CCEAM 2006

1
CCEAM 2006

• Collaborative practitioners
• A new perspective
• on organising in schools
• Chris James
• University of Bath, UK

2
Collaborative practitioners

• The intention
• to present a conceptual analysis
• to present an empirical illustration
• to develop the collaborative practitioner model
• to raise some questions for discussion

3
Collaborative practitioners

• The questions
• Does collaborative practice require particular
  forms of leadership and if so, what are they?
• Are there different levels of collaborative
  practice and if so, how might they be
  characterised?
• Does collaborative practice take different forms
  in different settings and if so what are they?
• What are the characteristics of collaborative
  practitioners and how might those characteristics
  be developed?

4
Collaborative practitioners
Collaboration

• Collaboration
• A recent development and focus of interest
• Central to UK government policy
• Various forms partnership, federation,
  collaboration
• Collaboration joint working
• Inter-institutional collaboration
• Professional (learning) communities
• Communities of practice for what?
• Crowds can be both wise and reckless -
  reflection.
• Collaboration requires a purpose

5
Collaborative practitioners
Reflective Practice

• Reflective practice
• Origins Dewey, Schon, professional practice
• The nature Context, reflection in and on action,
  an epistemology of practice
• Development of the concept
• Levels technical, practical, emancipatory
• Purposes the different knowledge interests
• The meanings profession and professional -
  can be applied to a wider set of occupations -
  Good Work
• Critique
• Individual - the role of others is not stressed
• What is the focus of reflective practice?

6
Collaborative practitioners
Primary Task

• The primary task
• The task an organisation must perform to survive
• Work groups, have a tendency to avoid work on the
  primary task
• The normative, existential and phenomenal primary
  tasks
• Critique Typically conceptualised as present
  rather than future.

7
Collaborative practitioners

• An empirical illustration
• The case study of 18 primary schools in Wales UK
  where pupil attainment in national test scores
  was high despite the pupils experiencing high
  levels of socio-economic disadvantage

8
Collaborative practitioners
9
Collaborative practitioners
Primary Task

• The primary task
• Ensuring effective teaching for learning for all
  pupils
• Ensuring enriched teaching for learning for all
  pupils
• Improving and further enriching teaching and
  learning for all pupils

10
Collaborative practitioners
Collaboration

• Collaboration
• Collaboration was highly inclusive
• An expectation of conformance
• Secure and straightforward working relationships
• The development of the team

11
Collaborative practitioners
Reflective Practice

• Reflective practice
• Reflective organising
• Reflective teaching
• Reflection at all levels

12
Collaborative practitioners

• The model

Collaboration
Reflective Practice
Primary Task
13
Collaborative practitioners

• The model

Collaboration
Reflective Practice
Collaborative Practice
Primary Task
14
Collaborative practitioners
Collaboration
Reflective Practice
15
Collaborative practitioners

• The questions
• Does collaborative practice require particular
  forms of leadership and if so, what are they?
• Are there different levels of collaborative
  practice and if so how might they be
  characterised?
• Does collaborative practice take on different
  forms in different settings and if so what are
  they?
• What are the characteristics of collaborative
  practitioners and how might those characteristics
  be developed?