An Extended Case Study Exploring the Effects of a Whole School Staff Pilot Wellbeing Programme on Eight Local Authority Primary Schools

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-106
Author(s):  
Jane Anderson
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Standardised Testing ◽  
Staff Wellbeing

This paper is a case study about a Local Authority whole school staff pilot wellbeing programme (PWP) based on the reflexive practice (Schon, 1983) journals and records kept by the school staff wellbeing manager (SSWM) who conceptualised, coordinated and implemented the initiative and who is also the author of this paper. The paper is written as a first-person narrative. All identities have been anonymised for ethical reasons. The purpose of the paper is to tell the story of this intervention and how the people involved (author included), and the schools that participated, were affected by their involvement. Also how what was learned from the episode could be usefully put into practise in other schools. Over the past twenty-five years a continual rise in accountancy thinking as applied to education in the form of productivity related outcomes (pupil standardised testing and assessment; Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspection of school standards etc) along with continual pressure to implement latest educational thinking, has contributed to increased demands on school staff. Simultaneously, school leadership and teaching have gradually come to be regarded as highly stressful professions. The PWP was about looking at what people in school could do to help themselves maintain their health and wellbeing on a day to day basis. In particular the focus was on investigating individual perspective and personal accountability and offering opportunities for people to explore and practice methodologies that could support more positive behaviour. The issues across the schools were complex and manifold and the approach in each case was tailored and nuanced according to the emerging needs of the organisation involved. The PWP was important and unique because its scope was fully inclusive of all school staff (professional, support and maintenance) and participation was voluntary. Research had shown that prior to the PWP, school wellbeing interventions had tended to be compulsory and confined only to professional staff. The effects of the PWP intervention are on-going, which was the aim of the work, but some of the methodologies introduced, in particular solutions focus (Rhodes & Ajmal, 204) and appreciative inquiry (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987) have in some instances become integrated both individually and collectively in daily practice in school and continue to beneficially shape the culture of these organisations.

scholarly journals Evaluating the possibilities and actualities of the learning process

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 94-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Anderson ◽  
Petia Sice
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Change Processes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Staff Wellbeing

Purpose This paper aims to reflect on the opportunities and challenges of the learning process in practice and explores the case of a local authority school Pilot Wellbeing Programme (PWP) intervention. The aim of the PWP was to create the best workplace conditions and circumstances for people to flourish and mature, both individually and collectively. Findings show that the socio-physical environment plays a significant and leading role in supporting this work, as does the consistent modelling of higher level behaviours including integrity, respect and acceptance by intervention managers and school leadership teams. It was also important that the change processes were continually tailored and nuanced to meet the evolving needs of the staff and organisation throughout the intervention. Emphasis was also placed on encouraging individual involvement and commitment by implementing inclusive measures that fostered trust and openness. Design/methodology/approach The intervention worked to the organisational learning process model. Findings Headteachers (HT) are still playing a key role as caregivers to their staff. Wellbeing is something people in school generally expect to be “done” to them. Personal accountability for one’s own health and wellbeing is still a growth area in schools. Any change processes implemented to support this process need to be continually tailored and respectfully nuanced to meet the evolving needs of the staff and organisation throughout the intervention. Accruing quantitative evidence to support the effects of wellbeing work in schools is painstaking and challenging. Practical implications HT have traditionally taken the role of school staff “caregiver”, overseeing staff wellbeing often to the detriment of their own wellbeing. This situation is becoming unsustainable as HT’ capacity for this kind of work is diminishing. School staff need to accept an increasing role in the maintenance of their own personal–professional wellbeing. Social implications School staff who do not mind their own wellbeing act as a poor model to their pupils who may ultimately emulate their behaviour. Additionally, as staff sickness absence due either directly or indirectly to stress becomes a growing issue in schools, educational standards will be increasingly difficult to attain and maintain. Wellbeing mechanisms need to be put in place now to stem this possibility. Originality/value The intervention is unique in as much as it took a deliberately holistic approach to school staff wellbeing by including all school staff in the change programme. Previous similar programmes have targeted professional staff only, excluding non-teaching classroom staff and school support and maintenance staff.

scholarly journals "She says that I'm good at reading":  A Case Study of Engaged Māori Beginning Readers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mary Ann Meri Arthur Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Home School ◽  
Beginning Readers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Open Communication

<p>The impetus and reason for this study has been a desire to discover and capture the 'spark' that causes Māori children specifically, to have a love of reading, to be enthusiastic about reading and, in turn to be confident and competent beginning readers. Research in Maori education often focuses on problems of student underachievement. This study by contrast has aimed to highlight aspects of positive practice by recording the learning behaviours of a group of Maori children across two low decile primary schools, who are not only engaged in the beginning approach to reading but who are clearly motivated by and enjoying the process. This study explores the reasons why Māori children are engaged and motivated beginning readers and aims to see if it is possible to capture any of these attributes in order to support other Māori learners in becoming successful readers. The value of this research is in its potential to contribute to frameworks or initiatives that support Māori children achieving well, in this case, in the area of literacy. This study is a qualitative research under the tradition of a case study inquiry and is embedded within a Kaupapa Māori paradigm. A total of 17 participants (two literacy advisers, two teachers, six children and seven parents) were interviewed using flexibly structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analysed through themes that came from the data itself. Common themes from each participant group allowed for analysis in relation to the key research questions: What is the spark that causes Māori children to have a 'love of reading? What does this spark look like? What sparks Māori children into enjoying reading? And what are the factors and influences that contribute to reading engagement and motivation for Māori children? Classroom observations and video filming were also methods of data gathering in order to gain full and deep contexts of descriptive data of the children and teachers in their natural everyday classroom environment. The six children observed in this study were strongly engaged in classroom reading contexts and motivated to read. Both teachers and parents had a firm but relaxed approach to the reading experience. Strong and supportive home-school relationships with open communication were evident. Māori tikanga (practice) was incorporated naturally into planning. Teacher planning and practice was in line with best evidence for effective literacy practice. The practice of the two Pakeha teachers was in many ways consonant with Maori pedagogical approaches and this gave support to the children as Māori learners. The observations and interviews showed beginning readers who were comfortable and relaxed in their learning. They were making clear progress in reading, and approaching national norms in achievement. The 'spark' that leads children to be highly motivated readers, concentrating on reading tasks and clearly loving the process of learning to read is an intangible quality, hard to jmeasure in practice. But high levels of concentration, enjoyment of reading, and a desire to learn can be observed and recorded. All these things were seen in this study. It is possible to nurture and grow the enthusiasm, engagement and motivation that these children have if teachers demonstrate open hearts and minds in wanting to know their learners. The 'spark' or motivation in this study was also nurtured through the interconnected relationships the children had with their teachers and families and the effective teaching and learning practices displayed by the teachers. Using te reo (language) and tikanga Māori as a 'normal' part of daily practice contributed to the holistic wellbeing of the Māori children in this study, alongside strong home-school relationships. The combination of good teaching practice, good relationships and a firm but relaxed approach provides a model in action for success in supporting Maori children's beginning reading.</p>

“They Don’t Know What They Need”: A Call for Critical Reflection in Community School Leadership to Address the Pervasive Creep of Deficit Perspectives

2021 ◽  
pp. 155545892110411
Author(s):  
Tiffanie Lewis-Durham ◽  
Monique Saastamoinen
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Community Building ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Community School ◽  
Emerging Leaders ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Critical Reflexivity ◽  
Shed Light

Washington Hunt is an urban community school attempting to balance the implementation of equity initiatives that meet the needs of minoritized students and families while preventing the adoption of deficit perspectives among school staff. The purpose of this case is to describe how “deficit-creep”—the subtle infusion of deficit-based perspectives from well-meaning administrators—can thwart sincere attempts at community building and social justice. This case study provides an opportunity for emerging leaders to use critical reflexivity to identify deficit-creep and shed light on the strengths and assets of the community it serves. Finally, this case provides students with an opportunity to grapple with how policy makers and school leaders make sense of inequity that is linked to classism and racism.

scholarly journals The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 802-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia E Morris ◽  
Geoffrey W Lummis ◽  
Graeme Lock ◽  
Cath Ferguson ◽  
Susan Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Action Research Approach ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Staff Wellbeing

This Australian case study explored the implementation of strategies to support the development of a positive school culture among whole school staff. A participatory action research approach was used to involve leadership staff in the development of a mixed method assessment of the school organisation. Baseline data from the School Organisational Health Questionnaire ( n = 28) and qualitative data from focus groups ( n = 15) were collected and presented to the leadership team who identified four foci for the study: appraisal and recognition, participative decision-making, professional growth and supportive leadership. After a range of interventions, findings from both post-test surveys ( n = 22) and qualitative data ( n = 30) suggested a change in leadership style was a key factor of school cultural change across all factors. The case study highlights a number of visible strategies that were employed to increase morale and improve staff wellbeing.

Challenges in distributed leadership: evidence from the perspective of headteachers

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 848-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lokman Mohd Tahir ◽  
Sui Liang Lee ◽  
Mohammed Borhandden Musah ◽  
Hadijah Jaffri ◽  
Mohd Nihra Haruzuan Mohamad Said ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Middle Layer ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issues and challenges faced by headteachers in practicing the suggested distributed leadership (DL) approach in three primary schools to their middle layer leaders. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a case study design and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. A total of three headteachers were interviewed in examining and exploring challenges within the DL practices. The transcripts from the semi-structured interviews formed the basis of the findings. Findings – The findings suggest that senior teachers lack confidence in making decisions and rely on the consent from headteachers even though they are empowered to make their own decisions. Another significant issue faced by headteachers when distributing their leadership is the ability, expertise, experience, and willingness of teachers to hold leadership roles and responsibilities. Originality/value – The results are important since there have been few empirical studies on the issues and challenges faced by headteachers in practising DL approach in primary schools in the context of Malaysia. This initiative sidelines the traditional school leadership approach which emphasises on the accountability of headteachers as the sole school leader.

When is the Integration of Students with Special Educational Needs Successful? - A Good Practice Example - School N.O. Brasov, Romania

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-98
Author(s):  
Mihaela Voinea ◽  
Ioana Roxana Topala ◽  
Alina Oana Bota
Keyword(s):  
School Culture ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Teachers Perceptions

Abstract The issue of integrating children with special educational needs in mainstream school is still debatable.However, there are situations where the integration of children with special educational needs is successful and all those involved are satisfied. What are the factors that contribute to achieving true integration? Is it about a certain school environment or some teachers? Is it about parent involvement or school leadership? To answer the research question of this study, we have raised the hypothesis that school culture (values, teachers’ perceptions on integration, leadership) determines the success of integration.The goal of this study is to analyse the educational actors’ perceptions (students, teachers, managers and parents) and the school culture which promotes human diversity.The study in question was embedded in a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm, which employed both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection.A questionnaire regarding students’ and teachers' perceptions on integration and focus-groups were used. A case study of a primary school (School N.O. from Brasov) was conducted.A number of 100 participants were included in the study, teachers, parents and students from primary schools of Brasov.One of the main conclusions of the research is that the integration of children with special educational needs depends on several factors: from the school culture that promotes social values such as tolerance, respect for difference, etc. to teachers directly involved in integration activities and parents who accept and understand the benefits of integration for all children.

Nurturing Is Not Enough: A Case Study on Social Justice, Caring, and Discipline

2019 ◽  
Vol 199 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
Darrick Smith ◽  
Christine J. Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Urban School ◽  
School Policy ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Disciplinary Consequences

We explore the dynamics of nurturing, caring, and enabling in a social justice school and how a problematic context of educational enabling can develop when notions of nurturing are not balanced with consistent disciplinary consequences. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight school staff, teachers, and a student at a social justice urban school. Observational data and institutional documents were also analyzed, and three main themes emerged revealing the tension between nurturing and enabling: (a) sentimentalist standards, (b) perceptions of authority as oppressive, and (c) contradictions in social justice values. We discuss implications for school policy, multicultural education, and school leadership.

scholarly journals MODEL PENDIDIKAN MULTIKULTURAL DI ‘SEKOLAH PEMBAURAN’ MEDAN

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saliman Saliman ◽  
Taat Wulandari ◽  
Mukminan Mukminan
Keyword(s):  
Multicultural Education ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Interactive Analysis ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Whole School Approach ◽  
North Sumatra

Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan model pendidikan multikultural di Sekolah Pembauran Medan. Penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Sekolah Pembauran Medan. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan teknik observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi, sedang kredibilitas data diperoleh lewat triangulasi metode. Instrumen penelitian adalah peneliti sendiri dengan menggunakan bantuan pedoman observasi dan wawancara. Analisis data dilakukan dengan menggunakan teknik analisis interaktif versi Miles dan Huberman. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan di Sekolah Pembauran Medan merupakan nama yang digunakan untuk menyebut sekolah di bawah Yayasan Perguruan Sultan Iskandar Muda menggunakan Whole School Approach yang meliputi visi dan kebijakan sekolah, kepemimpinan dan manajemen, kapasitas dan kultur, aktivitas peserta didik, kolaborasi dengan masyarakat luas, serta kurikulum dan pengajaran. Kata Kunci: Sekolah Pembauran, pendidikan multikultural, whole school approach AMULTICULTURAL EDUCATION MODEL IN SEKOLAH PEMBAURAN MEDAN Abstract: This study was aimed to describe a model of the multicultural education implemented in Sekolah Pembauran Medan, North Sumatra. This study employed the qualitative approach using the case study approach. The study was conducted in Sekolah Pembauran Medan. The data collection techniques consisted of observations, interviews and documentation. The main research instrument was the researchers themselves supported by observation sheets and interview guidelines. The data analysis was performed using the interactive analysis developed by Miles and Huberman. The research findings showed that Sekolah Pembauran Medan is the name used to refer to the school under the Education Foundation of Sultan Iskandar Muda using the Whole School Approach which includes: the vision and policies of the school; leadership and management; capacity and culture; activities of learners; collaboration with wider communities; and curriculum and instruction. Keywords: Sekolah Pembauran, multicultural education, Whole School Approach

scholarly journals From homework club to social justice: Critical reflections on student volunteering through the examination of a school–university partnership

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Lorraine Tansey ◽  
María D Gallo
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Whole School ◽  
National University ◽  
Whole School Approach ◽  
Holistic Research

Student volunteering has gained significant traction in Irish higher education, enabling a formalization of a traditionally organic activity. Formalizing student volunteering leads to the growth in best practice supports, developing a rich opportunity and space for university civic engagement. Student volunteering with community educational programmes is particularly popular, as students are actively engaged with youth organizations and schools, local to campuses and internationally, travelling as teaching assistants with development NGOs. Drawing on an extensive literature review, critiques of student volunteering as the vehicle for community engagement and reflection are shared alongside a case study of a university–school partnership. A partnership exists between three local primary schools and the National University of Ireland, Galway, historically through a mentoring or tutoring relationship – the homework club. The following case study seeks to map the partnership, led by a holistic research and reflection process, to build a whole-school approach to the engagement. A critical analysis of student volunteering, a component of this research process, is an important contribution to transforming the partnership relationship.

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