Current Issues In My Professional Context

Current Issues In My Professional Context

Hilltop School is a Decile 9. The school recently celebrated 50 years which means we have some history and stability. Parents  have an expectation of high achievement for their students.

The climate is the atmosphere which we have in the school. One of welcoming, and supporting all learners which is underpinned by our school values. Integrity, Kindness, Responsibility and Respect.   These follow on to our school culture which is our unique identity,  the shared assumptions, beliefs and ‘how we do things.’ This I have discovered is a wide area to discuss, but narrowing  it down, I have focused on teacher culture. This is what leads to school improvement, hence change, and that is what we are going through at present.

We are moving to a more collaborative style of teaching where some are beginning to teach in ILE’s. We are moving from what, as cited in Stoll,   Hargreaves calls  ‘egg crates’, single cells,  to ones that could fit more into a mix of collaboration and contrived collegiality. The term “Balkanisation’ (where teachers form small collaborative groups) was new to me and sent alarm bells ringing. We moved away from a Team structure because they were becoming insular and autonomous, like  cornershop dairies  as opposed to a supermarket.  If  groups of teachers working together become a clique, and become insular from the rest of the school then  this would need to be addressed.

In our school strategic plan there are  inferences that link to the list of ‘norms of improving schools’. Developed by Stoll and Fink. “Develop an  open to learning mindset where effort is valued,” to name a few. These  norms can be shared by teachers and students alike.  Collegiality relates to the collaborative way we will be working together as a staff and with our co-teachers in our ILE classes.  In Stoll, Little talks about the levels of collegiality. The highest level most likely to lead to improvement and in our situation to avoid balkanisation is when there is a shared understanding and an inderdependence  between all teachers, not just groups and a robust system of review and critique which we already have in place . Collegiality,  can also refer to our students. We want our students as 21^st century learners to be collaborative and reflective.

Collaborative teaching will be new to us. Rosenholtz, in Stoll, would consider us a “moving school with freedom to focus on our priorities.” Hargreaves  refers to” ‘real schools’ because they move around.” This implies a degree of flexibility and the ability to adapt and change.  Stoll takes it further and has a list of typology of ‘moving schools.’ Top of the list is  ‘moving’ and where I think we fit. One indicator is working together to respond to changing context. It reminds me of the word situational. We are now on an evolving path of defining our school culture and effectiveness. It’s like an escalator. We’ll get off for a while, but then be back on. We may go back for a time to reassess or redefine, but we will always be moving. Along our ride we will be looking at research and reflecting  to produce evidence of effectiveness in improving our  school culture. For us the ride has begun with school visits, robust staff discussions and teachers being placed in groups. We are moving slowly but the pace will quicken. Am I ready?  Time will tell. Mindlab has been a good start. The pedagogy in place is important – not just the bean bags!

References

Hilltop School. Website: https://sites.google.com/hilltop.org.nz/hts

Stoll, L. (1998). School Culture.  School Improvement Network’s Bulletin, (9), p 9-14.

Wilson, M. (2015). Investigating The effectiveness Of Modern Learning Environments On Improving Student Learning And Achievement. Website: http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Principals-sabbatical-reports/Report-archives-for-2007-2015/Secondary-award-recipients-2015/Wilson-Mark