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A study of Loyang School as a learning organisation : teachers' perspectives on how school leaders can facilitate a culture of thinking
Author
Chew, Richard Soon Kheng
Supervisor
Chong, Keng Choy
Abstract
The study used the action research design to examine the knowledge and skills, and attitudes and emotions of Loyang Secondary School staff towards learning. It also explored staff perceptions of the working situations in school and recommended actions that school leaders could take to promote a healthy learning culture in the school. Based on the research findings, the study suggested a learning model for the school that aims to facilitate the thinking process by promoting single and double loop learning through teams.
Data was collected to include both the staff's reflections of their individual self and their teams in school. The reflections were collected through two survey questionnaires and two dialogue sessions carried out separately with two different teams with perceptions of the school learning culture that were significantly different from that of the norms of the school.
The study showed that the school was highly involved in staff training and development. However, much of the knowledge acquired by individuals were not disseminated, shared or utilised within the context of the schools as the staff did not have a good structure that promote learning among the staff members. Despite the staff's positive attitude, learning was also very much inhibited by the lack of knowledge and skills to learn from experimentation and from the experience of others. The study indicated that there was a close relationship between those teams that failed to perform, or learn, and the knowledge and skills that the team possessed. Those that had low perceptions of the school learning culture also had relatively low knowledge and skills about learning.
Management practices had strong impact on the development of knowledge and skills about learning for both individuals and teams. Teams that perceived management practices as being not supportive generally have problems learning from their work environment.
The acquisition of knowledge was intense for most teams, but knowledge often remained untapped as there were little effective mechanisms to draw from the experience of its members. The process of knowledge dissemination and knowledge utilization was a weak link in learning for the school staff. The staff perceived team learning as an important development as it enhances generative learning through constructive dialogue and thought processes. They also advocates peer coaching/mentoring and 'budding' to be practised within teams.
The implication is that school leaders can act to harness the creative energy of people through team learning and enhance the learning process by creating a supportive social climate. School leaders can look into building structures to enhance staff capacity for reflective thinking, staff capacity to transfer and disseminate learnings throughout the whole school, and staff capacity to utilise and leverage new learnings. By adopting the model suggested in this study, which largely promotes both adaptive and generative learning, the school can look forward to a more systematic continuous progression in learning and move a step closer to the concept of a learning organisation.
Data was collected to include both the staff's reflections of their individual self and their teams in school. The reflections were collected through two survey questionnaires and two dialogue sessions carried out separately with two different teams with perceptions of the school learning culture that were significantly different from that of the norms of the school.
The study showed that the school was highly involved in staff training and development. However, much of the knowledge acquired by individuals were not disseminated, shared or utilised within the context of the schools as the staff did not have a good structure that promote learning among the staff members. Despite the staff's positive attitude, learning was also very much inhibited by the lack of knowledge and skills to learn from experimentation and from the experience of others. The study indicated that there was a close relationship between those teams that failed to perform, or learn, and the knowledge and skills that the team possessed. Those that had low perceptions of the school learning culture also had relatively low knowledge and skills about learning.
Management practices had strong impact on the development of knowledge and skills about learning for both individuals and teams. Teams that perceived management practices as being not supportive generally have problems learning from their work environment.
The acquisition of knowledge was intense for most teams, but knowledge often remained untapped as there were little effective mechanisms to draw from the experience of its members. The process of knowledge dissemination and knowledge utilization was a weak link in learning for the school staff. The staff perceived team learning as an important development as it enhances generative learning through constructive dialogue and thought processes. They also advocates peer coaching/mentoring and 'budding' to be practised within teams.
The implication is that school leaders can act to harness the creative energy of people through team learning and enhance the learning process by creating a supportive social climate. School leaders can look into building structures to enhance staff capacity for reflective thinking, staff capacity to transfer and disseminate learnings throughout the whole school, and staff capacity to utilise and leverage new learnings. By adopting the model suggested in this study, which largely promotes both adaptive and generative learning, the school can look forward to a more systematic continuous progression in learning and move a step closer to the concept of a learning organisation.
Date Issued
1998
Call Number
LB2806 Che
Date Submitted
1998