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Work-based learning and social justice: two examples of practice. Marianne Coleman Reader in Educational Leadership and Management , Institute of Education. Social justice and work-based learning.
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Work-based learning and social justice: two examples of practice Marianne Coleman Reader in Educational Leadership and Management, Institute of Education
Social justice and work-based learning (Light and Luckin, 2008, p. 3) define social justice as: ‘the formal expression that the world does not treat all people fairly and that society should be made to be fairer’. It is a standpoint that implies intervention. Work-based learning can be defined widely to include many work-based interventions, e.g. mentoring, or more narrowly as work-based qualifications accredited by an institution of higher education. My focus has been on two types of professional development for groups who may be treated unfairly.
Some driving questions • Who benefits from work-based learning? • What is the relationship between work-based learning and the diversity of the work-force? • Can work-based learning remedy inequalities in our society?
Two examples of work-based learning in the context of social justice (gender issues) Research project funded by WLE at the Institute of Education, London) and undertaken during 2008. The project aimed to identify: ‘The strategies and processes by which women in senior roles sustain and develop their leadership abilities and capacities in the work place’. It included: Interviews with women most of whom belonged to women-only networks: secondary head teachers, senior women in HE, women consultant surgeons, senior women in the City, retail and the media.
Two examples of work-based learning in the context of social justice (ethnicity issues) Research project funded by WLE at the Institute of Education, London) and undertaken during 2008. An evaluation of the longer-term professional and personal impact of the course ‘Investing in Diversity’ on two cohorts of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) deputy and assistant head teachers. It included: a questionnaire to all participants (33) and interviews with 14.
Women-only networks Despite social and political changes, women are still poorly represented at senior levels at work. E.g. women are 32% of secondary school head teachers, 17% of professors, 6% of consultant surgeons, 11% of FTSE 100 board directors. Networks at work are often identified with the ‘old boys’ network’ and linked with male privilege. A major factor in the establishment of women-only networks in the working environment has been to counter the perceived advantages that men are thought to derive from networking.
Women-only networks as work-based learning • Expressive functions: support, induction, mentoring and coaching. • Instrumental functions: typified by exchange of business cards. Networking for specific business ends. ‘Anything and everything could happen to a woman who connects with another woman in this space. She might get a new job, a business tip-off or the promise of an introduction to a useful contact; or she might hear an inspiring story of female success, or access advice on how to negotiate reduced hours; maybe she’ll come away with the name of a reliable babysitter or a good plumber. And, more likely than not, she’ll have shared her own experiences, strategies and knowledge with other women too.’ (McCarthy, 2004, p. 90).
Expressive functions dominate ‘I never believed in women’s organisations till I joined one. You find you can talk in ways that are different. There is a sort of camaraderie. One is not let down. There is something about it. No one believes it till it happens.’ ‘It was like going into a warm bath when I joined it.’ ‘Women are honest and open. If I’m having real trouble a woman will join in and say I had just the same thing, but men make out that “everything is perfect in my school you poor woman.”’
Implications for social justice? Women’s workplace networks make a limited contribution to social justice. They attempt to ‘educate’. They are not overtly feminist. Their prime function seems to be support for women in the ‘male’ workplace. Enabling more women to reach senior positions may bring further gradual change. A particular positive quality of the women-only networks is that they provide an opportunity for speaking honestly and openly in a way that a mixed forum does not allow. Women value these opportunities which would not be available elsewhere. Are they supporting the status quo by providing such outlets?
Investing in Diversity • Over 1,000 BME London teachers have taken the course. • The course deepens knowledge about how to lead differently in diverse cultural, linguistic, religious and social contexts by refining the existing tools of school leadership to address issues of social justice and equity. • The programme also offers the opportunity for BME aspiring leaders to network, do action research, work collaboratively and obtain peer support, guided by an outstanding team of practitioners who are not only cognisant of the barriers to promotion that exist for BME professionals, but how to overcome them.
Impact of the course ‘The course prepared me for a bigger wider picture of what headship was about. I completed the course and came to the realisation that I needed a change. I had been in the school for too long. I decided I did have the skill sets, training and understanding necessary. The course de-mystified what headship was about. It wasn’t that I did not have skills, but that I had low expectations, aspirations. It was a cycle of deprivation. How could I possibly achieve that [a headship]? It is the messages you acquire, they are subtle both from the outside community and your own. The messages are about being a woman and an Asian. Most Asian women in schools are dinner ladies or TAs. In my first job I was asked if I was the new dinner lady. There was something fighting inside me and I always wanted to be doing different things.’ (Asian woman head teacher)
Implications for social justice The course is a positive intervention providing leadership training specifically tailored for individuals who may have experienced unfair treatment. Despite the participants’ wariness of positive or affirmative action they all felt that they benefited from sharing their experiences with others who have faced similar problems. There would appear to be a strong social justice case for providing leadership courses specifically for BME staff, particularly in the absence of structured opportunities to discuss equity issues in national leadership programmes.
Dissemination of ‘Senior Women’ project A bibliography http://www.wlecentre.ac.uk/cms/files/projectreports/annotated_bibliography_support_and_development_for_women_senior_leaders_at_work.pdf A digest of organizations that support women http://www.wlecentre.ac.uk/cms/files/projectreports/digest_of_groups_and_organizations_supporting_women_in_work.pdf A paper awaiting publication on the WLE website: Coleman, M. Women only networks: four case studies. A paper given at the 9 July WLE conference within the social justice strand and a workshop at the ASME conference 16 November. Some of the data fed into a book (in press) Coleman, M. and Glover, D. Educational Leadership and Management: Developing insights and skills. Open University Press A summary of the research was given at the Second International Women's Leadership Conference ‘Gender and Education’ 16 - 18 September, University of Augsburg. Additional funding for a further case study, book proposal and drafting of book. Book proposal now accepted by Palgrave Macmillan. Proposed book title is ‘Women at the top: Challenge, Choice and Change’.
Dissemination of IiD evaluation An article to be published in a special edition of School Leadership and Management February 2010. Coleman, M. and Campbell-Stephens, R. 'Perceptions of career progress: the experience of BME school leaders'. An Occasional Paper written for WLE, but not yet on the website. A summary of the research in London Digest, Spring 2009, produced by the London Education Research Unit. A paper given at the 9 July WLE conference within the Social Justice strand, by one of the founders of IiD. The author of this paper is now aiming to submit it for publication. Some of the data from the project fed into a book currently in press Coleman, M. and Glover, D. Educational Leadership and Management: Developing Insights and Skills. Open University Press . On-going relationship as ‘critical friend’ with members of LCLL regarding future publications.
