New Directions in Student Leadership Staff Training Modules

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New Directions in Student Leadership Staff
TrainingModules
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Outcomes

• On completion of all modules, participants will
• Have an understanding of the ways in which
  effective student leadership programs improve
  school life
• Understand DET directions and commitments to
  student leadership
• Be aware of the roles and responsibilities of
  school staff in promoting student leadership
  programs
• Have developed knowledge and skills to value and
  implement effective student leadership programs.
• Have become familiar with resources that support
  student leadership programs

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Module One

• Student Leadership
• An overview

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VisionThe value of student leadership programs

• Why be involved in student leadership programs in
  schools?
• Why actively work to support and increase student
  leadership participation?
• Whats your VISION or bigger picture of WHY
  the participation of young people in schools is
  important?

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Why have student leadership programs in schools?

• Engaging with young people and getting our views
  is one very important way of helping to rebuild
  that sense of connection between us, the school
  and the community in which we live.
• It is an opportunity to feel respected and be
  confident that our views are being taken
  seriously
• Young person, World Youth Forum

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Student leadership permeates all aspects of
school life
Debating
Creative Performing Arts
Peer Leadership- house captains- school captains
Peer Support
SRC School Parliaments
LEADERSHIP
Peer Mediation
Sporting
Academic
Cultural Religious Leaders
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Student leaders need to work for the benefit of
all groups
Subjects Careers Education, Voc Ed. Pathways
Attitudes to School enjoy?dont enjoy?
LBOTE communities
Aboriginal
Special Needs
Parents Community
School Spirit, Culture Environment
PARTICIPATION
Socio-Economic Status
Gender Equity
Student -Teacher Liaison Morale
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How does the Department of Education and Training
support student leadership programs in schools?
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DET Student Welfare Policy p6

• Positive school climate is enhanced by
• Maximising student participation in decision
  making
• Ensuring principles of equity and fairness
• opportunities for students to demonstrate
  success
• Development of skills in positive relationships,
  social responsibility, problem solving and
  dispute resolution
• Student views incorporated into planning related
  to school climate and organisation
• Opportunities for leadership experience through
  SRCs or school parliaments

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Other support documents

• Values in Public Schools
• NSW DET Priorities Statement
• Charter for SRCs

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DET Initiatives SRCs and Student Leadership

• Conduct more Premiers youth leadership forums
  for senior secondary students in their local
  communities
• Review existing guidelines and promote an SRC
  Charter to cater for the needs of all schools
• Encourage all schools to establish an effective
  SRC
• Encourage more effective SRCs across school,
  region and state networks
• Improve electronic communication between SRCs by
  accessing the Departments student leadership
  webpage and the e-learning program
• Conduct an annual forum for SRCs to consult with
  senior executive in the Department

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(No Transcript)
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from the constitution of the NSW SRC

• Our main objective is
• to take action
• to improve the
• quality of school
• life for all students
• through student
• leadership programs.

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The reality

• Student Leadership in schools
• Visionary or lacking direction?
• Well supported or seen as a tack-on?

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Student motivation depends on three key student
needs
To feel competent
To feel in control of their learning
To feel connected with others
Roger Holdsworth quoting Walker and Kelly
(2002) at the 2005 State SRC Conference
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Student leadership - Visionary

• A student leadership program should complement
  the schools vision, management plan or school
  targets.
• Ideas
• Share the same goals
• Head in the same direction
• Draw links between student leadership activities
  and the directions set by the school.

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Student Leadership- Challenging and meaningful?

• Are our student leaders limited by the challenges
  we set them?

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Student leadership and Quality Teaching in NSW
Schools

• Student leadership groups, eg SRCs, can be seen
  as learning teams
• All stages of student leadership activities are
  also learning experiences for the students
• by providing opportunities for our student
  leaders to reflect on their practice, student
  learning outcomes can be enhanced.

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Intellectual quality

• Problematic knowledge
• - encourage students to address multiple
  perspectives and/or solutions
• Substantive communication
• encourage students to regularly engage in
  sustained conversations about the concepts and
  ideas they are encountering

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Quality learning environment

• Engagement
• most students, most of the time, are seriously
  engaged in the activity rather than going through
  the motions
• Student direction
• allow students to exercise some direction over
  the selection of activities related to their
  learning and the means and manner by which these
  activities will be done

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Significance

• Inclusivity
• programs require the participation of all
  students across the social and cultural
  backgrounds represented in the school
• Connectedness
• programs apply school knowledge in real-life
  contexts or problems, and provide opportunities
  for students to share their work with audiences
  beyond the classroom and school

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Module 2The SRC Teacher Adviser

• How do I manage a student leadership program?

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Module Two Outcomes

• Participants will
• Understand scaffolding theory
• Discuss the roles and responsibilities of SRC
  teacher advisers
• become familiar with SRCs a practical guide for
  student leaders and teachers the Student
  leadership framework for primary schools
• become familiar with the SRC Toolkit in the
  implementation of student leadership programs

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Whats the difference between helping and
taking over?

• The teacher adviser who is supposed to support
  us is usually too busy, so we make all these
  plans on our own but we dont always know how to
  make our plans work. SRC student
• Our teacher adviser does everything! In the
  school other staff dont call us the SRC, we are
  called Mr s group.
• SRC student

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Naïve views of decision-making

• Traditionally, the approach has been for the SRC
  to either pass a general decision calling on
  others (usually teachers) to do something.
• Alternatively, SRCs have felt that they should
  lead on the issue themselves and initiate
  research or action without first checking if they
  are truly representing the wishes of the broader
  student population.
• Roger Holdsworth, University of Melbourne Youth
  Research Centre, 2004 State SRC Conference

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Scaffolding to build capacity in student leaders
High challenge
Engagement zone - new learning occurs here
can lead to frustration
Low support
High support
simple repetitive tasks become boring
Easy to remain in the comfort zone
Low challenge
Mariani (1997)
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Scaffolding
Mariani (1997)
High challenge
Students attempt to change whole school
policy independently
Student leaders involved with school
community in decisions regarding 'real' issues
Low support
High support
a kindly teacher does nearly everything for
the student leadership group
simple task performed fairly independently by
a small group of students
Low challenge
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Scaffolding How do we raise the bar for SRCs?

• Effective learning tasks should be ahead of the
  students abilities to complete them alone but
  within their ability to complete when scaffolding
  is provided (Mercer 1994)
• Sees both teachers and students as active
  participants in learning process

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Scaffolding The Apprenticeship Model

• SRC adviser assists students to accomplish tasks
  and develop understandings they cant manage on
  their own
• Student leaders are pushed beyond their current
  abilities and levels of understanding so that new
  learning can occur

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ScaffoldingSRC teacher advisers provide support

• at the point of need
• to help students learn not only what to think and
  do
• but how to think and do
• Gradually withdrawn
• To ultimately enable students to act
  independently

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Module Three

• Effective
• Practice
• The Charter
• for SRCs

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Module Three Outcomes

• Participants will
• come to an understanding of the benefits of
  student leadership programs and in particular SRC
  programs
• Gather ideas regarding successful projects
• Gain ideas and action plan local student
  leadership initiatives

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What resources exist to support student
leadership programs in schools?

• www.schools.nsw.edu.au/studentsupport
• The Charter for SRCs
• SRCs a practical guide for student leaders and
  teachers (1998, reprinted 2002)
• Student leadership framework for primary schools
  (2001)
• Just Like Us (2001)
• Student Welfare Policy (2001)
• SRC Toolkit (2003/04)
• Professional Support PASTA (Professional
  Association of SRC Teacher Advisers)
  http//hsc.csu.edu.au/pta/pasta/

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Who are the people that support student
leadership programs in schools?

• At school
• School principal
• Head Teacher/Coordinator Welfare or executive
  member of staff
• Welfare Committee
• SRC teacher adviser
• In the region
• Regional or inter-school SRC coordinator (if
  applicable)
• Student welfare consultant
• Across the state
• the Student Wellbeing Unit
• Leader, Values and Student Leadership 92465504
• Coordinator, Student Leadership and SRCs 92465533

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The Charter for SRCs

• Involved students Students should be active
  citizens of the school community and have their
  ideas and opinions routinely sought and
  respected.

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Effective Practice

• Involved students
• Parliamentary model cabinet meets with the
  principal each fortnight
• Student leadership program links to school values
  statement
• Time for student consultation is built into the
  school timetable
• Secondary student leaders assist in Year 6
  Orientation
• A student action team is established to address
  access to playground areas
• Student involvement in staff committees and
  community forums

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The Charter for SRCs

• Making real decisionsStudents from Kindergarten
  to Year 12 are encouraged to contribute to and
  participate in decision-making in their school.

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Effective Practice

• Making real decisions
• Students collect and use data, eg surveys, to
  inform decisions about school life
• Students work with staff in a school
  construction project
• Students control and access SRC budget to finance
  own projects
• Students are involved in policy development eg,
  school uniform and healthy canteen food.
• Student leadership teams co-manage focus areas in
  the school, eg, School Environment Team
  Sports Forum.

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The Charter for SRCs

• In many placesRepresentative students can inform
  decision-making throughout the Department of
  Education and Training and in the wider
  community.

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Effective Practice

• In many places
• Stage 5 student leaders assist Stage 3 students
  in learning tasks
• Primary and High School SRCs link together for
  regular meetings
• Student Forums discuss local issues
• SRC representatives attend School Council meetings

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Inter-school SRC Networks

• In many places
• All regions are encouraged to run inter-school
  SRC networks.
• Inter-school networks provide opportunities for
  students to share ideas and develop projects with
  other students from nearby schools

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The Charter for SRCs

• For everyoneOpportunities for participation and
  leadership must be inclusive of gender, special
  needs, cultural background, sexuality,
  socio-economic status and geographically remote
  circumstances.

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Effective Practice

• For everyone
• All Year 6 are prefects for 3 weeks
• Student leadership model involves all students in
  Year 6 on a rotational basis
• Multiple participation and leadership
  opportunities, eg sport, creative arts, debating
• Aboriginal student leadership programs
• Schools encourage a range of leadership styles,
  eg peer support, mentoring

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The Charter for SRCs

• Chosen fairlyThe methods used to involve
  students in decisions affecting their lives
  should model Australian democratic and
  representative practices

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Effective Practice

• Chosen fairly
• Staff and student leaders educate the student
  body in the election process
• Criteria for election published
• Democratic election processes used writing
  expressions of interest, making speeches
• Students measure their capacity to lead against
  the school values statement
• SRC elections conducted in consultation with
  local officials of the Australian Electoral
  Commission

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The Charter for SRCs

• Well supportedStudents will be prepared for and
  supported in their leadership and decision-making
  roles through all aspects of the curriculum, in
  classroom, whole school and out-of-school
  activities

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Effective Practice

• Well supported
• SRC meets fortnightly with principal
• All class teachers involved in election processes
• Regular student forums. Staff scaffold student
  participation
• Year 6 student leaders supported through
  transition to high school
• Principal, Head Teacher Student Welfare and
  counsellor attend and participate regularly at
  SRC meetings

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Good Practice - Secondary

• Well supported
• Regionally
• Students attend inter-school
• leadership meetings and events
• State
• NSW SRC the peak student leadership
  consultative and decision-making forum
• State SRC Conference Working Party which plans
  and conducts the annual State SRC Conference

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The Charter for SRCs

• Appropriately recognisedThe skills, values,
  knowledge and attitudes that students learn from
  participation in school life are vital to their
  future role as citizens of a democratic society

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Effective Practice

• Appropriately recognised
• SRC website
• Student leadership awards at annual presentation
  Day ceremony
• Student run assemblies
• Representative status for student leaders equates
  with status given to students displaying sporting
  success
• Student leadership acknowledged in school reports
  and references