Category Archives: Power/influence

Overcoming curriculum inertia: a zero based approach

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Arguably the most difficult stage to implement significant curricular change is in the senior phase of secondary education.

The “high stakes” nature of the upper secondary school assessment system combines with other factors, such as self interest, fear of change, rigid staffing and timetabling models, and avoidance of potential conflict to create a state of “curriculum inertia” which is incredibly difficult to shift.

There is no blame to be attached to this inertia. It is a natural consequence of a system which has laid down sedimentary layers of practice, structures and expectations one upon the other, from one generation to the next – regardless of changes to examination arrangements.

In my recent post on senior phase options I listed a number of possibilities, which, if combined, could radically change the way in which we meet the needs of senior students. Yet regardless of how good these ideas might be, curricular inertia will make it incredibly difficult to see any more than a few translated into practice and certainly not enough to reach a tipping point in favour of the needs of the student – as opposed to the needs of the system.

The orthodox approach to senior phase curriculum planning has been to adopt an incremental approach where tweaks are made from one year to the next but which in reality result in minimal and cyclical change.

An alternative approach to be considered is borrowed from the world of financial budgeting – Zero based budgeting:

“Zero-based budgeting is an approach to planning and decision-making which reverses the working process of traditional budgeting. In traditional incremental budgeting, departmental managers justify only variances versus past years, based on the assumption that the “baseline” is automatically approved. By contrast, in zero-based budgeting, every line item of the budget must be approved, rather than only changes.[1] During the review process, no reference is made to the previous level of expenditure. Zero-based budgeting requires the budget request be re-evaluated thoroughly, starting from the zero-based”
Wikipedia

Zero based curriculum planning adopts similar a similar philosophy i.e.schools start the planning process from scratch based around the needs of students and build from that point, with no reference to what was done before.

Of course, this would be an enormous change for schools and the reality is that we ARE limited by the staffing profiles which have evolved to suit our existing curricular models, even if they don’t facilitate the needs of young people.

Nevertheless, I reckon that by adopting at least some elements of zero based curriculum planning we can begin to envisage a model of delivery which is very different from what we have today. It is only by describing that vision that we can begin to plan a coherent change strategy to translate that into practice.

TESS Article: Resisting the pressure to “dae sumthin”

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Every educational leader, regardless of position, has to wrestle with the powerful temptation to intervene or to meddle in the business of those whom they manage. The logic is fairly simple – “I’m being paid to manage and to be accountable for the work of others – so it’s reasonable that I take action in order to ensure that the desired outcome is achieved.” Maybe it’s something to do with the Scottish work ethic that we feel there’s a need, in the inimitable words of Billy Connolly, to “dae sumthin”.

It’s perhaps one of the most addictive elements of management – “I can fix this” – as the manager learns to solve the problem through direct action. Unfortunately the hidden cost of such behaviour is that it helps to create a dependency culture as everyone comes to know that any problem belongs to the manager – and that the manager will “sort it”.

The ironic consequence of such a relationship is that it leads to dissatisfaction from both sides, i.e. the manager complains that people don’t accept the responsibility which goes with being a professional; and the managed complain that the manager is always interfering with solutions, policies and structures which run directly counter to their ability to do their job.

Yet to challenge such orthodoxy is much more difficult than one might imagine. The pressure to conform to the traditional role of the manager is almost overwhelming. Not to take action, is to be seen to be indecisive, lazy, cowardly, unimaginative or simply not being up to the job. In a similar vein the manager’s own boss has expectations about effective management behaviour and in many cases is expecting the manager to come up with a plan of action that is, most probably proactive, innovative and definitive. It’s this latter adjective which is the most telling in terms of the relationship between the manager and the managed. The definition of the word “definitive” in this sense is “final and unable to be questioned or altered”. In a sense this form of manager’s plan is the Holy Grail, that is something that can be passed on to others and is implemented without question.

Of course, things are never as simple as that for as we know others must carry out the manager’s plan and there exists “many a slip twixt lip and cup”, especially if the “managed” do not fully subscribe to the manager’s solution. It’s into this educational Middle-earth that the manager’s initiatives and centralised plans are launched only to be subverted, modified or ignored. And so it goes on with managers having to conform to their role by taking action, to which they are probably addicted anyway, and the managed expecting the action, criticising if no action is taken, but being free to criticise the action as they have played no part in it’s development.

So how might we help managers escape from the tyranny of the need to always “dae sumthin” in the face of a perceived problem? Perhaps a starting point might be for local authorities to shift from being action focused, i.e. we will implement, act, do; to becoming outcome focused and supporting and enabling the schools to work out the most appropriate action for themselves.  The reality is that what works well in one school is not necessarily the best solution in another school. Yet the pressure to work out the universal solution and to implement it across an entire council is difficult to resist – particularly for those of us who have been addicted to taking action throughout our careers. That’s not to say that local authorities should never seek to implement an action across all schools but at the very least there should be a loop where we ask ourselves if our preferred course of action empowers or disempowers our colleagues in schools.

Nevertheless, Scottish education does appear to be thirled to the idea of “daen things”.  It would be a brave person who wouldn’t back a highly technical, carefully managed and comprehensive plan to implement a course of action across every school in an authority, against a strategy which placed the decision about what type of action to take in the hands of the individual school.

A Mission

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Over the last 6 weeks I’ve been doing two jobs – the Head of Education and Director of Education and Children’s Services.  We appointed my successor this week in the form of Maureen Jobson, who is the Manager of our Learning and Teaching Team. Maureen is everything I’m not – methodical, practical and reliable. She uses her experience of having been the Head Teacher of three schools to great effect and is highly regarded by all her colleagues.

Effective teams so often depend upon a mix of complimentary skills and Maureen’s skill set will definitely keep me on track and stop some of my more extreme flights of fancy with her no nonsense Sunderland rebuff.

With her appointment I’ve been able to give more thought to what I really want to achieve as Director. It’s possible to let such a big job overwhelm your sense of purpose and for it to become a management post where you simply try to keep the “oil tanker” afloat and on course. Yet as I’ve been giving this more thought the words from our Learning and Teaching policy keep bouncing back into my mind.  Unconditional Positive Regard can sound like any other jargonsitic phrase yet I believe that it should underpin everything we do with young people.

I’ve explored the definition of the term before on this log but it might be worth going over it again and giving it my own twist. Unconditional Positive Regard means that you don’t give up on kids – whatever they do. In many ways it helps to reflect upon the concept from a parental perspective.  If one of my sons did something wrong I would challenge their behaviour, chastise them, and try to help them understand why it was wrong and what the better alternative might have been. But just because they did something wrong did not mean that I was going to treat them any differently from my other son – my love was unconditional.

It took me some time as a teacher to come to terms with this approach – I remember belting kids (corporal punishment) when I first became a teacher, of getting really angry and just wanting kids who misbehaved to be removed from my class. I can’t exactly remember when my attitude changed but I do know that when I shifted from a “conditional” approach to an “unconditional” approach that the response I got from children was incredibly different and the impact that I had a teacher was transformed.

In the last three years I’ve been trying to promote the concept of unconditional positive regard within our Learning and Teaching Policy and it has had some limited impact.  The majority of those involved in education adopt it as their natural approach and you can spot them straight away. Yet for others this idea is something of an anathema – “I’m not paid to like children” was perhaps one the more memorable rejoinders, or the classic “I’m not a bloody social worker”. In other words some people in education feel that they are only there to work with those who want to be there – the rest should be removed from their presence. Well unfortunately there are lots of kids who don’t want to be there. Kids who have to put themselves to bed, who have to witness things at home which they shouldn’t have to witness, kids for whom the very act of getting to school is an achievement.

It is to my great shame that I can recall a science teacher I managed who regularly called a child in his class a “moron”. He felt he was justified in using this word as it accurately described the child’s behaviour – he certainly saw no need to apologise. Yet this same child could go into the class down the corridor and be one of the most enthusiastic and motivated kids in the class. So what did I do about it? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I rationalised this at the time by saying to myself that it would just make the kid’s life even harder – and it came to the point where we removed the child from the class for his own protection as he would aggressively respond to the demeaning way he would be treated by the teacher to the point where he would be excluded or punished.

So what does all this mean for my new job? Well I think it means that I’m not going to walk away from this any more. I’m going to make it explicit that it will be my expectation that the behaviour of every person employed within Education and Children’s Services can be characterised by a commitment to unconditional positive regard.  I don’t intend to issue blanket edicts or constant memos but I do intend to tackle individuals, regardless of position, who come to my attention as having not treated a child in a manner which is underpinned by unconditional positive regard.

I might be wrong but I think this simple message repeated, and consistently and insistently upheld has the potential to have an exceptionally powerful impact upon the lives of children, families and the culture of Education and Children’s Services in East Lothian.

“And what if people don’t treat kids with unconditional positive regard?”

Then they are in the wrong job!

“A Space to Grow?”

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How would you like to work in a place which set itself out as “A Space to Grow”?

A place where you could:

Achieve your personal goals;

Provide an outstanding service;

Fulfil your sense of vocation.

A place where your employers:

cared for your personal welfare and well-being;

focussed upon the impact of their service to users;

were flexible and willing to take decisions based upon consideration of circumstances – as opposed to being locked down by policy;

trusts that their employees want to do their best;

encouraged innovative and entrepreneurial practice to meet the needs of service users.

Sound a good place to be?

Well that’s an insight into what we got up to today at our first Leadership Team meeting for East Lothian Council’s Chief Officers.

Alex McCrorie – our new Acting Chief Executive – clearly set out a new agenda of change and opportunity where we are determined to listen, respond and work with our users and colleagues to improve the quaility of service we provide.

Despite the challenge provided by recent circumstances and the on-going concern over single status I was – in common with my colleagues – excited by the prospect of creating a new and vibrant culture for East Lothian Council.

A culture which is shared across all services and which shapes the practice and behaviour of all leaders in our organisation.

A culture  where we learn from our short-term experiences and translate them into new forms of practice.

A culture in which people can take pride and satisfaction in supporting, benefitting from, and promoting.

Why seek promotion?

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Perhaps it might be worth taking some time to reflect upon the job of Head of Education – a post I’ve now occupied for five months.

The following is going to include a lot of the vertical pronoun i.e. “I”, hopefully readers can put up with this indulgence to enable me to explore my own motivation and intended purpose. Can I reinforce at this point that I can only be successful as part of successful team.

I watched “Goodbye Mr Chips” this afternoon – typical Sunday afternoon fare.

As I watched the film it brought back the joy of teaching in schools – albeit in an overly sentimental medium. However, the post of Headteacher at a school like Dunbar Grammar School gives you an incredible opportunity to improve people’s lives – staff, pupils and the local community. In a way I envy people like Mr. Chips – those who devote themselves to one place for their entire career. All too often we sneer at teachers who have never moved on – but I know many teachers who have worked in only one school and have remained outstanding teachers throughout their career – most notably David Shanks of Selkirk High School (maybe there is something in here as David is a classics teacher just like Mr. Chips).

The question is why did I give up the opportunity to work directly with children and teachers to work outwith schools as I do in my current position? I had a chat with a friend on Saturday and tried to explain what it was I am trying to do. The problem is that this person knows how much pleasure I got from working in schools – and – kindly – recognized the kind of positive impact I can have.

So why move? I think the answer can be summed up in one word – influence. The dictionary definition of influence reads as follows:

influence

n 1: a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc; “used her parent’s; influence to get the job” 2: causing something without any direct or apparent effort 3: a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do; “her wishes had a great influence on his thinking” 4: the effect of one thing (or person) on another; “the influence of mechanical action” 5: one having power to influence another; “she was the most important influence in my life”; “he was a bad influence on the children” v 1: have and exert influence or effect; “The artist’s work influenced the young painter”; “She worked on her friends to support the political candidate” 2: shape or influence; give direction to; “experience often determines ability”; “mold public opinion” 3: induce into action by using one’s charm; “She charmed him into giving her all his money”

As I read this I wonder which of the above definitions most closely matches my motivation: Nouns – definitely not 1 = 0%; 2 = 30%; 3 = 20%; 4 = 10%; 5 = 40%. Taking the verbs – 1 = 30%; 2 = 50%; 3 = 20%.

I suppose the question here is – do I want influence or power? – this led me to the dictionary again.

power

n 1: possession of controlling influence; “the deterrent power of nuclear weapons”; “the power of his love saved her”; “his powerfulness was concealed by a gentle facade 2: (physics) the rate of doing work; measured in watts (= joules/second) 3: possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done; “danger heightened his powers of discrimination” 4: a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world 5: (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power; “being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage”; “during his first year in office”; “during his first year in power”; “the power of the president 6: one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority; “the mysterious presence of an evil power”; “may the force be with you”; “the forces of evil” 7: physical strength 8: a mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself 9: a very wealthy or powerful businessman; “an oil baron” v : supply the force or power for the functioning of; “The gasoline powers the engines”

1 = 20%; 2 = 0%; 3 = 30%; 4 = 0%; 5 = 10%; 6 = 0%; 7 = 0%; 8 = 0%; 9 = 0%

Reflecting upon the power definitions I don’t think they capture what it is that motivates me to seek promotion.

Returning to influence – I think I can use the definitions to sum up my purpose:

2. I think I do want to – cause things to happen without any direct or apparent effort – I think this captures a lot of what I’m trying to do in that I am trying to create a culture and positive flow which other people can pick up upon and develop. I often recall Aesop’s fable about the North Wind and the Sun

“The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. The North Wind first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him, until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called upon the Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in his path.”

3. The next definition – a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do; “her wishes had a great influence on his thinking –  also rings a bell. For me this is about presenting ideas in a clear and unambiguous manner, being prepared to listen, admit to mistakes, enable others to contribute and to lead, and finally, demonstrate that I am committed to reflecting upon my practice with a view to constantly improving.

4. The effect of one thing (or person) on another; “the influence of mechanical action”. Sometimes I do have to use my position to get things done – the difference here that I can only use this power sparingly and only when I have very clearly set out the reasons why I am using my position.

5: one having power to influence another; “she was the most important influence in my life”; “he was a bad influence on the children” I think I am trying to model behaviour for others to copy. My behaviour is critical in that if I don’t behave in the manner which I espouse then the gap between the rhetoric and behaviour would undermine the change process.

So I want to influence – it’s as simple as that. I suppose it must be pretty close to arrogance that I believe that my influence is benign or even a force for good. But on reflection I do believe that what we are trying to do is important and could make the educational experience of every child in East Lothian significantly better. More than that I would like to create a culture where teachers are happy, fulfilled and valued.

The last question must be – if I can’t have the influence I want to have – should I go back to schools?