Prepared by: Novella Joy P. Garma COLLABORATION Prepared by: Novella Joy P. Garma

WHAT IS COLLABORATION? Collaboration is working with individuals or a group to achieve a common goal. Simply defined, collaboration takes place when members of an inclusive learning community work together as equals to assist students to succeed in the classroom When it comes to special education, collaboration is the majority of what the job entails.

Friend and Cook, listed the defining characteristics of successful collaboration as follows: Collaboration is voluntary;  Collaboration requires parity among participants;  Collaboration is based on mutual goals;  Collaboration depends on shared responsibility for participation and decision making;  Individuals who collaborate share their resources; and  Individuals who collaborate share accountability for outcomes. 

I. SCHOOLS TOGETHER Schools are about people. When people work well together the costs are reduced and productivity increased. When people do not work well together the opposite outcomes result.

1. Know what you are trying to achieve by working together 1. Know what you are trying to achieve by working together. The most common stumbling block in working together is lack of clarity regarding what is to be achieved. Working together means working with people. It is necessary to take into consideration what each person is trying to achieve in order to be able to work together. Being clear about our own aims and purposes is the starting point for working with others to achieve the agreements on the basis of which we can work together.

2. Know what is happening. Knowledge about what is happening is technically known as 'in-process' data and it helps those involved manage the processes with which they are involved. Information also makes people much more responsible than policy. This knowledge includes    who is doing    what with what     resources    how and what the     outcomes are at any point in     time.  

3. Work with others to improve what is happening 3. Work with others to improve what is happening.   No one has the whole story.  No one has such insight & 'control' that they can single handedly design and improve the school . The day to day tasks, and the variables, involved in the life and work of a school  are too complex and many critical factors are unknown. 

Do your own work well. If the school system has a well designed people will know how to make their contributions easily and well. Purposes, processes, responsibility discretion will all be clear.  People (especially those in teams) who are confident and competent and committed can be trusted to share a (team) responsibility . This will depend on knowledge, skills, relationships, availability.

II. SCHOOL CULTURES Schein, describes school culture as a relatively stable pattern of organizational behavior that lies outside the immediate awareness of the organization’s members and reflects the shared behavioral, emotional, and cognitive learning the group has undergone over time Hopkins, Ainscow, and West (1994) described culture as the observed patterns of behavior, the norms of working groups, the dominant values espoused by the school, and the unwritten policies and procedures that new members to the school learn. .

The Significance of an Effective, Collaborative School Culture Maintains the image of a “professional community,” similar to the fields of law or medicine. Teachers pursue a clear, shared purpose, engage in collaborative activity, and accept a collective responsibility for student learning (Newman & Wehlage, 1995). Has a clear mission. Teachers value the interchange of ideas with colleagues. Strong values exist that support a safe and secure environment. There are high expectations of everyone, including teachers. There is strong, not rigid, leadership (Deal & Peterson).

Encourages teachers to work collaboratively with each other and with the administration to teach students so they learn more (Fullan, 1993). Is a place where both teachers and students learn (Rosenholtz, 1989).

Reporting findings from a national study of highly successful middle level schools Valentine, Clark, Hackmann, and Petzko (2004), provided practical insight about effective, collaborative school cultures in highly successful schools. Principals and teachers shared a common core of values and beliefs that guided programs and practices, including high expectations for all students, education of the whole child, all students will be successful, and a dedication to a coherent curriculum, student-centered instruction, and the effective use of formative and summative student data.

• Principals viewed themselves as collaborative leaders, as well as their teachers. They fostered collegiality and the opportunity for collaborative work among teachers centered on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Teachers were also strongly committed to collaboration, fulfilling school-wide roles as decision-makers, coordinators of professional development, and leaders in the efforts to improve classroom instruction across the whole school. Student and adult learning was the focus of the schools, with all adults committed to continual learning for student and themselves.

School structures, such as student and adult schedules and physical arrangements of classrooms, were designed to foster collaboration and relationship building among students- teachers, students-students, and teachers-teachers.  Principals and teachers indicated that building “relationships” among adults was a major factor in creating their effective school cultures, with principals and teachers regularly discussing the importance of relationships and the part relationships play in the difficult decision-making, problem- solving tasks that a faculty/staff must address.

A Final Thought… As important as school culture is to school improvement, one must not overlook the fact that shaping a school’s culture is a complex process…a mixture of leadership, relationships, trust, student focus, values, beliefs, etc. developed and nurtured over months and years. The more we collaborate together to study and problem-solve our issues that impact student success, the more we build the trust and relationships that produce a collaborative culture. It begins with the formal leadership, evolves through a nucleus of teacher leaders, and eventually permeates the whole faculty and thus the school community. In the end, we have a collaborative, professional, learning community.

III. WORKING WITH FAMILIES It is important to know and have insight into the lives of the families represented in your classroom. One of the five guidelines to developmentally appropriate practice the National Association for the Education of Young Children defines is “establishing reciprocal relationships with families”. What this guideline recommends is that teachers and families collaborate to:

Share mutual respect for one another Maintain two-way communication in spontaneous interactions as well as scheduled conferences Work together to make decisions about the childcare and education program Understand one another’s goals for children Converse about children’s activities in and out of school

When collaboration exists, teachers will be able to: Support families in finding services they need Work closely with individual children to ensure they have optimal educational opportunities Share developmental knowledge about children Ask for help from families in making decisions about children’s needs Invite parents or guardians to volunteer in a variety of ways in the classroom setting

Turnbull et al. (2007) cited six important principles of family partnerships:   1. Communication 2. Professional Competence 3. Commitment 4. Equality 5. Advocacy 6. Trust

Collaboration supports families’ confidence that their children are safe and protected at school. Families also become aware that their suggestions to the program’s structure and content are welcome. As they gain an awareness that they are contributing to their child’s education, they also begin to recognize the teachers as a caring person who is dedicated to achieving the best for their child.

IV. HEALTH PERSONNEL School Nurse Usually responsible for all the students in school, screening young children in the areas of vision and hearing, ensuring that all students’ immunization records are on file, providing routine assistance for students who are ill, and managing the distribution of any medication students may take. For students with disabilities, they also may be called on to interpret medical information, to serve as a liaison between the family physician and school personnel, and to educate staff about medically related issues.

Developmental Pediatrician or Psychologist   Focus on the development stages of childhood, learning theories and methods of instruction. Help determine appropriate developmental goals and intervention strategies. Help solve behavior management problems.

Pediatrician   Focus on the child’s health condition and assesses the physiological state that may affect the child’s rate of development. Provide information about the benefits and side effects of prescribed medication. Specialize in the medical care of the children

Neurologist Conducts screening, diagnosis and treatment of brain and central nervous system disorders Psychiatrist  Conducts screening, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological, emotional developmental or organic problems. Prescribes medication Alert to physical problems that may cause nervous disorders

Opthalmologist & Optometrist Opthal - screening diagnosis and treatment of diseases injuries or birth defects that limit vision. Opto – advises the selection of frames and fits the lenses based on eye examinations and visual tests. Audiologist An expert in diagnosing problems related to hearing and the ear (loss of balance because of inner ear problems) and may be called on if a student appears to have hearing loss that would be benefit from the use of hearing aids or other devices.

Speech/Language Pathologist Professionals who diagnose such needs, designs intervention to address them, deliver the services, and monitor students’ progress. Other roles such as, assist students who are deaf or hard of hearing to learn Sign Language, or to use their residual hearing to best advantage. Assist students to who do not have the ability to speak to learn other ways to communicate (use picture or a computer system)

Occupational Therapist Help students gain independence by teaching skills such as grasping a pencil, cutting with scissors, buttoning, zipping, and tying shoelaces. This individual also might help students learn feed themselves, wash their faces or cook. Physical Therapist If a student’s disability affects the ability to move, a physical therapist might provide services. Deals with students’ muscles strength and flexibility, mobility, posture, and positioning (helping the student sit up in a wheelchair or stand for a while each day to improve circulation)

V. COMMUNITY (GROUPS, WORKERS, SUPPORTERS) DEFINING COMMUNITY Community is an informal and active agency of education. It is defined as a group of families settled together in a particular area with more or less common practices, ideals, ideas, values and culture. It is a dynamic form of organization for the betterment and progress of its individuals. It provides general and liberal from of education by socializing its members. There is also a better coordination between school and community and home and community.

A community worker is a person who, through professional training and field education, has the knowledge, skills and values to work in a social welfare agency or program intended to promote or restore the social functioning of individuals, families, social groups or larger communities. Community workers provide services, support, activities, information and referral for those in need of assistance. They do this by linking people with appropriate services, government departments, groups, communities and each other.

Community development workers help communities to bring about social change and improve the quality of life in their local area. They work with individuals, families and whole communities to empower them to: identify their assets, needs, opportunities, rights and responsibilities; plan what they want to achieve and take appropriate action; develop activities and services to generate aspiration and confidence.

A community development worker often acts as a link between communities and a range of other local authority and voluntary sector providers. They are frequently involved in addressing inequality, and projects often target communities perceived to be culturally, economically or geographically disadvantaged.

Typical work activities… Community development work seeks to actively engage communities in making sense of the issues which affect their lives, setting goals for improvement and responding to problems and needs through empowerment and active participation. A good deal of the work is project based, which means that community development workers usually have a specific geographical community or social group on which to focus.

Tasks often involve: identifying community skills, assets, issues and needs; ensuring that local people have their say; developing new resources in dialogue with the community and evaluating existing programmes; building links with other groups and agencies; helping to raise public awareness on issues relevant to the community; preparing reports and policies; raising funds; developing and agreeing to strategies;

liaising with interested groups and individuals to set up new services; mediating in matters of conflict; recruiting and training paid as well as voluntary staff; planning, attending and coordinating meetings and events; overseeing the management of a limited budget; encouraging participation in activities; challenging inappropriate behaviour; general administrative duties.

Community work can be generic or specialized Community work can be generic or specialized. Generic community work takes place in a particular geographical area, focusing on working with the community to identify their needs and issues, and formulating strategies to address those issues. The setting is either urban or rural, with rural community development work increasingly attracting attention. Specialized community work focuses on either specific groups within a region (such as the homeless, the long-term unemployed, families with young children or ethnic minorities) or on particular concerns (such as public transport, mental health or tackling drug abuse).

References: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=l261tQVBtg8C&pg =PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=bringing+schools+together&sourc e=bl&ots=oVRMnMMCuO&sig=qi51OKZX7Zs0r-T9vXX- - 1XLQAg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ePBhUsi0BOyuiQfcmoHQAw &ved=0CFkQ6AEwCTge#v=onepage&q=bringing%20sch ools%20together&f=false http://www.preservearticles.com/201102244171/how- can-community-play-an-important-role-in-providing- suitable-education-and-helping-in-the-educational- process.html  http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/43980.htm