Bay of Plenty branch NEWS

Bay of Plenty Branch meeting Thu 27 Nov Rotorua
Speaker: Dr Margie Hohepa, Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, ‘Best Evidence Synthesis: Educational Leadership - He Toa Takitini’
Location: Ihenga, Tangatarua Marae, Waiariki Institute of Technology - Whare Takiura, Mokoia Drive, Rotorua
Chair: Reynold

Margie was a member of the team (with Vivianne Robinson and Claire Lloyd) commissioned by the Ministry to conduct a systematic review of national and international research that linked leadership to learning. The Best Evidence Synthesis of Educational Leadership - Schools is currently in press. Margie has kindly agreed to explain the main findings with special reference to leadership in Mâori settings.

You are most welcome to attend this priviledged briefing and to bring colleagues you believe will be interested. The Leadership BES is clearly a world first and will inform research and practice in the years ahead. It is a 'must know'.

Margie’s presentation will focus on three important features of the concept of educational leadership presented in the BES Leadership – Schooling; (a) positional leadership, (b) distributed leadership, and (c) leadership embedded in specific tasks and situations. In the everyday context of schooling, the BES will emphasise that both positional and distributed forms of leadership are compatible with maintaining a strong focus on the principal. Why? Because the principal’s key tasks include not only leading a team but also building and sustaining the leadership of others.

Margie will also show that the three features are significant when considering Mâori educational leadership. Both traditional and contemporary Mâori leadership involves recognition of mana, which is partly related to position. By including distributed leadership the BES recognises how leadership may be exercised by anyone whose ideas or actions are influential in the context of specific tasks and activities. The approach to leadership explained will include the critical leadership roles of Mâori parents, whânau and other community and iwi members in the development of Kaupapa Mâori educational sites. This approach also echoes the importance that Mâori place on leadership that gets things done.

Bay of Plenty Branch meeting Thurs 13 March 2008

NZEALS BAY OF PLENTY MEETING 6 FEBRUARY 2008

Venue: St Georges Early Childhood Centre, Whakatane
Speaker: Caterina Murphy – NZ Childcare Association

Caterina’s address to the first Bay of Plenty branch of NZEALS meeting for 2008, presented a stimulating overview of the parameters of NZCER as an organisation and the services provided. Caterina also shared her personal perspectives on a number of aspects of early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand. She provided fertile ground for thought and debate, particularly in her visioning of ECE in the future.

Caterina was a passionate speaker, clearly committed to early childhood education and to children’s welfare. She is exceedingly optimistic about the future of early childhood education and focussed on the importance of quality leadership in this sector of education. We look forward to reading Caterina’s future paper entitled “From Playcentre to PhD”.

Follow up enquiries welcomed by Caterina.Murphy@nzca.ac.nz

MINUTES NZEALS MEETING 18 OCTOBER 2007 GREENPARK PRIMARY SCHOOL, TAURANGA

In Attendance: Gloria Abernethy; Dallas Collett, Kathy Colville, Ruth Fletcher, Alaster Gibson, Ruth Gorinski, Judith Honeyfield, Anne-Marie Hunt, Lyn Lewis, Graeme Lind, Reynold Macpherson Chantal Phillimore, Merle Ramsay, Susan Shaw, Ngareta Timutimu, Babette Voss

Apologies: Carol Stovold, Erita Kingi, Beryl Harvey, Mere Berryman, Jan Hausman, Olepa Ki-Korenhof, Tangiwai

Grateful thanks was extended to Greenpark Primary School for opening their staff room (and wonderful coffee machine) up for the NZEALS meeting and for Principal Graeme Lind’s warm welcome to the group.

During the meeting the following items were discussed:

• NZEALS – clarification of NZEALS purpose, aims, services
• NZEALS Conference 2008 and call for papers
• Membership
• BoP Branch – further discussion on what we want our local branch to offer members? Meeting frequency? Time? Venue?
• Election of officers
• Wenger, E. article “Communities of practice….what do we want ours to look like?”

Overview of discussion with regards to what attendees wish to gain from NZEALS in addition to ideas put forward at meeting 13 September 2007:

Responses included:

• Invitation to stimulating dynamic speakers – not too heavy
• Some humour desired in meetings
• Desirable to attract more Maori into future NZEALS membership
• Focus on: school design; education for the future – e-learning
• Development of quality learning circles for problem solving and group reflection activities
• Mentoring & coaching
• Discussion/speakers on managing stress and resiliency
• Consensus that BoP branch have a steering committee to be involved in decision making and administration around branch activities
• Suggestion that steering committee work to map out themes for 2008 for meetings, ensuring representation of ECE, primary, secondary ,and tertiary sectors
• Rotating venue – it was agreed that we trial 6 meetings per annum. Two in Tauranga, 2 in Rotorua and 2 in Whakatane with different venues i.e. tertiary, school etc.
• Time of meetings. Meetings to continue 5.30-7.30pm with a Potluck dinner on a THURSDAY evening.
• Focus on developing abroad understanding of leadership – all layers of teachers/leaders not just CEOs, principals, DPs etc.
• Guest speakers who can include all educational sectors
• Research focus
• Research links i.e. identifying what research people are involved in and provide opportunity for collaboration and networking
• Book critiques/debate e.g. Bottery
• Panel debates on common professional reading/article/book etc.
• Building on the uniqueness of our BoP community and learning from each other.
• Mini conference of local research activity
• Sharing from the range of educational communities in our region – e.g. BoP Polytechnic, schools, wananga – have sharing evening/s where each organisation shares their vision, culture etc so all can understand the role and function of the various organisations
• Visiting opportunities to one another’s o9ragnsiations to build collaboration
• Having a theme to advertise meetings – catchy title as a draw card
• Acknowledging local expertise as invited speakers –vs. importing speakers

Wenger article

Reynold Macpherson introduced the Communities of Practice reading. Following this, attendees split into plenary groups to discuss the article and how it could inform the future direction of the BoP branch of NZEALS.

Election of Officers:

The following folk were elected:

• Co-Presidents: Ruth Gorinski & Reynold Macpherson
• Secretary: Alaster Gibson
• Treasurer: Anne-Marie Hunt
• Steering Committee members: Judith Honeyfield, Cheryl Stephens, Suzie Shaw, Ruth Fletcher, Kathy Colville, Tim Burns

Attendees agreed that the BoP branch of NZEALS would support an evening meeting with Tim Burns as guest speaker 22 May 2008.

Next meeting: Proposed meeting date late January 2008 TBC.