School Leadership Forum which offers monthly interactive talks and panel discussions by well-known speakers on a wide range of education and leadership-related topics. These sessions consist of topics such as instructional leadership, functional literacy and information and communication technology.  Principals also have the opportunity to engage on the online platform where they share knowledge, successes and challenges; and collaborate around best practices.

1. Foundational research (literature reviews, desktop research)

• Ten academic research studies were conducted by postgraduate students on the efficacy and impact of the Partners for Possibility programme (currently known as the Leaders for Education programme).
• A retrospective study by an independent organisation was conducted in 2014.
• Two independent external evaluations that involved desktop research were conducted. The first external evaluation was conducted in 2016 as part of an independent validation of the Leaders for Education programme and its effectiveness. The second external evaluation was a 3-year longitudinal evaluation from 2018 - 2021. This was done to study the outcomes of the Leaders for Education programme, the effects of the programme on student outcomes as well as the cost-effectiveness of the programme.
• Citizen Leader Lab writes annual reports which also involve reviewing existing literature and doing desktop research.

2. Formative research (feasibility studies; case studies; user interviews; implementation studies; pre-post research)

• As part of a feasibility study, interviews were conducted at the start of the leadership programme in 2010 to gauge the level of need for and interest in the programme.
• A case study on behalf of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) was conducted in 2019.
• Periodically, detailed case studies of various partnerships that represent a range of socio-economic and demographic scenarios are conducted. 
• Interviews were conducted with participants for Citizen Leader Lab's pilot programme called School for Community. School for Community is the second year programme of Leaders for Education programme.
• A feasibility study was conducted in 2022 for a new funder. Focus group discussions and individual interviews were conducted.
• At the end of the 12-month facilitated leadership programme, participants in each cluster are asked to complete an evaluation survey and take part in a closing interview to measure changes in their leadership styles before and after the programme.

3. Summative research (e.g. correlational studies; randomized control studies; longitudinal study)

• In 2014, JET Education Services conducted a retrospective study of the Leaders for Education programme.
• An independent evaluator conducted interviews to study the effectiveness of Leaders for Education programme, JET Education Services conducted a 3-year longitudinal study (2018-2021) and used randomised control methodology to study the influence of the programme on student outcomes. 

Two independent external evaluations and a few academic research studies concluded that the PfP (currently known as the Leaders for Education) programme was well implemented and well received by the school principals and schools. These studies showed that the programme significantly improved the principals’ confidence, skills and competence. This in turn led to more cohesive and effective school management teams and an increase in teacher motivation and engagement at school.

The studies also reported that the principals are involving the parents and community more often in the activities of the school. This leads to greater community involvement and more parental engagement in the school, e.g. more parents are attending parent-teacher meetings and other school events. Community members avail themselves to be part of school committees and are volunteering at the school, including being involved in the maintenance of the school and guarding the school to prevent burglaries. This has resulted in a reduction in school vandalism. Furthermore, there is more social capital at the school through partnership with the business leaders and other principals in the cluster.

The retrospective evaluation in 2014 carried out in a cohort of schools that participated in the programme in one of the nine provinces in South Africa, found evidence that student academic outcomes were higher in programme schools compared to the control schools. The research team hypothesised that this may be due to the implementation of reading programmes in the programme schools as a result of the participation of business leaders.

As part of a 3-year external longitudinal evaluation (2018- 2021), student outcomes were again reviewed. However, the comparison of student outcomes at baseline to endline was constrained because the student testing was conducted in a small number of schools that were involved in the Leaders for Education programme, and the same students were not followed-up over time. Moreover, COVID-19 had a significant impact on student outcomes and the ability of researchers to follow-up on the students. This evaluation gave us an indication that we need more evidence to prove a correlation between the programme and student academic outcomes.

Collectively, these studies also made us realise that we need to start incorporating input from other members of the school community in our programme evaluations, i.e. school management team (SMT) members and school governing body (SGB), educators, parents and community members.

Many studies have shown that leadership behaviour is essential for positive school outcomes. A few studies have shown that transformational leadership has indirect effects on student academic achievement, while meta-analysis studies that were conducted by Chin (2007) in Taiwan and the USA, as well as Ertem (2021) in Turkey found that transformational leadership had a positive effect on school effectiveness, teacher satisfaction, and student academic outcomes.

The recent study conducted by Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2021 revealed that 81% of South African children aged 9 to 10 years (Grade 4) cannot read for meaning. This distressing finding highlights the need for more interventions to improve literacy among children, to introduce more reading programmes at school as well as to support students to improve their academic outcomes.

Over its thirteen years of existence, internal and external evaluations of the our programme have shown that it has a significant impact on school leadership and the overall effective functioning of schools. During internal evaluations of the our programme, participants indicate a link between the programme and student academic outcomes. However, our programme`s impact on student academic outcomes has not conclusively been shown during external evaluations. The three-year longitudinal study (2018-2021) conducted by JET Educational Services to investigate the correlation between the PfP programme (currently known as Leaders for Education) and student academic outcomes was hampered by COVID-19 restrictions and the sample size of the study. Therefore, currently there is a need to further explore the influence of the Leaders for Education programme on student academic outcomes. Furthermore, given the fact that programme participants focus on implementing literacy and reading programmes, and that Citizen Leader Lab provides instructional leadership and functional literacy sessions to support principals in improving literacy rates, the need to expand and scale up the Leaders for Education programme is imperative.

1. How does school principals` transformational leadership influence student academic achievements in South Africa and globally?

2. What methodology and metrics are best suited for Citizen Leader Lab to assess whether the school principals strengthened transformational leadership capacities have an impact on student academic achievements?

3. How can Citizen Leader Lab assess the impact ecosystems (consisting of parents, communities, organisations and businesses), have on student academic achievements when they are involved and support the schools? 

A comprehensive literature review on the impact on transformational leadership development on student academic achievements. This will assist us in developing, informing and enhancing our theory of change. 

A conceptual framework to demonstrate the link between the leaders for education programme for effective school leadership and student learning outcomes.

Recommendations and learning brief on the methodology and metrics to assess the impact of the Leaders for Education programme on student academic achievements.    

A data collection plan that will include interviews with principals, teachers, students and parents. We have chosen this group of participants because previous literature reviews, as well as internal and external programme evaluations have shown that students perform better academically when teachers are motivated and enthusiastic about their work, and when parents play an active role by helping with school homework and attending meetings with teachers about the progress of the child. 

A data analysis plan which provides recommendations on how the data collected can be analysed.

Learning brief with recommendations on strategies how Citizen Leader Lab can assess the impact of  ecosystems on students` academic achievements.

Recommendations and learning brief on the methodology and metrics to assess the impact of the ecosystems have on student academic achievements.    

The organisation will use these outputs to conduct an impact study on the correlation between the Leaders for Education programme for school leaders and student academic outcomes. In 2025, we will start launching leadership clusters (cohorts) that consist of eight to ten different schools from different provinces throughout South Africa. We will identify non-programme schools in the same provinces with the same demographics and similar academic records. We will design interview schedules, a field plan and draft a budget. A suitable data analysis plan will be identified. After conducting the impact study, we will write a report and disseminate it to the organisation, funders, participants and other partner organisations.

If a positive correlation is found between student academic outcomes and the Leaders for Education programme, then the findings will be used to enhance our theory of change with the ultimate aim of testing academic outcomes for students in future.

Short-term:

We will conduct an impact study and revise our theory of change. We will raise awareness of our findings - particularly if there is a positive correlation between student academic outcomes and the Leaders for Education programme.

We will present the findings at national and international conferences. We will also publish the findings in national and international academic journals. We will write newspaper articles, and share the findings on blogs and on our social media platforms.

Long-term:

The findings of the impact study will assist to facilitate scaling in more rural areas of South Africa as well as across the African continent. We will recommend that transformational leadership development training becomes mandatory for all South African school principals and that they take part in the Leaders for Education programme. The impact study will support Citizen Leader Lab`s partnership with the education department in South Africa as well as with other organisations who seek to understand the impact of the programme on student learning outcomes.

We will collaborate with international organisations that do similar work, especially African-based organisations such as VVOB and the African Centre for School Leadership.

The findings of the impact study will be used to further increase the credibility of the Leaders for Education programme and we will use it to mobilise government, business and other organisations` financial and human resources to support programme expansion. As part of Citizen Leader Lab's internal evaluation, we aim to test academic outcomes for students in future and also update our internal evaluation tools.