Master of Arts (Educational Management)

This action research study is an investigation of teachers' perception of Ghim Moh Secondary School as a Learning Organisation. The study focuses on team learning and explores how school leaders can facilitate a culture of thinking by fostering the learning capacity of teams in the school. It examines the knowledge, skills, attitudes and emotions of teachers towards team learning, the work situations they are in which either promote or impede team learning. It attempts to identify the influences and constraints that affect team learning and explores what school leaders can do to facilitate a team learning culture.

Data was gathered through administration of the Learning Diagnostic Questionnaire to examine individual learning, and the Learning Organisation Assessment Questionnaire to study the school team learning culture. A dialogue session was also conducted with a high performing team to clarify the findings and explore for enabling factors that facilitate team learning. Questionnaire data were statistically analysed, and data collected during the dialogue session were content analysed.

The staff perceived that the school provided a supportive learning environment with many opportunities for growth. However, despite their positive attitude and commitment to continual learning, their ability to learn from experience was impeded by their inadequate knowledge and skills about the learning process.

Teachers identified the five enabling routines and practices to be (1) management's commitment to matching training with developmental needs, (2) the belief that there are alternative and better ways to do something, (3) recognition for innovative solutions to problems, (4) acceptance of different viewpoints, and (5) the opportunities to learn from one another. On the other hand, teachers find (1) their heavy workload, (2) the lack of time to step back and reflect on practice, and (3) the high stress level as the three main blocks to learning.

The report suggests that there is scope activities to further enhance team learning skills to increase the school's learning capacity. Leaders could ask action oriented questions to identify strengths and weaknesses in promoting a learning culture and use the PDCA cycle to explore creative ways to address the identified learning blocks. Training in the Five Disciplines would equip leaders with the tools to build learning communities in their own work groups. To enhance the individual's personal mastery and increase the learning capability of the team, teachers could be matched as learning buddies. It is crucial for the collective organisational memory to be preserved and "lessons learned" made readily accessible. Failure to learn from past experiences will hinder the school's capacity to learn. It is also essential to put in place spiral feedback mechanisms to provide a true picture of current reality and systematic processes to facilitate cross-functional learning. Setting Laboratory Environment in the school will encourage a spirit of reflective inquiry and experimentation in self-emerging collaborative teams.

This is study of team building in St. Thomas Secondary School. The study identifies conditions at work that promote or hinder team learning. It is also seeks to understand how leaders can encourage team learning in the school to move closer to becoming an effective learning organisation and hence achieving the Ministry of education's vision of "Thinking School, Learning Nation".

Data were gathered by the Multiple Intelligence Checklist to determine the dominant learning style of teachers in this school. The Learning Organization Assessment Questionnaire provided data on the school's team learning culture.

This study revealed that one-third of the teachers possessed Interpersonal Intelligence and another one-third Intrapersonal Intelligence. Hence, any form of learning to be conducted for this group of teachers should incorporate time for them to teach each other, collaborate with each other, as well as time for reflection on what they have learned.

The study suggest that the school is on her way to be coming a learning organisation. The factors that promoted team learning were Assessing the learning Culture, Help People Become Resources for Each Other and Get The Show on the Road. It is also suggested that teachers were genuinely eager to learn and improve although the factors identified as hindrances to team learning were Promote the Positive, Safe Thinking in the Workplace, Reward Risk Taking and Systems Thinking. More efforts are thus needed to encourage teachers to communicate better and seek clarification when necessary, among their colleagues. Opportunities should also be given to teachers to share among themselves what they are doing and in process, build confidence and trust to create synergy that will drive them towards achieving a common vision that they share. This study training programs for staff in the immediate future. They area planned with the aim of giving staff members a better and clearer understanding of the five disciplines of a learning organisation, knowledge of seven habits of highly effective people and communication and listening skills.