Shaping Hong Kong’s next generation of educators: as more teachers leave the profession, schools are feeling the effects – the School Leadership Academy aims to train new leaders to fill the vacuum
- CTF Education Group and Dr Arnett Edwards are launching the School Leadership Academy with a focus on Asian-centric education leadership programmes
- Hong Kong schools have lost nearly 12,000 teachers since 2021, more than quarter of them before retirement age, putting the pressure middle school leaders
Between a constant stream of new technology and the general shift to a more nurturing and holistic approach to education, students are not only taking in new knowledge at school but are also having to adapt to new ways of learning.
Students are today expected to put in effort at school, through online channels or extracurricular classes, to keep up with changes in the real world as they prepare for the future. Yet there’s little attention on how educators can enrich themselves and grow their leadership model to help prepare students for the future. That is, until now.
With 25 years in leadership roles in education, including serving as principal of Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong from 2011 until earlier this year, Dr Arnett Edwards saw this gap in the system.
In response, she’s developing a new set of tools to help educators become better equipped to teach the leaders of tomorrow. Together with the CTF Education Group, Edwards is set to launch the School Leadership Academy as its founding director and aims to “help educators develop future-ready leadership skills”.
Jennifer Yu Cheng, group president and deputy vice-chairwoman of CTF Education Group, says Edwards’ background and experience in school leadership will be invaluable in helping educators reach their potential and equip them with the tools to prepare students for the future.
Edwards, who obtained his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Hong Kong, plans to devise an Asian-centric curriculum to strengthen educators’ leadership across the region.
“This academy is necessary to develop a strong talent pipeline of senior leaders and principals to meet future needs. It is hoped that the academy will help current and future school leaders navigate the changing landscape, equip them to lead and develop school ecosystems,” Edwards says.
