Professional context refers to the various factors that impact on my practice. It includes not only those communities of practice as discussed earlier, but also the socioeconomic status of my community, the professional environment on a global, national and school wide level, and the culture of the school I belong to.
We are a decile 2 school and so this is reflected in the community which is often struggling with a variety of issues. Before focusing on the issues it is important to also acknowledge their unique strengths in that they are culturally diverse (incredibly so) and rightly proud of this with night markets on weekly that display the plethora of cultures all packed into one spicily scented car park.
The issues that affect the learners at our school range from things such as children arriving without lunch or breakfast, or just the fact that a lot of our students are living in a state of stress that puts learning at risk. As a school we try to minimise these effects by building strong relationships with whanau so that we can provide help where needed (e.g. by sending food parcels home, or offering psychologists for children that would benefit from this) as well as trying to ensure school is a safe place for students where their needs are met so that learning can take place.
The issues that affect the learners at our school range from things such as children arriving without lunch or breakfast, or just the fact that a lot of our students are living in a state of stress that puts learning at risk. As a school we try to minimise these effects by building strong relationships with whanau so that we can provide help where needed (e.g. by sending food parcels home, or offering psychologists for children that would benefit from this) as well as trying to ensure school is a safe place for students where their needs are met so that learning can take place.
In terms of the professional environment in the school there is a real mixture. Last week I discussed the effectiveness of my team and those who work with me on a regular basis, however as a whole our school is a mixed bag. With a relatively recent Principal and a lot of new staff on board in the last year or so there can be a bit of disconnect in the way people interact. Some staff are supportive, encouraging, and actively engaged in making our school a better place - whilst there are others who fall more on the critical side (or the apathetic one). The usefulness of seeing this duality in school (and I'm sure it is a common feature in most organisations) is that it makes it clear for me which type of staff member I would rather be!
Issues from this kind of professional environment relate mostly to staff conflict, or situations where students become the second priority so that other manoeuvres can take place. The issues can cause more stress for teachers, and for myself I know that I find these conflicts to be extremely unsettling (even when not directly involved). I know that having a strong team around me minimises the possible disruption that these issues can have on my own personal practice.
The culture of our school as an organisation is frequently discussed. What is culture in terms of the organisation? Is it the things we focus on such as becoming an enviro-school, using PB4L, having cultural groups etc? Or is it something more abstract such as the values of the school (respect for self, others and environment)? The way this is manifested is in the students themselves - how do they act in the play ground as well as in the classroom, what are the things they talk about and the things they care about? As a teaching staff I feel like our organisational culture has a strong impact on this. I think that part of the issue in defining our school culture does come from having a relatively new staff mixture (including the leadership team) and as our culture matures and grows it will help to improve the professional environment itself (and vice versa).
Overall this week has helped to critically examine the environments in which my practice takes place. Teaching is not just what happens within the classroom, and there are impacts from the contexts in which my practice is taking place - not just on a classroom basis, or a school basis but in terms of the community itself. In the end I can only control what I can control, and sometimes that's just the 3 items on my priority to-do list.
Hey Lizzy..you bring up some great points about the change in our school. Reading some of the points you have made really makes me think that we need to do more as a school to support each other. We have had a lot of changes in the last few years and having enthusiastic teachers who come into the school with your enthusiasm is slowly starting to change the culture of our school. As we grow as a school with our new staff members you are right we will get stronger not only for ourselves but our students.
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