uLead: The Summit for Educational Leadership

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 3, 23 May 2025, page no 26 & 27.

In 2019, the Queensland Teachers’ Union embarked on a program of professional learning, cooperation, and assistance with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA). 

The QTU has continued this relationship in 2025 through participation and presentations at uLead: The Summit for Educational Leadership conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The conference, which is presented by the ATA’s Council for School Leadership, brought together educational leaders from around the world to discuss innovative leadership models and the future of education. 

Themed “Lead Without Limits: Reimagining Equitable Leadership in Schools”, the conference schedule contained a series of sessions that highlighted innovative approaches to leadership with equity and inclusivity in mind, while the keynotes and breakout workshops were forward-thinking, practical, and relevant. Furthermore, the opportunities for networking with our counterparts from across the world highlighted our commonalities and differences.

This article brings together some of the highlights and learning from both the pre-conference workshop and the three-day conference. A more in-depth report will be made available on the QTU website.

The QTU delegation consisted of 

• Nick Shirley (primary school principal) 
• Sarah Holcombe (primary head of curriculum)
• Cindy Freier 
• Josh Cleary (head of campus)
• Andrew Beattie (secondary principal)
• Leah Mertens (QTU Deputy General Secretary)
• Paige Bousen (QTU Workplace Health and Safety Organiser).
   

QTU presentations 
“Alternatives to suspensions - A Queensland context” (Josh Cleary and Andrew Beattie). This explored various strategies and programs implemented in Queensland, to reduce student suspensions and promote equity and excellence in education. This workshop was extremely popular with approximately 200 delegates in attendance. The presentation took 10 options outlined in the ATA research paper “Alternatives to Suspension” and unpacked them across three case studies of programs currently being run in Queensland schools that lead to reduction in suspension and create positive pathways. The presentation emphasised the importance of tailored, supportive interventions alongside suspensions, highlighting the positive impact on student outcomes and overall school culture. It also unpacked the power of giving individual schools decision-making autonomy to design and implement programs tailored to meet the individual needs of their school community. 

How teachers and school leaders use their time – findings from QTU supported research (Leah Mertens, Sarah Holcombe, and Professor Greg Thompson (Professor of Education Research, Queensland University of Technology)

The QTU has sponsored academic research into the time use of teachers and school leaders. Our research partner, Professor Greg Thompson, outlined the findings, with Sara Holcombe sharing her lived experience of multi-tasking the multi-tasks.

Industrial perspectives
Saskatchewan Teachers Federation secures historic gains through industrial action. The conference heard about the historic gains made by the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) through industrial action, underscoring the power of collective action and the importance of addressing educators’ concerns to enhance the overall quality of education. 

Ninety-five percent of the STF’s 13,500 members voted to take industrial action, including three full day strikes, aimed at securing better pay and smaller class sizes for its members. There was huge support in the school community in the campaign for better resourcing and smaller class sizes. 

As the STF and the provincial government move forward, this agreement provides a precedent for teachers and school leaders in the other provinces of Canada such as Alberta, where class size maximums range from 35 – 40 students. 

School leaders and the collective agreement
This professional learning session provided valuable guidance on the roles and responsibilities of school leaders under the collective agreement (CA). It clarified the benefits and entitlements specific to school leaders, highlighting the distinctions from those for classroom teachers. This understanding helps leaders advocate effectively for themselves and their staff, ensuring decisions align with their responsibilities without conflicting with teacher working conditions.

What resonated to members of our delegation was the division within the audience. Some attendees were reluctant to voice concerns, fearing negative career consequences, while others focused on identifying issues and developing plans to address them directly with supervisors. They felt supported by the ATA should a favourable outcome not be achieved, demonstrating different approaches to leadership and advocacy within the framework of the CA.

Some key highlights
Compassionate leadership for complex times 
School leader Darby Murphy addressed the critical issue of “Invisible kids: Children in care”. Darby was truly inspiring. He is a humble and passionate advocate for young people in care, having himself grown up in the foster care system. He emphasises a vital point: school leaders have a responsibility to forge connections with our most vulnerable students. For him, it’s about leading by example, advocating for these students, and ensuring that our systems genuinely meet their needs, thereby providing them with the support and life choices they deserve.

In “Compassionate leadership in complex times”, Dr. Lisa Everitt offered a thought-provoking perspective on the challenges of leading with compassion. She contrasted the personal weight of being compassionate as a leader with the collective effort needed to nurture a positive environment for all in our schools. She explored leading with compassion in discussion but noted it also requires systemic reform to redefine a school’s role and advocate for integrated service models where health and social supports are embedded in school communities, delivered in partnership with various agencies rather than solely by school leaders and teachers. There is a growing need for compassion to be implemented in both our educational system, and at school level. 

The power of neuroscience in leadership
Dr Judi Newman, an Australian school principal who is now a leading expert in social cognitive neuroscience, presented a session that articulated how our brains work, i.e. the three brain states: our emotional brain, our social brain and our thinking brain. How is our emotional state interconnected with cognition and, therefore, our decision-making? So much of our daily life is spent in a state of stress and agitation; consequently, it is critical that leaders identify and calm their brain state to maximise cognition, and contribute to leading, managing and decision-making. A key highlight was the follow-up workshop, “Reshape Your School from the Brain Up”, in which Judi delved deeper into the practicalities of using neuroscience to understand human behaviour and using this knowledge as a basis for teaching, learning, and leading. 

Leading neurodiverse teachers in a neurodiverse school
We know that schools consist of neurodiverse students, and it stands to reason that there are neurodiverse leaders and teachers too. By using our knowledge of neurodiversity, we can reimagine a leadership approach that contributes to a school culture that helps everyone thrive and lead with competence and efficacy. Knowing more about the neurodiverse profiles and characteristics of teachers and leaders in our schools helps us understand how individuals think, contribute, and engage with the whole school culture. Leaders holding this knowledge about their teams are better equipped to see and plan a strengths-based way forward.

The bend in the road:  How to make the most of unexpected opportunity
A fascinating presentation by Eliza Reid, who grew up just outside Ottawa (the daughter of a teacher) and eventually became First Lady of Iceland. Using her experiences of navigating her public but unspecified role to upend expectations about first ladies and to use her platform to advocate for greater gender equality and other important issues, this keynote was about inspiring people to make the most of unexpected opportunities in order to be forces for positive change in the world. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) 
AI emerged as a key topic, particularly in the context of North America. In Canada and the United States, AI is deeply integrated into educational systems. Schools are developing supportive resources to harness AI’s potential, working with it rather than against it. This approach is helping to enhance learning experiences and administrative efficiency.

Conclusion 
The uLead conference provided valuable perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing global education. The discussions underscored the need for innovative solutions and collaborative efforts to address staffing shortages, leverage AI, and adapt to demographic changes. The emphasis on self-care for educators was a timely reminder of the importance of maintaining personal wellbeing.

Meaningful conversations were held with other delegates on problems such as leader and teacher recruitment and retention and school resourcing complexities, which are obviously being felt worldwide. We were also able to share some of our historical and recent industrial wins, including long service and reproductive leave. 

As one of our delegates wrote: “As a school leader, I came away from the conference with a key question in mind: How do we, as leaders in our schools, leverage emerging research in neurology in education, use of technology, and wellbeing to foster self-efficacy for all members of our school communities? Teacher self-efficacy is paramount to their overall health and wellbeing and for lifting the reputation of the profession. By fostering this as leaders, a positive impact on recruitment and retention may be realised.”