Centre for Educational Leadership officially launched
 |
Dozens of principals and educational leaders celebrated the launch of the University of Auckland Centre for Educational Leadership at a special event on November 4.
The Centre was officially declared open by Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon, who acknowledged the outstanding members of the Faculty of Education at its helm, Professor Viviane Robinson and David Eddy, both known internationally for their work in leadership in education.
The Centre will provide research and development on the links between leadership and student achievement, working closely with school and early childhood centre leaders to achieve the goal of excellent leadership in every New Zealand school and centre.
“I’m sure in years to come the work delivered through the Centre will do much to improve the quality and impact of leaders throughout our education system,” Professor McCutcheon said.
The Minister of Education Hon. Anne Tolley spoke at the launch and praised the centre as a wonderful facility for New Zealand’s education system.
“I am impressed with the national and international leadership role taken by this University,” she said.
Taking centre stage at the launch was the highly anticipated release of Professor Robinson’s Best Evidence Synthesis (BES) research for the Ministry of Education. The BES examined the links between leadership and student outcomes, identifying what works best and why. It was co-authored by faculty colleagues Dr Margie Hohepa and Dr Claire Lloyd. It was officially released by the Minister during the launch, and is the eighth to be completed in the BES series. She told guests the findings from the BES programme have significant implications for education in New Zealand.
“You have produced a taonga for the New Zealand education system,” the Minister said of the BES. “We are the envy of educationalists in the world that we have this series and it is something to be treasured and used.”
Guest speaker at the event was Michael Fullan, a worldwide authority on educational reform and Professor Emeritus of the University of Toronto. Dean of the Faculty of Education Graeme Aitken also spoke of the high quality research being produced in the faculty linking educational leadership and student outcomes.
The Centre is based at the Faculty of Education’s Epsom Campus and operates in partnership with Auckland UniServices Limited.
Read more about the Centre for Educational Leadership.
