self-evaluation tool

Internal Evaluation: How can boards of trustees review their effectiveness?

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To succeed in a world characterised by rapid change and increased complexity, it is vital that schools can grow, develop and adapt creatively to change and take charge of change so that they can create their own preferable future.

– Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2003

The Board of Trustees is the Crown entity responsible for the governance and the management of the school. It is entrusted to work on behalf of all stakeholders, and is accountable for the school’s performance with the key focus of improving student progress and achievement.

The board’s role is to ensure that every student at the school is able to attain his or her highest possible standard in educational achievement. Therefore, it is also the board’s role to design, in consultation with the school community, the ‘preferable’ future that will best meet the needs of all learners. In this regard, the board emphasises strategic leadership, sets the vision for the school, and ensures the school complies with legal and policy requirements (policies are at governance level, and outline clear expectations to the principal). In doing this, it is important for the board to have an ongoing process of review — to critically reflect on their performance and the current reality, and to use this information to guide and determine sustainable school improvement.

How does the board do this? What evidence does, or can, the board gather to monitor and review their performance? How can the board know how it is performing in regard to its functions?

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planning

School charters — walking the talk

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planning

In recent months all New Zealand schools have been reviewing and developing their charter document for 2016– 2019. The charter is the Board of Trustees’ number one policy document, and sets the future direction of the school by outlining the school’s vision, values, and strategic goals. This process creates a wonderful opportunity for community engagement to discuss and explore the way education is changing, and the aspirations and needs of the community. It promotes clarity, fostering shared understanding of what the school is trying to achieve.

Stoll, Fink and Earl (2003) talk about schools having three types of future — a possible future, a probable future, and a preferable future. In terms of possible future, anything is possible. A probable future is best described as, if you keep doing what you've always done, your future will probably be one that is comfortable and one that you know.  In contrast, a preferable future is when you take charge of the type of future you want; review where you are currently at; explore possible options for development; select the preferred path, and strategically plan to achieve your desired future. The charter review and development process provides schools with the opportunity to identify their preferable future.

This process can, at times, appear to be a daunting task, with school leaders unsure of where to begin. Reviewing what is currently in place provides a framework for the initial discussion. The following questions provide examples of how to facilitate this dialogue with community, Board of Trustees, staff, and possibly students.

  • Is the current vision relevant and meaningful to our students, staff and community?
  • Does it clearly outline what we are trying to achieve?
  • Does it guide and determine our decision-making?
  • Is it explicit and evident in what we say and do?
  • Does this signal that we are preparing students for their future?

For example, if we say that our vision is to develop confident connected lifelong learners, we need to consider what this would look like, sound like, and feel like in our school. What does this look like for students, for teachers, for the community, and the board? Is this integral to our everydayness — at board level, leadership, teaching, and learning programmes? How does this vision guide decision-making? What are the implications in regard to strategic goals, resourcing, and the design of learning spaces?

Simon Sinek uses what he calls the Golden Circle (illustrated below) to highlight the importance of placing our vision and values at the centre of our planning, building outwards to the principles, and then practices from there. He refers to the centre of the circle as the ‘WHY’, suggesting this should always determine what we do as we build towards our preferred future. Dr Julia Atkin explores this in depth in her paper From Values and Beliefs about Learning to Principles and Practice.

What, How, Why?
Image: Derek Wenmoth

Taking time to unpack the principles and practices associated with the school vision and values promotes clarity through shared understanding of expectations. For example, if the school values collaboration, and believes that this is integral to enacting the vision, then time needs to be spent to clearly identify the associated principles and practices. The following questions provide suggestions for facilitating this dialogue:

  1. What are the deliberate acts of teaching that support collaboration?
  2. What are the deliberate acts of leadership to support collaboration?
  3. What resources can we draw on to foster collaboration?
  4. How can we design our learning spaces to promote collaboration?

 

The process of reviewing the school vision, values and strategic goals sets the future direction for the school. It breathes life into the identified preferable future, taking it from words to actions by providing opportunities to explore meaning and clarify expectations. Investing time in this process, involving all stakeholders, promotes ownership of and commitment to enactment of the vision and values. This ensures that schools will indeed walk the talk of their school charter.

 

References
Atkin, J. (1996) From values and beliefs about learning to principles and practice. Available online

Sinek, S. (2014) Start with the why. Available online

Stoll, L., Fink, D., & Earl, L. (2003). It’s about learning. London: Routledge Falmer.

If you would like support in developing your preferable future, CORE Education has a team of experienced facilitators who can support you.

For further enquiries, contact Mary-Anne Mills.

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What determines your school process for the introduction and implementation of information and communication technologies?

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School review process

Successful choices for ICTs don't just happen

When the choice of technology is driven by the needs of the learners, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to transform learning and teaching. However, this does not, and will not, just happen. The introduction and implementation of ICTs needs be thoughtfully considered and strategically planned for, executed, and consistently reviewed. In other words the focus needs to be on the WHY.

Self review helps schools understand themselves now for  future self-improvement

Schools where ICTs are making a significant difference to student learning and achievement have undertaken a comprehensive process of self review and strategic planning. These schools have a clear and shared understanding of their educative purpose, their vision, values and beliefs about learning. These are highly visible and enacted as the school operates as a learning organisation, modeling a learning culture where learning programmes are personalised and specifically designed to meet the needs of learners.

These schools know their people and place students at the centre of the learning. They have:

  • debated and explored ‘what is powerful to learn’ and ‘what is powerful learning?’
  • invested time to develop learning, thinking and teaching strategies to align and reflect this in their curriculum design.
  • developed assessment and reporting processes to assist students with learning
  • explored the possibilities of ICTs to assist students with their learning in accessing information, creating new knowledge, sharing, collaborating and communicating
  • have identified the best options available to meet the needs of their students.
  • provided their teachers with the professional learning and support to ensure that the ICTs will be used in a way that will enhance student learning and achievement.
  • worked to develop a culture of learning that recognises and values open-mindedness, informed risk taking, communication, collaboration and critical reflection.
  • examined the necessary organisational, technical and physical infrastructure required to  ensure that ICTs can be used discerningly and integrated seamlessly into learning programmes.

The challenges of self-review are daunting

While this sounds like a logical process, the reality can pose considerable challenges to educational leaders.  How can we ensure that we have a rigorous process to review our current reality and guide our future development?  How can we place the ‘lens on learning’ examining our school as a learning organisation to ascertain whether we really do:

  • have a shared understanding and awareness of our educative purpose, vision, values and beliefs about learning.
  • enact our educative purpose, vision and values and use these to guide and direct decision making.
  • ‘walk the talk’ of our shared beliefs and understandings about learning to guide the seamless integration of ICTs.
  • ‘walk the talk’ of theory in practice
  • have the technical and physical infrastructure to support 21st century learning
  • value and cultivate reflection, collaboration, open-mindedness, communication, and informed risk taking to promote 21st century learning
  • critically reflect on the impact of ICTs on student learning and achievement.
  • critically reflect on our learning and performance

A comprehensive framework for formative self-review

I have found, during my work with schools, that the online Educational Positioning System (EPS) developed by CORE Education in conjunction with Dr Julia Atkin offers a comprehensive framework for formative school self-review. The EPS has been developed following extensive research in NZ, UK and Australia and focuses on 18 key elements that are fundamental to future school growth and development.

This comprehensive framework combined with an online data gathering tool and facilitation support enables schools to identify their ‘current reality’ and assess where they are in relation to the educational landscape. The online survey provides a non-threatening, anonymous method for capturing the perceptions, ‘voice’ of the school community, enabling schools access to ‘rich relevant data.’ The survey results illustrate where the school is positioned in relation to the current educational landscape and can be used interactively to explore data, explore next steps and at a later stage to provide evidence of where progress has been made. An immediate analytical report, both online and in print, identifies relative strengths and areas for development, providing a sound basis for strategic planning and future development.

School leaders have been quick to identify the ‘depth’ of the data gathered from the online survey. They highlight how this data can then be used to engage their communities in professional dialogue about future focused development with the EPS framework acting as a guide for strategic planning and review.

As we look at the ever-changing development of ICTs it is important to have a rigorous review process to guide future development. I believe that the Educational Positioning System provides schools with this process, empowering them to create the future that will best meets the needs of their community, ensuring that the focus is on ‘LEARNING.’

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