The Ariki Project

Hanmer Springs School - A Case Study

The Ariki Project — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 01:06:40 +0000

Brendan Wright is the Principal of Hanmer Springs School in Canterbury and has been involved with the Ariki Project since 2009. Ariki Project Regional Director Lyn Bird talks to Brendan about his experience with the project and the benefits it has brought to his school.

Leadership Development with Jan Robertson

The Ariki Project — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:16:58 +0000

Dr Jan Robertson, Leadership Consultant, Waiheke Island and Former Director of The London Centre for Leadership in Learning, talks with David Stewart about her recent work.

Addressed in the conversation are the similarities and differences in the way various authorities manage leadership development in their areas and the nature of the problems that they signal that they wish to address with this work. Jan talks about how the UK National College for School Leadership has widened its scope and why it has changed its name to The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services. Talk ranges around the possible implications of these kinds of developments for the current New Zealand Ministry of Education initiative of closely linking student assessment with leadership programmes.

Using a decision tree to work with National Standards

The Ariki Project — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 03:44:48 +0000

Deciding what sort of decision you are faced with and with whom you should consult in the process, is probably as important as actually making the decision. This is one of the judgement aspects of decision making. We have chosen to illustrate the pathway of this thinking with a conversation between two principals based around a decision tree. In this case the complex decision required is how to deal with the National Standards requirements and the decision tree selected is based on the work of Victor Vroom.

(Vroom, V. H., & Jago, A. G. (1988). The new leadership: Managing participation in organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.)

You can try this decision making tree for yourself at:

http://faculty.css.edu/dswenson/web/LEAD/vroom-yetton.html

A further on-line reference you may like to visit:

http://www.epinions.com/content_4584087684

If you find this short role play useful please leave a comment. The Ariki Team are keen to make more of these podcasts if colleagues find them worthwhile.

Ariki Process Discussion

The Ariki Project — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 02:51:00 +0000

The two year trial of the Ariki Project is nearing its end and the programme evaluation phase will be completed by December 2010. At a recent seminar of Regional Directors it was decided to record this conversation where the group looked back over their last two years’ work. The participants are:

Gary Punler responsible for Manawatu;
Liz Millar responsible for Wellington;
Dr Lyn Bird responsible for Christchurch;
Dr Wendy Bamford responsible for Central Otago;
Kay Tester responsible for ArikiRural; and
Dr David Stewart, project director.

Running through this discussion are the notions that there are multiple ways of thinking and many ways of achieving the same aim – which we call Professional Discretion;

the belief that teachers are professionals and that schools function as teams – which we call Collegial Obligations;

that Reflective Inquiry and Discourse is the core of professional interaction and development; and

and that Evidenced based Professional practice can be spread across all school activity.

These values are supported with the evidence we are accumulating through the programme evaluation data and we are all looking forward to expanding the project to further interested groups in 2011. Please contact us if you would like any further information.

Wendy Kofoed

The Ariki Project — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 03:48:40 +0000

Dr Wendy Kofoed, principal of Newmarket School, talks with David Stewart about her recent Doctor of Education thesis: Written Reporting: Strengthening learning partnerships through purposeful reporting.

The conversation covers an outline of the main purposes of the study, the questions that were addressed and the methodology for so doing. An explanation of the kind and range of data is given. There is a discussion about what this means for schools and how some of the contemporary issues might be addressed. National Standards bring new demands for schools and Dr Kofoed explains the relationship between her research and the current pressures to implement these notions in schools' written reporting schedules.

Click to view slides:

Slide Reference:
Kofoed, W.J. Written Reporting: Strengthening learning partnerships through purposeful reporting. Auckland University, Unpublished Doctor of Education Thesis. 2009.

An interview with Lester Flockton

The Ariki Project — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In this interview Lester Flockton talks with David Stewart and Kay Tester on a range of issues currently confronting New Zealand school principals.

Lester Flockton is a graduate of Dunedin Teachers College and the University of Otago. He has extensive experience in New Zealand’s school system as a teacher, principal (5 schools small rural to large urban), inspector of schools, Ministry of Education official, researcher, university teacher, educational thinker and leader.

Throughout his career in education he has worked on many national curriculum and assessment committees and projects, including the revised New Zealand Curriculum (2007). He has led numerous professional development and learning programmes, made dozens of conference presentations, and held office in various professional organizations.

Kay Tester is principal of St Brigid’s School in Wellington, and a regional director of the Ariki project responsible for data management within the project. She also facilitates the ArikiRural group; a small school subset of the wider programme who operate at a distance.

A Board of Trustee's Perspective

The Ariki Project — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:28:35 +0000

Martin Glaeser has been a member of the Board of Trustees at St Brigid's for 4-5 years and has been the chair for the last two years. His two children have attended the school and Martin enjoys the community interaction that the role brings. He has found the work with principal and staff satisfying. He talks with David Stewart about the Ariki Project and the chart that is referred to is available on the Project News page.

The conversation explores themes of school and principal accountability; the connection of principal intentions with classroom practice; how the project had impacted on the Board's thinking regarding principal appraisal; the board's response to professional conversations beginning predominately with examples of evidence of practice; and the extent to which this Ariki Project had influenced both the culture of the school and importantly the raising of student attainment.

When metaphor becomes reality

The Ariki Project — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:42:00 +0000

Dr David Stewart has wide experience in the educational sector. Some time principal, academic, centre director, author and researcher, he is currently director of the Ariki Project.

These three short pieces explore how good ideas expressed as metaphor can inhibit progress if applied literally. The examples chosen are open door policies, 360⁰feedback and flat organisation structures.

Ben Levin

The Ariki Project — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:31:00 +0000

Dr Ben Levin, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto talks with David Stewart. Their discussion is based around Ben Levin’s recent book

How to Change 5000 Schools. Harvard Educational Press, 2008.

This conversation explores the manner in which knowledge gained from Ben Levin’s recent experiences could be applied to principal behaviour in New Zealand schools. He served as deputy minister (chief civil servant) for education in the province of Manitoba 1999-2002 and in the province of Ontario from 2004 to 2007. It is a topical exchange which explores themes currently being debated in educational circles here including the thought that schools benefit from leadership that is intelligent rather than simply obedient.