MindLab Blog Post 2: “Current issues in my professional context”



Socio-economic issues
My school is Decile 5, set in an ethnically diverse, working class neighbourhood. The New Lynn Urban Plan 2010-2030 (Section 1: Socio Economic Context, p.22) describes New Lynn as a “New Zealand gateway for new migrants to west Auckland”.
A passage of the plan relates to The Social Deprivation Index (p.23), a measure of socioeconomic status calculated using a range of variables including income, employment, support, living space and home ownership. It is interesting to note that out of a scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst), New Lynn rates as a 9; a very high level of deprivation.
Increased state housing being built in our school community and its associated levels of deprivation have been reflected in students coming to school with no food, behavioural/learning issues and truancy. These issues are being addressed by providing breakfasts and lunches for the affected students, Teacher Aide support and a Unique Learning Needs co-ordinator to liaise with families.


School culture and professional environments
The culture my school upholds is that of empowering students for their future and this is reflected in teachers, management and support staff’s high expectations for all students to experience success and achieve. (Education Review Office, 2014)
I enjoyed reading Stoll and Fink’s article (cited in Stoll,1998), on cultural norms of school improvement, as it gave me a very clear rubric against which to compare my school.
My school embeds the norms of Shared Goals, Collegiality and Responsibility For Success, as we work towards our goal of becoming a full ILE school, incorporating 21st Century Learning Skills and Key Competencies. We have a combined sense of purpose towards immersing learners in future focused learning styles.
Our Principal sets an excellent precedent in embodying the norms of Lifelong Learning and Continuous Improvement as he actively encourages his staff to pursue extra curricular study and offers a wide range of useful Professional Development opportunities, which he usually participates in also. It is inspiring to observe his hunger for new knowledge as he earnestly demonstrates the skills, dispositions, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies that are necessary for a 21st-century learner; someone with a Growth Mindset. (Dweck, 2009)
As an example of our culture of Risk Taking, it is reflected in a chat I remember having with him in which he said words to the effect of: “If you’re comfortable, you need to shake yourself up; take a risk; that’s when you grow and learn”. Those words have stuck with me to remind me to regularly take those “safe risks” in my practice.
I have consistently benefitted from the culture of Support embedded in my school. Mentoring programmes, Professional Development and an easy dialogue with my syndicate leader have helped me enormously and I hope my colleagues have been as fortunate as I.
I think the remaining norms of Mutual Respect, Openness and Celebration And Humour could perhaps be fostered more positively by building relationships a little more on an informal basis, such as staff outings and Friday BBQ’s after school. We all work very hard and I feel this would be a wonderful “bridge builder” between colleagues.
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References
Dweck, C. (2009). Who will the 21st-century learners be?. Knowledge Quest, 38(2), 8-10.


Education Review Office 2014 Report on Arahoe School:  


New Lynn Urban Plan 2010-2030 - Section 1 - Socio-Economic Context. Retrieved from http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcnl/pp/pdf/2010/newlynnurbanplan/1-socioeconomic.pdf


Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London.

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