Mindlab Week 26 - Current issues in my professional context

Mindlab Activity 2: Week 26

Create a reflective entry where you critically analyse issues of socioeconomic factors, school culture and professional environments in relation to your practice.

The school vision was defined in collaborative consultation with teachers, students and the wider community:

‘A thriving, student centred learning environment, educating students for their future – Te puāwaitanga o te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga.’ 

The most recent ERO report (2017) for Wairarapa College classified it as a '6N' decile in socio- economic status. Wairarapa is a fairly rural part of New Zealand, which has 1062 students from Years 9 through 13, making it the largest school in the local area.  24% of the students self identify as Maori and a much smaller number Pacific Islander students. The Poto-College House, for boarders, accounts for about 70 students or approximately 7% of the total roll. The school has a varied socio-economic background, including students from difficult family backgrounds. There is also a small, but significant programme of welcoming international students to the school. The school aspires to be a high achiever in a sporting and cultural context, with many outlets for students to participate in extra-curricular activities. 

The ERO report also highlights some of the difficulties faced by the school in recent times. The student intake dipped for a few years which had a significant impact upon the finances and staffing situation of the school. There were limitations on budgets which meant resources were limited and maintenance fell away on certain things - including staff morale. A new Principal and a Commissioner now currently leads the school with many of these issues have been specifically addressed in efforts to make amends.

According to Stoll (1998), a school's culture can be shaped by it's history, context and the people within it. Our school dates back to 1938 and the teaching staff are expressly encouraged to see themselves as a family by management. Stoll and Fink (Stoll, 1998) highlighted a series of social 'Norms' that are identified in improving schools, with many of these highlighted in the ERO report, Other strategies to improve school culture highlighted by Gargiulo (2014) can be seen in action too:

• The school's successes (College Sports, Stage Challenge, Chess trophies, etc) are strongly celebrated in assemblies. 
• Targeted students, especially Maori students as a focus for improvement, have been given mentoring and revision strategies are coached in extra-curricular classes. 
• Teachers can nominate others for weekly prizes in weekly staff meetings and shared lunches are provided at various intermittent points in the Term. 
• The school has a literacy and numeracy program to help improve standards, including an embedded Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) time. 
• There is a Positive Behaviour for Learning program in effect. 
• The school's financial difficulties are openly discussed in regular consultation with teachers and other stakeholders of the school. 

Some of these things have been in place for a while, while others are relatively newer aspects of Wairarapa Culture. By mixing older traditions of the school with change, however, there is a general improving positivity in the school. 

References:

http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/wairarapa-college-01-06-2017/

Gargiulo, S. (2014). Principal sabbatical report. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Professional-information/Principals-sabbatical-reports/Report-archives-for-2007-2014/Secondary-award-recipients-2014/Gargiulo-Salvatore

Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture