THE LEADERSHIP OF SCHOOL BOARD DIRECTOR GENERALS
A FRAME OF REFERENCE TO DEFINE, DEVELOP AND CONSOLIDATE IT TOGETHER
Association des directions générales scolaires du Québec (ADGSQ),
Marie-Hélène Guay and Brigitte Gagnon
Association des directions générales scolaires du Québec (ADGSQ),
Marie-Hélène Guay and Brigitte Gagnon
In recent years, as director generals (DGs) of Quebec’s school service centers (CSS) and school boards (SB), we have seen our responsibilities and mandates evolve tangibly. The transformation of school governance for French-language school service centers (Government of Quebec, 2020; 2023), the massive renewal of our association’s membership and high social expectations for a school system anchored in rigorous, pedagogical and organizational developments call for strong, innovative leadership on our part. Yet, in Quebec, there was no national frame of reference describing our specific leadership as DGs of service centers and school boards.
In 2020, the Association des directions générales scolaires du Québec (ADGSQ) teamed up with professor-researchers Marie-Hélène Guay and Brigitte Gagnon from the Département de gestion de l’éducation et de la formation at the Université de Sherbrooke to implement an action-research project (Guay and Gagnon, 2021). The following objectives underlined by this research:
Specifically, the action-research was initiated and carried out by DGs members of the ADGSQ’s Professional Development Committee (Comité de perfectionnement et de développement professionnel - CPDP), i.e. :
These CPDP members are involved as practitioner-researchers, learners, consistency guardians and mediators with their peers, to establish and consolidate their own leadership in order to define and help solidify the leadership of their community. Overall, the action-research methodology took the following form2.
Firstly, CPDP members took part in a review and analysis of proud professional experiences and challenges encountered in their own communities. They also defined and analyzed their projects and individual professional development together. These first two actions uncovered assumptions about leadership and certain intentions and priority actions of DGs in their current professional context.
The CPDP then analyzed its findings by comparing them with other Canadian leadership frameworks for service centers and school board DGs3.
The CPDP also explained its reflections and choices with recent research summaries on the district effect in school administration4. Finally, during regional and collective meetings, CPDP members mobilized all Quebec DGs to discuss their exercise context, their assumptions on leadership and their intentions and actions perceived as priorities.
These exchanges helped generate a first version of the reference framework for Quebec’s school DGs in 2022.
From 2022 to 2024, in-depth discussions continued within the DG community, focusing on strategic planning and communication within service centers and school boards. This work has made it possible and necessary to distribute this updated edition of the leadership reference framework for DGs.
Our leadership frame of reference provides an in-depth vision of what we believe and aspire to be and do, as a priority, as DGs, in the current context. We believe that this is how we can influence the realization of the mission of Quebec schools, which are responsible for the educational success of students, young people and adults. This frame of reference is useful for guiding our individual and collective professional development, and that of Quebec’s service centers, school boards and education system.