Equity and Excellence: A Clarion Call for Pedagogical Prowess!
Illiteracy is unacceptable (CLARITY, 2019). Two centuries ago, only a small elite of the world population could read and write – the best estimate is that 12% of the world population was literate. In the 19th century global literacy more than doubled; and over the course of the 20th century the world achieved rapid progress in education. More than 4 out of 5 people are now able to read [in rich countries]. Young generations are better educated than ever before (O’Neill, 2021). However, as IR4 (the fourth industrial revolution) has evolved, new illiteracies have begun to emerge again dividing societies in every geopolitical system. Now, in rich and poor countries we consider access to technology and seamless use to be the enabler with that, critical thinking to be the minimal benchmark of our high school graduates. This is the nub of equity and excellence for me.
Together as leaders and researchers, we have learned what it takes to develop ALL students as critical thinkers in this new time. We have learned about getting to the human side of learning while zeroing in on the knowledge base and expertise required for deep and widespread positive learning outcomes for ALL students. In a way, COVID has done us the favour of speeding up a more rapid distribution of technology to those who didn’t have access. Importantly, we know our next steps include not just discovering a few passionate teachers here and there but rather generating emotional commitment and impactful assessment practices that inform instruction on a very large scale — across a whole education system of Primary and Secondary schools. To achieve system-wide pedagogical prowess, all our teaching colleagues need to know how to generate and parse the most relevant data in ways that make students come alive in their minds and actions. Through the CLARITY work, my colleagues and I, across the globe, have learned more about how to do this.
Within the environment of this learning and the distribution of access to technology underway, I believe it takes 3 things to ensure equity and excellence across a system: 1. a culture of learning; 2. a framework against which to self-assess; and 3. the belief that everyone’s a leader. Let’s take a brief look.
1. A Culture of Learning
Collective capacity-building of teachers and leaders to teach ALL students begins by focusing on ‘learning’ at every opportunity: in staff meetings, during Professional Learning Team time, at co-planning sessions and wherever teachers and leaders gather – provided the time is spent examining what it means to “put the FACES on the data”. It becomes the powerful notion by going deeper within focused assessment that informs instruction, by harnessing the value of only relevant data that tell teachers what to teach next for each student, and by doing so in a way that connects the emotions, intellect and experiences of teachers and students. Culture is often the ever-silent enemy of relationship-building. As leaders, we must constantly ask, “Am I getting ALL teachers’ buy-in to do the system and school improvement work together?” Even one dissenting voice is one too many. Collective capacity-building is evidenced by returning to the ‘why’ – why we are doing this CLARITY work - always establishing our moral imperative: ALL students’ growth and achievement, and then growing professionally from the experience. - an equity and excellence issue for me.
2. A Self-Assessment Framework
The 14 Parameters (14 P’s), a research-proven system and school improvement approach (Sharratt & Fullan, 2012; Sharratt, 2019), identifies the drivers and keys to implementation that have now been replicated in many jurisdictions worldwide. With the inclusion of a strong literacy-numeracy AND critical thinking strategy, many systems have deployed the 14 Ps as a self-assessment tool and have achieved and sustained impressive success. The 14 Parameters allow for reflection on each critical component one at a time and provide data sources that are powerful tools for improvement at every level—especially if improvement is noted and monitored on the basis of drilling down into that data to the level of individual student names and faces in individual classrooms. Using the 14 Ps uncovers how we build a ‘culture of learning’ by unpacking Parameter #1 (Shared Beliefs and Understandings); Parameter #6 (A Case Management Approach – Data Walls and Case Management Meetings); and Parameter #14 (Shared Responsibility and Accountability). These Non-Negotiables address the equity and excellence issue for me.
3. Everyone’s a Leader
We learned in our initial study (Putting FACES on the Data, 2012) and subsequent work (CLARITY, 2019) has reinforced the idea of the overarching value of quality leadership at system, school and classroom levels. Leaders make the difference and that is why everyone must see themselves as leaders. Successful schools in our research were led by principals, deputy and assistant principals, and instructional coaches who understood and were committed to the specifics and shared those with ALL teaching staff. For example, in the schools I continue to study, I have found the following:
School leaders clearly understood our improvement research and, most importantly, lived the shared beliefs and understandings (Parameter 1) and shared responsibility and accountability (Parameter 14) in the design of their ‘learning is the work’ mantra.
School leaders clearly understood that they needed to attend to and integrate all components of the 14 Parameters in order to develop a focused ‘culture of learning’.
School teams did constant self-evaluation, striving to align beliefs and understandings among the principal, deputies, instructional coaches, teacher-leaders, and special education resource teachers as the leadership team who worked with all staff. This involved ‘Accountable Talk’ (Sharratt, 2019) and corresponding action, with each other and with all teachers, in an ongoing way—during the school day.
School leaders did not let the “distracters” divert their energies and focus—they didn’t buy programs and ready-made materials - they stayed the course heading toward all students’ growth and improvement—holding their nerve until improvement results were realized—no matter what!
To sum up my ongoing research findings, the actions of teachers and leaders believing they were making a difference amounted to them being consistent, persistent, and insistent in demanding quality assessment that informs differentiated instruction in every classroom (Sharratt, 2019). An equity and excellence issue for us all.
John Dewy first coined the phrase ‘Deliberate Pause’. I appreciate the reminder. We don’t often take the time to stop and reflect on where we’ve been, where we are, where to from here and what we have to do to get there. Here are some critical questions that allow everyone to consider equity and excellence – consider: am I/are we there yet?
Deliberate Pause
How many students (in your state, region, network, school, and classroom) can read with fluency and comprehension by the end of grade 1? How do you know?
How many of your Grade 7 to 10 students cannot read the texts used at their year level or write to the expected level of the curriculum standards?
Of all the data available, which are most critical to enabling emotional connections to and cognitive insights about each FACE in your care? Which data sources are missing?
Instead of using data, do leaders at every level “hope for” exceptional instructional practice within the confines of the mysterious black box known as the classroom? (Hope is NOT a strategy when considering the growth and achievement of each learner)
Using your data can you demonstrate that every student is learning at his or her maximum potential?
Can you ensure that every student learns and every teacher teaches like a Master Teacher such that all schools become high performers and therefore are responsible and accountable for the funding dollars they receive and for achieving their social-moral imperative?
We have found time and again, that it is not the mere acceptance or endorsement of an idea or practice that counts but rather it is engaging consistently and relentlessly in the actions to achieve it that cause implementation. It is the relentless pursuit of ‘pedagogical prowess’ that ensures equity and excellence for ALL students in our care.
References
O’Neill A. Oct 8 2021. Retrieved, December 30, 2021 from the global literacy rate among adults has grown from 67 percent in 1976 to 86 percent in 2019,
Sharratt L. & Fullan, M. (2012). Putting FACES on the Data: What Great Leaders
Do! Corwin Press: CA Thousand Oaks.
Sharratt L. (2019). CLARITY: What Matters MOST in Learning, Teaching and
Leading. Corwin Press: CA Thousand Oaks.