Current Issues in my Professional Context Week 26

Week 26
Activity 2: Current Issues in my Professional Context
My school is situated in Cromwell. The 2013 census states that of the total population aged 15 years and over in Cromwell:
  • 76.1 %  have a formal qualification, 11.1% have a bachelor’s degree or higher and 33.9% have no qualification.
  • The median income is $29,300. 33.2% have an annual income of $20,000 or less and 23% have an annual income of more than $50,000.
  • The unemployment rate is 3.6%.
  • Home ownership is 64%
The town is currently experiencing unprecedented growth, its population is increasing significantly as Central Otago has become a fashionable place to live and visit. House prices are skyrocketing and rents have increased by 50% over the last three years. Some of our families have made significant capital gains and 35% of our families are facing higher rents and are now unable to afford to buy a house, or are struggling financially, or may have to move out of the town. The three local schools are experiencing a high increase in roll growth. This challenges the culture and climate of our school as we are having to adjust to rapid change with new enrollments, more poverty, and marriage break-ups, lack of space and the restructuring of management.
The school has a strong established culture. However, our shared assumptions and beliefs are being stretched and tested as our school community grows. The last two Educational Review Office audits have given us the reputable status of having an audit every 4 or 5 years. Martins, E.C. & Terblanche, F. (2003) state that the components of routine behaviour, norms, values, and philosophy all form part of organisational culture.  Culture takes time to establish Stoll (1998), and as we have had a stable staff who have partaken in opportunities for high-quality professional development together over a period of time we have developed what Stoll (1998) calls a ‘ way of doing things in our school’, that is quite different to the other primary school in Cromwell with the same socioeconomic factors.   
I question the strategies that Gargiulo (2014) puts in place to address the effects of poverty in his school. With the exception of providing lunches and breakfasts, the strategies are similar to strategies that we and many other schools are putting into place that are just good teaching strategies regardless of poverty, like a focused literacy program, student-led conferences, positive behaviour management strategies and mentoring programs. We can add to this list as we are what Hattie (2012) calls a visible learning school, where teachers see learning through the eyes of the student and students see themselves as their own teachers. We aim to empower assessment capable students. This pedagogy is well engrained within our school from Years 1 - 6. We base our professional learning and environments on teacher mind frames, Hattie (2012). These are similar to Stoll (1998) norms for improving schools.
  1. My fundamental task is to evaluate the effect of my teaching on students’ learning and achievement.
  2. The success and failure of my students’ learning is about what I do or don’t do. I am a change agent.
  3. I want to talk more about learning than teaching.
  4. Assessment is about my impact.
  5. I teach through dialogue not monologue.
  6. I enjoy the challenge and never retreat to “doing my best”.
  7. It’s my role to develop positive relationships in class and staffrooms.
  8. I inform all about the language of learning.
We now face the issue that we have more than a usual number of new pupils who are unfamiliar with our existing culture. As a staff, we need to ensure that we keep improving by focusing on developing positive relationships with our new students, thus strengthening our culture. We have developed a norm of frequent meetings both compulsorily imposed and teacher initiated. Stoll’s (1998) Balkanisation is evident in the forming of small collaborative groups forming as the need arises.
At the core of our school culture is the fundamental belief that all children can progress, regardless of poverty. We have a shared desire to report on and celebrate the progress a child has made rather than their achievement in relation to the National Standards. The diversity that our influx of new students brings is testing our established professional environment, beliefs and culture. To face this issue and maintain being an improving school that is future focused we truly have to embrace change and the disruptive innovation that is required. 
References
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: maximizing impact on learning. London: Routledge.

Martins, E.C. & Terblanche, F. (2003). Building organisational culture that stimulates creativity and innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 6(1), 64 - 74.
Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture
Practising teacher criteria

5(ii). Undertake areas of responsibility effectively

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