Responding to a challenge

Synopsis

A new approach to leadership development in an Australian rural school is providing students with both theory and practice to help them understand what leadership is about. This cyclical program has three separate phases, each complementing the others. While the program is still in its experimental stage, it is proving to be quite successful, and will be continued and enhanced as the school grows.

The background

Have you ever looked at the voting results for school captains and shaken your head in dismay? Have you ever been tempted to change the results before you announced them? Have you ever given way to such a temptation?

I won’t ask any more questions, but if you answered ‘yes’ to at least two of the previous questions, you will know what I mean when I say that sometimes circumstances can have a major impact on the way we nurture leadership. In this brief paper I want to explore a series of events that impacted on the way I have tried to develop leadership skills in my pupils.

When I was appointed as principal of St Anne’s Central School in rural NSW, I was thrust into a very unhappy community. The long history of this K-10 school had been changed overnight with the central office decision to terminate its secondary classes, in response to a major decline in secondary enrolments. The parents complained to the system authorities that they had not been sufficiently informed about the likely consequence of this decline and the decision to close part of the school was therefore unduly harsh. Their appeal was heard and a compromise was developed: the secondary section would indeed close forthwith, but it could be re-opened, one year at a time, if the enrolment patterns showed sufficient sustained growth. The parents and the school accepted the challenge and some of the anger was assuaged. This left the school with an interesting challenge as regards its student leadership.

If the senior primary grade (year 6) provided the leadership of the school in the first year of the ‘closure’, this same class would also be called upon to provide leadership for the following four years as the school rebuilt its profile. The students who had been elected as school leaders in that final primary grade could well find themselves leading the school for not one but five years. While there was no immediate problem with the individuals – indeed they were exemplary student leaders – such a scenario was rightly seen as rather delimiting for the whole class. It was therefore suggested (as central offices can suggest!) that a new model of leadership might be appropriate.

With my new colleagues on the staff and the dedicated parents who had fought for the resurrection of the whole school, I explored some options that might offer better options. Our final decision was to introduce an eclectic model that not only offered a new leadership structure but also contained a serious developmental program for future leaders. With encouragement from our central office, and with useful suggestions from two colleagues who had undergone somewhat similar experiences as they built up their own schools a year at a time, we developed a leadership program that – while not original – was a fresh approach. The proposal was endorsed by the relevant authorities and it is now in its early stages of implementation. This paper explores this early stage.

Three dimensions of leadership

The process that we are following, and continuing to develop, at St Anne’s has three aspects:

• a public service model that ensures that every person in the class is genuinely active
• a parliamentary model that allows for a wide involvement of students 
• a developmental program based on a specially prepared handbook on leadership.

Each of these three aspects is treated as part of a three-week cycle, so that the students are able to see that their leadership role is a genuine and regular one. In week one of the cycle, the students meet as a series of government departments, with one person as the minister and the rest ordinary public servants; they plan their activities and delegate tasks; even the minister is expected to play a genuine service role. In the second week, the ministers convene in a parliamentary sitting and announce their plans; the ideas are critiqued by other ministers and also by the Opposition – and once they have been approved, they are implemented during the students’ own time. In the third week, all students take part in a coherent and developmental study of the nature of leadership.

The ministries at work

There are four ministries in the class (small numbers make it impossible to develop any others at this stage, but as the secondary school expands, more may be added.) These are the Ministry of Communications and Media, of Functions and Fundraising, of Health and Safety and of Sport. The ministries were selected by the students themselves, from a list they prepared of about 12 options. Membership was also by self-selection, but only after a clear explanation that choosing a ministry should be based on a student’s ability to contribute meaningfully, not just on their desire to be with their best friend.

The Ministry of Communications and the Media decided at one of its early ‘public service’ meetings that it would like to produce news items for the local press and for the system newsletter, and perhaps to consider producing a four-page student newsletter twice a term. Their success in the first two endeavours gave them the courage to have a go at the third, and they have now produced two such newsletters, with a third due out shortly.  

Meanwhile, the functions and fundraising committee decided to support a local charity whose work they had seen on television. They organised a Pyjama Day when everyone (including the principal and other staff) would be invited to come to school in their PJs and pay for the privilege.

The fundraiser was a success in its own right, but it also provided the Communications and Media Ministry with newsworthy material they published in two media outlets. Definitely a win-win situation. 

As well as enjoying successes, the ministry members have learned that some plans simply don’t see the light of day. It is still a challenge to get some people to accept that ideas will work only if the students themselves put in the hard yards. However, the realisation that success lies in their own hands does motivate the students to recognise that they are serious players in the overall operation of the school.

When the minister has to report on progress (and on future plans) at the next sitting of Parliament, it definitely helps to focus attention on the issues at hand. It is embarrassing to have to admit that last month’s plans are still in the pipe-line, with no obvious signs of progress. Like politicians everyone, the students have learned that sometimes the best defence is to find someone else to blame – and if that person is the principal, who failed to deliver on a promise that was crucial to the execution of a scheme, so much the better!

When we started our sittings, there was no Opposition because we felt there were not enough students to fill such a role. However, the advice of our Federal Member of Parliament, Kay Hull MHR, changed that; she explained that the absence of an Opposition meant there was no real accountability. We introduced a two-member Opposition but it has since grown to five members. Its value is inestimable.

The experiences in planning and then in presenting ideas to the Parliament is definitely a useful training in leadership skills, but it remains haphazard, and for that reason, it was decided that a Leadership Handbook should be developed. This aspect of the course is not as popular as the other two – perhaps it sounds too theoretical – but the students have still become actively involved.

The leadership course

We introduced a formal leadership program to supplement the other activities because we felt traditional school leadership models rarely offered students a chance to learn what makes a leader, except by observing good or bad leadership in their own classroom. We felt that if we could actually study the nature of leadership, this would speed up the usual observation process. In other words, students would still learn by looking, but they would know what to look for.

The study phase explores the nature of leadership, aiming to present the students with a theoretical underpinning that will inform their future development. During each of the leadership theory lessons, the students use a workbook specially prepared for them. They have the chance to explore different theories of leadership and to exercise personal choices over a range of issues related to leadership. As the timetable does not allow a lot of time for these activities, it is also expected that students will prepare work at home and complete some exercises for homework.

The theoretical underpinning of this workbook, which I developed exclusively for the use of our students, is eclectic. However, it draws heavily on two sources: the L5 Frame developed by the Australian Principals Association Professional Development Council (now Principals Australia) and Stephen M.R. Covey’s book, The speed of trust.

A copy of the handbook is available online at www.stannes.cg.catholic.edu.au
(go to ‘Parent Links’ and then select ‘Leadership Manual’). It has proved to be a mixed success with the students, whereas the work in ministries and in parliament has been widely popular. The booklet used in 2008 by year 7 will be used again for year 7 in 2009 and then fully evaluated; a new, more challenging handbook is now being developed for the year 8 class. I hope that some ideas for this new book will come from this conference and from contacts made online.

As it says in the workbook’s ‘Note to Our Student Leaders’:

‘Just as a caterpillar transforms into a magnificent butterfly by a measured and organised process, so you will gradually change to take your place in the world in which you live. Sometimes the changes will be very rapid, and sometimes that will seem to take forever. In this booklet there is a lot of information that you will find useful as you undergo the transformation into leadership. I wish you well on your journey.’

The future

As our school gradually rebuilds, we will be dependent on active and vocal student leaders. Their contribution will be influenced by what they learn in this innovative program and we have reason to believe that the program will prove to be positive.

As the secondary department grows, the parliamentary system will be further strengthened – it is planned to hold single sessions for the combined year 7 and year 8 students in 2009; the theoretical session in each cycle will be class-based, with each class studying a different workbook. What happens in 2010 is not yet clear, but we are committed to trialling this program for four years, so that the first cohort will be able to gain the full benefit of the scheme.

Feedback from conference participants is most welcome, and we look forward to improving the process so that all involved will truly grow in the skills of leadership.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mr Dennis Sleigh is Principal of St Anne’s Central School, in Temora, NSW, Australia. He is an experienced principal and widely published writer. Mr Sleigh has addressed national conferences, written several books and numerous articles, and lectured at universities on issues related to school leadership. He holds graduate qualifications in education, leadership and theology. He is currently on an overseas study tour in Europe.

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