82 | COSERE Anticipating problems: situational awareness What if problems could be anticipated and tackled even before they are considered problems? As suggested by J. Visone in his study, The development of Problem-Solving Skills for Aspiring Educational Leaders, stated that an important responsibility that is intrinsic to the role of a school leader concerning problem-solving is situational awareness4. The term situational awareness refers to an indepth understanding of the school that enables one to predict daily potential problems and anticipate problems that may arise later. Anticipatory leaders are prepared to manage possible risks and opportunities through leveraging their awareness of details on how schools operate (Marzano et al., 2005) 5. Problems that are not anticipated or predicted generally arrive directly at school leaders via, for example, an adult referring a child for discipline, a parent registering a complaint about a staff member, or a staff member describing a grievance with a colleague, etc. 4 https://journalofleadershiped.org/jole_articles/the-development-of-problem-solving-skills-for-aspiring-educational-leaders/ 5 Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results. ASCD. Common problems that can arise in school leadership A first step to anticipating problems lies in the awareness of common problems that can arise in schools. Indeed, in your role as an educational leader, you tend to face a large variety of problems that can be common to all schools or specific to your institution’s context. It is relevant to have them in mind to be able to anticipate problems or promptly identify them when they materialise in your educational institution. Below is a non-exhaustive list of micro-areas of challenges and problems that you are most likely to encounter:
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