Please read this great article and associated paper from The Quaglia Institute for School Voice and Aspirations (QISVA) that focuses on Voice and Aspirations for our students. It introduces the 8 Conditions that make a difference and help educators ensure that the work they are already doing fosters an environment characterized by positive relationships, engaged learning, and a sense of purpose. Those eight conditions are organized into 3 guiding principles, Self Worth, Engagement and Purpose that should be lived out in the classrooms and schools. It’s a very neat and effective way of ensuring that our focus is not only on academia and helps to nurture the whole student environment. In an era of educational policy that changes almost daily, schools must be grounded in a set of principles that are solidly based on research and that provide a practical, common sense approach to professional growth and learning. As they state: “When students and teachers have high aspirations, they have the ability to dream and set goals for the future while being inspired in the present to reach those dreams. Whether the goal is to learn trigonometry or a trade, get good grades or go to college, develop a new curriculum, expand one’s pedagogical repertoire, or achieve an outstanding evaluation, students and teachers want to be successful. Too often, however, students and teachers do not reach their goals and potential because the conditions that inspire and support them are not in place”.
“Should we meet with primary and secondary leadership teams separately or together?” This question came up during a recent chat with Joe Barder, IT Director at AIS Lagos, when we were figuring out a strategy for building their data culture. A simple question, but it got me thinking a lot about the difference between organizational culture and organizational practices, and how we need to consider both when fostering change. At AIS Lagos, everyone is eager to dive in and start analysing data. However I also sensed some hesitation from Joe about jumping in without first establishing norms and shared practices. The question of whether to have data discussions at a whole school or division level is really about whether we want to start with targeted, relevant, and actionable sessions tailored for each group, or if we take the time to develop a whole-school shared understanding of what it means to be data-informed. In other words, do we focus on the culture or the practice? On on...
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