Leading view papers – Days 1 to 7

The 21st century educator: How do we prepare educators for a new role in the 21st century?

 

On reading ‘The 21st century educator: How do we prepare educators for a new role in the 21st century’, by David Hargreaves, my response was ‘Sounds good, but needs a fair bit of work’. Later I started to discuss the description with a couple of colleagues and some questions started to flow.

• Are we talking about principals, deputy principals and heads of department or teachers?
• What does ‘passionate’ mean?
• Are the terms ‘mentor’ and ‘coach’ contradictory?
• What is a relevant domain?

Then one of my colleagues (Ian), known for what are often described as ‘reality checks’, said, ‘We have a number of generalised nouns here, like ‘passionate’, ‘relevant domain’, ‘mentor’ and ‘coach’.’

He went on: ‘Let’s view this as a description of a principal. You know, I have been to the last three guru conferences and listened very attentively and I am ‘principled out’. We seem to be given 10 principles that the research shows to be of benefit, in a short burst. Then off we go to use these ‘principles’ to execute fundamental change. Now it is not too bad for me because I have just finished an MBA that gives me a fair number of models to use. But if you haven’t had this, then it could be real struggle. Translating principles into actions can be a real problem. Where are the models, scaffolds, signposts and connections to manage your school as a system, like Senge talks about?’

Immediately, one of the others (Judy) chimed in, ‘That’s true, you know, as principals we are leading and managing complex organisations, with very little training. Without strong survival instincts, it’s easy to be overcome or be forced into a role of organisational stability, when it should be a developmental role. Some of the issues that I had to manage in the first two to three years as principal were very demanding. It would have been much easier if I’d had a set of models in the kit bag’.

Ian continued, ‘Yes, the part about redesigning the organisation is interesting. In spite of all the attempts to re-design a high school, it is still very much like it was when I went to school. A principal, a deputy, heads of department and teachers with various duties. I started to do some work on structures in some study and found there is a need for a number of different organisational structures existing side by side. Moreover, how you manage matrix and functional structures, and so on. The decision-making, communication and performance impact greatly on the school’s effectiveness. Then we’ve got teams and professional development and how we integrate standards’.

At that point Jim, a person who doesn’t say much, but when he does it is a worth listening to, said, ‘The other matter is the reaction we seem to get if we talk of a school as a business’.

A third colleague, Bill, got a little animated here: ‘Business! Schools aren’t businesses. We provide a service to the community. We are not making a profit!’.

Ian (reality check), gave a thoughtful smile, ‘Bill, again this is a question of definitions, and understandings. We (schools) are ‘not for profit businesses’. Moreover, I define a business as one that is outward looking. In other words, the school is trying to find out what our community and customers, want and need. In contrast, an organisation is one where the focus is inward. An organisation concentrates on its internal operations, and does not worry about the changes occurring outside it. Kind of like mobile phones will eventually go away if we ignore them. The trouble is they generally go out of business if they remain that way’.

‘Hospitals, charitable organisations, and so on, are in a similar position. They are not for profit, and have to focus on the needs of their customers. Too often, these answers are thrown up as a wall against any changes. It’s ‘them and us’ stuff.’

‘Are you saying that we can learn nothing from business?’

‘Well, err, no.  Even Fullan, in his latest book ‘Turnaround Leadership’, says we can learn from business; and quotes Rosa Beth Moss-Kanter, (a well recognised management educator) on getting successful change’, replied Bill.

Bill was not to be denied here, ‘But most of the stuff focuses on money and the bottom line. We cannot just be onto that. Our job is about learning. Our job is different’.

At this time, I thought that a few questions were in order, ‘OK, Bill. How different is a school to a business? We have people, we have buildings, and we have equipment. We handle large amounts of money. We market ourselves. We are subject to the same legislation and laws as any other business. The only difference, as I see it, is that we are in the learning game versus the medical, or IT, or whatever. So, what is the difference?’

Bill is passionate about this, ‘We teach children. It is not about bottom lines!’

Questions often help here and I asked, ‘Bill, what is our bottom line? Is it the education of students?’

Bill was still prickly, ‘Of course it is. You know that!’

Bill’s eyes narrowed, ‘Look. I agree with our bottom line. We have to judge ourselves on this. We cannot just ask people to pour money into schools and not be open and transparent about our results. The measures that we use are often misused’.

I continued, ‘I agree, Bill. So the same as every other business, we have a bottom line and some measures of success. It is just that we, as a profession, have not yet developed the measures of success fully. We also have not really done the things required to develop the skills in management and leadership for school leaders and the systematic professional training for teachers’.

‘Think about it. What about all the research, worldwide, that says how difficult it is to get people to apply for the positions of school leadership and teacher positions. We are trying to drive an organisation designed 50 to 100 years ago in the 21st century. It is akin to driving an FJ Holden down an autobahn at 140 kilometres per hour and wondering why the engine is burning out and things start to fall off.’

Bill relaxed slightly. ‘The last quote I like. My age group identifies with the FJ. It is true that we have not really become a true profession. Quite a few people have said this recently. Fullan says this type of thing in his discussions. And he said one other thing: that if schools were businesses based on serving the needs of the community then they would have been out of business well before this’.

At that point, everyone paused. Bill was backing up. We had never heard this before.

Ian grabbed this opportunity. “One thing that I agree with is that the 21st century educator will need to relish the changing responsibilities. Certainly, the responsibilities will change, and more importantly the leader will need to be able to manage change and have a variety of models to use to run a school effectively.’

As the sort of group convener, I put the question: ‘What does expert in a ‘relevant domain’ mean for a principal?’

As quick as a flash, Jim chimed in. ‘It is curriculum – teaching and learning, assessment and reporting, programming – in a standards-referenced environment. And for a teacher, it is the same, with the focus on teaching and learning rather than being a focus on the curriculum area, that is ‘content’ and ‘explicit consistent teaching’.

Further conversation gave Bill his opportunity. ‘Let’s get a few agreements. Learning for self and others? Agreed. Students as partners? Agreed. Data about learning and achievement? Agreed’.

‘So now let’s focus on how we train teachers and principals.’

At this point, my reality check colleague, Ian, got out some notes.

‘Drucker, the management guru, in 1994 said some things like this:

• The assumption that management is business management persists. It is important to assert – and to do so loudly – management is not business management, any more than, say, medicine is obstetrics.
• There are differences in management for different organisations – mission defines strategy, after all, and strategy defines structure. But the differences between managing a chain of retail stores and managing the Roman Catholic Church are a lot less than people realise. The differences are in the application rather than the principles. After all, the first large organisations were the armies and churches.
• The executive of any organisation spends, for instance, about the same amount of time, on people problems – and the people problems are usually the same. He suggests that there is only about 10% to 20% of the executive work that is different from organisation to organisation. The organisation’s specific mission, its specific culture, its specific history and its specific vocabulary determine this 10% to 20%. The rest is interchangeable.
• The growth sector of the 20th century will be in the not for profit sectors – in government, in the professions, health care, in education. So the non-profit social sector is where management is today most needed and where systematic, principled, theory-based management and leadership can yield the greatest results fastest.
• No one method of organisation will be the answer to the needs. No one team design will satisfy all. In some situations, a team is not needed at all. And surprise, he really has a go at fads and quick fixes.
• The executive of the future will require a toolbox full of organisational structures, of approaches, leadership models. They will have to select the right tool for each specific task. This means that he or she will have to learn to use each one of the tools and understand which one works best for each task.’

‘So my take on what the 21st century principal needs is this:

• an ability to learn from a wide range of sources and adapt
• change management
• skills in leadership and management:  planning, structures, processes, and team building and team maintenance
• decision making
• negotiation skills.
• ability to build systems and manage change
• an outstanding understanding of curriculum. The domain!’

‘These things appear to be some of the areas being addressed in the Teaching Australia project for principals.’

Bill retorts, ‘Sounds good, Ian. You missed a hide like a rhinoceros for all the barbs that you get from all the community at some time or other. Now how do we attract and retain them?’

Ian’s response went like this, ‘Bill, we need to start at the bottom and build into a proper profession that has real standards for its members, for each stage of development. Like the NSW Institute of Teacher Standards or Victorian standards’.

‘Change the Diploma of Education training, and so on, to focus on curriculum, programming, teaching and learning, assessment and reporting with a focus regardless of content area, on literacy, numeracy and ICT.’

‘For beginning teachers, the first three or four years needs to be highly structured and consistent to build on what has been done at uni. Not the age-old haphazard approach based on the ‘osmosis model’. That is, what you happen to absorb from those around you. Or on the quality and quantity of the professional development of the school, district or system that you are in.’

‘Bad luck if you are in a faculty with 10 people and a total of 18 years experience, including the head teacher with seven years experience.’ 

‘Then we need to introduce the opportunities for leadership after someone has developed the teaching skills to a high level – quality training on influencing skills, delegation, organisation, group dynamics, planning and change management and leadership.’

‘All carefully put together to give people the opportunity to grow and learn and make choices for their career path to head of department or deputy principal. If they do not want these opportunities there must be parallel, continued learning and development for them on teaching and learning - on curriculum and so on, that is compulsory, not optional, and high quality.’

‘This means that you actually acquire, and continue to acquire and polish, the skills and learning. Three or four school development days a year are not enough to keep people up to speed.’

‘If this is done, then we won’t have problems attracting and retaining people, particularly if they have honest outgoing feedback and support at all levels.’

‘Another part of teacher training would be to give the best teachers opportunities to lecture in teacher education courses. As well, we need to increase the amount of practicum for trainee teachers, with some time spent in both K-6 and 7-12 for all teacher training.’

‘For principals and executive in general, we need to have a tool kit of models of change, of leadership, of negotiation/influencing skills, of how to assess the culture in a school, and development of thinking patterns that keep you fresh and positive. This development is not the two-day guru principles, but concentrated blocks of time drawing on the best models to deliver quality services to the community, without the blinkered responses and built in biases.’

At this point, I asked, ‘Can I draw these things together?  How does this sound?’

‘The 21st century educator has some good ideas. It has some good points, and a fair amount of jargon.’

‘The real issue for the educator of the 21st century is the issue of teaching being a real profession and the initial and ongoing training necessary to really become a professional, a leader and a manager. With this training and development then they - teacher, deputy, head of department or principal - will have the tool kit, and the know how to use each tool to be a successful educator.’

Bill, not to be denied, said, ‘I think the writings from Drucker are not too bad. Perhaps we could talk more about them some other time. Plus a few other things on data and measurement’.

And how insightful was Peter Drucker in 1994 in how he used his business experience to describe the skills needed for a principal in such a straightforward way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mr John Craig has been principal of Blacktown Boys and Kingsgrove North High Schools, a member of the New South Wales Principals Council Strategic Futures Group, Executive Team Leader (Quality Assurance) New South Wales Department of Education and Training, and Director of Human Resources, Newington College. As a principal, Mr Craig led Blacktown Boys High School to two Director General’s Awards for curriculum and pastoral care.

Mr Craig has also been a presenter at district, state, national and international conferences on change, boys’ learning and education, and differentiated learning. In the private sector, he has developed and conducted courses in leadership, organisational development and team building. Mr Craig has recently formed his own consultancy, Agile Mind Development, with his wife Lesley.

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