“ The school’ s approach to accountability is to view it as an opportunity for growth, rooted in dignity, honesty, and respect.”
“ The school’ s approach to accountability is to view it as an opportunity for growth, rooted in dignity, honesty, and respect.”
One aspect of TBI involves our teachers collaborating on inquiry work in specific areas of focus. We have just completed the second year of a multi-year self study on accountability involving the participation of 12 faculty members. This study was an outgrowth of our collaboration with TBI Visiting Scholar Dr. Michael Reichert, who along with Richard Hawley, has conducted four global studies on boys’ learning. Results of these studies demonstrate how essential the relational dimension to teaching is. For boys to truly learn, they must feel known, valued, and cared for. When they do, boys will rise to meet success in a highly challenging academic environment like the one at Saint David’ s.
When there is a relational strain between a teacher and student, the consequences can negatively impact boys ' learning. Interestingly, Reichert ' s and Hawley ' s studies also showed that when such relational breakdowns occur, boys do not try to fix it themselves. Rather, they rely upon the adults in their lives to do so.
This sparked a question: " How do we help boys be accountable, to take responsibility for their actions and be proactive in repairing the relationship?" Even though boys may not naturally move to repair broken relationships, we can’ t leave it there. Boys shouldn’ t be“ given a pass” because it’ s not something they intuitively or instinctively do. Instead, we must teach it.
It quickly became apparent that not only would this " accountability work” provide boys with agency, it would also promote their moral development, because accountability entails self reflection and introspection, vital dimensions of moral formation. Accountability, then, can help young men heed their inner calling to become better people. In this way, it becomes a moral invitation, empowering boys to take responsibility for their actions. As our Director of Teaching and Learning Jamie MacNeille has noted, " Against a cultural backdrop of selfcenteredness and superficiality, this work appeals to a boy ' s spiritual dimension, helping him envision the path between who he is and who he is called to become." It also aligns seamlessly with our school-year theme excel, for to excel is not an endpoint where perfection is achieved, but rather a life-long journey of continued learning and improvement in the quest to be and achieve good.
The study, while still under way, has produced some pattern shifts:“ One thing that I’ m seeing is that people are using the same language, using the word‘ accountability’, so I think it’ s front of mind,” said Jamie.
Certain themes have emerged thus far in this study, including:
• Accountability entails a balance of consistency, connection, and confidence.
• High standards are important to maintain, but boys must know that we are all on the same team, with a shared agreement on approach and parental involvement.
• When boys get the chance to problem solve with support, the resulting agency provides gratification and moral growth.
• We all make mistakes as part of the learning and growing process, and the well-being of each boy is prioritized always.
• When adults express confidence in a boy ' s ability to take ownership of his actions and choices, the boy develops a confidence of his own.
For the second year of the study, we invited parents to participate in a series of focus groups facilitated by Dr. Reichert to obtain their perspectives and insights. While it is too early to draw conclusions, patternwise the school is seeing that the parent-teacher partnership is absolutely essential.“ It’ s important to identify the roles and responsibilities of each part of the triad- teachers, parents, and most importantly the boy himself, against both domains,” said Jamie.“ Making the boy a part of that conversation is increasing accountability,” said Tori. Clear concrete goals can help the boys experience success.
The school’ s approach to accountability is to view it as an opportunity for growth, rooted in dignity, honesty, and respect. This summer, 21 faculty are participating in a course entitled The Power of Our Words designed by Mrs. MacNeille and co-facilitated by Jamie, Ric Campbell, and Kate Samuels.“ There’ s that conflict of intention vs. impact and in between, which presents through language,” said Tori.
During this past year, TBI developed a faculty guide to support consistent standards across grade levels in response to research identifying consistency as a key factor in student accountability. Teams reviewed these standards in June and will do so again in early September, before the start of the 2026-2027 school year, to ensure boys are positioned for success from the outset.
As Dr. Reichert has noted, our school ' s focus on accountability is the basis for developing a theory of boys ' moral learning that goes beyond student achievement( although the two are interdependent).
“ A theory is an explanation,” says Tori.“ We have a working theory of what we think is behind the choices boys, teachers, and parents make in supporting boys to become better men. The power of collecting all of this data is understanding all that is at work in moral formation, such as the power of language. The addition of the boys’ perspectives will be integral to developing the theory.”
At Saint David ' s, guiding boys to aspire to be good men is a shared mission we live every day, across our community, enabling our boys to grow in spirit, character, intellect, and strength to discover their voice and pursue their purpose. •
Article content is an update of Dr. O’ Halloran’ s Headmaster’ s Blog entry published in November 2025
Summer 2026 • 29