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Invoking learner voice & developing leadership: what matters to learners?

Invoking learner voice & developing leadership: what matters to learners?. Callie Grant Edu-lead Conference 13 – 15 April 2015. MACRO CONTEXT. ELM an emerging field; popular & expanding Absence of clear boundaries & unified, cumulative knowledge base

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Invoking learner voice & developing leadership: what matters to learners?

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  1. Invoking learner voice & developing leadership: what matters to learners? Callie Grant Edu-lead Conference 13 – 15 April 2015

  2. MACRO CONTEXT • ELM an emerging field; popular & expanding • Absence of clear boundaries & unified, cumulative knowledge base • Field of diversification & fragmentation; privileges practice over theory • Troubled field • Research productivity a growing concern • “A great deal of (unfocused, unstructured & uncoordinated) small-scale & qualitative research” (NRF, 2009) • Challenge: build scholarship & credibility • Strategic research agenda • My particular research interest: educational leadership

  3. LEADERSHIP & LEARNER VOICE • Leadership well studied – although contested • Research regarding adolescent development is limited (Whitehead, 2009) • In SA, learner leadership rarely features on research agenda & voices of learners are often ignored • ‘Student voice’ describes ways in which learners share in decision-making in schools • It’s about true democracy within schools • However, schools tend to teach learners to be passive participants – adults tend to speak too readily on behalf of learners (Fielding, 2001)

  4. B ED HONOURS (ELM ELECTIVE) • RU service learning initiative • Focus: leadership development of learners • Learner leadership clubs • Purpose: develop learner ‘voice’ and ‘hear them’ • “Learn how to become citizens prepared to actively engage in their communities & participate in democracy” (Mitre & Gross, 2009) • Informed by work of Mitre & Gross (2009) – pyramid of student voice • i) being heard • ii)collaborating with adults • iii) building capacity for leadership

  5. Pyramid of student voice (Mitre & Gross, 2009)

  6. B ED HONOURS (ELM ELECTIVE) CONTINUED • Honours elective: Five weekly contact sessions per year – four phases of the intervention • Critical reflexivity of teachers as leaders • Research focus: (How) can learner leadership clubs contribute to the development of leadership in learners? • As researcher: Track the development of leadership during the 10 month period • Methods: Reflective journaling; interviewing • Assessment: Seminar presentation & development of a journal article (plus coursework component & DP)

  7. WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO? • Programmatic approach • Track Honours ELM elective over 4 years • Longitudinal qualitative (multi-case) study • Is leadership developed &, if so, in what ways? • Phase 1:Hons students; Course facilitators; Methods: Documents (exam equivalents), interviews, self-reflective journals • Phase 2: School visits: Learners, SMT; Methods: questionnaires, observation, interviews • Framing; distributed leadership & CHAT

  8. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT ABOUT ‘WHAT MATTERS TO LEARNERS’ AFTER TWO CYCLES?

  9. The SA case study (2013)

  10. The Namibian case study (2014) [LL&TL]

  11. Club activities

  12. LEARNING FROM THE TWO CASE STUDIES • 1. Phenomenon of learner leadership not common across case studies I enjoy this because it’s a brand new angle for me; I never had to learn about learner leadership. It’s always, as a teacher you must do this, but it’s never about the learner. So that was something new (FGI, 2013)

  13. LEARNING FROM THE TWO CASE STUDIES • 2. Clubs offered a space for development of learner voice & leadership - NB of healthy relationships But now I’m looking at my learners from another angle: that they have souls; they are human beings; they have the potential. It’s just that I have to make sure they have to discover who they are, so basically my growing or my growth will enable them to grow as well (FGI, 2013) - relational power – building of trust – powerful people (Smyth, 2006)

  14. LEARNING FROM THE TWO CASE STUDIES • 3. Learners have leadership potential - generative & non-threatening space - articulate what good leaders need to know, do & be - development of voice 1st step in development of leadership - ‘invoke’ rather than ‘invite’ student voice (Angus, 2006) - conscious process requiring modelling & teaching

  15. LEARNING FROM THE TWO CASE STUDIES • 4. Issues which ‘mattered’ to learners • Physical environment of schools • Focus on English proficiency amongst learners • Improved learner conduct • Developments pertaining to the extra-mural curriculum • Leadership training initiatives • Similar to what matters to teachers? • We need to really ‘listen’ • Allies

  16. LEARNING FROM THE TWO CASE STUDIES • 5. Take-up as a whole school initiative problematic - staff “distanced themselves from the whole process” (FGI, 2014) - “It must not disturb the programme of the school” (FGI, 14) • Need for more preparatory work by university lecturers • Unit of change: the whole school (Smyth, 2006) • “Should not act as an adjunct to an institution’s activities, but needs to be woven into all aspects of the institution … towards a leadership model that is increasingly student-led” (Shuttle, 2007, p. 45)

  17. External examiner’s comment • These projects have the potential for being published to share the results with a wider community of leaders and educational leadership practitioners and to be further investigated at a higher level of research engagement as a way of contributing to this body of knowledge (External examiner’s report, November 2013)

  18. Researching learner leadership: future directions • Publication opportunities emerging from Phase 1 - descriptions of 44 clubs - across the case studies: a meta-analysis - A further two case studies (2015 & 2016) - intersection of teacher & learner leadership • Research opportunities emerging from Phase 2 - In-depth analysis of levels of success of a sample of clubs from Phase 1 - Continuation of some clubs from Honours through to Masters

  19. CONCLUDING COMMENTS • If we hope to provide quality education for all, development of authentic learner leadership critical • Requires “courageous forms of leadership that fearlessly promote student ownership & student voice in respect of learning” (Smyth, 2006) • Necessitates a transformative approach based on dialogue & strong relationships & the ability to facilitate critical inquiry (Shields, 2004)

  20. Prof Callie GrantFaculty of EducationRhodes University046 6223089c.grant@ru.ac.za

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