Element+5+Support+and+Empowerment

11/14/10 See update on 'Gwendelyn's Page' in the Wiki


 * Providing tangible support and empowerment for all members of the staff.**

The actual use of the computers by both teachers and students, however, was disappointing and major pressure was put on the system to incorporate the computers into the curriculum and daily instruction.

You realize that you must identify ways to give the principal and teachers a sense of purpose, direction, responsibility, power, respect, optimism, and mission.

....however, younger staff see him [Jim O'Connor] as having limited power, importance, and as not being able to help them to gain desired promotions.......His staff see him as knowledgeable but not well respected and unable to understand the school district's vision for Hickory Ridge High School. **__ #5 Staff Support and Empowerment __**

According to Maele and Houtte (2009), success in implementing school reforms must embrace programs that increase teacher trust. At Hickory Ridge, Jim O’Connor is viewed by the staff as having limited power, importance, and as not being able to help them to gain desired promotions. He is viewed as being knowledgeable, but not well respected and unable to understand the school district’s vision for HRHS. With the push toward reform, now more than ever, there needs to be an atmosphere of trust and ‘team’ at the school. It must be headed by the principal, and supported by the staff. Maele and Houtte (2009) state that the faculty trust in students, parents, colleagues, and the principal are associated with conditions of organizational value, culture, size, and group composition. With the creation of new vision and mission statements, Mr. O’Connor needs to make sure to include all stakeholders so as to unite them ‘under one flag’. The faculty seems to have trust already in the community and parents. Trust in administration and colleagues can be strengthened through team-building, and giving the faculty the power to serve on committees and carry out tasks throughout the reform process from choosing a program through assessment. The gaps in technology and teaching practices that exist between older and younger faculty need to be addressed, especially since the district reform initiative is one of creating a technologically driven, innovative school district. At Hickory Ridge, even though major pressure was put on the system to incorporate computers into the curriculum and daily instruction, the actual use of the computers by both teachers and students has been disappointing. The older faculty members are not motivated to embrace the integration of technology in the curriculum. Professional development in the area of learning new pedagogies is often found to be lacking in schools, and is the greatest obstacle to successful implementation (Groff & Mouza, 2008). Changes that must take place in order to implement technology use in the classroom may prompt teachers who are uncomfortable with technology and with change to resist and do only enough to skate by. In addition to quality staff development, an arrangement should be made for younger and older faculty members to work together in mentorship pairs or groups: the younger mentoring the older in technology and innovative teaching practices, and the older mentoring the younger in the informal structures of the school and community. Since many of the parents are also technically advanced, they could serve as somewhat of a mediating presence during technology mentoring sessions. Through empowering the staff and bringing them together the group will be better motivated to take on reform of the school under the district’s vision.

**An Exploration Across Secondary Schools in Flanders**

 * 1) =====Dimitri Van Maele Ghent University

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 * 1) Mieke Van Houtte Ghent University

Abstract

 * Purpose:** Teachers trusting other groups of actors in their school enhances a school’s functioning. Research relating teacher trust to school context has proven scarce, however. This study explores the extent to which teachers from a same school share a level of trust. Organizational value culture, size, and group composition are associated with faculty trust in students, parents, colleagues, and the principal. **Research Design:** Data were gathered via anonymous surveys completed by 2,104 teachers in 84 secondary schools in Flanders in the 2004-2005 school year. Measures for individual teachers’ trust were based on the scales developed by Hoy and Tschannen-Moran. To explore the existence of faculty trust, an index of mean rater reliability based on the intraclass correlation coefficient from a one-way analysis of variance was used. **Findings:** Faculty trust exists within Flemish secondary schools and is composed of four dimensions relating to four separate referents of trust. Organizational value culture, size, and composition affect the level of organizational trust in schools. Socioeconomic school composition heavily determines staff trust. Trust in colleagues is higher in private schools than in public schools. A high proportion of immigrant students lowers teachers’ trust in parents. **Conclusions:** Relating a staff’s academic culture and students’ study culture to teacher trust is advisable. For a successful implementation of reform initiatives, schools with the described characteristics should adopt programs to enhance teacher trust. Principals and leaders should be aware of organizational characteristics affecting trust in schools.

Abstract
Creating effective learning environments with technology remains a challenge for teachers. Despite the tremendous push for educators to integrate technology into their classrooms, many have yet to do so and struggle to find consistent success with technology-based instruction. The challenges to effective technology integration have been well-documented in the literature. In this article we present a comprehensive review of the literature on the challenges associated with effective technology integration in the classroom and the ways in which they interact with one another. Based on this review we have developed a framework, the Individualized Inventory for Integrating Instructional Innovations (i5), to help teachers predict the likelihood of success of technology-based projects in the classroom and identify potential barriers that can hinder their technology integration efforts. Identifying potential barriers upfront can empower teachers to seek solutions early in the process, thereby increasing the likelihood of experiencing success with technology integration.