Why collaboration’s time has come

1. Why collaboration’s time has come Auckland Primary Principals Association Forum 24 June 2015 Cathy Wylie

2. Sea-change in education • How well are leaders and schools situated to navigate it? • Why collaboration fits this sea-change • What we know about effective collaboration • What role could it play in Auckland?

3. Pupil → Student → Learner this is a sea-change

4. NZ Curriculum – collaboration at its core Purpose of education: school has to step back, discuss, decide, fit together values & goals Focus on the whole learner ~ interweaving of knowledge with key competencies ~ interweaving with learners’ contexts Inquiry lens ~ making things more explicit ~ stepping back to see how progress and actions relate ~ openness to change on the basis of analysis

5. Changes evident 2007 to 2010 • NZC work; more support for school leadership

6. Promising Trajectory – and way to go

7. Progress stalls 2010-2013 • In-school collective work • NZC learning in classes • E-learning in classes

8. Principal morale and workload 2013

9. Why? • Ground shifts with National Standards • Disruption and cutback in access to PLD • Leadership development thinned • Loss of dialogue • Retreat to individual resources & needs • Heightened sense of competition • Heightened sense of ‘reputation’ & ‘risk’

10. Turning to each other in 2013

11. Learning from each other

12. Challenges for school leaders Higher expectations • Engagement of all students • Achievementand pathway success for almost all (85% reaching national standards) • It is proving difficult to achieve gains across the board • Good changesare happening, but still in isolation

13. Challenges for school leaders • Increasing diversity of learners • Around a fifth living in hardship • Increased socio-economic segregation • Weak or patchy support e.g., NZC, leadership • Legacy of inward focus of school self-management

14. No fairy godmothers on the horizon • Resources for education not likely to increase markedly • Ministry of Education capability needs developmentobstacles of resource levels and distance from schools and others who should work together • Principals and teachers have probably reached the ceiling in terms of hours they put in – can only work smarter, not harder

15. So – what can we do differently?

16. Swimming with the sea-change

17. Effective Collaboration is not: • An end in itself • An add on to ‘business as usual’ • A synonym for consultation • Like the former clusters (most of them) • A rearrangement of the deckchairs – all about structure • A passing fad • Something that evaluation and research will question in years to come • Education’s cure-all (nothing is!)

18. Collaboration at its most effective Judith Little (1990) Joint Work: “a process of co-participation that entails reflective inquiry, criticism, and learning as integral constituents, as opposed to acquiring or exchanging and accepting ideas, ready-made materials or tricks without inquiry or criticism.”

19. Conditions for effective collaboration

20. Inside schools Good experience in working collaboratively to enhance student learning

21. What is it currently like in our primary schools? (NZCER 2013 primary national survey) Teacher Sharing 46% very good/generally happens Timely Support 39% Improvement Focus in Work Together 28% Coherence in School Professional Culture 11% Useful Feedback 10%

22. Professional learning and workload Good opportunities to learn from others 64% agree or strongly agree More use of inquiry 53% Workload manageable 53% Practical help in PLD to engage priority learners, & parents 28% Good access to external advice 26%

23. More likely to have these capacity building experiences where Good leadership NZC ‘drives what we do’ Inquiry PLD

24. Within the collaboration Clarity of purpose through shared focus collaboration is not an ‘add-on’ focus is meaningful and intrinsic to each partner focus is steady

25. Within the collaboration Collaborative inquiry that stimulates challenging, evidence-informed learning conversations • Key competencies for adults Common language of evidence Importance of theory of change Build sense of agency

26. Within the collaboration Trusting relationships that build social capital for learning Respect Credibility Tuakana-Teina Ako • Chatham house rules

27. Within the collaborationLeadership for learning through formal and informal roles, including skilled facilitation of network links Weaving the net – nodes matter to sustain commitment & growth Cannot rely on single or few strong leaders Leadership development a continuing strand

28. Within the collaboration Attention to the connection between the network and the individual professional learning community of each participating school Coherence rather than addition or competition for time Enables contribution to building knowledge together Stoll, Halbert & Kaser 2010

29. The leadership of every partner institution is actively committed Every partner needs to experience benefits of collaboration (counter to roll competition) Access to external expertise important - check the ‘horizon of possibility’ Embed commitment in job descriptions and performance review

35. What we ask of others we should also ask of ourselves Principals Call for Collaboration on Education Policy Thursday, 18 June 2015, 10:53 amPress Release: New Zealand Principals Federation Education sector collaborates to lead change Friday, 19 June 2015, 1:28 pmPress Release: NZSTA

36. What role can effective collaboration play in and for Auckland? What are the obstacles to effective collaboration for learning in Auckland, and how can Auckland principals best tackle these obstacles?   Questions for your discussion What are the issues around effective school leadership in Auckland?   What difference can collaboration make to those issues?   What would collaboration look like if it is to have an impact on those issues?