Contemporary international trends impacting NZ education

Why does population growth in India impact on my classroom? 

The world is changing at a greater rate than ever before in history, and this change is primarily caused by us - humans.  We are demanding greater use of resource to meet the needs of a burgeoning global population, and a far larger middle class created by better access to health and education.  

This short animation provides a insight into the staggering rate of change we are facing:

 'Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history.'

Pearson (April 2013)

So what are the implications for NZ, and my classroom?   How does the population explosion in middle class India have any influence on what I am doing in my school in Auckland?

Why should we be aware of these trends in global change?

As we see advancements in technology and the growth of (tax deductible) philanthropy among the wealthiest individuals and companies, improvements are made possible that allow greater access to healthcare and affordable medication, provision of clean water and food, support for small businesses in developing nations, affordable housing, access to education for all.   These changes mean that globally we have a very different future that the one we anticipated 20 years ago.

                                              

We need to understand the implications of this as the children we teach will be entering an adult world that is global, demanding, more educated and very competitive.  They need to understand the importance of transferable skills and competencies that will allow them to function in a range of environments.  They will need to be able to go where the work takes them, understanding the different cultural and religious contexts they face, being comfortable working with a diverse group of colleagues as companies look globally for talent.   We need to have a workforce that is adaptable, able to collaborate with others, problem solve and think creatively.  Simply having an encyclopedic knowledge of facts will not be a useful or necessary skill - facts are easily found and theories are rapidly changing making facts a temporary truth. 

                                    

 So what does this mean for my school and our classrooms?  

I believe it means that we need to think harder about the how not the what of what we teach.

It means we need to pay much greater attention to the front end of our curriculum - the Key Competencies, Values and Principles. We also need to give greater time and energy to social action inquiry that allows students to consider their own challenges in the world and start to design ways of solving the 'wicked' problems their generation faces.

A recent publication by NZCER - 'Key Competencies for the future' asks us to consider what value we place on the Key Competencies; what value do they add to the learning process, how are we using them in our schools, are they embedded or taught explicitly, how are they communicated to students and whanau?  (These questions are important and I am currently working my way through the book with colleagues as a review of curriculum in  our school.)  It is important for our students to be able to relate to and work cooperatively with a diverse workforce. The KCs provide a framework for schools to develop the capabilities that will allow them to do this.

'Wicked problems' and collaborative student inquiry also builds capabilities and expectations that students have valid ideas and solutions for the problems that face them in their world.  It confirms for them that they have a voice and that they can contribute positively to their community and society in ways that will benefit not just themselves but others.  it grows social conscience, empathy and responsibility for the outcomes of the whole not just the individual.  These attributes are going to be very important as they face some of the most challenging issues related to population growth and limited resources.  

There is a multitude of research and opinion about the change in job roles due to the increase on technology, artificial intelligence and such like.  Many of the jobs that have been staples of the blue collar workforce will be replaced or minimised by technology, and now we are seeing this trend apply to many of the white collar professions also through the advancement of software making the collection, analysis and reporting of data and information achievable with just a few clicks of a mouse eg Xero.

What can we do to provide a workforce advantage for our students as they enter a market with more people worldwide competing for possibly fewer and definitely more specialised jobs.?

We need to teach them how to think creatively, how to work collaboratively and respectfully with others, how to maintain an open mind to possibilities and when to follow and when to lead.  We need to give greater emphasis to the Key Competencies on our curriculum as these capabilities are the key to being outstanding in a a sea of applicants. 

BUT more importantly, these skills will bring us the philosophers, the scientists, the researchers and the thinkers that will solve the wicked problems threatening our world.                                                         

References:

Ministry of Education ( 2007 )  New Zealand Curriculum Learning Media

Hipkins, R, Bolstead,R, Boyd, S, McDowell S (2104) Key Competencies for the Future.  NZCER

Pearson. (2013, April 26). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history.[video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g

School Culture

School Culture - the way we do things around here.

Respect - Kindness - Resilience - Integrity 

BACKGROUND:

We are a decile 7 community, which means we are pretty much in the middle of the ranking scale.  Schools with decile rankings 1-4 generate greater levels of targeted funding as they are deemed to be serving the communities of lowest socio-economic rankings. The difficulty with being in the middle bracket (decile 5-8) is that while the community has greater socio-economic ranking on the whole, there are pockets within your community that are not doing as well as others and struggle to make ends meet. 

Although we are on the North Shore, a part of Auckland considered to be wealthy and less needy than others, some of our families are struggling.  We work in an area of the Shore that is very high in rental properties, and this brings a stress to families who cannot be certain of the permanence of their accommodation, nor the cost of it over time as rental costs increase. There is also the increasing number of families that have less and less disposable income as a result of the prices facing home owners in the Auckland property market. People can feel shame about  living on the Shore and not coping, and that means they don't reach out for support.   We need to be a 'safe place to land' for our families, somewhere they can find support with whatever is going on in their lives.  

Our staff work hard at developing a positive and open relationship with our community.  We know that in order for our students to be successful we need to have whanau and school on the same page. We take the time to find our about our students, and initiate communication with whanau early on in the year, then maintain that with as many positives as possible over time.  This is not always easy as it requires a level of trust that needs to be developed over time, and many of these families are transient due to changes in their accommodation and employment situations.  By the time we become aware of a need, the family may well be moving again. In this case we try to speak confidentially to the next school to explain what issues may be facing the family, and keep in touch where we can.

Our school values are Respect, Integrity, Kindness and Resilience.  
We teach them, demonstrate them, talk about them, advertise them, reward the demonstration of them and share stories about them regularly with the whole school community.  They are central to our school behaviour programme and are a part of our school shared language.  These are also the values that we bring to relationships with our whanau and wider community, particularly when they are finding things tough or come seeking support or information.


ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS:

SYSTEMS: financial priorities and planning
Equity of access to events and activities is an issue for some of our families. We endeavour to give sufficient notice for families of upcoming evens, trips or activities in order to assist them with planning for these, and have a range of payment options in place to support that.  We have a culture in the school of fundraising to support those who need financial assistance to attend events, and to subsidise the overall cost to all.  We also have families who will quietly approach staff and offer to subsidise costs for families in need.  This has been a regular occurrence in our school for the last 4-5 years, and something that I believe shows the heart of the community.   
We are one of the last schools in Auckland that does not have a school uniform, and this has been supported by our community at every consultation undertaken in the last 10 years. This allows the children to present themselves as uniquely as they wish, and they do - we will often have the odd superhero or princess running around our playground.  It also means that families do not have the added cost of an expensive uniform to plan for at the start of each school year. 
We are not a school that chooses to look for income streams from uniform, stationery or a tuck shop.  We point our parents in the direction of the cheapest options we can find for these things, and at times providing resources if we can see it could help, including stationery and lunches.

STAFFING:
As the school principal my personal beliefs of equity, dignity and respect influence our policies and procedures.  My influence in hiring staff means I look for people who fit the culture and demonstrate similar beliefs.  While we may have (and should have) different strengths, skills and experiences, we need to commit to the same values so there is a sense of unity and purpose among the team. We sign a Code of Conduct, reviewed each year, that explicitly outlines how we will work with each other, our students and our community. 
We talk about modelling the behaviours we want to see in our children, and treating other adults (staff, parents, visitors)  the way we would want to be treated ourselves. 

                                                 

We are motivated by the memories of relationships in times gone past that were not respectful or honest, and work to ensure this does not become a part of our current reality or future. 

References:

Stoll, L  (1998)  School Culture.  University of Bath.

Ministry of Education (2016)    Retrieved from  http://parents.education.govt.nz/primary-school/schooling-in-nz/ministry-funding-deciles/ 

My Community of Practice

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

A community of practice is one in which “groups of people who share a concern or a passion or about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interaction on an ongoing basis” (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002, p.4).  

The Kaipatiki Story - background
I work in a small (260 chn) urban school on the North Shore in Auckland.  I have worked within the community for over 20 years in two different schools. The local cluster of schools have worked together in a professional community for all of that time.  The eight local  schools: the special school, 5 primaries, intermediate and college have collaborated to improve communication and practice across our cluster.  We have focused on assessment practices in our schools from year 1-10, moderation techniques, integration of ICTs in our programmes, transitions between schools, and most recently home school partnerships.  The school leaders have always met regularly (once per term) to discuss common issues, plan for events and look for professional learning that meets the needs of the larger community. We have held combined staff and board meetings over the years to provide a forum to present a single message, work towards a shared goal or find the 'enthusiasts' within our schools to step up and lead initiatives. 
We have been an ICT cluster, an Innovation Contract group, a Learning Change Network, and are now looking towards the challenges and  opportunities offered by being a Community of Learning. 
The drivers in these professional networks have always been the desire to improve student achievement, share collective wisdom and take advantage of strengths within and across schools.
We have also recognised the need to celebrate the successes, skills and strengths of our community in order to maintain participation in the local education pathway.  We have shared community events and performances that allow us to do this. 
Overall and in general this has been a long term productive partnership that has benefited all schools  over time and to differing levels of embedded change.   

The three elements of community of practice at play in this community are:
Domain:
The shared domain of interest includes both student achievement and strengthening the education pathway within the local area.  There is an imperative to sustain enrolment of local students beyond primary school, and we have collectively set targets for reading, writing and maths across the cluster that will shape individual school targets. 
Community:
The cluster community commits to regular professional meetings, both within and across schools, to identify and share good practice, growing leadership capacity within the cluster to support improvement in professional practice in our classrooms from ECE through to Year 13. We already have a cross-cluster maths group that meets regularly to share practice, moderate assessments and develop quality home-school partnership practices.  This model will be repeated for literacy, both reading and writing.
Practice:
The structure of the community allows for us to have expert teachers providing leadership within and across schools, and expert leaders providing support for other school leaders in implementing change and embedding new practices in their own schools. It gives a forum for discussion, for challenging assumptions and 'sacred cows' of school practice, and for 'blue sky thinking' that might provide the seed for an innovation that benefits all the community members. It expands the scope of experience to the whole cluster, not just a single school, and provides a common language for how we talk about student progress and achievement.  

My role in the Community:

I have worked in the community for more than 20 years, and am very invested in the success of our local schools, with my own children having been through or still in the pathway.  As leader of a school that is small but growing rapidly, my role is fundamentally about leadership and growing new leaders to support the changes ahead. I am an active 'cog in the wheel' both within our school and across the wider cluster that is our Community of Practice.
My understanding of communities of practice is that dependent on the purpose of the group, a person's role can and should change.  There will be times will I will take a leadership position, responsible for facilitating and directing discussion and action to achieve a specific goal of the CoP.  At other times I will be a member of the group, working alongside my peers and colleagues to achieve a common goal.  If we are truly looking to build leadership capacity within our CoP then I see my role more as a mentor, support person or coach, as opposed to the more traditional role of the Principal as Leader.  
It is exciting times and we are excited by both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. 

REFERENCES:

Wenger, E.(2000).Communities of practice and social learning systems.Organization,7(2), 225-246

Wenger-Traynor, E and B (2015)  Communities of Practice - A Brief Introduction 

Knox, B. (2009, December 4).Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

Earl. L (2016)  Building and Connecting Learning Communities. Presentation fro University of Auckland.

Education Review Office (2015)  Accelerating Student Achievement - a resource for schools.

Teaching and Learning - why is it so hard to change?

Just thinking about...

why we teach the way we do, what the students in our classes and schools need us to do for them, and why we find change so difficult.

This TED talk from Grant Litchman (Denver) raises many questions for me about our attitude to change.  'It is so hard'.

Is it hard or is it uncomfortable?  Why is it that we find change so uncomfortable?  As a school leader how can I influence change while there is an aversion to change? Are we change-averse by nature??  Or is it risk-averse????
What are the levers I can use to help people feel more comfortable with change? 

I was given an image explaining 'the pit' concept for how people respond to challenge and change.  It is the Fisher Transition Curve (2012) and provides insight into the emotions that people feel at different stages of change.  I really found it powerful and am interested in other people's insights into their own experiences with change.

I need to consider how I might continue to challenge the teachers, students and parents at my school to do and be better, without losing anyone in to the 'Pit of Disillusionment or Hostility'.  

 Communication is one of my KCs challenges and so this is the one I will focus on for my first assessment task. How might I use technology improve the way we communicate within and beyond the school?