Contemporary Trend Shaping Education - Family Matters

The trend shaping education (OECD, 2016) that most resonated with me was Family Matters (pp. 19), with the following key points

• Families are becoming reconstituted with single-parent families on the rise
• Families are smaller or there is a conscious choice to not have children
• Divorce rates are rising, yet marriage rates are declining
• People are taking longer to get married
• Our population is ageing
• Household debt is rising
• Impact of parental stress

The previously dominant family type in New Zealand was the nuclear unit with a husband, wife, and children. There is now a diverse range of family types in NZ as shown by the New Zealand Families Today (July 2013, p. 3):

Families Commission (July 2013). http://thehub.superu.govt.nz/sites/default/files/New-Zealand-Families-Today.pdf

How does this impact our education system?

I have chosen this trend as it directly impacts the education system. Families are the initial role model when it comes to values, culture, and traditions which in turn shape behaviour. It is important that we are inclusive and responsive to the growing demands within the family unit - be it grandparents raising grandchildren (9543 grandparents in a parental role - 2013 Census), or joint custody arrangements where time is shared between both parents. As more pressure is placed on families to meet their household demands (housing, nutrition, health, etc) there is also growing stress and mental health needs that impact on the education system through the children who are attending school. Children will struggle to learn and achieve if support is not available. However, conflict and frustration can arise as the rights and responsibilities of parents and schools becomes increasingly blurred as schools feel they are being expected to take on more responsibilities and the curriculum becomes more crowded. For example, “The case for teaching kids how to drive”. Schools are being asked to provide more but without the funding that supports this.

What does this mean for teaching practice?

We as teachers need to understand the nature and function of our families in order to make changes to our practice. We have noted that our changing family structures demand more inclusivity and responsiveness and PLD has been organised in response.  For example, Nathan Mikaere-Wallis. He discusses the importance of the family/environment and how we as teachers need to understand the impact of family dynamics so we are able to fully engage our children in learning and success. An extra effort needs to be made by schools in order to engage learners, family, and whānau so that positive trusting relationships are formed and partnerships built on with shared aspirations for children and learning. Through promoting acceptance of the many differing family structures we model tolerance and diversity so that all are included. Within our school, careful consideration is given to how we promote ‘Mother’s Day”, Father’s Day” etc so that children do not feel marginalised or excluded.

Consideration needs to be given to how best we can support families, especially those who are disadvantaged, without passing judgment or creating a feeling of intrusion - a tricky skill to master! However, by building positive, trusting relationships, open lines of communication can be initiated and grown and additional support discretely given. This, in particular, is an area that our school has continued to focus on as family structures and needs change within our community - parent/whanau engagement to support student learning and well-being, meeting the future needs of our society.

References:

Families Commission (July 2013). Retrieved from http://thehub.superu.govt.nz/sites/default/files/New-Zealand-Families-Today.pdf

OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016. OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en

Statistics New Zealand (04 November 2014). Retrieved from

http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/qstats-families-households/grandparents.aspx

My Professional Context - Current Issues

Who we are?

Our school, located in the main service town on the Hauraki Plains is a full primary (Years 0-8), English medium school currently funded as a Decile 6 school. Our current roll is 299 students including 50 students who identify as Maori, 7 Pasifika and 5 Asian. As a school we have strived to raise levels of engagement and achievement, primarily through our 1 - 1 digital learning programme (BYOD) which was introduced in 2012, initially to Year 7 & 8, then expanded to include Years 4 - 6. This was the first of its kind on the Hauraki Plains.

What is the impact?

The consistent decile ranking of 6 has impacted on our school in a variety of ways. Staff and BoT use school-wide entry data, assessment data and current research available to help identify trends within the school and how best these can be resourced. The impact of lower socioeconomic status on educational achievement is well documented (APA, 2016; UNICEF, 2016; Snook & O’Neill, 2014; Thrupp, 2014) where what the child ‘brings to school’ is heavily influenced by their health, home environment, resources available and parent stress. Partly due to our Decile ranking of 6 and our minor urban area we have limited access to MoE schemes or initiatives that would support our student's educational achievement (E.g Fruit in schools), targeted funding for professional development and other support programmes in the school such as Sanitarium Breakfast Club and Eat my Lunch. The school’s BoT identifies this as a priority within the school and funds ongoing professional learning programmes for staff, additional learning support in-class and discretionary funds for those who need support. There is a strong focus on building a school culture and learning environment that is both responsive and inclusive. As part of the ongoing professional development, the school is enthusiastic about investigating further, the work of Nathan Mikaere-Wallace.

NPS School Culture

The first impressions of a school can heavily influence any prospective parents/whanau choice in where they choose to enrol their children. This is known as the school culture - not only the values and beliefs of that school but how they act and react in different situations. Stoll (1998) refers to culture as “situationally unique” and what may work in one school may not necessarily work well in another school. The school needs to be clear in its reason for being, what sets it apart and where it is heading.

Ngatea Primary School (NPS) is very aware and mindful of the impact culture has. We constantly revisit what it is to be part of NPS; our values and goals, how we can achieve more (professional development, student outcomes, engagement with our community and beyond), support to take risks, the why and where to next. All of which are included in what Stoll and Fink (cited in Stoll, 1998) identify as cultural norms that influence school improvement.

An area that staff have identified as needing more focus is celebration, at times we are so intent on the next steps that we neglect celebrating what we (teachers and students) have achieved!

All of the above are built on the positive and meaningful relationships we have with each other as teachers, with our students and whanau and the wider community. If these are strained or lacking the result is mixed messages and a feeling of ‘going through the motions’.

References:

Snook, I. & O’Neill, J. (2014). Poverty and inequality of educational achievement. In Carpenter, V., Osborne, S. (Eds.), Twelve thousand hours: Education and poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 19-43).  Auckland, New Zealand: Dunmore Publishing.

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

Thupp, M. (2014). Deficit thinking and the politics of blame. In Carpenter, V., Osborne, S. (Eds.), Twelve thousand hours: Education and poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 88-101).  Auckland, New Zealand: Dunmore Publishing.

UNICEF. (2016). Child poverty in New Zealand. Retrieved from

https://www.unicef.org.nz/learn/our-work-in-new-zealand/Child-Poverty-in-New-Zealand

My Community of Practice

Whenua Teaching Team

I am part of the dynamic duo who teach and learn in an ILE/MLE where we consider ourselves ‘Authors of our own learning - in a collaborative and supportive community that lets play, passion and purpose grow’. Our Whenua learning team is made up of two teachers, 56 learners, and two learning support ladies. My role as team leader provides opportunities for me to not only lead but follow where the strengths of those whom I work with are built upon and shared with others. There is a strong culture of support and sharing of ideas, reading and research within our team. Opfer & Pedder, 2011) refer to this as a micro-learning community of practice that is achieved through an open modern learning environment.

School Community

Over the last 7 years we as a school have been on a journey where we have constantly critiqued, questioned and researched what we as teachers are doing for our learners. “What is collaboration and how do we learn together?” “What’s going on for our learners?” “How do we know?” “Why does it matter?”. This enables us as a staff to inquire into the latest research and published material, focusing on what may be beneficial for our school (staff, students and whanau). Within our school there are people (teaching staff, support and administrative) who have areas of expertise or passion who also mentor and support ongoing reflection and change. Our deputy Principal has led the school through a rigorous self reflection process with a focus on Dumont, Istance & Benavides ‘The Nature of Learning - using research to inspire practice’ (2010) and Timperley, Kaser & Halbert “A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry (2014) as a framework to lead change. Our BOT provides the financial assistance and investment to enable us to stay current in research.

Kāhui Ako - Hauraki CoL

We belong to the Hauraki CoL where information/data is shared and achievement challenges are shaped in response to the baseline data collected. These include surveys (NZCER Teaching and Leadership Practices Survey, NZCER Me and My School Survey) and student assessment data (e-asTTle, PAT). There has been a focus on improving practice with particular attention paid to writing outcomes. Support and guidance are provided by outside agencies to develop a shared understanding of effectiveness capabilities, current learning and teaching practices and engaging community.

Virtual Communities

There has been a rapid increase in accessing and using online tools and communities to broaden my teaching knowledge and practice. I belong a variety of online communities such as Facebook (e.g. NZ Primary Educators PLN, NZ Teachers (Primary), Te Reo Maori (Mainstream NZ Primary) to name a few. Google+ communities include Mindlab, Hauraki CoL as well as VLN, Twitter and LinkedIn. All of these provide a platform for discussion, critical reflection, support and research that can be utilised in my learning environment to best meet the needs of myself as an educator and my students. I am able to access people and resources I have not been able to do previously - a truly global community of practice.

References:

Dumont, H., Istance, B., & Benavides, F. (2012). The nature of learning. Using Research to Inspire Practice. Practitioner Guide from the Innovative Learning Environments Project. OECD. Zugriff 7, 2014.

Opfer, V., & Pedder, D. (2011). Conceptualising teacher professional learning. Review of Educational Research, 81(3), 376-407.

Timperley, H., Kaser, L., and Halbert, J. (2014, April). A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry. Centre for Strategic Education, Seminar Series Paper No. 234.