As a deputy principal considering principalship as my next step I have been clarifying my thoughts around what is important to me as a leader. One of the first things I think about is the importance of relationships with various stakeholders. Barth (2006) stated that “The nature of relationships among the adults within a school has a greater influence on the character and quality of that school and on student accomplishment than anything else” (P.8). But why is this important? How can I increase the effectiveness of relationships?
At the core of the Educational Leadership Model (MOE, 2012) are relationships. This means that relationships are central to everything that happens within a school environment. There are a range of stakeholders that leaders have relationships with including, staff, students, parents, whanau and the wider community. Trust is an important aspect of developing and maintaining relationships and there are many ways in which trust can be built and maintained within a school. It is not a new notion that high trust environments out perform low trust environments. So just how can we build these high trust environments?
There are a range of ways in which relationships can be built with staff to create a high trust environment. Bishop (2017) hypothesized that if whanau like environments enable our students to reach their full potential then whanau like environments should enable teachers to reach their full potential also. By showing genuine care for staff, encouraging staff to follow their interests, accepting and acknowledging each others thoughts, opinions and differences, and providing opportunities for staff to learn in ways that they learn best leaders can begin to create whanau like environments within their school settings.
Barth (2006) talks about how the creation of cultures of collegiality enable professional learning communities to flourish. Enabling teachers to talk about their teaching practices, their successes and their failures, helps to create this culture. Conversing about teachers individual inquiries creates a culture where inquiry learning is central. This also means providing opportunities for teachers to share their thoughts and ideas on any school wide issues that may arise. Another powerful tool in creating the culture of collegiality is observing each other both formally and informally. Mutual observations create a culture of learning and a sense that we are all here to support and strengthen each other. As a leader it is important to ensure that we not only model but promote these relationships between staff.
McLaughlin et al, 2015 said that “teachers building caring, responsive, and nurturing relationships with children that involve close and meaningful connections with families and home life” (p.31) is a crucial aspect to education success. One of the ways we can continue to make connections with whanau as leaders is through open communication. With the rise of digital technologies this has become even easier. I have found that by utilising social media I have been able to increase parent engagement in school life. Regularly posting images, videos and comments about positive student learning has enabled parents to get a real feel for what happens in the school day. This in turn promotes discussion at home between parents and their children taking learning into the home. Being visible and approachable is also key to maintaining connections with whanau, by simply farewelling students at the gate each day, and speaking to parents about their days has made a huge impact on whanau interactions!
Creating the relationships with students as described by McLaughlin (2005) is critical in a leadership role. It is also important to ensure that teachers are creating these relationships with the students that they teach. By valuing relationships with teachers and students leaders can lead by example in this domain. Encouraging teachers to get to know their students and create the whanau like relationships as described by Bishop (2017) is one of the ways that leaders can impact on student relationships. Getting to know the names of students, their parents and their interests is also a crucial role in educational leadership and the culture that creates.
By creating whanau and collegial relationships within a school setting leaders are able to create teaching and learning environments which will flourish.
References:
Barth, R. (2006). Improving relationships within the schoolhouse. ASCD, Vol 63 P8-13.
Bishop, R. (2017). Relationships are Fundamental to Learning. Principal Connections, Vol 20, issue 3.
McLaughlin, T., Aspden, K., McLachlan, C. (2015). How do teachers build strong relationships? Early Childhood Folio, 19. P31-38
Ministry of Education (2012). Leading from the Middle. Learning Media Limited.
At the core of the Educational Leadership Model (MOE, 2012) are relationships. This means that relationships are central to everything that happens within a school environment. There are a range of stakeholders that leaders have relationships with including, staff, students, parents, whanau and the wider community. Trust is an important aspect of developing and maintaining relationships and there are many ways in which trust can be built and maintained within a school. It is not a new notion that high trust environments out perform low trust environments. So just how can we build these high trust environments?
There are a range of ways in which relationships can be built with staff to create a high trust environment. Bishop (2017) hypothesized that if whanau like environments enable our students to reach their full potential then whanau like environments should enable teachers to reach their full potential also. By showing genuine care for staff, encouraging staff to follow their interests, accepting and acknowledging each others thoughts, opinions and differences, and providing opportunities for staff to learn in ways that they learn best leaders can begin to create whanau like environments within their school settings.
Barth (2006) talks about how the creation of cultures of collegiality enable professional learning communities to flourish. Enabling teachers to talk about their teaching practices, their successes and their failures, helps to create this culture. Conversing about teachers individual inquiries creates a culture where inquiry learning is central. This also means providing opportunities for teachers to share their thoughts and ideas on any school wide issues that may arise. Another powerful tool in creating the culture of collegiality is observing each other both formally and informally. Mutual observations create a culture of learning and a sense that we are all here to support and strengthen each other. As a leader it is important to ensure that we not only model but promote these relationships between staff.
McLaughlin et al, 2015 said that “teachers building caring, responsive, and nurturing relationships with children that involve close and meaningful connections with families and home life” (p.31) is a crucial aspect to education success. One of the ways we can continue to make connections with whanau as leaders is through open communication. With the rise of digital technologies this has become even easier. I have found that by utilising social media I have been able to increase parent engagement in school life. Regularly posting images, videos and comments about positive student learning has enabled parents to get a real feel for what happens in the school day. This in turn promotes discussion at home between parents and their children taking learning into the home. Being visible and approachable is also key to maintaining connections with whanau, by simply farewelling students at the gate each day, and speaking to parents about their days has made a huge impact on whanau interactions!
Creating the relationships with students as described by McLaughlin (2005) is critical in a leadership role. It is also important to ensure that teachers are creating these relationships with the students that they teach. By valuing relationships with teachers and students leaders can lead by example in this domain. Encouraging teachers to get to know their students and create the whanau like relationships as described by Bishop (2017) is one of the ways that leaders can impact on student relationships. Getting to know the names of students, their parents and their interests is also a crucial role in educational leadership and the culture that creates.
By creating whanau and collegial relationships within a school setting leaders are able to create teaching and learning environments which will flourish.
References:
Barth, R. (2006). Improving relationships within the schoolhouse. ASCD, Vol 63 P8-13.
Bishop, R. (2017). Relationships are Fundamental to Learning. Principal Connections, Vol 20, issue 3.
McLaughlin, T., Aspden, K., McLachlan, C. (2015). How do teachers build strong relationships? Early Childhood Folio, 19. P31-38
Ministry of Education (2012). Leading from the Middle. Learning Media Limited.
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