He Kākano Communique 21 - Friday 17 February 2012

20 February 2012

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. William James

In this communiqué we cover:

 1. Preparing for Wānanga 4

- What to bring: please make special note of these.

- The Timetable for Wānanga 4

 2. The He Kākano Indicators framework (continued) – Positioning and Repositioning

Preparing for Wānanga 4

1. The key theme for Wānanga 4 is ‘Whanaungatanga’ and extends the concepts introduced in the first series of wānanga. We continue to build the links between each wānanga in a logical and sequenced way so that you are able to think more seriously about your role as a leader in ever widening spheres of influence, while becoming more aware of and taking into account a more culturally responsive framework.

2. You will recall in Wānanga 1 we looked at ‘Au’ – the idea that we are all culturally located beings, and that therefore our leadership style and decisions are heavily influenced by the kinds of cultural lenses that we apply to our positions. Our notions of power, the values we espouse, the kinds of organisational decisions we make and our cultural views come from a combination of ‘nature and nurture’ influences. We provided you with tools (e.g. the Leadership Configuration Map) and processes (such as the GPILSEO framework) that you could think about using with your staff in order to examine where your school is currently placed, and where you might like to take it. We introduced the notion of appropriate data (e.g. AREA) collection, selection, collation and analysis as a basis for providing sound evidence for setting new goals focussed on Māori achievement.

3. In Wānanga 2 we moved the focus from ‘Au’ to Whānau’. We asked you to think about your school as a metaphor for the Māori word ‘Whānau’, in which your role as a leader is to develop respectful relationships of interdependence within your school community – among senior leadership teams, between senior leadership teams and middle leadership teams, between middle leadership teams and teaching staff, and teaching staff and students. In these wānanga you were introduced to the Institutional configuration map, the development of SMART goals based on data you collected, and terms like ‘discursive repositioning’ and ‘co-constructing’. The notion of the Indicators Framework was introduced there, as well as our vision of a series of interconnected school communities joined by the development of web based links.

4. In Wānanga 3 we moved the focus from ‘Au’ to ‘Whānau’ to ‘Whanaunga’. These wānanga were about moving the development of respectful, internal, interdependent school relationships to the kinds of relationships schools need to develop with their iwi/hapū/Māori communities. To begin the day we introduced the notion of leaders being agents of ‘transformative praxis’ and the role that kaupapa Māori practice and theory have played in highlighting iwi and Māori interests. The kinds of relationships we envisage schools developing with the broader Māori whānau and communities will apply the same principles of respectful interdependent relationships that we would see schools developing. A tool that we introduced in that wānanga was the Whānau Configuration Map.

5. In Wānanga 4 we now move from ‘Whanaunga’ to ‘Whanaungatanga’. This explores the active role that senior leaders need to adopt with ‘middle’ leaders in the school – the Heads of Faculty, Heads of Department or Leaders of Learning, Deans and other important decision makers. We make the assumption that middle leaders are the ‘glue’ that are able to influence what happens in the classroom, while keeping an eye on their contributions to the larger school goals. (Note, we try to avoid the term middle managers, although we are aware that much of their role is ‘management’, because our focus is on what leaders do or should be doing).

6. A key functional purpose of Wānanga 4 is to assist principals and senior leaders to bring middle leaders into the same kinds of understandings that they have learned at the previous wānanga they have attended. The main process for leading them there is for everyone to get a clearer idea of what is meant by ‘co-construction’. We also think that reviewing the GPILSEO model as a way of understanding all the elements needed to improve Māori student achievement levels is an important element of this wānanga. While schools’ senior leaders have worked with Manutaki over the last year or so to develop specific goals to improve Māori student levels based on selected data, not all schools have had the opportunity yet to embed the practices and learnings with middle leaders.

7. The activities we have lined up for Wānanga 4 thus bring to bear the learnings from Wānanga 1,2 and 3, while also introducing new ideas. An important element of ‘new ideas’ is not just what we bring from research, but what schools also bring from their own learnings on their He Kākano journey so far. Therefore, some of the sessions will enable schools to talk to each other about what they are doing – to share ideas, to ask questions of each other, and to make important connections, not just at the senior leadership level but now also at the middle leaders’ level.

8. Finally, you will see that we are trying hard to develop web-based communities of interest, so on the first day registration form you will see that each school has been asked to identify someone from the leadership team (senior or middle) who is willing to take responsibility for generating their school’s He Kākano web-based links and responses. While our preference is for senior leaders to be engaged in the development of the web based communities, we also concede that other middle leaders might also be willing, as is the nature of distributed leaders, to take on responsibility for keeping the Principal or senior leaders engaged.

9. What to bring to Wānanga 4 ‘Whanaungatanga’?

• Bring at least two of your middle leaders – we think there is value in you bringing your most influential supporters. They will help you deal with the fence sitters and fence setters later on.
• Manutaki worked with you at the end of last year to develop your He Kākano 2012 goals or foci. This is most important. Bring those goal statements on a one pager and the following:
• On the one pager with the goal(s), also state where you got your evidence from to arrive at the goal(s) (e.g. Attendance data from Kaymar?)
• On the one pager, also state one or two forward steps your school will be engaged in this year to achieve your He Kākano goal(s).
• The one pager will be used as discussion points at the Round Tables, so make sure each person who attends the wānanga from your school can talk to the one pager.
• Finally, with the one pager, bring the actual data set on which the goal or goals are based (e.g. NCEA results? AREA data?) Include both qualitative and quantitative data. In other hui we have used data that we have prepared or had prepared for the schools. This time we want you to use the data that you bring.
• Bring 20 x copies of the one pager and ONE COPY of each data set for each school member participating in the wānanga.
• Remember, every presentation talk is for ten minutes, with five minutes allowed for question time. Each school will have up to fifteen minutes to present at each table.

Here is the full timetable for both days.

North Auckland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Otago and Southland schools will have already received it

Indicators Framework – Positioning and Re-Positioning (Cont.)

Over the next series of communiqués we will continue to look at the Self Review Indicators tool. In the last communiqué (20) we discussed the implications of the first three key statements and related criteria in the first part of this self-review tool – Positioning and Re-positioning. Here we comment on the remaining two key statements and criteria. Note that our comments are our general thinking at this stage. We think there would be good value in providing your staff opportunities to find meanings for each of the Key Statements and criteria statements for themselves. They don’t need to be introduced all at once, but perhaps 2-3 looked at from time to time at staff meetings, or as time allows.

Key Statement 4: School leaders equitably distribute roles and responsibilities

School leaders practise distributive leadership in order to share ownership equitably with each other (i.e. senior leadership team members).

 BES research (Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration Robinson, Hohepa, Lloyd 2009) says that distributed leadership is inclusive of all acts of leadership (refer ‘School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why’ p.50 )

• As a way of making the heavy instructional and administrative roles of principalship and senior school leadership more manageable, more schools are sharing the distinct and different responsibilities and roles among the different leadership team group members. Increased responsibility links to increased ownership and accountability. Sharing the workload equitably has the added benefits of allowing staff higher levels of autonomy in a particular area, shared opportunities to learn, and the increased potential to focus more effectively on fewer areas of concern.

School leaders practise distributive leadership in order to share ownership equitably with middle leaders (HoDs, HoFs, and Team Leaders etc).

• What works for senior leadership teams should also work for middle leaders – both among middle leaders as well as between senior and middle leadership teams. The sharing of roles and responsibilities should ideally work both ways, with senior leaders increasingly looking for ways to lighten the administrative and managerial burdens of middle leaders while increasing their potential to contribute in a more strategic and focussed sense.

 School leaders practise distributive leadership in order to share ownership equitably with students.

• The best way to begin to practise distributive leadership with students is to provide them with opportunities to have their voices heard and listened to, to consider their advice and show that their advice is valued.

School leaders practise distributive leadership in order to share ownership equitably with whānau/hapū/iwi.

• The best way to begin to practise distributive leadership with whānau/hapū/iwi is to provide them with opportunities to have their voices heard and listened to, to consider their advice and show that their advice is valued.

 School leaders recognise and celebrate incremental progress toward the realisation of the distributed responsibilities.

• This criterion suggests that in terms of distributing and sharing tasks equitably, so that all staff feel a degree of ownership, some kind of planned or staged approach is needed. By this means, it is easier to recognise and celebrate successful progress – usually in the form of meeting the larger goals that bind the different shared tasks

Key Statement 5 - School leaders establish the conditions for Māori students to succeed as Maori

School leaders establish school conditions for Māori students to express their pride in being Māori

• School leaders are responsible for the kinds of structures and processes that are in place for all their students. Culturally responsive school leaders try to create an environment where success for Māori students is a norm rather than an exception, and where being Māori implies ‘success’ in their terms.

School leaders establish the conditions for Māori students to be culturally connected in terms of identity, language and culture

• This criterion suggests that the school environment is awash with iconography and opportunities for Māori students to present, be part of and enjoy their culture, language and heritage, and that non Māori in the school also take pride in their successes

School leaders establish the conditions for Māori students to be ‘culturally connected in the wider world’

• This criterion suggests that school leaders understand the importance of Māori students’ being able to share the benefits of being bi-cultural and having the potential to contribute on both a national and international stage. In practice this is about seeing Māori students as having the advantage of being able to ‘bridge’ cultures and benefitting from that. School leaders therefore help set the conditions for that to happen.

We now begin a hectic time of preparing for the different wānanga. We look forward to catching up with you all.

Mauri ora

Paora and Hine

(on behalf of Russell Bishop, Director He Kākano)

PS – We have ordered a whole lot of BES School Leadership and Student Outcomes booklets from the Ministry of Education. They have not arrived in time for the first wānanga but we will send them on to your schools to share with your leadership teams.

We have also ordered more copies of ‘Scaling Up Education Reform’ so we are pleased to be able to give you a one more copy of these for free at the wānanga.

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