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Principles

external view school GhanaPurpose

The primary purpose of this Centre is to build sustainable capacity in Commonwealth countries in the areas of School Leadership, Pedagogical Expertise, and Initial and Continuing Teacher Education. These three key areas are integrally related and encompass ongoing initiatives in Health Education, Information and Communication Technologies, Gender Equity, and Literacy. The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of schooling in a climate of widening participation – with individuals, groups, voluntary and statutory agencies, all of whom share an interest in teaching, leadership and research.

The promotion of equity and social justice is a common concern. It lies at the heart of CCE's aspirations and is embodied in the following principles.

Commitment

There is commitment to a sharing of expertise premised on the understanding that learning is most powerful when it is both socially and culturally aware and that we have much to learn from one another. Our work together is therefore based on a collegial and collaborative approach to teaching, learning and leading. It is one that seeks to build knowledge through networks and communities of learning, both 'real' and 'virtual.'

Aim

The aim is to develop policy and practice informed by research, appropriate for specific locally-based needs, sensitive to cultural concerns and constraints but able to offer constructive challenge in a spirit of collaborative inquiry. The Centre will seek to maximise impact through collaboration with existing initiatives, embryonic or fully fledged, but sharing similar goals and contexts. This collaboration will help to ensure that initiatives become embedded in thinking and in routine practice so as to ensure longer term sustainability.

Added Value

Building on the strengths of the Faculty team involved in these initiatives is a key element of the Centre's modus operandi. A significant dimension of the 'added value' that we seek to bring to these initiatives is the Faculty's research capability. As part of CCE's commitment to sustainability and capacity building we plan to collaborate in research together with practitioners 'on the ground', leading to joint publication, co- and multiple-authorship and the dissemination of research as widely as possible.