CONNECTING THE DOTS: THE INTERSECTION OF TEACHER READINESS AND PRINCIPAL ACTIONS

Abstract

The goal of the participatory action research study was to improve the conditions in which students have equitable access to and increased rigor in learning by focusing on teacher practices. However, as an effective instructional leader, I had to fully acknowledge and then facilitate teacher learning that reflected the dual importance of teachers' beliefs and values and relational trust as necessary prerequisites. As a principal new to the school, I worked with a group of teacher participants at an independent school in Vancouver, British Columbia over three cycles of inquiry. I initiated a series of safe-fail probes (Snowden, 2007) to experiment with which principal actions best intersected with teachers’ levels of readiness. In using community learning exchanges (CLEs) as an inclusive methodology and process to learn from teachers in a non-traditional format for learning, we built relational trust. As I assessed adult readiness through the iterative process of diagnosis and design (Spillane, 2013), we collaboratively addressed professional learning for adults centered on student learning. As a result, I developed a framework that intersects adult readiness with holding the vision, appropriate pushing, and strategic risk-taking that illustrates the ways in which the principal can influence change. The findings have implications for the reimagined role of the school’s instructional leader, local school policy that supports teacher development, and further research into the ways research practitioners can support school improvement.