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Shared purpose
School leaders critical in supporting teacher efforts to improve reading .
By Wade Zaglas
A recent study led by Flinders University ’ s Anne Bayetto and Griffith University ’ s Tony Townsend has found that principals are integral in supporting teachers across their schools to improve students ’ reading .
To conduct the study – titled ‘ Supporting school leaders to become more effective in leading reading improvements , School Effectiveness and School Improvement ’ – both researchers interviewed school leaders , teachers and families to evaluate how school principals have supported teachers to specifically increase student engagement and improvement in reading . The study was underpinned by existing research on the teaching of reading , which found “ shared leadership and shared responsibility underscore the moral purpose of a school ’ s work ”.
“ It is incumbent upon the principal to facilitate the development and articulation of a clear moral purpose , one that promotes improving the quality of reading instruction while ensuring equity for all students . It emphasises the concept of shared leadership rather than ‘ a single heroic principal ’,” Bayetto said .
“ Principals who engaged in the research were relieved to not be ‘ doing it all ’ and this saw a measurable improvement in the attitude of teachers .”
The study stressed that a lack of reading progress cannot be attributed to particular teachers and must be “ collectively addressed ”. It added that clear , common goals regarding literacy domains such as reading needed to be developed by and invested in by all school staff .
“ In terms of reading , that may mean the school having a goal for every student to be able to read by the end of year two and then planning for how the school community comes together to achieve this goal ,” Bayetto said .
Bayetto and Townsend ’ s research concluded that such “ collective engagement and responsibility galvanises the school ’ s purpose , their resources , and their information-sharing . Shared leadership ensures everyone has the skill set to support the common goal of the school .”
Critical to supporting teachers in reading improvement was evidencebased professional learning . However , in line with the rest of Bayetto and Townsend ’ s findings was the importance of leaders , including principals , “ actively participating in professional learning sessions with teachers so that all school staff had shared understandings and could continue their conversations about ways forward ”.
Shared leadership and shared responsibility underscore the moral purpose of a school ’ s work .
Not only does it promote the sharing of skills , it helps schools and leaders in particular “‘ hold the line ’ and ‘ step up ’ when teachers move on or are not available ”.
CHALLENGES While the experts ’ study highlighted how school leaders are critical in participating in and sharing new , evidence-based practices to reading improvement , they also noted that new ways of working can often be met by challenges — from both school staff and parents .
“ Some schools reported resistance to change around long-established teaching and learning approaches , some teachers were reluctant to alter their instructional practices , and some schools faced barriers to accessing and allocating resources specifically aligned to their school priorities ,” the study found .
“ Many schools reported challenges in parent engagement recognising that , ‘ Some parents are fully committed to quality education for their children ’ whilst some families , ‘ Don ’ t seem to place much value on education at all ’.” ■
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