Advantages of a Collaborative Culture

Having a collaborative culture is advantageous to a school in several ways. The collaborative culture helps schools

• work through concerns throughout the implementation process,
• overcome resistance to change,
• learn from each other’s mistakes and accomplishments, and
• develop shared leadership to ensure continuation of the implementation process.

Working through concerns. Establishing a collaborative culture can help move staff through the change process in a number of ways, including helping staff work through concerns they may have about the reform program. At the beginning of a reform program or change, many teachers’ concerns may focus on the mechanics of the program. Questions may take the form of, "How is this program supposed to work?" or "How is it different from what we are already doing at our school?" or "What textbooks and materials will this program require?" They may be concerned how the CSR program will affect them personally. These concerns may be expressed by questions such as: "How will the reform program change what I do in my classroom?" "Will it affect my daily classroom schedule?" "Will it mean many additional hours to prepare lessons or attend training?" "How will my performance be evaluated in this program?" They may also be concerned with staffing issues if the CSR program requires a shift in personnel. Generally, the concerns or reservations that focus on getting more information about the program are expressed more easily than their personal concerns. Because of the trust and openness that generally develops when a collaborative culture is established, teachers in this culture may feel more at ease voicing the personal concerns to other faculty members and administrators than in a culture where open group discussion and collaboration with others is not the norm.

It should be noted that a school’s having a less collaborative culture does not preclude staff concerns from being addressed; a strong principal will ensure staff concerns are met. This was not the case at Sunrise however. Apparently, most concerns of the teachers were not being addressed. As one teacher mentioned, it was either sink or swim regarding changes they faced in the reform process. There was also the teacher uncomfortable with the technology requirements of the Sunrise CSR program. Had he felt freer to discuss his concerns during a staff meeting, it may have become apparent to Ms. Smith, the principal, that this teacher needed more training, coaching, and feedback to become comfortable with a classroom where students worked in groups on special projects and used the computer. He may also have needed more training in using technology and incorporating it into his lessons.

Encouraging staff resistant to change. Some staff members may be downright resistant to change, and it is important they have a voice as well. The collaborative culture ensures that these staff members are heard. Some change experts stress the need for superintendents and principals to face what John Brown and Cyrelle Moffett call the shadow organization in their book, The Hero’s Journey: How Educators Can Transform Schools and Improve Learning. The shadow organizations are those informal groups that spring up in schools, where members may play out hidden agendas and sometimes work to foil programs or changes. They write, "the shadow organization represents the unacknowledged and covert patterns of behavior that are in competition with the formal, overt components of a business or educational organization. People in the ‘shadow culture’ can be called on to provide meaningful contributions to the school improvement process, if they are acknowledged by the formal leadership structure and brought into the dialogue."⁸

Hord stresses that those resistant to change often have personal concerns about some of the changes in practice required by CSR. Their resistance may give way to cooperation once they are given the opportunity to work through concerns and become comfortable with changes. In their book, Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Leadership Development for Teachers, Katzenmeyer and Moller provide another solution to drawing resisters into the fold. According to the researchers, "There is an advantage to inviting resisters into the mainstream of school change. The dissatisfied or withdrawn teacher may be willing to provide positive leadership if the principal can find an area the teacher really cares about changing."¹⁰

Had the vocal Sunrise group resistant to the CSR program been able to discuss with everyone else on the staff why they were so opposed to the program, issues may have surfaced that could be easily addressed. At Sierra Vista, there were teachers initially resistant to the program. Through discussions and hearing from others enthusiastic about the program, most of these teachers were eventually won over.

Another factor that may have hindered Sunrise’s implementation was the tendency of members who had been at the school for years to keep referring to the past. Called the "golden-age" mythology by researchers Karen Louis and Matthew Miles,¹¹ this type of thinking can impede reform because it makes it easy for staff members to place the blame for poor school achievement on the community or students. This may be shown by statements such as "Our school used to have students who really wanted to learn" or "When the neighborhood was a good one...." For school changes to be successful, this type of thinking should be replaced with the attitude that it is the staff’s responsibility to ensure all students learn, that every individual plays a part in school change.

Learning from mistakes and successes. Getting together as a group and discussing practice and changes made in the classroom provides the opportunity for teachers to learn from mistakes–their own and those of others. "If teachers don’t talk about what works and what doesn’t, not as much learning occurs," explains SEDL program specialist Tara Leo.

When a school staff gets together regularly, as does Sierra Vista, there is the opportunity to provide feedback as to the positive results of the reform efforts. Seeing success is a critical incentive during implementation.¹² Celebrating even small successes can be crucial to boosting staff morale and provide tangible results that changes are making a difference. Wendell Brown, principal at Anderson Junior High School in Lubbock, Texas, whose school is a CSRD step-ahead school, says, "Celebration is one of the most important things that you can do in that people need to realize the effort they put in is appreciated....Once teachers have been acknowledged for the efforts that they’re making, they continue to work."¹³

Initially, the only successes may seem like small ones. From their survey of 178 high schools involved in reform programs, Louis and Miles note, "Programs implemented for less than three years show significantly less impact on student achievement, student attendance, teaching methods, new teachers skills, and student-faculty relations than those that have been in place longer."¹⁴

Developing shared leadership. Shared leadership–which often emerges when a school has a collaborative culture where teachers actively participate in the decision-making process–has been identified as one of the factors that contributes to school change success. Kenneth A. Leithwood has described this type of leadership as "consensual...a form of power manifested through other people, not over other people."¹⁵

When shared leadership is developed, a school or district will be able to sustain reform efforts because there are multiple sources of leadership and enthusiasm; if a school leader should leave, there will be enough momentum and alternate leadership available to continue the reform process. In order to foster shared leadership, school and district leaders must encourage others to assume leadership roles and be able to recognize when staff, parents, and others are ready to take on a leadership role. A collaborative school culture encourages shared leadership because of the equality inherent in such a culture.

At Sierra Vista we saw that Ms. Martinez began to develop teacher leadership capacity as soon as she arrived at the school by forming study groups. In the case of the reading program, she allowed the study group to make decisions about the school’s program and help others acquire the training needed for the program. She encouraged other staff members to take a leadership role.

Again and again in school reform literature, a collaborative school culture is highly ranked as necessary to provide the school context needed for the reform and change process, but as Brown and Moffett observe, "We know more about the need for collaborative work cultures in schools than we do about how to create them." They also note that even though creating such a culture is "tough work," it is some of the most important work a school can do.¹⁶

The role of the principal in school reform is crucial–the principal usually serves as the manager or director of the reform program and, especially at the elementary school level, as instructional leader. Research has shown that the principal’s actions and contributions are important to a school change project’s overall success. SEDL program manager Shirley Hord says, "Successful school change stories consistently feature the principal as the leader who supplied the human interface–the support and the pressure–for change."

The principal’s role in establishing a collaborative culture that encourages change and reform is significant as well, as she is usually the one who must actively develop leadership capacity at the school. The Strategies for Increasing School Success program at SEDL is studying five schools that have become professional learning communities. One of the things that is clear is that the collaborative culture and much of the success at all of the schools were attributed to the principal. At the schools, teachers cited the importance of their principal’s empowerment and trust of the teachers and noted the principal’s leadership in the professionalization of the faculty.

To ensure successful implementation of a school reform program, the principal must make certain a focus on student learning is maintained. She must also be someone who can lead the school staff and other stakeholders in building a vision and maximizing resources to carry out the job.

According to SEDL program manager Shirley Hord, superintendents who cultivate a climate for change actively challenge administrators, teachers, and other staff to be innovative and make suggestions for improvement. They also support risk-taking activities by acknowledging that mistakes will be made, but actively acknowledge that mistakes lead to learning.

Hord says that superintendents should spend time and energy managing issues external to the schools, so that an internal change climate may flourish. Superintendents ensure that the district maintains a harmonious environment, one of cooperation and trust.

A superintendent can help build a positive, collaborative culture by

• having an open-door policy for staff, never being too busy to interact with staff, and showing interest and support;
  
  
• visiting schools to support staff morale;
  
  
• being a team player and building coalitions, team work groups, and committees to address issues;
  
  
• developing district policies and practices that support leadership capacity building, including shared decision making and site-based management;
  
  
• implementing plans for building leadership capacity and anticipating role changes and professional development needs; and
  
  
• being a problem solver by securing rapid solutions to problems and cutting through red tape.

It is also important that the district give the school the authority and autonomy necessary to implement the reform model. This usually means the school has control over curriculum and instruction materials, personnel issues, professional development, and budget. District support can provide a stabilizing force for schools undergoing reform.

⁸Brown, John, and Cerylle Moffett (1999). The Hero’s Journey: How Educators Can Transform Schools and Improve Learning. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p. 59-60, 72.

⁹Fullan, Michael. (1998). Breaking the Bonds of Dependency. Educational Leadership, 55(7), p. 8.

¹⁰Katzenmeyer, Marilyn, and Gayle Moller. (1996). Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Leadership Development for Teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc., p. 35.

¹¹Louis, Karen Seashore, and Matthew B. Miles. (1990). Improving the Urban High School: What Works and Why. New York: Teachers College Press, p. 186-187.

¹²Fullan, Michael. (1991). The New Meaning of Educational Change, 2nd Edition. New York: Teachers College Press.

¹³SEDL interview with Wendell Brown, January 21, 2000.

¹⁴Louis and Miles. (1990). Improving the Urban High School, p. 49.

¹⁵Leithwood, K. A. (1992). The Move Toward Transformational Leadership. Educational Leadership, 49(5), 8-12.

¹⁶Brown and Moffett (1999). The Hero’s Journey, p. 107.