Friday 26 May 2017





Week 26 -

Current issues in my professional context -


Socioeconomic status is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupations of the people living within the concerned area (American Psychological Association)

To analyse the socioeconomic status (SES) of the community in which I teach my search for information led me to a paper called Community profile, Greater Linwood  (November 2014 Census)
From this paper I have summarized the following data.
34.4% of the residents within this community have no qualifications at all. The personal income of this community sees 84.5% earning in the bracket of $0 - $50,000 annually.
48.8% of this community are employed full time with 33.6% unemployed.

This information helps when looking at the characteristics of the community in which I teach.
The issues that come from the socio-economic status of children living in hardship are described as follows in this quote...

“When a child grows up in hardship they miss out on things most of us take for granted. They might be living in a cold, damp, over-crowded house, they may not have warm or rain-proof clothing, their shoes may be worn, and on many days they may go hungry or go without nutritious food.
Many more don’t get to go to the doctor when they are sick because they can’t afford the costs of the appointment and the medicine. Others stay home from school because they don’t have all the uniform or lunch to take. Living in hardship can also cause lasting damage. It can mean doing badly at school, not getting a good job and having poor health.” (http://www.childpoverty.co.nz/)

Our school community faces many of these issues. Our school recognises the impact living in this particular (SES) and has many programmes and strategies in place.
These strategies range from health nurses who treat children for head lice, social workers, breakfast in schools, lunches in schools, kidscan shoes and rain jackets and help from the salvation army with food and clothing etc.

So how does our school's culture help our children?
A school’s culture is its values, traditions and how things are done. Our school has a widely respected culture and many visitors (parents, visiting professionals and outside agencies) comment on how welcoming our school is, they talk about a good “vibe” (our school climate)

I believe this is because our school culture includes such values and beliefs as
  • setting high standards and expectations for our students.
  • We don’t regard poverty as a disability that will hold them back in life.  
  • We encourage our students to aim high.
  • We provide a rich learning environment and programme that caters well for their needs.

I believe this positive “vibe” is manifested in our staff by the high expectations we have to provide the very best for our students regardless of the SES.
This is evident throughout the school in many ways which include the positive language we use to our students, encouraging and empowering them to achieve their best. We celebrate often as a school in our assemblies, where the achievements and successes of our children are recognised.

Running throughout our school is a feeling of support and encouragement to all staff (professional environment) It is said that a positive professional environment within a school has direct correlation to students performance.
(Matthew A. Kraft* John P. Papay)
When discussing a school’s professional environment we can look at the following aspects.
  • order and discipline
  • peer collaboration
  • principal leadership
  • professional development
  • school culture
  • teacher evaluation.
(Matthew A. Kraft* John P. Papay Brown University)

A recent change in Principal at our school has had a direct impact on the school’s professional environment. A change in leadership means new  influences and beliefs are brought into the school culture.  These new ideas have given us the opportunity to examine and to reflect upon our understandings, beliefs and goals for our school culture.

With a new principal comes changes and these changes can be challenging for some staff, I think this is because school culture is so well grounded within a school and often has much history.

As in any school the teachers are all at different stages of their teaching career, from beginning teachers to teachers that have been in the profession for many many years. Their placement along this continuum influences their want for change and their degree of willingness to “risk take,” which could possibly be a little fearful and uncomfortable for some.

A appointment of a new principal has brought about discussion which has addressed our school culture and the professional environment within. This has enforced the fact that we need to constantly analyse the school culture that we portray, and to reflect on our practices as a school.




1 comment:

  1. Keryn I really enjoyed this read. I think you hit the nail on the head with culture being the 'vibe' that you get from a school. By the sounds of this your school is incredibly special in it's 'vibe'. I think the way that you describe the effort that the school and it's staff try to eliminate the hardships that your students face and the way you don't allow deficit thinking is both enviable and inspring. It's all too easy to make excuses and give up, but the staff clearly believe in the vision and values embedded in the school and that ANYTHING is possible.

    This is clearly an amazing school to be part of which has a clear culture of support and, I would guess, a passion to bring about real change for these children.

    Thanks for sharing Keryn.

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