102098 Contemporary Teacher Leadership Autumn 2018

Assessment 2: Part 2: Critical Reflection

The purpose of this critical reflection is to construct an answer to the imperative question

from Lecture 11 “Who are you as a teacher?” and to frame this question within the broader

context of “Who am I as a teacher in a community of practice?” This analysis takes into account

Kelley’s concepts of self-efficacy, adaptability and resilience in the face of challenges to creative

confidence (Kelley, 2012) and Schon’s concept of “reflection-in-action” and “reflection-on-

action” (Schon as cited in Weiringa, 2011. p. 170). The intention of the collaborative project was

to enact the principles of “leadership from below” to facilitate change from traditional “top

down” school administrative hierarchies (Boylan, 2016). In addition, the project seeks to

demonstrate teacher agency as twenty-first century practitioners by constructing a virtual

presentation to a fictional school executive that demonstrates a community of practice and a

cycle of continuous improvement through an action research proposal.

The first challenge of the project was finding the right program targeted at the right

school, that would not impinge upon previous studies and risk plagiarism. Consultation with the

unit co-ordinator was needed to clarify the purpose and extent of the proposal as some group

members found the instructions confusing. Once clarified, the group used personal experiences

and practicum comparisons, to choose a low socio-economic status school, Chifley College

Mount Druitt Campus (CCMDC). A close examination of the school strategic plan revealed a

series of programs supporting student social and emotional wellbeing but no equivalent

programs for staff. Incentives for teachers’ recruitment and retention are not in the top five

priorities in Australian schools (OECD, 2014) despite a high attrition rate of new teachers leaving

1
Paul Rooney, Contemporary Teacher Leadership, Western Sydney University, Autumn 2018.
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the profession within the first five years (McKinnon, 2016). Therefore, our group chose the

experiential strand of personal and social capability, but from the perspective of supporting the

school’s programs for students by proposing a program that focussed on teacher and

organisational wellbeing, Appreciative Inquiry (Waters & White, 2015). We justified our choice by

collaboratively researching the Appreciative Inquiry program and with evidence-based research

on teacher retention in low SES schools (OECD, 2005), teacher stress and the impact on student

achievement (McCallum, Price & Graham, 2007; OECD, 2018) and set the goal to improve

teacher satisfaction and retention, that is measurable using established qualitative surveys

(Kern, Adler, Waters & White, 2015). Our project proposal was approved without amendment.2

Challenge met.

A second challenge in this group project was developing a clear understanding of meeting

the learning outcomes for the Contemporary Teacher Leadership unit. Group presentation

expectations were outlined in three ways: the lecture material, tutorial discussions and in the

marking criteria however, misconceptions persisted in some members of the group on the

presentation requirements. One of the group members asserted that “in reality we are not

presenting to the executive”, when in reality the marking criteria explicitly stated the need to

“connect to the audience of senior school managers and school councils.”3 The group required

an additional online meeting to address the marking criteria and to add content specific to the

target audience. Edmonson suggests that the leadership qualities required to engender a

positive learning community include “being prepared to admit when things are going wrong,

acknowledge uncertainty and invite others input” (Garvin & Edmonson, 2008). What this advice

suggests is that instead of being corrective, I could have invited those on the wrong path to

2
Contemporary Teacher Leadership, Project Proposal, Team B08, May 2018.
3
102098 Contemporary Teacher Leadership, 2018. Marking Criteria Assignment 2, p. 16.
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discover their own solution, that is, by reading the marking criteria. The subsequent meeting

resolved the issue and highlighted the difficulties in dealing with colleagues who will not

acknowledge they are wrong and suggests that capacity building is a challenging process.

Challenge met.

Collaboration and capacity building are key areas of development within professional

learning communities (Hairon, Goh & Diwi, 2014). Kelley (2012) suggests setting both short and

long-term goals that make small and progressive changes hence our group maintained regular

and sustained focus over the semester to achieve our project goal. A major strength within the

group was the ability to foster a sense of a community of practice. There was attention and focus

on the online group meetings, vUWS group discussions for tutorial activities, lecture content and

later collaboration in the virtual environment of Zoom and Google Drive to collate our respective

project areas. We maintained weekly online meetings which usually included a healthy

download of our practicum experiences. This collegial acknowledgement of shared experiences

facilitated the growth of a professional relationships that are supportive, reflective and build

personal capacity (Hairon, Goh & Diwi, 2014). One of the positive outcomes of the project was

fostering confidence in one of the more reticent members of the group by offering opportunities

to lead meetings and group discussions with the aim of gaining valuable insights from the

perspective of a colleague with a different cultural and linguistic background.

“Who am I as a teacher in a community of practice?”

From the multiple group presentations required from the Masters of Teaching

(Secondary) program I have developed the skill to identify and focus on group members inherent

abilities and to utilise those skills in a positive way. This intention rarely goes smoothly. There is

always a need to clarify misunderstandings, recognise individual knowledge and expertise, and

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maintain a steady path towards a common goal with common learning outcomes. Leadership is

difficult to define in these circumstances when there are varying levels of academic abilities,

linguistic and literacy skills, and levels of understanding of the big ideas presented in units such

as ‘system leadership from below’ (Boylan, 2016). Inconsistent results in measuring teaching

collaboration and innovation in worldwide contexts (OECD, 2014) suggests that hierarchical

systems remain a key feature of education organisations. Not everyone wants the responsibility

or accountability that goes with leadership. Teaching is a profession that requires a large degree

of creativity and innovative approaches both in classrooms and organisations however, Heick

(2013) suggests that innovation requires “the willingness to take risks, which means being

prepared for failure.” As a participant in a community of practice I accept the possibility of failure

but I would not allow the risk of mistakes to stop me taking risks. In a professional learning

environment, I would strive to engender trusting and supportive collegial relationships and be an

active participant in reflexive processes for personal and professional improvement.

Video showcase: Contemporary Teacher Leadership.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSpGtNZ4Mzk

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102098 Contemporary Teacher Leadership Autumn 2018

References

Boylan, M (2016). Deepening system leadership: Teachers leading from below. Educational
Management Administration & Leadership. January 2016 44: 57- 72.
doi:10.1177/1741143213501314

Garvin, D. & Edmondson, A. (2008). The importance of learning organisations. Harvard Business
Publishing. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/video/2226587714001/the-importance-of-
learning-in-organizations

Hairon, S., Goh, J.W.P. & Diwi, A. (2014). Challenges to PLC enactment in Singapore hierarchical
school system. Joint AARE-NZARE 2014 Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from
https://www.aare.edu.au/data/2014_Conference/Full_papers/HAIRON_14.pdf

Heick, T. (2013). What you need to be an innovative educator. Edutopia. Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-you-need-innovative-educator-terry-heick

Kelley, D. (2012). How to build your creative confidence. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16p9YRF0l-g

Kern, M., Adler, A., Waters, L., & White, M. (2015). Measuring Whole-School Well-being in
Students and Staff. In White, M., & Murray, A. (2015). Evidence-based approaches in
positive education: Implementing a strategic framework for well-being in schools. (pp. 65-
91) South Australia: Springer.

McCallum, F., Price, D., Graham, A. (2017). Teacher wellbeing: A review of the literature.
Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved from:
https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/EducationalResearch/Documents/Commissioned%20Research
/Teacher%20wellbeing%20A%20review%20of%20the%20literature%20-
%20%20Faye%20McCallum%20AISNSW%202017.pdf#search=teacher%20wellbeing

McKinnon, M. (2016). Teachers are leaving the profession – here’s how to make them stay. The
Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/teachers-are-leaving-the-
profession-heres-how-to-make-them-stay-52697

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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2005). Teachers matter
education: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers. Retrieved from:
http://www.oecd.org/education/school/34990905.pdf

OECD (2014). Measuring innovation in education: A new perspective. Retrieved 25 June 2018
from DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264215696-en

Countries’ top 5 areas of school-level innovations. Retrieved from https://read.oecd-

ilibrary.org/education/measuring-innovation-in-education/countries-top-5-areas-of-
school-level-innovations_9789264215696-25-en#page1

OECD. (2018). Teachers' well-being, confidence and efficacy. Valuing our teachers and raising
their status: How communities can help (pp.89-112), OECD Publishing, Paris. Retrieved from:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264292697-6-en.

Waters, L. & White, M. (2015). Case study of a school wellbeing initiative: Using appreciative
inquiry to support positive change. International Journal of Wellbeing, 5(I), 19-32.
doi:10.5502/ijw.v5i1.2

Wieringa, N. (2011). Teachers’ educational design as a process of reflection‐in‐action: The

lessons we can learn from Donald Schön’s The Reflective Practitioner when studying the
professional practice of teachers as educational designers. Curriculum Inquiry, 41(1), 167-
174. doi:10.1111/j.1467-873X.2010.00533.x

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