Bev Flückiger

The role of a group coach in the professional learning of school leaders

ABSTRACT Group coaching has the potential to foster social learning for school leaders. In this article, we investigate the role of the coach in a group coaching process drawing on data from interviews and observations in a pilot study. The Professional Learning through Feedback and Reflection (PROFLEC) study ran in 10 countries and was funded by the European Commission. We report on data from two countries which took part in the study: Norway and Australia. We examine the steps used in an established group coaching protocol and identify critical aspects of the coaching role. We discuss the complexities of the role of the group balancing a goal-oriented coaching process along with the facilitation process. We suggest that the coaching role requires a unique set of skills and argue that research is needed to support the development of evidence-based training programmes to prepare coaches for this complex and challenging role.

The potential of group coaching for leadership learning

Despite group coaching being used to facilitate goal-focused change in a range of organizational contexts, there is little research evidence of its use or efficacy in continuing professional development programs for educational leaders. In the first part of this article we define coaching and consider the benefits and challenges of several forms of coaching for leadership learning. In the second part, we introduce the Professional Learning through Feedback and Reflection group coaching model and report on an international pilot of its use in a continuing professional development program for school leaders. The stimulus for group coaching with this model came from the completion of a self-assessment instrument and subsequent feedback report which provoked individual reflection on personal competencies. A protocol used within the coaching process itself provided structure for school leaders to clarify problems and issues, share perspectives and experiences, reflect and plan for change. Analysis of data from the pilot indicates that group coaching, informed by heightened awareness of personal competencies, may have the potential to assist school leaders to identify their personal strengths and challenges, better understand the dynamic and complex nature of their own organization, and inform change processes to improve learning outcomes.

Conducting qualitative video research with young children

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the practical use of video cameras during a study with young children. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates the use of video cameras in a research study of young children’s utilisation of semiotic tools to communicate during play interactions in a Francophone preschool classroom in British Columbia. It examines the practical in-the-moment decision making of the researcher to support children’s accommodation of the video camera in their play space and ensure rich data were recorded. Findings Children accommodated the video cameras in four distinct ways. These included: curiosity and investigation of the video cameras; engagement in the video recording process with the researcher; incorporation of the video cameras into their play; and disregard of it. Practical implications The findings suggest that video recordings can be an effective method of data collection with young children and provide rich sources of data of the children and their learning through play when the researcher is flexible and responsive and supports children’s accommodation of it. Originality/value Recent advances in recording technology have resulted in the increased use of video recordings as a resource for gathering empirical data in qualitative research. Whilst the ethical considerations related to the use of video recordings as data for analysis in research with young children have been the subject of some discussion (Flewitt, 2005), the practical experience of using video cameras has received less attention.

What supports and limits learning in the early years? Listening to the voices of 200 children:

This article reports on a study investigating young children’s views about learning. The researchers engaged 200 Australian children from 3 to 8 years of age in conversations about how they liked to learn. In an attempt to privilege children’s voices, the direct words of the participating children are used in the reporting of results. The children generated rich and thoughtful ideas about learning as well as factors contributing to their motivation and engagement in learning. Whereas Kindergarten children expressed a real sense of agency and self-efficacy in their learning, school-aged children expressed a strong desire for opportunities to be more actively engaged and have some control over their learning. Of concern was how quickly positive dispositions towards learning appeared to slide when children transitioned to school. The study challenges educators to find ways to listen to children in order to develop policies and practices that are responsive to children’s perspectives and create school systems in which all children, without exception, are actively engaged, motivated and exercising agency in their learning.

Conceptions of Learning Leadership in Remote Indigenous Communities: A Distributed Approach

Policies to address Indigenous disadvantage in Australia have long advocated for more equal partnerships between home and school characterised by collaborative relationships built on mutual trust, respect, and shared responsibility. This chapter describes a model of distributed leadership that embraces social-democratic notions of leadership in order to promote teachers as leaders and empower parents and community members. It reports on a community literacy program established in a remote Indigenous community in far north Queensland that engages families in their young children’s literacy learning. We argue that the model of distributed leadership presented is not limited in its applicability to an early childhood setting. Instead we suggest it has the potential to provide a useful model for implementing a distributed leadership approach in a broader school setting. The implications are far reaching and imply a fundamental redistribution of power and influence within the school as an organisation.