HEALTHY SCHOOLS ARE EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS

Healthy Schools are Effective Schools A resource package for improved School Climate Module 1 What is School Climate?

Published by the Employee Health Unit Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Melbourne April 2009 © State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) 2009 The copyright in this document is owned by the State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development), or in the case of some materials, by third parties (third party materials). No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, the National Education Access Licence for Schools (NEALS) (see below) or with permission. An educational institution situated in Australia which is not conducted for profit, or a body responsible for administering such an institution, may copy and communicate the materials, other than third party materials, for the educational purposes of the institution. Authorised by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2 Treasury Place, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002.

Staff wellbeing is an important component of a positive school climate. A positive school climate is central to a healthy, successful and fullfilling work environment. This module outlines the impact of school climate on staff effectiveness and student outcomes.

This module will help you to understand: • The meaning of school climate. • What influences school climate. • The key elements of school climate and its impact on staff morale and motivation and positive student outcomes. Developing an understanding of school climate with staff is an important first step to establishing more positive working relationships.

It also highlights how the four elements of Empathy, Clarity, Engagement and Learning underpin a positive school climate. A multi-level approach to school climate is important. Improving school climate is about developing an underpinning climate where people feel valued, respected and supported.

Module 1 - What is School Climate?

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What does school climate mean? School climate refers to the quality of the school working environment and reflects how staff feel about their workplace and the way they work with others to:

Where staff feel there is Safety … The physical environment is safe, healthy and safety risks are managed proactively and the workplace is free from bullying and harassment. Where staff feel there is Support … Collaborative and supportive working relationships have been established between peers and the school leadership team and where cooperation, mutual respect and shared decision-making are valued. Staff are clear about their individual roles and responsibilities and how these link to the school’s directions. This can be achieved by establishing a robust Performance and Development Culture. For more information see Performance & Development.

Where staff feel Satisfaction … The working environment is stimulating, individual effort and contribution are valued and opportunities for professional learning are embedded into school practices. Motivation and levels of enthusiasm are high. Where staff feel Success … Feedback from peers and the leadership team is used for further learning and to celebrate achievements. Staff involvement is valued and recognised as contributing to improved outcomes. All of these features are inter-linked as illustrated in Figure 1.

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• Provide high quality teaching and learning • Share ideas and collaborate • Be involved in making decisions • Recognise other’s efforts and provide feedback • Actively listen to each other • Build trust and respect • Ensure the roles, responsibilities and expectations of all staff are clear • Learn from one another • Feel supported by leadership teams.

What do staff experience when working in a positive school climate? Positive work places are those where staff feel their physical environment, working conditions and relationships with others offer Safety, Support, Satisfaction and Success.

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Figure 1: Features of positive school climate 2

Healthy Schools are Effective Schools

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Positive school climate and staff well being

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What influences school climate? A positive school climate is often described in terms of high levels of employee participation, a focus on skill development and effective management support.1 When school staff feel valued and respected within the organisation, effective working relationships and high levels of satisfaction will be evident. These feelings are enhanced where the views of all employees are taken into account before decisions are made. For more information see the DEECD Health and Safety Policy. Both individual staff and school factors contribute to school climate which in turn contribute to better student outcomes. The impact of more global factors on the education sector such as the economy, social agendas, skill shortages, political alignment and community expectations may also influence the way in which schools operate and perform. Research has shown that students are more likely to behave positively and treat each other well when school leadership teams model respectful and caring interactions with both staff and students.2 Where these conditions are part of the school operating environment, morale is likely to be high and the work environment energised. These feelings help to build a positive and professional climate where workplace stress is reduced and staff are engaged and motivated.

Staff in a positive school climate show a strong commitment to making a difference in the lives of children and young people and in building purposeful working relationships. This commitment demonstrates a strong ethic of care in their professional lives. For staff the emotional dimensions of work include both negative and positive elements.3 • Stress refers to the negative feelings that people experience as a result of their work such as anxiety, depression, frustration and worry. • Morale refers to the positive feelings that people experience as a result of their work such as energy, enthusiasm, pride and team spirit.

and that programs designed to reduce stress may not necessarily enhance morale and vice-versa.4 The key is knowing how to improve morale while at the same time learning to manage the greater work demands more effectively. The research also indicates that reported levels of staff dissatisfaction and stress are driven primarily by individual perceptions and experiences whereas staff motivation and morale are driven mainly by school characteristics. Additionally, it was indicated that school characteristics have a bigger impact on morale and motivation than individual staff characteristics5 Both factors have an impact on staff and student outcomes.

Figure 2 illustrates the interaction between morale and stress and how they influence the working environment and job satisfaction. Research has suggested that stress and morale are actually quite independent

Low stress

Low Morale

High morale

De-energised

Utopia Ideal

High stress

Unhealthy

High energy

Figure 2: Interaction of morale and stress (Based on Hart, 2000)

The importance of morale and motivation Module 1 - What is School Climate?

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How can we improve school climate? Four major components that contribute to school climate have been identified and they underpin the Staff Opinion Survey used to measure school climate. These components are Empathy, Clarity, Engagement and Learning and they work together to build a positive school climate. This relationship, and the factors that contribute to each element, are indicated in figure 3.

Empathy Why is empathy important? Empathy builds trust and respect between staff and school leaders. Demonstrating Empathy: Empathy requires active listening and building trust and respect between team members. Leaders need to demonstrate that they understand the difficulties their staff are experiencing and that they are prepared to support them to address these matters. Clarity Why is clarity important? Clarity ensures a better understanding and appreciation of individual and team roles in contributing to the school’s goals and objectives. Building Clarity: Building Clarity requires two-way conversations between managers and staff about the day-to-day nature of their roles, expectations and responsibilities. A two-way conversation ensures team members have a better understanding and appreciation of team roles and the links between the contributions of individuals, other teams and outcomes. Engagement Why is engagement important? Engagement leads to staff feeling empowered to work together to make decisions that impact on the way the school achieves its objectives.

Creating engagement: Engagement requires team members to work together, share ideas and be actively involved in and consulted on decisions about how best to get the work done. This level of participation will empower people, enable them to make a contribution to resolving issues, make decisions, and will bring about a stronger sense of shared ownership of goals and values. This is critical to motivation and the ability of a school to successfully develop policy in an area such as workplace bullying. Learning Why is learning important? Staff feel that they are provided with opportunities to grow and develop and are offered regular and constructive feedback that focuses on their development. Facilitating learning: Learning is achieved by both leaders and colleagues recognising the efforts of others and providing regular, day-to-day feedback about performance. It is important that this feedback is constructive and focuses on development and learning for staff and leaders alike. It should also be a two-way process that engages staff in a discussion about how they can best improve the way they and the team are getting the job done. See Appendix 1 activity on Page 6

clarity

• role clarity

learning

empathy

• professional growth • appraisal and recognition

• supportive leadership

engagement

• goal congruence • participative decision-making • professional interaction

Figure 3: Four key elements of school climate (Based on Hart, 2000) 4


A Multi-level approach to school climate A multi-level approach to improving school climate is vital for success. Improving school climate is about developing an underpinning climate where people feel valued, respected and supported. As school climate improves, you start to build an effective performance and development culture and improved staff effectiveness. For more information see Performance & Development. Having happy and satisfied staff is of little value to a school unless they are also performing efficiently and productively. Having an efficient and productive organisation is also of little value if this is achieved at the expense of staff wellbeing.6 Improvement strategies that focus on improved school climate and morale and on minimising the impacts of stressors will be more successful than strategies that focus exclusively on eliminating specific stressors. Stand-alone stress prevention and wellbeing strategies cannot improve morale and motivation in staff unless a positive school climate is present.

wellbeing programs (including health and fitness assessment programs, health awareness programs, influenza injections, health based activities such as walk to work days, and healthy lunch days), do have a place in supporting improvements in school climate as long as the underlying issues that impact the development of positive working relationships are addressed. As illustrated in figure 4, a multilevel approach to school climate involves strong interactions between a performance and development culture and the features of positive school climate to improve staff effectiveness.

Performance & development culture School climate

Staff health & wellbeing

Traditional occupational health and Figure 4: A multi-level approach to school climate


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Appendix one

Building your understanding of key elements

Where do we think we are doing well? By reflecting on each of the elements of school climate you can begin to build an understanding of what these components mean for your school.

Empathy

Clarity

Supportive Leadership In a balanced school, the leadership team is supportive in their approach to staff. This means that they:

Role Clarity The leadership team makes sure that staff know what:

• are approachable, • understand the problems staff face, • communicate well with staff, and • are supportive when things get tough.

Behaviourally, Role Clarity can be defined as having regular dialogue between managers and staff about the nature of their roles, expectations and responsibilities.

Engagement

Learning

Professional Interaction Staff work well together as a team. This means that they:

Appraisal and Recognition Staff feel that they receive feedback about their work. This means that staff feel they:

Goal Congruence Staff feel ownership. This means that they know and agree about the direction that the leadership team is taking the school. Participative Decision-Making Staff feel empowered. This means that they feel: • that they have a say in decisions made at the school, and • there are forums in the school where they can express their opinions.


• is expected of them, • their objectives are, • authority they have in the school, and • they are responsible for.

Supportive Leadership, although likely to be anchored by the leadership style of the Principal, refers to the entire school leadership team.

• feel they are accepted by other staff, • work co-operatively in teams, • communicate between groups in the schools (no silos), and • help out other staff members.

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For example, break your staff into four groups and assign each one of the components of school climate to complete a SWOT analysis.

• have the opportunity, and that there are processes in place, to receive feedback about their work, and • get positive, quality, constructive feedback and recognition for good work. Appraisal and Recognition is about feedback and dialogue that is directed towards development. Professional Growth Staff believe that professional development in their school is a positive thing. This means that they: • feel encouraged to pursue professional development, • are encouraged to develop new skills, and • feel other staff are interested in their career development and professional growth.

SWOT Analysis Worksheet – Empathy

Supportive Leadership In a balanced school, the leadership team is supportive in their approach to staff. This means that they:

Supportive Leadership, although likely to be anchored by the leadership style of the Principal, refers to the entire school leadership team.

• are approachable, • understand the problems staff face, • communicate well with staff, and • are supportive when things get tough.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats


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SWOT Analysis Worksheet – Engagement

Professional Interaction Staff work well together as a team. This means that they: • feel they are accepted by other staff, • work co-operatively in teams, • communicate between groups in the schools (no silos), and • help out other staff members.

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Goal Congruence Staff feel ownership. This means that they know and agree about the direction that the leadership team is taking the school. Participative Decision-Making Staff feel empowered. This means that they feel: • that they have a say in decisions made at the school, and • there are forums in the school where they can express their opinions.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

SWOT Analysis Worksheet – Clarity

Role Clarity The leadership team makes sure that staff know what: • is expected of them, • their objectives are, • authority they have in the school, and • they are responsible for.

Behaviourally, Role Clarity can be defined as having regular dialogue between managers and staff about the nature of their roles, expectations and responsibilities.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats


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SWOT Analysis Worksheet – Learning

Appraisal and Recognition - feedback to staff Staff feel that they receive feedback about their work. This means that staff feel they:

Professional Growth – development Staff believe that professional development in their school is a positive thing. This means that they:

• have the opportunity, and that there are processes in place, to receive feedback about their work, and • get positive, quality, constructive feedback and recognition for good work.

• feel encouraged to pursue professional development, • are encouraged to develop new skills, and • feel other staff are interested in their career development and professional growth.

Appraisal and Recognition is about feedback and dialogue that is directed towards development.

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Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Bibliography Cotton, P. (2004) URL: http://www.psm.act.gov.au/stress/reduction.htm Department of Education. (1998). Monitoring Staff Opinion. Victoria: Department of Education. Department of Education. (1998). Staff Health and Wellbeing and Effective Workplaces. Victoria: Department of Education. Glover, S. & Butler, H. (2003) Promoting Teachers’ Health and Wellbeing. Learning Matters, Vol. 8(1), 18-22. Hart, P.M. (2000). Understanding Organisational Health: Benchmarking and Improvement in Victorian Schools. Victoria: Department of Education, Employment and Training. Hart, P.M & Conn M. (1992). Stress, Morale and Teachers. Education Quarterly, 8, 38-40. Hart, P.M. & Cooper, C.L. (2001). Occupational Stress: Toward a More Integrated Framework. In N. Anderson, D.S. Ones, H.K. Sinangil and C. Viswesvaran (Eds), Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organisational Psychology. London: Sage. Hoy, W.K. & Sabo, D.J. (1998). Quality Middle Schools: Open and Healthy. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press. Johnson, N.J. (2003). Working in Teams. Victoria: Department of Education & Training. Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Wilson, J., Cahill, H. & Shaw, G. (2002). Making a Difference: Evaluating a Student Welfare Approach to Health Promotion and Whole-school Change. Learning matters. 7(1), 12-15.

References 1 Cotton, 2004.

2 Glover and Butler, 2003. 3 Hart, 2000. 4 Hart, 2000. 5 Hart, 2000. 6 Hart, 2000.


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HEALTHY SCHOOLS ARE EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS

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