school management
professional learning, it’s no surprise
he was nominated for the award. The
John Laing Awards are managed by
PAI, the national organisation providing
professional learning and leadership
development to leaders across all school
systems and sectors.
“Paul’s commitment to facilitating
professional learning for all staff in his
school and across the SA Catholic sector
made him a standout candidate for a
John Laing Award,” says Paul Geyer, chief
executive officer of PAI. His commitment
to the profession and to achieving
educational outcomes for his students is
highly commendable.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
As a school leader, Rijken agrees the
education sector needs to develop a
more holistic approach to the provision of
education.
“Schools need to be key stakeholders
in the vision and work in local economic
development, community care and
building social capital and connectedness
in the community,” he says.
“The health of a community is
often hampered by three social ills.
People feeling hopelessness (their
circumstances), people feeling helpless
(don’t know if anyone cares and not
knowing where to turn to), and loneliness
(people are disconnected and have no-
one to turn to). Schools can make a huge
difference in educating young people to
help manage social ills, develop student
leadership and build citizenship.
“For school leaders and staff,
developing competencies and skills
in a climate of social responsibility is
essential.”
One key initiative Rijken has
implemented at Cardijn and Marcellin has
been the Teacher and Reflective Practice.
“At the core of learning is the classroom
and the student,” he says. “The quality
of the learning environment plays an
important role in the success of student
learning. Using student perception data,
the teacher is able to measure the climate
of the classroom and make modifications/
interventions to learning and pedagogy.
“Research has shown that working with
students to develop the best classroom
learning environment has a direct impact
on student outcomes such as self-
efficacy, confidence, motivation, self-
regulation and ultimately achievement.
“Over a period of seven years, I have
conducted research in partnership with
Curtin University which proves that the
school has made a significant impact on
students’ self-efficacy and achievement.
“Developing a culture of ongoing
reflective practice with teachers and
students has set the standards for both
teachers and staff in terms of learning
expectations.
“I have been able to publish and present
this research at an international level
as well.”
Rijken’s international presentations
include a paper, The Effectiveness of
Project-Based Mathematics in the First
Year of High School in Terms of Learning
Environment, Attitudes, Academic
Efficacy and Achievement, at the
2015 American Educational Research
Association Conference in Chicago.
And In 2016 he presented The
Effectiveness of Teacher Action Research
in Improving Learning Environment at
the American Educational Research
Association Conference in Washington.
Rijken also co-authored an article in
2017, ‘Collaborative Action Research as
Part of a School Improvement Effort:
Improving the Classroom Learning
Environment and Student Self-Efficacy’,
that will be published in the Asia-Pacific
Journal of Teacher Education.
LEADERSHIP
Keeping up with the changing nature of
the principal’s role in the school and in
the community is something Rijken often
reflects on.
“It is critical that a principal has the right
people as part of a school leadership
team,” he says.
“Education is becoming more and
more complex, and we could well
look at how the corporate sector is
managing complexity. There is certainly a
requirement for specialist staff to support
the principal, especially in compliance,
HR, wellbeing and staff formation and
development.
“As a school principal, I am blessed
with an outstanding leadership team and
leaders across the school.
“Using a distributive leadership model
to empower leaders to make decisions
at the local level is critical. A clear vision
and mission are essential if this is to work
well. I am also grateful for my colleague
principals in my principal associations
(CaSPA and AHISA) which provide a
network of support and guidance.”
When asked to describe his leadership
style, Rijken responds: “I have often
been asked this question. Leadership