Master of Arts (Educational Management)

This is an action research to find out teachers' perception of dialogue and how it impacts on the quality of relationship in a Singapore primary school. This study focuses on the researcher as a practitioner in implementing dialogue as a tool in team learning. It explores the issues and factors that affect teachers' perception of dialogue. The findings attempt to provide insights and implications for school leaders.

The variables involved in dialogue are Voicing, Listening, Suspending Judgement and Respecting while the variables that make up the quality of relationship are Relationship with Colleagues and Relationship with School. Data was gathered through a questionnaire and structured interviews. Regression analyses were carried out to determine the correlation between the variables of dialogue and relationship with colleagues as well as the correlation of the variables of dialogue and relationship with school.

The results showed that teachers' willingness to voice depended on the topics and the extent of how personal they were. Teachers felt pressurised for certain topics that were personal and too direct. For teachers to be 'frank', 'candid' and 'comfortable' there must be an element of 'trust' among the teachers in the dialogue groups. The study also showed teachers' willingness to listen as they could learn more about their colleagues and from their colleagues. By listening to other people's point of view, they got to see the big picture and obtained a better perspective of how others viewed things. It also enabled them to get to know their colleagues' expectations and this helped to improve relationships. With regards to suspending immediate judgement, the findings indicated that some teachers found it difficult to suspend immediate judgement during the dialogue sessions. On the subject of willingness to respect, teachers do value their colleagues' views. The teachers felt they do not blame others when discussing the topics during the dialogue sessions. Generally, teachers agreed that they did not pass discouraging comments during the dialogue sessions.

The results also showed that the more favourable the perception of Voicing, Listening and Respect amongst staff members, the more favourable is their perception of Relationship with Colleagues as well as their perception of Relationship with School. The more favourable the perception of Suspending Judgement amongst staff members, the more favourable is their perception of Relationship with School.

The implication for school leaders is that in order to have a better understanding of the differences in perceptions and expectations of teachers, they ought to delve more deeply into issues that are more personal and close to the teachers' hearts. They can make use of dialogue to promote a thinking culture in the school and to help teachers see the big picture. By engaging the teachers in dialogue, both get the opportunity to listen to what others have to say. Instead of letting the grouses fester in the staff room and creating dissention and influencing the rest of the staff, school leaders are in control as dialogue sessions allow the undiscussables to be discussed. School leaders need to 'walk the talk' or else the quality of dialogue will be affected. However, the school leader must be prepared to take action on feedback given or teachers may be disillusioned and leaders' skilled competence may turn into skilled incompetence. To conclude, the results show that teachers perceive dialogue in a favourable light and carrying out dialogue would be a strategic move on the part of the school leader to improve the organization.