Due: 24th March
“He waka eke noa”
We are all in this together.
Module Objectives:
Upon completion of this module, participants will be able to:
- Articulate their personal leadership philosophy and goals.
- Develop a compelling vision for student success that is inclusive and equitable.
- Align their personal goals and vision with the school’s mission and strategic plan.
- Identify and utilise relevant resources to support their leadership development.
Task 1: Defining Your Leadership Philosophy
Reflect on your values. What are the core values that guide your personal and professional life? How do these values influence your approach to leadership?
Consider your beliefs about learning. What are your beliefs about how students learn best? What are your beliefs about the role of the teacher in the learning process?
Define your leadership aspirations. What impact do you want to have as a leader? What are your long-term goals for your leadership journey?
Explore different leadership styles (e.g., transformational, servant, instructional). See below for resources to explore. Which styles resonate most with you? Why?
Briefly journal your reflections and insights from this activity. You might like to prepare to share your thoughts with your learning partner(s), as a way to introduce yourself at a deeper level than you might do ordinarily. You will meet your learning partner at PLG 1 (21st March).
Task 2: Defining Student Success
Explore diverse perspectives on student success. Consider the following questions:
- What does it mean for students to be successful academically? Socially? Emotionally? Culturally?
- How can we ensure all students, regardless of their background or learning needs, experience success?
Develop an inclusive definition of student success that applies to all learners in your school.
Discuss your definition of student success with colleagues and seek their feedback.
Task 3: Aligning with the School’s Mission
Carefully review the school’s mission statement, values, and strategic goals.
Analyse how your personal leadership goals and vision for student success align with the school’s overall direction.
Identify any areas where your personal leadership goals and vision may need to be adjusted to better support the school’s priorities.
Share your reflections on the forum in 150 words or less.
Resource Bank:
Explore the resources most relevant to you and your personal reflections:
- The New Zealand Curriculum – https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/
- Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers– https://teachingcouncil.nz/assets/Files/Code-and-Standards/Tataiako-cultural-competencies-for-teachers-of-Maori-learners.pdf
- Leading Learning: A Professional Standards for Principals and Senior Leaders– https://teachingcouncil.nz/professional-practice/our-code-our-standards/
- Leadership Styles – https://hbr.org/2024/04/6-common-leadership-styles-and-how-to-decide-which-to-use-when
- Transformational Leadership –https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescoachescouncil/2024/08/13/transformational-leadership-the-how-and-why/
- Servant Leadership – https://positivepsychology.com/servant-leadership/
- Instructional Leadership – https://schoolreviews.education.qld.gov.au/res/Documents/spotlight-paper-instructional-leadership.pdf
- Seven Strong Claims About Successful School Leadership Revisited – https://www.profdavidhopkins.com/assets/docs/Seven%20strong%20claims%20about%20successful%20school%20leadership%20revisited.pdf
Assessment:
- Self-reflection throughout the module.
- Completion of all activities – journaling for Task 1, conversation with colleague for Task 2 and post on forum for Task 3.
- Peer feedback and discussion within the online forum.
6 Responses
Honestly, I needed to look up our school’s mission statement, but more obvious in our school are the four key values of Ako, Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga and Mahi Tahi. I affiliate myself with these four key values, and I try to guide my actions through these when teaching, leading and collaborating in the school. I saw so much value in Marshall’s story about a tricky conversation where it was framed by the statement “The goal is that we both leave with our mana intact” – and can see the link to our school values here. Also, an interesting balance between an ‘authoritarian’ model – “I’ll get my house in order”, vs something a bit more servant-like – “I’ll help you by making sure you know how to behave in my house”.
Our school mission statement is: To improve learning outcomes whilst instilling life-long values in our self-regulated learners. I feel that my personal leadership goals do align with this as a focus of mine is to help students develop who they are and provide space for each students own version of success in learning, social and wellbeing. With the new curriculum, however, I may need to adjust my goals to better align with the learning outcomes and supporting my team with getting to know the new curriculum.
I agree with what you’ve mentioned about the new curriculum, and am feeling a bit of a pinch too, as we’re required to lead something that we’re not necessarily an expert in (yet!)
The part of our schools mission that sticks out for me is the “self regulated learners”. Learning can’t take place if students or staff are emotionally regulated. On Friday when Aaron Ironside shared about triggers and trauma, it made me realise the importance of recognising these in ourselves and in our students. If I think about our schools values: Manakitgaga, Whanaungatanga, Mahi Tahi and Ako, I feel that I embody these but not neccessarily purposefully. I would like to use the values more in my daily language with my students and staff to lead by example and display these values by how I talk and act.
Our school mission statement is: To improve learning outcomes whilst instilling life-long values in our self-regulated learners. I feel like my leadership goals of improving literacy (as that is one of my leadership areas) and helping all students to enjoy learning closely aligns with this. I personally am a life long learner, so I feel that core value is shared between myself and school. I need to continue having a wide focus lens with thinking about all of our learners and conintue to develop my cultural responsiveness.