A report on a visit to Halifax Catholic High School in West Yorkshire, UK : 1st November 1999 - 12th November 1999

Abstract

Our recently published National Minimum Curriculum, under Principle 12, "Vocation and Competence", defines competent and effective teachers as persons who, among other things, 'seek to continuously develop themselves through reading, reflection, exchange of ideas with colleagues, courses and ongoing experimentation'. And we feel we may justifiably state that the Faculty of Education's Diploma in Education (Administration and Management), which we are currently following, gives participants the opportunity to do just that. The objectives of the Diploma course, in fact are 1 to acquaint participants with theories and research in the social and behavioural sciences that relate to the study of organizations. Within the framework of current developments in educational theory and practice it also aims to provide participants with opportunities to analyse situations and formulate strategies for administrative and management practice in education' (1999-2001 Course Description, 1.2). Indeed, our course lecturers are very ably exposing us to a number of interesting and highly enlightening issues in educational management and administration. Two particular issues deserve to be very briefly considered because of their strong bearing on our decision to embark on the present Long Essay. The first issue concerns the dialectical relationship between educational theory and practice. Thanks to our lecturers, as well as through 1 reading, reflection and exchange of ideas with colleagues', we came to realize and accept that although 1 management is often regarded as essentially a practical activity' (Bush, 1995, p.19), 'there is nothing more practical than a good theory' (Landers and Myers, 1977, cited in Bush, 1995, p. 18). We would therefore be jeopardizing our efforts if, as members of a school1s Senior Management Team we were to base our actions and decisions solely on common sense practical experience. If our practical decisions are to be educationally sound and effective, they must be made and taken within an equally sound theoretical framework. Theories, on the other hand, must be empirically tested if they are to be of any relevance to the practitioner. As Getzels (cited in Campbell and Lipham, 1960, p. 42) puts it, 'theories without practices, like maps without routes, may be empty, but practices without theories, like routes without maps, are blind ... ' The second issue on which we would like to dwell briefly is the question of our professional growth as educators. One of the factors which militate against the professionalization of teaching is the traditional occupational isolation of teachers. This isolation leads to very limited professional interaction with hardly any mutual observation by colleagues. Isolation is not conducive to professional growth. On the other hand, the critical observation of good practice by one's peers, contributes to the generation of even better practice, enhancing one's own professional development. If this applies to teachers at the classroom level, why should it not apply also to school administrators? This was basically our reasoning when we decided to embark on the present project. The possibility of visiting a foreign school to observe and report on its administrative practices was mentioned to us very early on in this diploma course. We reasoned that such a visit would give us the opportunity to observe how the theories in educational administration and management being passed on to us, were being put into practice in a foreign school. We made the necessary arrangements with Halifax Catholic High School (HCHS), an English comprehensive secondary school. Our choice was conditioned by a number of factors, the most important being the school's proximity to our relatives' home. Looking back, it turned out to be a very good choice. Our visit to HCHS confirmed our reasoning: not only were we able to observe various theories put into practice, but our exposure to effective school administrative procedures widened our horizons and enriched us professionally.