Effecting Socially Just Practice: A Case Study of the Leadership Role
of a Small School Principal.
The number of small schools in Queensland has decreased over the years
as drought, dwindling population in remote areas, and movement of the
younger generation to larger areas to seek work.
However, several small schools on the fringe of larger cities have
increased their enrolment because families have begun to search for
small rural schools on the presumption that they promote a small caring
environment, conducive to learning.
Maroya's 1985 article "The Small School as a Symbiosis of a Caring
Community" supports this view. The Maroya family enrolled their son in
a small rural school in favour of a large modern school because of the
following:
Chief among these reasons was our abhorrence of the precociousness in
language and manners of some of the youngsters with whom he come in
contact. The vulgarity of the Adult world will be acquired soon enough
without the child being exposed to it in his vulnerable years.We also
felt, admittedly without certainty, that a bush school would furnish a
type of education for our child which would best suit the needs of a
fairly sensitive youngster imbued with a degree of introspection.
(p.194)
"Plains" school is one that demonstrates these qualities. What is
evident in a majority of small rural schools is that the children
reflect the prevailing country ethos of hard work, independence and a
sense of uneasiness with the manners and the morals of the city. (1995,
1996) The parents who sent their children to Plains were looking for a
school that espoused the same values that they did.
The principal of Plains approached the research team because she was
keen to investigate how her policy of social justice was working in her
school community.
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
Most country school principals and teachers are active members of the
surrounding community and it is important that there is a link between
how the school operates and how the community is involved with the
education of the children.The shaping of the school policy usually
includes statements the relate to this.
The schools policy statement reflects the beliefs and expectations of
the community regarding education. According to Cullen, "Each community
expects a great deal from 'its teacher'..At the same time the teacher
is getting to know the people as groups that constitute the community.
The teacher who is the principal of the school tries to identify the
power structure of the community so that support can be harnessed for
the usual school operations. Even the most conscientious principal
'cannot afford to misread the politic of the local community." (1985; 6)
Small schools certainly have educational advantages over their larger
city counterparts.Swift (1984) outlines the intrinsic advantages of
small schools. These are:
¥ Low pupil teacher ratio
¥ Individualised instruction
¥ Long term satisfaction of watching student's progress
¥ Opportunity to know students and their families
¥ Teacher impact on cirriculum and administration
¥ Community activities, centered on the school
¥ Community involvement in the school. (p.3)
Since schools tend to be ideal places for personalised, caring
environments, these environments enable students to become motivated to
engage in learning. According to Mc Laughlin, et al, (1990), "a
personalised environment does not 'just happen'. Rather it is the
product of deliberate and strategical choices about organisational
structures and routines." (p.232)
Children and parents attending small schools do so as a matter of
choice. As Mc Laughlin et al suggest, "choice establishes important
conditions for personalisation because the students and teachers have
selected site norms of a personalised environment and of the community
that supports it". (1990; 232)
Many parents of children attending small schools have reflected an
environment which provides the advantages as outlined by Swift. Novic
suggests that schools, organised as caring environments have been shown
to foster a sense of responsibility, respect and high expectations.
Novic sites several authors such as Clark and Astuto 1994; Lewis,
Schaps and Watson, 1995; and Newmann 1994 who share the same views.
Novic proposes that when school staff, parents and children build on
their own experiences and knowledge in a "safe" atmosphere, everyone's
learning is enhanced. The key figure of establishing such an
environment is the principal. Novic (1996), Reitzig and Burrello 1995,
describe such a principal as one who encourages teachers to reflect on
their practise to develop ideas and progress.
Banks and Banks 1995, Depit, 1995 are authors who propose that social
justice and equity should be the actual focus of school reform.
Teachers should reflect and examine their views regarding race, ethnic,
gender and social class groups. (Novic 1996)
Stolp (1994) identified successful leaders as being able to view "their
organisation's environment in a holistic way." (1) This understanding
enables school leaders to shape the values, beliefs and attitudes
necessary to promote a stable and nurturing learning environment."
(1994;1) The importance of school culture is evident in the work of
Frayans and Maehr (1990). The analysed the effects of academic
challenges, comparative achievement, recognition of achievement, school
community and perception of school goals. Although this was an American
study, they found that students were more motivated to learn in schools
with strong cultures
Singe (1990) and Stolp (1994) argue with the point that a school vision
specifies the values and beliefs that guide policy and practice with
the school. The key figure is the principal especially one who is 'able
to adopt a vision to new challenges, will be more successful in
building strong school cultures'. (1994;2) The creation of a shared
vision is one which allows for collaboration with schools. Fullan
(1992) warns that Principals are "blinded by their own vision when they
manipulate the teachers and the school culture to conform to it." (
Stolp 1994;2)
Social Justice
Social justice policy development in Queensland in the 1990s has
focused upon the identification of target groups who are disadvantaged
by factors like ethnicity, race, language, gender or physical handicap
and upon the creation of compensatory programs to offset the effects
of such disadvantage. The implementation of the Queensland Department
of Education's Social Justice Strategy draws on three principles:
¥ identifying and addressing barriers to participation and achievement;
¥ the curriculum should value and build on the diversity of student
experience and
circumstances;
¥ challenging the way that disadvantage is created and maintained and to
empower learners
to participate as equals in society (Batten, 1995:103).
Queensland's Disadvantaged Schools Component of the National Equity
Program for Schools, known as the Special Program Schools Scheme
(SPSS), is one instance where the Social Justice Strategy has been
implemented through financial support for specific school initiatives.
Queensland schools are ranked using an Index of Relative Socio-economic
Disadvantage which
". . . includes variables relating to the key socio-economic factors of
income, occupation, unemployment and education" ( Batten, 1995:101).
Representative committees at state and regional levels are delegated
responsibility for administering SPSS. The monitoring of school
programs
. . . takes place through individual school program evaluations and as
a component of the collaborative school review (involving regional and
outside people working with the school every three years to review the
implementation of the school plan) and the internal review, which is
more operational (p 102).
It is argued by some theorists that justice can only be achieved
through a fair redistribution of the relevant goods of a society, such
as wealth and status. That is, the maldistribution of social goods is
an important symptom of injustice, but the origins of injustice itself
lie deeper in human culture than these symptoms imply. It is sometimes
suggested by such theorists that sources of injustice are to be found
in social processes, practices, structures and institutions (Kemmis,
1994). According to Kemmis, the influence schools have over
distribution of material wealth is minimal. Schools can, however, have
an impact upon the way individuals participate in social processes and
practices, and how they position themselves within social structures
and institutions. By altering the way individuals are treated and
viewed in the educational environment, their future participation and
success in society can be influenced positively (Kemmis, 1994).
Social justice and equity policy developments in the Australian states,
and also under the authority of the Commonwealth Government, appear to
incorporate elements that grant some recognition to the 'five faces of
oppression' framework developed by Young (1990). Young's contention is
that each 'face' - namely marginalisation, powerlessness, exploitation,
cultural domination and violence - can exist independently but that
multiple interactions are common, with groups like unemployed women of
colour more likely to experience oppression than, say, white
professional men (Troyna and Vincent, 1995). For Young, the most
important condition in responding to oppression is 'democracy': the
capacity to learn and use satisfying skills in socially recognised
settings, to participate in decision making, and to express feelings,
experience and perspectives on social contexts that involve others.
Implied here is a form of distributive justice where societies are
committed to meeting the basic needs of all persons and where all are
provided opportunities to participate in democratic discussion and
decision-making.
Rizvi and Lingard (1993) add a final dimension to this discussion. They
assert that Australian governments of the past decade have tended to
take the stance that social and cultural concerns should be addressed
within Australia's economic context. The underlying assumption is that
the goals of government, in relation to social and cultural concerns,
can best be achieved through unrestrained capital growth, free markets,
economic individualism and private property as the basis of individual
freedom. By implication, Commonwealth education policy has tended in
recent years to manifest a viewpoint that social justice and economic
imperatives can be linked (Fitzclarence and Kenway, 1993). The
implications of a policy imperative of this type for education
practices that rely on Commonwealth funding and approval are of course
extremely important, though difficult to assess.
Leadership
Until recent times, theories dealing with educational leadership have
been associated with ascribed authority and position. Examples of this
are the Principalship or system directorship.
Three leadership theories that are associated with educational
administration appear to relate closely to the role model of being a
small school principal. The three theories reviewed are (i) Strategic
leadership (ii) Transformational leadership and (iii) Educational
leadership.
(i) Strategic leadership
In recent times, principals of schools are viewed as chief executives
and entrepreneurial marketers in self managed schools. Strategic
leadership emphasises rationality in the leader's role. Thus, Hosmer
(cited in Shrivastava and Nachman, 1989:51) defines it as the creation
of an overall sense of purpose and direction which guide integrated
strategy formulation and implementation in organisations. Hambrick
(1988) suggests that it involves aligning the organisation with
anticipated external forces - technological developments, market
trends, regulatory constraints, competitors' actions and so on. Also
important in Hambrick's definition, however, is the task of developing
an internal organisation that has an adaptive capacity. In similar
vein to Hambrick, Caldwell (1992) advocates a leadership function that
is dominantly strategic as the most appropriate approach for principals
in self-managing schools:
. . . the principal must be able to develop and implement a cyclical
process of goal-setting, need identification, priority setting, policy
making, planning, budgeting, implementing and evaluating in a manner
which provides for the appropriate involvement of staff and community,
including parents and students as relevant. The complexity of the
process in respect to the numbers of actors indicates a capacity to
manage conflict (p160).
A predominantly strategic approach to leadership might be said to
characterise the Queensland Department of Education's Professional
Development Framework for Principalship (1993), which identifies the
key elements of 'Corporate Leadership' as : articulating a shared
vision, team building, managing change, and, establishing collaborative
decision-making processes. Strategic processes such as these may be
very relevant in conceptualising the work of school principals.
(ii) Transformational Leadership emphasises the significance of the
person, and personal traits in bringing about social and cultural
change. Avolio and Bass (1988) describe Transformational Leaders as
"individuals who motive followers to work for transcendental goals
instead of immediate self-interest and for achievement and
self-actualisation instead of safety and security." (33) These authors
suggest that transformational leadership comprises three elements:
Charisma - the leader instils pride, faith and respect, has a gift for
seeing what is really important, and has a sense of vision which is
effectively articulated;
Individualised Consideration - the leader delegates projects to
stimulate and create learning experience, pays attention to followers'
needs, especially those followers who seem neglected, and treats each
follower with respect and as an individual; and
Intellectual Stimulation - the leader provides ideas that result in a
rethinking of old ways, that is, the leader enables followers to look
at problems from many angles and to resolve problems that were at a
standstill (p137).
Burns (1978) contends that the essence of leadership is relationship,
or engagement and common elevation of motives or values. Leadership
gains strength by recognition of the qualities inherent in pluralistic
groups and communities. With regards to gender, Burns claims that
The male bias is reflected in the false conception of leadership as
mere command or control. As leadership comes properly to be seen as a
process of leaders engaging and mobilising the human needs and
aspirations of followers, women will be more readily recognised as
leaders and men will change their own leadership styles (p50).
Transformational concepts like 'empowerment', 'vision', and 'mission'
have become a feature of the rhetoric associated with developmental
processes at different levels in the Queensland education system. They
are to be found, for example, in the Department of Education's
Strategic Plan for 1997 - 2001, in the annual plans of regional
authorities and in school-based development plans.
(iii) Educative Leadership
Educative leadership is often viewed as linked to social
reconstructionist philosophy. For Bates (1992: 19), the essential point
about leadership in education is that it ". . . involves the making and
articulating of choices, the location of oneself within the cultural
struggles of the times as much in the cultural battles of the school as
in the wider society." For Foster (1989:52) ". . . leadership is at
its heart a critical practice", involving educational leaders in the
necessary practice of reflective and critical thinking about the
culture and of their organisations. Both Bates and Foster could be
said to reflect essential aspects of educative leadership.
Duignan and Macpherson (1992) cite writers like Deal and Kennedy
(1982), Purkey and Smith (1983) and Starratt (1984) in creating a
definition of 'educative leadership' that involves continuous critical
discourse and social action as a means of addressing social injustice
and disadvantage within an organisation:
Educative leadership appears to be a deliberate attempt at
cultural
elaboration. . . it follows that educative leadership must closely
respond to the cultural context, be critically aware of the long-term
practices of participants in educational processes, and when action
is proposed, justify ends and processes using an educative philosophy.
Hence, educative leadership implies a responsible involvement in the
politics
of organisation (p. 3-4).
In similar vein, Smyth (1989) challenges teachers to ". . . frame
problems, and to discuss and work individually and collectively to
understand and change the situations that cause these problems. As
Fried (1980) expressed it, empowerment as used in this sense means
'helping people to take charge of their lives, people who have been
restrained, by social or political forces, from assuming such control.'
" (p190-191). Implicit in Smyth's challenge is the view that, if
education is to create emancipation or liberation in the human
condition, it will be unlikely to do so through the sole influence of
administrators, including the school principal, whose work ". . . is
largely social in character, occurs outside classrooms, and involves a
lot of verbal face-to-face interaction with multiple actors on the
school scene" (Greenfield, 1988:209). Indeed, Smyth contends that the
notion of educative leadership is itself a misnomer in that leadership
as traditionally defined implies hierarchical division of power and
corporate direction setting while educativeness implies the opposite,
namely " . . . assisting people to understand themselves and their
world . . . to overcome the oppressive conditions that characterise
work patterns and social relationships" (p182).
The relevance of educative concepts and processes to the work of
teachers, particularly in educational settings where disadvantage is
viewed as an aspect of injustice, and where teachers have taken
conscious action to address such injustice, would seem obvious. But
most authorities have noted that, while educative leadership is not
tied to position, it is the school principal who has most opportunity
to exercise leadership of this type (Rizvi,1992:137,163). It would
appear also that educative approaches to leadership, as with other
approaches that have been reviewed, tend to focus on the school as
defining the structure of teachers' work.
In summary, definitions of educational leadership have been developed
over time. These definitions have represented a range of philosophical
viewpoints which allow for the vast differences in contexts and for
individuals. Principals in small schools have emerged as influential
people both in schools and in the surrounding areas serving the
schools. This project aims to discuss further, the influence small
school principals have in shaping the community and the education of
the children.
RESEARCH DESIGN.
The research was a collaborative venture involving staff from the
USQ and members of the community of Plains. The group was primarily
concerned with developing an understanding of how individuals and
groups constructed a view or views regarding Social Justice and how
these constructs related to practice, particularly in the context of a
school.
The result of a series of workshops, feedback meetings and discussions
was a growing awareness of the complexity of the issues involved with
the exercise in the beginning. The various schools engaged in a
co-operative study of aspects of social justice, which they identified
as being significant, in their own environment.
This study was conducted in co-operation with the Principal, staff,
students and school community of the Plains State School. The study
attempts to investigate the role of the Principal in a small rural
school, with regard to issues concerning or arising from social
justice. It was undertaken on the basis that all parties were equally
involved in the development and implementation of the project and that
'ownership' of the project by all participants was imperative for the
achievement of valuable outcomes.
The research was undertaken in several parts. The first part involved a
process of describing/defining the environment. This was done in part
by interviewing the Principal, staff, parents, community members and
students as well as from archival data obtained from the school. From
this material the researchers were able to create an image of Plains
State School, through the eyes of the people most intimately involved.
The next stage was undertaken using a survey that attempted to have the
interviewees and as many other members of the school community as
possible, compare their perceptions of an 'ideal' world, with the
reality of Plains.
The two processes clearly supported one another and the picture of
Plains, that was slowly emerging. The role of the Principal was
critical to the success of the process of creating the 'image' of
Plains State School. Finally, all parties involved were asked to
classify the interview data into the survey categories in an attempt to
standardise the information obtained from a variety of data gathering
techniques.
STAGE ONE
1) What kind of a community is Plains?
2) What are the community expectations?
STAGE TWO
PROBLEM:-
In what ways and through what processes can a small school Principal
exercise leadership to effect community consciousness of socially just
practices?
KEY CONCEPTS
Leadership. Social Justice. Change. Community.
KEY QUESTIONS:-
(1) What has the Principal tried to do?
(2) What were her goals?
(3) What kind of community was it? What values do they have? What is
the demography of this community?
(4) What does the community expect of the school?
(5) What experiences do students describe
SECOND LEVEL QUESTIONS
(a) What conceptions of leadership emerge?
(b) What conceptions of social justice emerge?
(c) What conceptions of community emerge?
(d) What concepts of change emerge?
INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAINS PROJECT
In the second half of 1995, a group of USQ academics came together to
explore a common interest in the concept of Social Justice. The group
was primarily concerned with developing an understanding of how
individuals and groups constructed a view or views of social justice
and how these constructs related to practise, particularly in the
context of a school.
The result of a series of workshops, feedback meetings and discussions
was a growing awareness of the complexity of the issues involved. It
was decided to investigate a number of sites (schools) who had been
involved with the exercise from the beginning. The various schools
engaged in a co-operative study of aspects of social justice, which
they identified as being significant, in their own environment
This study was conducted in co-operation with the Principal, staff,
students and school community of the Plains State School. The study
attempts to investigate the role of the Principal in a small rural
school, with regard to issues concerning or arising from social
justice. It was undertaken on the basis that all parties were equally
involved in the development and implementation of the project and that
'ownership' of the project by all participants was imperative for the
achievement of valuable outcomes.
The research was undertaken in several parts. The first part involved
a process of describing/defining the environment. This was done in
part by interviewing the Principal, staff, parents, community members
and students as well as from archival data obtained from the school.
From this material the researchers were able to create an image of
Plains State School, through the eyes of the people most intimately
involved. The next stage was undertaken using a survey that attempted
to have the interviewees and as many other members of the school
community as possible, compare their perceptions of an 'ideal' world,
with the reality of Plains. The two processes clearly supported one
another and the picture of Plains State School, that was slowly
emerging. The role of the Principal was critical to the success of the
process of creating the 'image' of Plains State School. Finally, all
parties involved were asked to classify the interview data into the
survey categories in an attempt to standardise the information obtained
from a variety of data gathering techniques.
RESULTS FROM STAGE ONE OF THE PROJECT
1. What Kind Of Community Is Plains?
About twenty years ago, Plains State School was a small one teacher
school servicing the surrounding rural community. With the adjacent
caravan park emerging as a cheap residential alternative, a new
population of single parent families, Aboriginal families and people
seeking work took up residence and their children attended the school.
During this period, the school developed a negative image as the result
of the established community's perceptions of the people who resided in
the caravan park.
Several changes of Government have occurred during the past eight years
resulting in affordable housing and assistance for needy families
becoming available in the closest large rural city. As a consequence,
the demographics of the caravan park have dramatically changed with the
current residents consisting mainly of aged pensioners.
Transporting children today is not a major problem and many people tend
to travel to a school that they deem to be one that meets their
expectations and the needs of their children. Plains State School now
attracts children from a large rural city close by and the surrounding
areas. The people sending their children to the school do so because
they believe that the school adheres to traditional values and promotes
a caring, concerned and well disciplined environment. Increased
population mobility has resulted in an opportunity for the school to
develop its own 'persona' which reflects certain collectively agreed
values. So far this study has been able to identify some of those
values. What this conclusion means is that parents can and do, choose
to remain at the school or move their children to another school, based
on the degree of their concurrence with those espoused values.
The school is characterised by freshly painted buildings and well
maintained grounds. It has many modern educational facilities,
including computers ,sporting equipment and electronic teaching aids.
Interviews were conducted with various members of the community
including the owners of the caravan park, members of the P.&C.,
parents, the tennis ladies and the religious educators who attend the
school each Monday. The initial results of the interviews confirm a
common belief that Plains State School is a vital, traditional, caring,
concerned and well disciplined school which has a Principal who shares
the same value system as the community which supports the school and
children who attend it.
The current population of the school is forty children. This enrolment
enables the school to maintain its existing teaching staff of the
Principal and one teacher. In an effort to maintain the present
educational environment, the Principal has made a conscious decision to
stabilise enrolments at this level.
2. Community Expectations
All participants in the study were asked to identify their own personal
connections with the school, explain their perception of society today,
and relate their expectations of the school, both educationally and
socially. Participants provided a variety of contact time with the
school, ranging from very recent (6 months) to several generations (3
generations). It was interesting to note the different opinions that
people had of the role of the school as it had developed over this time
span. Older individuals viewed schools generally as more permissive,
less strict and therefore less educationally rigorous than had been the
case when they went to school. Discipline was a regularly mentioned
criterion upon which contemporary schools scored badly. Younger
parents felt that the schools generally offered a better quality of
education across a broader curriculum than had been their experience at
school. Whilst they also felt that this equipped children to be better
able to cope in today's world, that perception was restricted to the
technological features of today's society that had to be dealt with.
Socially, all participants expressed a concern to return to a society
that espoused more rigorous demands on children to conform to generally
agreed sets of values, that presumably all individuals should be able
to identify with, or implicitly, should be required to espouse.
The community clearly identified as one. All participants identified a
need to espouse the value which they all placed on qualities such as
'smallness', 'family', 'spiritual', 'respect', 'discipline', 'safety'
and 'familiarity'. The school was perceived to espouse all of these
values and was subsequently identified as 'good' because of these
characteristics. There was a clear identification with a collective
life that involved the school community outside of school hours as well
as during the school day. The school itself was identified in terms of
the family ('everyone attends everyone gets involved', 'more people
get involved', 'in a smaller community you know more people', 'I'm more
involved here because its smaller', 'Here I know the teachers and I'm
made feel more welcome', Everyone would help if it was needed', 'The
general feeling is that a small community is good - a small school is
good'.)
(A) The Religious Educators.
This group was unanimous in identifying their impressions of the school
and the functions it served for the community and the children. They
suggested that the school transmitted conservative, traditional values
and that it provided a small, caring environment for the children.
Although the members of the group represented different religious
denominations, they frequently worked as a team, especially during
special religious events such as Easter and Christmas. They often met
with the teaching staff and had morning tea each Monday. The Principal
always invited the group members to school functions such as concerts
and breaking up day. The group members felt strongly, that they were
part of the team which provided educational and spiritual values for
the children. "We feel part of the school family.' 'Here it is
intimate and we get all the gossip'.
As a result of their contact with teachers, parents and children, the
group believed that the school had good discipline and the Principal
was responsible for introducing a well disciplined approach and
creating an atmosphere of trust and concern. "The school now has
discipline". "They are lucky to be controlled by (Principal)". "The
teacher at the top is where the leading comes in".
This group also saw the school as having an inclusive curriculum which
emphasised strong traditional personal values and pedagogic
achievements. "Good atmosphere. Discipline, interest in the school
and in the kids and also in the teachers".
(B) Caravan Park Owner
The caravan park owner described the school as being small, rural and
compassionate. The owner was supportive of what the school was doing
in its educational program and of the values it was portraying. " At
(school) with the smaller classes you get the chance to participate".
The school demonstrated a strong code of discipline which was echoed in
the comments of the parents of the children. "I think (Principal) is
good for the school she is fair but strict".
The park owner acknowledged that there had been problems in the past
arising from the perceived nature of the residents. However, the
population trend had changed significantly in more recent times, with
low socio-economic families being able to find cheaper alternative
accommodation in the nearest large rural city. The park owner
expressed positive views about the caravan park and was appreciative of
what the school was trying to achieve in the community. "(Principal)
is responsible for a lot of change".
(C) Parents And Tennis Ladies
These groups shared similar views to the others regarding Plains State
School. They saw the school as small, rural and caring. "Kids are
safe and have control over their behaviour". They believed that
currently, the school had strong discipline, conservative values and
was traditional in its view of appropriate and acceptable standards.
"I'd send my kids here but it depends on who is teaching", "In the
olden days they had smaller schools The old ways are better". "Good
for us that these schools are still around". These beliefs either
matched or pre-empted their views concerning education. "I like the
values that (school) instils in them". "The school promotes
responsibility for their own actions". " taught to respect things
".
The parents felt welcome in the school environment and shared common
views of the world, to those of the Principal. Parents with children
presently at school demonstrated an acute awareness of what they wanted
from schools for their children and were adamant about their
willingness to travel to a school that shared these values with them.
"I asked them about changing schools 'cause (Principal) was going to
move - if she moved I'd move them out" The present situation at Plains
clearly indicates a concurrence of ideologies, between parents,
community and school. "Values that they instil here - good old
fashioned values, values that I agree with - close to my own values".
(D) The Children.
The children attending the school expressed similar impressions to
those of the adults. They described the school as having a small,
caring environment. "Its small". "Hasn't got many people". "You get
more help". They were very aware of differences amongst their peers
and expressed intolerance of those differences. They emphasised their
strong belief that it is necessary to change in order to overcome
differences thereby achieving compliance with perceived norms.
The children expressed and adhered to the same values and perceptions
as those held by the adults and identified a conservative, traditional
perception of Social Justice. "Justice here". "Freedom and justice".
"Everybody has a fair go and gets punishment for what they have done".
"I'd cut out the single parent thing all together". "People on the
dole get more money than people that work". "Boys shouldn't have long
hair". "If God wanted us to have earings he would have given us
earings". "Need to get a good job and get money". "Need to own a car,
house with a mortgage and a few trips". "Australia is going to be
foreign owned".
They firmly believed that the school had a strong behaviour code and
that the role of the Principal was to maintain the status quo. "The
school now has discipline." " tolerance and kindness at the same
time not forgoing discipline." "They are lucky to be controlled by
." "A smack across the hand at school is not such a bad thing."
(E) The Principal
The principal described the situation at Plains when she first arrived
eight years ago. The school was run down and very poorly equipped with
educational and sporting materials. Discipline was poor and people
from the rural community tended to blame the caravan park for the
conditions that existed. "20 years ago....a lot of families lived in
the caravan park." "The caravan park provides the cheapest form of
accommodation and the people usually move around a lot." "...a lot of
single parent families." "The caravan park has always had a big
influence on the school." The Principal made a deliberate and
conscious decision to implement change to improve the quality of
education. Each child was guaranteed the opportunity to wear a school
uniform, which the school provided if necessary. This ensured that the
children were all able to conform to common dress standards and
instilled a sense of pride and belonging in the pupils minds. An
environment emphasising academic and social skills was complemented by
the introduction and enforcement of an effective behavioural code of
practice."...respect for people and things is important." "There needs
to be more discipline instilled in kids these days." "Most schools and
teachers are afraid to discipline children." The expectations of the
parents, the community, the children and the school are all explicit,
understood by all parties and accepted.
Over the years, the school culture has evolved to reflect a set of
values of the broader community. In this instance, the role of the
Principal has emerged as significant in contributing to that
evolutionary process and in the resultant success achieved through the
provision of a stable educational environment for all of the children.
"The values of the school are the same as mine and those I want my
children to have." "We send our children here because how the school
is run." "There are families coming to this school from as far away as
A." (56 kms) "These days transport is not a problem, so we choose the
school we send our children to very carefully." "I don't have to send
my kids to the local school if I don't like it."
3. Stage Two
The data suggests that the community and the school share the same
cultural and social values and that the Principal plays a key role in
establishing and maintaining these common goals.
As a result, the researchers feel that it is important to find out why
this has occurred and why the Principal in this instance, has emerged
as a key figure.
The framework for the next stage emerges from a recent study 'Teachers
As Leaders' (Crowther & Olsen, 1996) which proposed a possible
leadership model for analysing qualities of people demonstrating
leadership skills.
The next stage of the research will examine how a small school
Principal uses leadership qualities to develop a socially just
curriculum for schools in conjunction with a concerned community.
Questions will be developed to address the following:-
Does the Principal,
(1) Articulate clear views of a better world?
(2) Model trust and sincerity?
(3) Deal with social barriers?
(4) Build a network of support?
(5) Nuture a culture of success?
(6) Involve the elements of social justice?
and if so, how do these things occur?
RESULTS FROM STAGE TWO OF THE PROJECT
Report
It is appropriate that we thank the principal of Plains State School,
Ms M., for the work she undertook in compiling the historical data of
Plains State School 1945 -1996.
Demography
Plains is a small, rural two teacher school with an enrolment of 40
students situated on the western outskirts of a large rural city. The
school has changed from one servicing the farming and railway children
to one which is attended by children from professional and middle class
families searching for a school that offers the values of small
traditional rural schools which have a sense of pride and identity.
The Plains area is no longer defined by geography due to changes that
have occurred over time. Ms M. has documented the changes as follows:
a) Severe drought in the early 1950's caused many small farmers to sell
out to neighbours so there was an amalgamation of farms into more
economically viable units.
b) Severe drought in the late 1970's, early '80's caused more
amalgamation of farms and
introduction of larger scale irrigation farming.
c) Drought 1991 - 1995 made the area very unattractive for sub-division.
d) Gumble Mountain Residential Estate Stage One Sub-division occurred in
1971.Many
blocks are still unsold. Some relocated houses have been
available for rental since 1972.
e) Small Shopping Centre at Plains to replace tin-shed fruit shop
occurred in 1978.
f) Service Station has been there since early 1950's as far as old
timers can recall.
g) Caravan Park opened December 1978.
h) Motel opened in December 1989.
I) Quarry (now Plains dump) used by Main Roads
The occupation of parents have changed over time but it is interesting
to note that there is a significant change to the clerical/ business
owner category with fewer listing their occupation as home duties.
"Residential Addresses" confirms the increase of parents from the
nearest large rural city who are enrolling children at Plains, as
well, there is a noticeable decline in attendance from the Caravan
Park. One reason for this is that there are cheaper home rentals
available for people from low income bracket.
In summary, severe drought in the 1950's and 1970's saw the
amalgamation of smaller farms into more economically viable units. The
railway closed in 1960 and in 1978 a caravan park and a small shopping
centre were established. These events were significant in the changing
nature of Plains and the resulting enrolment patterns of the school.
In 1983, 48 enrolments listed the caravan park as the residential
address. The majority of parents were either unemployed or listed
"home duties" as their occupation. Over time more affordable housing
became available in a nearby rural centre for low income families and
by 1996 only 4 enrolments listed the caravan park as place of
residence.
Seven (7) children from the nearest large rural city were enrolled at
Plains. These, as well as more from the Plains area were families of
professional and business people who were sending their children to
Plains school.
Stage One.
Data gathered from the interviews and from the surveys confirm that
'parents felt that small communities are safe and friendly places to
raise children.' In addition, parents were looking for small rural
schools that had a sense of identity and taught the same values that
they aspired to.
What does the community expect of the school?
The first stage of the project revealed that parents and the community
surrounding the school perceived Plains school to be a small, rural
school exhibiting a caring environment. The conservative, traditional
values of the school were shared between parents, teachers and the
neighbourhood.
Results emanating from the survey were as follows: -
1) Ninety (90) percent of the respondents indicated that small
communities were safe places to raise children. The survey responses
confirmed that the community members are proud of their heritage and
take pride in establishing identity, rurality and involvement which is
often attributed to small, rural communities.
2) Sixty (60) percent of the respondents agreed strongly that, in
reality, people in the community share the same goals for their
communities future.
Eighty six (86) of the respondents strongly agreed that people were
interested in the local school and they agreed that the school teaches
what the community wants for their children. The community agreed
almost unanimously that the school has a responsibility to promote
community standards.
The results indicate that the community expects the school to promote
excellence in academic results and to develop a pride in the children
regarding the school and the community. This involves a shared vision
regarding attitudes, values, respect and fairness.
The community, the school and the children share a common view about
social justice. They all believe that it is important to respect and
show tolerance for different cultures, religion and races. It must be
pointed out that there have been cases where individuals who did not
share the same values as the community or school and who were not
prepared to accept these values were eventually encouraged to move
elsewhere.
In a sense, it would appear that although the community and school hold
similar values, these do not correspond with current Education
Department social justice policies.
The analysis of both stage one and stage two of the project reveals
that the community/school/children/teacher believe that there is equal
treatment for all citizens/ children. It is expected that everyone has
the capacity to learn to conform to the values expressed by the school
and the community. If individuals do not conform to these values, then
they are encouraged to move on.
The school and the community exhibit social reciprocity which means
that the school provides opportunities for the children and the
community. These opportunities however, carry with them the
responsibility of all to respect the common shared values of the
community and the school. This establishes a sense of belonging.
In conclusion the community has changed over time to be one that has a
shared view of the world which coincides with that of the school. The
shared values of the school and the community have been created because
parents have deliberately searched for a school/community which
exhibits a structure and value system synonymous with a small,
traditional, rural community.
The Principal's Role:
The current Principal described the situation at Plains when she
arrived eight years ago, as "depressing, but full of potential". The
school was run down and very poorly equipped with both sporting and
educational resources. Discipline was poor, enrolment erratic and the
reputation of the school in the district, unenviable. The physical
condition of the school was also very run down. Students attended
Plains because it was the closest school to their homes and access to
other schools in the area was difficult. At the time, the caravan park
provided a reasonable accommodation alternative for low income families
in the area, but the rural crises experienced over the decade meant
that many families were transient as they followed what work became
available. Consequently many of the difficulties experienced by the
school, including high staff turnovers, were attributed to the presence
of the 'caravan park children'. Most families living in the caravan
park struggled to make ends meet and the majority achieved the best
results they could, given their meagre resources. Those in the wider
Plains community however, tended to view the caravan park families as a
very negative influence on both the school and the community. The
Principal said that the place looked as if nobody cared about it. The
whole environment was run down, dishevelled and decrepit.
The Principal took a deliberate and conscious decision to make changes,
based on her belief that all children, regardless of their background,
experience or social class, are entitled to a 'quality' education.
Over the next eight years the Principal managed a change process in the
school and the community, based on clearly articulated and shared
values. The surveys indicate quite clearly the high level of support
for the leadership role assumed by the Principal. The community
expected the Principal to adopt this role and was content to actively
support her efforts, in order to aid her to achieve this end. Over the
eight year period of her involvement with the school, the Principal was
responsible for formulating and articulating the values espoused
through school policy. In the case of the school's Social Justice
policy, the Principal contended that the school community had actually
developed their own policy long before the Education Department policy
was issued to schools. She argued that the Departmental policy only
confirmed what was already being enacted in the school with regard to
social justice.
The Principal actively sought to limit the influence of 'difference'
between children. Children were required to wear the school uniform,
for the express purpose of providing a corporate identity, a sense of
pride and belonging and a positive self image for all members of the
school community. Uniforms were provided to those families who were
too poor to be able to afford them. The school developed and
implemented a code of behaviour that clearly set out for the community,
the standards of behaviour that were expected of children, teachers and
community. The success of this venture is exemplified by the reaction
of upper school children to new arrivals. If the new student adopted
the code of behaviour, they were accepted as part of the school family
without any fuss. Students who found this process difficult were
counselled by other students and the Principal. If the new student
found the requirements too difficult to adhere to, it was accepted by
the school community that the student should seek another school to
meet their needs. The children stated in their interviews that it was
the Principal's job to make sure that all children conformed to school
policy. Those who couldn't or wouldn't, should go elsewhere.
Academic standards were also targeted for improvement. The Principal
expressed what she described as reasonably 'traditional teaching
strategies and techniques'. Some aspects of this approach involved the
retention of tables, spelling, grammar and a phonetic approach to
teaching reading. The interviews revealed that the school community,
not only approved of this fairly traditional approach, but felt that
other schools failed to adequately educate children because they
adopted other approaches. In the midst of this traditional education,
the appearance of mixed age groupings, peer tutoring and integrated
curriculum, at first created some confusion for the researchers. The
school community either failed to see the contradictions or just
accepted them as part of the process, as no one commented either
positively or negatively about these apparently 'progressive'
influences. Comment was made by several respondents that the
Principal's job was to ensure the provision of a quality education.
How she achieved this was her professional responsibility. Parents,
teachers, students and community had a role to play in assisting her to
achieve her goals and she always sought opinions and advice with regard
to matters involving school policy. She was however, the leader of
this particular community and as such she was expected to provide
leadership. In this instance the researchers believe that the
Principal identified her goals, articulated them, marketed them and
thereby 'created' a school community who not only knew and understood
the school policies, but who also already identified those values, or
grew to identify with them. This process has been so successful that
the school population (1996) of 40 children is able to be maintained
only by deliberate containment of enrolments to this ceiling. The
demographics also indicate that people from a wide catchment area are
seeking to enrol their children at Plains, because of the nature of the
education the school offers. Not only are children vetted, but
teaching staff too, are 'tested' for their suitability to the school.
Both of these processes contribute significantly to the maintenance of
a stable, predictable environment that is clearly defined, and, if you
identify with the environment, safe and secure.
The School Context:
The nature of the Plains school community has changed considerably over
the past twenty years, with the most profound changes occurring in the
last ten years. The demographics clearly indicate a shift away from
the traditional small country school whose survival is linked to the
immediate surrounding community, towards a small country school with
clearly defined and articulated educational and social philosophies and
policies, which are designed to appeal to a similarly like minded
segment of the surrounding society.
The impact of these changes is reflected in a school which no longer
depends on the vagaries of a fluctuating local population for its
existence, but which now espouses policies and practises deliberately
designed to attract people from the surrounding area, who identify with
and actively seek to support these educational and social processes on
the basis that they are acknowledged as 'appropriate', indeed
'necessary' for the future well being of the forthcoming generation and
the nation, generally.
Whilst rural crises have in the past had a profound effect on the
fortunes of Plains State School, this is certainly, no longer the case.
The school has defined and promoted an image which maintains the
perceived values of the 'small rural school', in terms of numbers and
close familial style relations amongst all of the school community
members, whilst at the same time successfully achieving the
construction of an educationally progressive image, not inconsistent
with the predominantly conservative attitudes articulated by all
members of the school community. Data collected during interviews and
from the surveys supports this contention. All respondents to our
interviews referred to the relative value and importance of the size of
the school, the close family nature of the school and the strong
acknowledgment and acceptance of a particular identity associated with
the school.(e.g. "Plains State School kids are easily identified at
sports days, combined school gatherings and such events, because of
their 'good' behaviour, their 'good' manners and their uniform. Every
child wears the school uniform." Statements made by parents, teachers,
Principal, community members and children).
Conformity to a shared set of collectively agreed values and attitudes
was particularly evident, as the surveys and the interviews confirm.
Terms such as 'traditional', 'small', 'caring', 'friendly', 'personal',
'nonthreatening', 'well disciplined', 'sharing', 'equal treatment',
'all the same' and 'no differences between children' form a consistent
pattern in the conversations researchers had with all the respondents.
All the school community members referred to a deliberate process of
reducing differences between the children by, insisting on children
wearing the uniform, setting and enforcing standards of behaviour,
requiring children, teachers and parents to conform to the school
standards and consciously creating an atmosphere of certainty and
stability within the school.
In essence the school has developed and marketed a particular image
that the school community identifies with. If you don't agree with
that image or are not prepared to change in order to conform to that
image then generally you seek another school to send your child to.
SECOND LEVEL QUESTIONS:
(a) What concepts of leadership emerge?
The Principal is clearly a charismatic leader. Change has been
managed, primarily on the basis of the Principal's assessment of the
situation and her consequent formulation of suitable resolutions. Her
style is deterministic in as much as she has based her solutions on her
own view/interpretation of an 'ideal society' or 'how things should
be'. She has consciously set about achieving this ideal, by clearly
articulating her vision and modelling and marketing the product,
thereby successfully convincing the community of the validity of her
vision. She demonstrates commitment and dedication to her cause and
always listens to any members of the community who communicate with
her, giving the impression that advice is being considered. She makes
the community feel comfortable in the context of the school.
This reassures people and creates trust which enables the Principal to
move forward with the unconditional support of the community. As the
whole school community identifies with the school vision, success is
virtually guaranteed. With initial successes achieved, more
contentious policy issues can be pursued with little likelihood of the
overall vision being challenged and the very real prospect of further
success being achieved because the community trust and support the
Principal. The Principal is strong, focussed, compassionate and
energetic. She has a good sense of humour and is very personable,
readily able to relate comfortably to the full spectrum of
personalities that make up the community.
One of the characteristics of this leadership is its strenght. Whilst
this was seen as a positive and necessary aspect by the majority of the
participants, in fact as will be shown later, it may well be the
Achilles heel of the whole Plains experience.
(b) What concepts of social justice emerge?
Feedback from the interviews reveals a conflicting set of views of
social justice. On the one hand most people indicated very clearly
that all the children were treated equally.
"Everybody has a fair go..." "The children are all equal..." " Kids,
all of them, dark or from the park are treated equally." "Everyone is
treated the same - no kid is treated differently."
These statements clearly indicate that on the one hand there is a
perception that equal treatment achieves equality. In the same
sections this sentiment is contradicted by sentiments that just as
clearly demonstrate an understanding of difference and an appreciation
that different kids require different treatment.
"We are all different in certain ways..." "Some of the disadvantaged
ones - they devote more resources to those kids than to those that are
capable and strong" "....... has lent more towards those sort of
children. It has helped them." "We have a stock here so all the
children look exactly the same - any children who are from the caravan
park can get supplemented with uniform." "Plains gives special help
for children who need it."
The school community has identified with a well articulated set of
attitudes and values,
"Values that they instil here - good old fashion values, values that I
agree with - close to my own values."
and the environment is characterised by stability and predictability.
This climate is very important in any school. One prominent
characteristic of the school is its pursuit of homogeneity.
'Difference' is dealt with through a change process that emphasises the
importance of the 'different' individual changing to become 'like'
everyone else. The attitudes, values and expectations are set and the
educational process is one designed to persuade any 'different'
individuals to become 'like' individuals.
What this process ignores, is the development of an appreciation of
'difference' that does not identify as 'deficit'. Children should have
the opportunity to understand and appreciate 'difference' as a
perfectly normal attribute, that doesn't necessarily require change in
order to be understood. The emphasis the school places on 'sameness'
or 'oneness' suggests that the individual child's ability to
comfortably address issues arising from the concept of 'difference' may
be impaired or in fact obscured. In the school context issues
surrounding 'difference' are not dealt with by confronting and
understanding them, but are resolved by requiring conformity.
A particular view of social justice is constructed, identified and
promoted by the school community. Other constructions of social
justice are not acknowledged. One potential problem arising from this
situation, for the children, may occur when they move on to high
school. This could be a very threatening experience unless their new
environment is one which is constructed in a similar way to that at
Plains.
(c) What concepts of community emerge?
The Plains school and community adhere to traditional values which are
synonymous with small rural communities. Parents have chosen Plains
school because it promotes perceived traditional value and attitudes
and it is a small, caring and well-disciplined environment. Groups
involved with the school expressed similar expectations.
The religious educators and the tennis ladies saw the school as having
strong discipline and espousing a traditional, conservative view of
standards and values. They identified the Principal as a key figure in
establishing and maintaining the current school environment.
A significant difference in attitude existed over the nature of
'community'. Issues such as safety, security, vulnerability and
dysfunctionality were all used to describe the current status of
society. People were sending their children to Plains because they
perceived that they were able to secure them from experiencing these
threats posed by society outside of Plains. Even within the Plains
context, the caravan park posed threats of this kind, however they were
dealt with by the school and resolved by 'likeness' being achieved or
the problem moving elsewhere. As a consequence homogeneity itself
became a characteristic associated with safety and security. Many
participants expressed a view that identified with 'the good old days'
as if their youthful experiences had been of halcyon proportions and
whilst this may well have been the case, the researchers suspect that
it might rather be a product of imagination than reality. The school
therefore represented an agent of stability and consistency set in a
world that was feared and frequently not understood by the
participants. This leads quite nicely into a consideration of the
concepts of change which emerged from the study.
(d) What concepts of change emerge?
Results from the survey indicate that all members of the community
agree that the changes of the past decade have been very significant.
Although 93.3% of the respondents agree with this, they also indicated
that the changes have occurred with some difficulty. The Principal had
been the key influence in instigating change within the school. All
the data confirm that the change process experienced at Plains has in
fact been directed towards achieving a past social state that is
defined as safe, secure, small, equitable, considerate and well
disciplined. This is an oddly circuitous exercise that ignores or
possible excludes the very real and permanent state of change that the
school is experiencing by virtue of technology and communication.
There is a demonstrable urge to achieve an idyllic state described as
'the way we were'. It may be that the process of change is so rapid
and so threatening to this community that they imagine they can reverse
or at least limit change by attempting to revert back to an illusive
past. It suggests an attempt to escape or deal with the world as it
really is by creating your own version of the world.
As a result Plains school has emerged as sharing the same value system
as its community. The strength of the Plains experience is reflected
in the very positive educational environment that has been created for
the children. The school and the community have a cohesiveness and
vitality that attracts like minded people from a wide area. It is
unfortunate that many participants acknowledged that this strength
derived from the leadership of the Principal and consequently, when
that leadership moved away from the school, the environment that had
been created would be jeopardised. The strength of the experience did
not extend to ownership of the experience by the whole community and
therein lies its vulnerability.
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