Professional development of school management in focus at OSCE conference in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, 29 October 2014 – An initial two-day conference on developing a model for mandatory professional development of school management hosted by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded today in Sarajevo.

The conference, attended by representatives of ministries of education, pedagogical institutes, school directors and the BiH Agency for pre-school, primary and secondary education,  presented achievements in professional development of school management from various education authorities as well as international organizations and possible ways forward.

“Formal training does not exist for school directors in BiH, leaving a wide gap between their teaching knowledge and leadership abilities. It is of the utmost importance to establish strong legal grounds for the continuous professional development of school management,” said Fermin Cordoba, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH Human Dimension Department. “The OSCE will support local authorities in the development of a model for mandatory professional development of school management to ensure it fosters inclusive and non-discriminatory practices in schools throughout BiH.”

The conference builds upon previous OSCE initiatives related to improving school management. In 2010, the OSCE Mission supported the development of the Financial Guide for School Directors as a tool for greater understanding of financial management in schools, and trained more than 600 school directors. The OSCE Mission has also worked with school boards to improve their skills and abilities as decision making bodies in education. Since 2008, the OSCE has assisted in developing tailored training materials and delivering capacity building workshops for school boards in all ten cantons of the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska.