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Resourcing change in small schools Principals of small schools wishing to resource positive change must rethink existing resources and harness new opportunities for the school and the school community, the authors of a research paper suggest. The Australian Journal of Education this year published a paper written by ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Michelle Anderson and Monash University Associate Dean Professor Simone White, titled ‘Resourcing change in small schools’, in which the authors analyse the challenge that school leaders face in creating the conditions for learning in small schools. The paper draws on Australian and international research and uses a case study to examine how small-school leaders can successfully resource change. Anderson and White contend that principals of small schools can be well positioned to resource change to improve learning outcomes by developing new community relationships with groups, drawing from the skill set of diverse experts and volunteers, and by seeking and securing funds to support key educational projects. “Being a principal in the 21st century entails new responsibilities amid rapidly changing policy conditions and contexts for learning,” Anderson and White write. These responsibilities include managing and monitoring curriculum development, assessment and reporting, staff selection and performance management, financial management, mission building and managing reform, managing professional learning, school accountability, and community relations and marketing. School leaders are also faced with needing to engage more actively with the complexity of schools within their communities as, increasingly, education interacts with other social challenges, including mental health and well-being, obesity, economic disadvantage, and access to products and services. The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians contains an expectation that partnerships be formed to help forge connections between young people and the communities in which they learn, live and work. These partnerships can be among schools and/or with groups external to the school, such as parents, businesses and community organisations. “Partnerships in education, both in Australia and elsewhere, continue to be a prominent policy feature, directing the conversation towards preferred ways of working to deal with key challenges for schools and their leadership,” Anderson and White write. The Principal of the school used as a case study in this paper confirmed the importance of partnerships in education. He recognised that teaching and learning could not succeed without countering disadvantage, which in turn required the development of relationships with other organisations. Anderson and White highlight the importance of small-school leaders developing school-community relationships in order to deal with key localised needs. “These relationships can include businesses, philanthropic and not-for-profit sectors,” they write. ‘Resourcing change in small schools’, by Michelle Anderson and Simone White, appeared in the Australian Journal of Education, Vol. 55, No. 1, 2011. To subscribe to AJE please visit http://www.acer.edu.au/press/aje/subscriptions « Back to eNews
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Principals of small schools wishing to resource positive change must rethink existing resources and harness new opportunities for the school and the school community, the authors of a research paper suggest.

The Australian Journal of Education this year published a paper written by ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Michelle Anderson and Monash University Associate Dean Professor Simone White, titled ‘Resourcing change in small schools’, in which the authors analyse the challenge that school leaders face in creating the conditions for learning in small schools. The paper draws on Australian and international research and uses a case study to examine how small-school leaders can successfully resource change.

Anderson and White contend that principals of small schools can be well positioned to resource change to improve learning outcomes by developing new community relationships with groups, drawing from the skill set of diverse experts and volunteers, and by seeking and securing funds to support key educational projects.

“Being a principal in the 21st century entails new responsibilities amid rapidly changing policy conditions and contexts for learning,” Anderson and White write.

These responsibilities include managing and monitoring curriculum development, assessment and reporting, staff selection and performance management, financial management, mission building and managing reform, managing professional learning, school accountability, and community relations and marketing.

School leaders are also faced with needing to engage more actively with the complexity of schools within their communities as, increasingly, education interacts with other social challenges, including mental health and well-being, obesity, economic disadvantage, and access to products and services.

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians contains an expectation that partnerships be formed to help forge connections between young people and the communities in which they learn, live and work. These partnerships can be among schools and/or with groups external to the school, such as parents, businesses and community organisations.

“Partnerships in education, both in Australia and elsewhere, continue to be a prominent policy feature, directing the conversation towards preferred ways of working to deal with key challenges for schools and their leadership,” Anderson and White write.

The Principal of the school used as a case study in this paper confirmed the importance of partnerships in education. He recognised that teaching and learning could not succeed without countering disadvantage, which in turn required the development of relationships with other organisations.

Anderson and White highlight the importance of small-school leaders developing school-community relationships in order to deal with key localised needs.

“These relationships can include businesses, philanthropic and not-for-profit sectors,” they write.

‘Resourcing change in small schools’, by Michelle Anderson and Simone White, appeared in the Australian Journal of Education, Vol. 55, No. 1, 2011. To subscribe to AJE please visit http://www.acer.edu.au/press/aje/subscriptions