Remaking Singapore Schools A Learning Teacher to a Learning Organization Through Action Research Sisilia P Indahayu

ACTION RESEARCH a cyclical process involving stages of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting VALUE CHARACTERISTICS The need for: Competence Autonomy Altruism Concerned with social practice Aimed towards improvement A cyclical process Pursued by systematic enquiry Participative Determined by the practitioners

Attempts to bring about competent professional practice require individual teachers to: find integration between personal and organization objectives set aside time to engage, influence individual professional decision-making and practice

Teachers individually attaining increasing competent professional practice Setting aside time to engage in action research Decreasing pressure by focusing on nonnegotiable and essential tasks Increasing resources to support nonnegotiable and essential tasks Increasing trust gained progressively from peers, senior teachers, LH and SH Increasing autonomy given from peers, senior teachers, LH and SH Increasing sense of altruism through pursuits of objectives that are in alignment with personal values Teachers individually pursuing competent professional practice – taking into consideration personal and the organization’s objective INDIVIDUAL LEARNING TEACHER 1 st bottom-up spiral

Teachers collectively attaining increasing competent professional practice Setting aside time to engage in action research Increasing collective trust gained progressively from the HOD Collectively increasing resources to support nonnegotiable and essential tasks Increasing collective trust gained progressively from the HOD Increasing autonomy given from the HOD Increasing collective sense of altruism through pursuits of objectives that are in alignment with collective values Teachers collectively pursuing competent professional practice – taking into consideration teachers’ and the organization’s objectives COLLECTIVE LEARNING TEACHERS 2 nd bottom-up spiral

Departments individually attaining increasing competent professional practice Setting aside time to engage in action research Decreasing pressure by focusing on nonnegotiable and essential tasks within the department Increasing resources to support nonnegotiable and essential tasks within the department Increasing departmental trust gained progressively from the steering committee Increasing departmental autonomy given from the steering committee Increasing departmental sense of altruism through pursuits of objectives that are in alignment with the department’s values Departments individually pursuing competent professional practice – taking into consideration department’s and the organization’s objectives INDIVIDUAL LEARNING DEPARTMENT 3 rd bottom-up spiral

Departments collectively attaining increasing competent professional practice Setting aside time to engage in action research Decreasing pressure by focusing on nonnegotiable and essential tasks among departments Increasing resources to support nonnegotiable and essential tasks among departments Increasing trust progressively given to departments from the principal Increasing autonomy given from the principal to departments Increasing sense of altruism in departments through pursuits of objectives that are in alignment with the organization’s values Departments collectively pursuing competent professional practice – taking into consideration department’s and the organization’s objectives COLLECTIVE LEARNING DEPARTMENTS 4 th bottom-up spiral

The theoretical model thus provides a broad framework for practitioners to be flexible in their professional judgments. Learning Teacher Individual teacher Collective teachers Individual departments Collective departments Principal & Steering Committee Learning Organization UPWARD LEARNING SPIRAL

Structural and Cultural Support Structural Support: TIME and APPRAISAL Cultural Support: VALUES, BELIEFS, and ASSUMPTIONS

Unquestioning follower Isolated practitioner Practical minded Passive in school’s decision-making General technicists Change in Roles of Teachers Reflective practitioner Collaborative and networked practitioner Policy-practical minded Active in school’s decision-making Specialists

Change in Roles of Principals Manages Authoritarian Enforces change Product centred Controls Leads Democratic Inspires change Product-process centred Empowers

Change in Roles of Teachers and Principals Results in relationship which shows:TransparencyTrust Participatory decision-making

To conclude … The use of action research as a medium for professional learning at the individual, departmental and organizational levels, and that its usage should start at the level of individual teachers.

To conclude … Action research provides the platform for the integration of bottom-up and top-down processes where the bottom provides micro initiatives while the top provides macro framework and support.

To conclude … If schools were to become knowledge organizations, there need to be a questioning or critique of the ideology of top-down policy-making and policy implementation; the discarding of the manufacturing hegemony; and an exploration of diverse eclectic alternatives of working towards organizational excellence.

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