Just leadership in Multicultural School

1
Just leadership in Multicultural School Head
Teachers Ethical Device

• Conference on Diversity and Global Education
• Thematic Group Intercultural education, social ju
  stice and equity 25.4.2008
• Katri Kuukka
• Educational Consultant, Doctoral Student

2
Aim and Background of the Study

• Working title Head teachers ethical thinking
  and leadership in multicultural school
• social justice seen here as one aspect of virtue,
  virtues seen as part of normative ethics gt
  schools seen as normative communities
• multicultural school seen here as a school with a
  considerable amount of pupils of immigrant
  background
• Why?
• own professional experience during 13 years in
  Helsinki City Education Dpt also a general
  phenomenon in globalizing, pluralistic western
  societes
• schools have become more diverse
• demands and needs of different interest groups
  have become more diversified
• nature of school administration has altered
  dramatically
• teachers and head teachers need advice and
  device for ethical discussion and practice in
  school context
• Why head teachers?
• key figures of the school responsible power
  holders, treasurers, pedagogical leadersand
  essential moral agents?
• Values, morals and ethics are the very stuff of
  leadership and administrative life. (Hodgkinson
  1991)
• educational leadership has a moral purpose
  (Fullan and Hargreaves 1991 Greenfield 2004)

3
Head teachers ethical framework

• In a multicultural education situation the
  educator can or cannot believe in god.
• S/He can trust on the reality of the values or
  consider them as social constructions.
• This doesnt effect the basic task of value
  education. - - From now on we are
• doomed to multiculturalism, which is not the
  end of the value education but a
• new possibility. (Huttunen, Tynjälä Heikkinen
  2003) (italics mine)
• Head teachers are also doomed to
• follow the rules
• The Constitution of Finland
• Basic Education Act, Basic Education Decree
• Government Decree on the General National
  Objectives and Distribution of Lesson Hours in
  Basic Education
• National Core Curriculum (included acceptance of
  multiculturalism as one basic value)
• other acts, decrees, procedures, guidelines
• implement school curriculum
• action plan, annual report
• manage and lead
• rules of procedure

4
Value Basis defined in municipality-specific
guidelines

• In the schools of of Helsinki city
• everyone has the right to culture and good
  education, to grow as a learner, and as a human
  being
• we act in a democratic way so that everyone has
  the possibility to grow up as a responsible
  member of the community and to influence the
  common matters
• we promote equality, respect everyones human
  dignity and take care of friendly atmosphere,
  safety and well-being together
• we value Finnish culture and everyones own
  cultural background and promote the interaction
  between the cultures
• we dont allow any kind of violence,
  discrimination or racism
• we undertake to promote sustainable development
  and learn to take responsibility of the
  environment and the future.

5
Head Teachers Ethics

• professional
• legislative framework
• ethical codes gt as civil servant, as qualified
  teacher, as head teacher
• personal
• values, beliefs, assumptions, attitudes
• history, experiences as an individual
• mindset/worldview
• teleolocigal whats good gt the purpose of the
  school
• deontological whats right gt the normative
  culture of the school
• consequental whats next gt the most useful
  solutions for the school (Launonen 2006)
• intertwined, situational, reflexive/non-reflexive
  

6
Existing Device

• Guideline documents
• Multicultural education plan
• Aspects of the tuition of Muslim pupils
• Aspects of the assessment of second language
  speakers
• Interpretation services
• Pedagogical advisors for
• preparatory tuition
• FLS-tuition
• mother tongue and Islamic religion tuition
• pupil welfare
• Financial support for teaching materials added to
  school budgets
• In-service training for teachers, head teachers
  and other school staff
• On-line information on the web-site

7
Leadership in school as it should be

• Ethical (Sergiovanni, Starratt, Greenfield)
• Transformational (Leithwood Jantzi)
• Authentic (Begley)
• Distributed (Spillane)
• Democratic (Woods)
• Responsible (Maak Pless, Starratt)
• Sustainable (Hargreaves Fink, Fullan)
• For diversity (Lumby Coleman)
• For social justice (Blackmore)
• Social justice scholarship in educational
  leadership emphasizes moral values, justice,
  respect, care, and equity always in the
  forefront is a consciousness about the impact of
  race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and
  disability on schools and students learning.
  (Cambron-McCabe McCarthy 2005)

8
Problem Statement

• What kind of ethical thinking head teacher is
  expressing in his/her discourse?
• What kind of leadership head teacher's action is
  representing?
• What kind of ethical dilemmas are typical in
  multicultural school?
• What kind of values head teacher expresses?
• What kind of vision of a multicultural school is
  head teacher's thinking connected to?

9
Data

• thematic interviews (with a pinch of in-depth
  approach) in 2004
• 14 female and 11 male heads, of whom
• 20 at lower lever, 2 at upper level, and 3 at
  comprehensive schools
• 25 of municipal comprehensive schools
• content analysis

10
Themes

• Theme 1 Multiculturalism in school
• definitions of multiculturalism
• multiculturalism as a challenge and a resource in
  the school
• multiculturalism staff requirements
• Theme 2 Multicultural school
• atmosphere and working culture
• the joint responsibility of educating school,
  care takers
• challenges, dlemmas, conflicts linked to
  multiculturalism
• surprising/not anticipated situations gt solutions
• what would you do -questions
• Theme 3 Head teachers role
• involvement in various dilemmas
• courses of action
• required characteristics
• survival strategies
• Theme 4 The vision of a multicultural school
• definitions of an optimal multicultural school
• this school after ten years
• the task of the school in a multicultural society
  - heads role?

11
(Ethical) Dilemmas Faced

• violence
• threatening with violence
• troublesome _individuals_
• arguments/conflicts between ethnic groups
• religious fanatism and absoluteness
• participation in art and physical education
• underestimation of female teacher
• prejudices towards psychological tests and
  special education

12
Background of Solutions

• Appealing
• Finnish school legislation I had all the piles
  in front of me and I read the basic education
  actwhich subjects includes in lower level and so
  forth
• school curriculum Weve said that you
  participate music lessons. Period. It is said
  in the curriculum and your teacher takes care
  that your religion is not insulted.
• municipal guidelines And then we went through
  those text, digged on the net, and after thet is
  wasnt a problem any more, when he realized that
  no one is converting his child to anything
• Holy Quran Show me the point where its said
  that a pupil cannot attend music lessons.
• Flexibility
• Physical education is one thingWe have been
  drifted to adapt, so if that is so tough thing,
  the child moves according to circumstances
• Personal reflection
• I think that it cannot be any womans choice
  that even her eyes are covered.
• In the meantime you just think that both ow us
  want the best of the childBut we just have
  difference in views of it..

13
Actions Towards Just/Ethical Leadership

• preventive actions
• teaching arrangements
• flexible structures
• support of mother tongue teacher
• external support
• experts
• education department
• multidisciplinary networks
• professional apathy (Airaksinen 1993)
• slow knowledge - patient leading (Claxton 1999,
  Hargreaves Fink 2006)

14
References

• Airaksinen, T. (ed.) 1993. Ammattien ja
  ansaitsemisen etiikka. 3. painos. Helsinki
  Yliopistopaino.
• Fullan, M.G. and Hargreaves, A. 1991. Whats
  Worth Fighting For? Working together for your
  school. Australian Council for Educational
  Administration, Hawthorn.
• Cambron-McCabe, N. M. McCarthy, M. 2005.
  Educating school leaders for social justice.
  Educational Policy, Vol. 19, No. 1, 201-222.
• Claxton, G. 1999. Hare brain, tortoise mind Why
  intelligence increases when you think less.
  Hopewell, NJ Ecco Press.
• Greenfield, W.D. 2004. Moral leadership in
  schools, Journal of Educational Administration,
  Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 174-96.
• Hargreaves, A. Fink, D. 2006. Sustainable
  leadership. San Fransisco Jossey-Bass.
• Huttunen, R., Tynjälä, P. Heikkinen, H.L.T.
  2003 Rakentavasti konstruktivismista. Puolimatkan
  kriittisen kritiikin kritiikki. Kasvatustieteen
  päivät 20.11.2003.