A Must: Turning leadership ‘inside out’ on
Indigenous children’s literacy
Neil Dempster, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Susan Lovett, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New
Zealand
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
Purpose of the Presentation
In general: we report on a ‘closing the gap’
initiative called Principals as Literacy Leaders
with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) which
adopted a model of leadership ‘both ways’
(Priest et al., 2008; Frawley & Fasoli, 2012), in
schools located in remote Indigenous
communities
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
Specifically:
 We report on the views principals and their
Indigenous Leadership Partners held about
leadership actions the project brought into
prominence.
 In the body of the presentation, we explain the
research purposes on which the study was
centred, the survey methods, items used and
results obtained.
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
Principals as Literacy Leaders with
Indigenous Communities (PALLIC)
The project was stimulated by a professional learning
program designed around five modules combining two
areas of knowledge and understanding:
(i) what it takes to connect leadership with learning;
and
(ii) what it takes to learn to read in Indigenous
communities.
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
The Five Professional Learning Modules
1. Leadership for Literacy Learning
2. Learning to Read
3. Analysing Data
4. Planning for Reading Improvement
5. Evaluating Reading Action Plans
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
PALLIC Position on Leadership
Many of the sources of learning should be derived from
schools and their communities (Priest et al. 2008).
Therefore, leadership requires a rethinking of how to
blend two cultures for the purpose of helping children
with their learning.
Principals in Indigenous communities need to accept
and respect difference and learn how to create and
interact in open ‘intercultural space’ where the cultural
knowledge and experiences of Indigenous people are
given equal value and voice (Taylor, 2003)
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
Culturally Responsive Leadership
Priest et al (2008) and Panayiotis (2012)
advocate that ‘both ways’ leadership is a way of
formally recognising Indigenous people as active
and necessary contributors to children’s
learning.
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
The PALLIC Position on Partnerships
Improvements in learning require partnerships between
parents, teachers and members of the community
While this is self-evident, it is easier in the saying than
the doing
This multi-lateral form of leadership needs to be given
high priority by principals
Emerson et al (2012); Andrews (2008); Muller & Associates (2009); and Auerbach (2009)
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
Partnerships are built on relationships
The creation and continuation of partnerships requires
outreach from the school, a deep commitment to shared
leadership by the principal and trusting relationships
with Indigenous parents and community members.
All this takes time and respectful acceptance of the
cultural reciprocity necessary to sustain good working
relationships in open intercultural space.
Bishop (2011); Ishimaru (2013); Lester (2011)
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
Video Clip:
Indulkana Anangu School, South Australia
‘Creating the Need to Read’
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
The Research Process
 School surveys (Principals, Teachers and Indigenous
Leadership Partners)
 Site visits for 8 case study schools with focus group
interviews
 Interviews with Leadership Mentors
 Analysis of reading action plan evaluations
AARE 2014, S350: Leadership Symposium: GIER SIG Leadership for Learning
Principals’ responses to the frequency of particular
leadership actions
The Survey Items
1. Keeping the focus on the school’s commitment to improving reading for
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Indigenous children*
Modelling leadership ‘both ways’ – from the school to the community and from
the community to the school
Including Indigenous Leadership Partners in the school leadership team
Building a good working relationship with Indigenous Leadership Partners
Providing the Big Six framework for the teaching of reading
Using data on the Big Six to inform planning
Participating in professional development on reading with teachers*
Linking assessment practices to the Big Six
Promoting teaching strategies on the Big Six at school, classroom and
individual levels
Aligning the school’s resources to support the Big Six framework
Ensuring that all children have personal targets in reading
Expecting accountability for reading achievement from my teachers*
Talking with parents about student reading development
Sharing responsibility for reading with Indigenous Leadership Partners
Engaging others from the community as active leaders of reading*
Participating in PD on reading with Indigenous partners and community*
members
Leading the celebration of children’s achievements in reading with parents
Results
 Ten of the items in Figure 1 (in Blue) refer to
leadership actions principals undertake mainly
inside the school. These are items: 1, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12, and 17.
 The three actions* considered to have greatest
frequency are found in this group (i.e. items 1, 7
and 12).
Results (cont’d)
 The remaining seven items in Figure 1 (2, 3, 4,
13, 14, 15 and 16) refer to leadership actions,
which require principals to make connections
with Indigenous people both inside and
outside the school.
 The two items with the lowest means* are in
this group (i.e. items 15 and 16)
Results (cont’d)
 Of these seven items, the first three refer to
actions which require interactions between
principals and Indigenous Leadership
Partners.
 Three others (items 13, 15 and 16) refer to
actions with parents and/or members of the
community.
 Item 14 recognizes a formal sharing of
leadership responsibility with Indigenous
Leadership Partners.
Summary
 Overall the principals’ survey data accord the
highest frequency to activities that directly link
key responsibilities for the outputs of the
school with their responsibilities for leading
and managing the performance of teachers.
 The items with the lowest frequency all refer to
activities principals seem to regard as outside
their core school responsibilities, that is, to
actions with parents and other community
members.
The Research Process a Year Later…
The 48 PALLIC principals were asked for their
views related to two research questions:
During 2013, what has happened inside and
outside your school in leading and supporting
the teaching of reading?
What have been the enablers and constraints?
Method
One half-hour telephone interview which
included a survey instrument comprising 16
closed items and four open-ended questions
was conducted.
BUILDING IN-SCHOOL SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH INDIGENOUS
LEADERSHIP PARTNERS – REMOTE, REGIONAL/URBAN
Q 13
Remote
Regional/urban
Remote
Always
Q6
Frequently
Sometimes
Regional/urban
Rarely
Q1
Remote
Regional/urban
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Items 1, 6 and 13
Q1
Involve Indigenous leadership partners in school
leadership decisions regarding reading
Q6
Develop a sustained working relationship with my
Indigenous leadership partners
Q13
Provide professional learning for Indigenous
leadership partners and teacher assistants to take
leadership roles in classroom learning of reading
In school sharing, building supporting
relationships with ILPs
1. Involvement of ILPs in decision making
• higher for remote 56% vs 21% (frequently)
• main focus was on relationship building
• challenges of high ILP turnover
6. Sustaining the relationship
• higher commitment for remote 41.7% vs 36.8% (always)
• challenges of time, power relations, reliability on both sides
13. Professional learning for ILPS and TAs
• more provision in regional/urban 42%/28% (frequently)
• teaching seen as school’s role, reluctant to interfere
• need for training in strategies to teach reading
REACHING OUT TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS – REMOTE,
REGIONAL/URBAN
Q 16
Remote
Regional/urban
Q 15
Remote
Always
Regional/urban
Frequently
Sometimes
Remote
Q7
Rarely
Regional/urban
Q2
Remote
Regional/urban
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Items 2, 7, 15 and 16
Q2
Q7
Q15
Q16
Involve others
(members of the
community who are not designated
Indigenous leadership partners) as
Indigenous leaders of reading in
classroom activities
Build ongoing relationships with Indigenous
leaders of reading to work with teachers
Establish
opportunities
to
involve
community participation in reading focused
activities
Being open to learn from others
Reaching out to build relationships and learning
from others
2. Similar 22-23% involving others
7. Remote schools more successful building on-going
relationships with ILPs working with teachers inside
classrooms (32% vs 22%, frequently)
15. Establishing opportunities to involve Indigenous
people in reading activities
High ratings for both 50% regional/urban vs 32% remote,
frequently)
16. Openness to learning from others
67% regional/urban vs 52% remote, always)
Conclusion
While there is a positive view of in-school partnership
between Principals and Indigenous Leadership Partners,
there is a lack of traction in enrolling family and community
members as Leaders of Reading or in gaining their interest
in the school’s actions on reading.
While there is some promise in the results produced a
year after the completion of the project, the findings
confirm the very real challenges to be faced in developing
school and community literacy leadership partnerships.
Implications
We suggest that far greater attention needs to be placed
on a repertoire of ‘reaching out’ and ‘reaching in’
strategies to lift the concept of leadership in open
intercultural space from the confines of the school into
the community and from the community into the school.
With this added knowledge and much hard relationship
work, engaging in the leadership of reading ‘both ways’
will enable new leadership partnerships to form, be
valued and become self-sustaining.