Current Issues in my Professional Context

Socio-Economic Factors

WMS is a decile 10, full primary school on the outskirts of Christchurch. Up until 2010 it was a small rural school (260 students) servicing its farming community. The Canterbury earthquakes have significantly impacted the school community. The displacement of many families and businesses has seen huge increases in housing demand in the western areas. Infometrics (2016) reported south-west Christchurch, including West Melton, as having a 105% growth rate between 2013 and 2023. It cited the re-location of business to the outskirts of the city, and close proximity to the city making south-west Christchurch an attractive location for people. Much of the rural farmland has made way for subdivisions, changing not only the physical landscape but the demographics of our community. The community remains reasonably affluent but has become a more diverse mix of traditional farmers, business owners and trade based professionals who have benefited from the building boom. This diversification has brought with it conflicting educational views. The more traditional versus collaborative teaching and innovative learning environments.

School Culture and Professional Environment Issues

The rapid roll growth (predicted 500 at the end of 2017) has had a considerable impact on the organisational culture and professional environments of the school. This has resulted in a period of considerable transformation. Mark Wilson (2013) believes to have a successful culture you need to begin with defining the beliefs and priorities "that drive the thoughts and actions of the people at the school." 

In 2016 a consultation process was begun with staff, students and community (all the stakeholders) to define these beliefs and a new vision was developed. 
The new vision statement of Innovative, Connected and Empowered (ICE) Learners Driving their Passion for Learning sits alongside the DRIVER values of Determination, Respect, Integrity, Vitality, Empathy and Resilience. This vision unites our community by upholding the more traditional values, but also giving priority to developing the 21st Century learning skills seen as critical by others in preparing our learners for their future in a global society. The vision is embedded in the strategic plan and can be evidenced school-wide in planning and assessment, the language we use to communicate and student Hauora initiatives.  

I believe reculturing accurately describes what our school is going through. Stoll (1998) defines it as "the process of developing new values, beliefs and norms. For systematic reform it involves building new conceptions about instruction... and new forms of professionalism for teachers...".

Our professional environment was "recultured" when single cell classrooms made way for Innovative Learning Environments.  We had to critically analyse our beliefs around many areas including collaboration, grouping students, utilising space and how to do this and continue to provide quality learning for our students. It took extraordinary amounts of time and resiliency to work through these, and we often felt overwhelmed and unsure of the way forward. Each community was going through its own struggles. It felt like a once unified staff were disconnecting while attempting to find their way through, and the professional environment and school culture seemed in danger of crumbling. I have found it to be a tumultuous and soul searching time. Significant change is stressful, and I believe my school underestimated the impact of this on the professional environment.

In reflecting on the norms of improving schools outlined by Stoll (1998), the significance of these ie shared goals, collegiality, support, openness, risk-taking are obvious in successful change, particularly in collaborative environments. They are at play as we work through the process of change, and I believe we only find our way if we keep these norms at the fore of how we relate to and value each other.

References

Kiernan, G. (2016). Regional Hotspots 2016 - NZ's top future growth areas, Wellington, New Zealand: Infometrics. Retrieved from http://www.infometrics.co.nz/regional-hotspots/

Stoll (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network's Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London.

TEdEd.(2013, Jun 21). Building a culture of success - Mark Wilson. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_8Bjz-OCD8

My Practice Within The Community

I found Wenger's (2000) discussion on social learning systems, the complexities of these around competence and experience and the various modes of belonging to many systems (engagement, imagination and alignment), to be quite thought-provoking. It accompanied the realisation of the need we have to belong to these social learning systems. It has clarified how belonging formulates our personal identity, and our role in these systems can be directly related to our general confidence not only in these groups but also our place in wider society.
Communities of practice, are one of the structuring elements of social learning systems. In identifying my communities of practice, I am looking closely at the communities within my school context. 

SimpleMind Free Mindmap - School Communities of Practice 

For the purposes of this blog, I will focus on the one that I am the newest member to - The Inquiry Team Community of Practice.  

Three Elements

Joint Enterprise

"A group of people who share a passion for something they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better." (Knox, 2009) The Inquiry CoP is bound together by sharing a passion for the Inquiry process. We are a team of six teachers, which comprises a representative from each learning community. We have a common goal of wanting to guide staff in implementing the 2017 school-wide inquiry focus (Creative and Innovative Ideas may Improve the Future) and develop engagement and confidence in this process. Each member brings differing experiences and ideas of the inquiry approach to the group which contributes to the understandings of the CoP as a whole.

Mutual Agreement

The Inquiry Team meet on a fortnightly basis. Wenger (2000) talks about mutual engagement, and CoPs growing out of a "convergent interplay of competence". He says that essentially these communities, through direct participation of members, offer the "opportunity to negotiate competence".  This negotiating is directly reflected in our meetings via the robust discussions we engage in to ensure we have a shared understanding of best practice moving forward.

Shared Repertoire

Inquiry has been the focus of three whole-school staff meetings. The aim is to provide professional development to establish a comprehensive understanding of the school-wide approach. A facilitator has been contracted to deliver the pedagogy. Our CoP liaises with her to ensure our identified priorities are reflected in the concept-based curriculum being developed and to assist with planning templates and exemplars. The resources we are creating and sharing include:

• a school-wide planning document.
• practical teacher resource materials (eg graphic organisers, student reflections) 

Defining my practice

Our community is a gathering of like minds, all invested in improving knowledge and outcomes not only for the wider school community but also wanting to broaden our own understandings of inquiry. Our experience is diverse so dependent on the discussion topic, each member fulfils different roles within the community.  At times I am learning from the knowledge generated in my community. As a new-comer, this will sometimes feel uncomfortable and lead to feelings of "not understanding the enterprise well enough to be able to contribute to it" (Wenger, 2000). Yet at other times I am sharing my own understandings, and creating further knowledge for others. Knox (2009) discusses how CoPs "create, expand and exchange knowledge to develop individual capabilities." 

I feel this is an important aspect to consider, as the increase in knowledge of each individual member will strengthen the groups' connectivity and competency as a whole. 

I have a strong sense of connectedness with this Community of Practice and think this will continue to strengthen over time as our mutuality deepens.

References

Knox, B. (2009, December 4). Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow. [video file]. Retrieved from https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), 225-246.