Vision
This section lays the foundations for clarifying what is of importance
in a school's purpose and direction for teaching and learning..
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| Contents |
- In Brief - the main
point in a couple of sentences
- Key Ideas - a list of the main points
- 'How To' Guide - simple guidelines
for practice
- Resources - a collection of
useful, evaluated resources
- Further Reflection - relevant
research, papers and articles that inform the ideas in
this section
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In Brief
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The essential role of vision
Vision is an image of the future. (Open
image).
Having a vision for education is central to school
leadership, because vision is a source of motivation
and energy. It powerfully shapes practice within a
school community. Thus vision needs to be understood,
articulated and owned by the whole school community.
It provides both a source of inspiration and a frame
of reference for developing professional values.
This section considers meaning and purpose in education and helps
to clarify vision
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Where does vision come from ?
A vision expresses values and beliefs about what is considered to
be of real importance in education. Sources of educational purpose
and vision are:
- Philosophical
- ideas and values about what counts as knowledge
- ideas and values about people - their
worth - their potential etc
- ideas and values about society
- Practical
- basic language
- reading and number skills including IT
- qualifications
- preparation for work
- Personal beliefs & hopes
- about the world and individuals within it
- formed by reflection and personal experience
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Centrality of leadership
Leadership at all levels is the key factor in the improvement
and success of schools. Leaders help to move a community
towards its vision.
School effectiveness requires authentic leadership…Leaders
with character ground their practice in purposes and
ideas that define the schools they serve as special
places and then act with courage and conviction to advance
and defend these ideas. Sergiovanni (2000)
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Locally determined
A school's vision needs to be generated, owned and supported by the
whole school community, including pupils, parents and
the local community. Identifying a distinctive local
vision involves consultation and dialogue with all members
and groups within the community. It should also involve
a critical dialogue with religious and 'secular' traditions
and worldviews that are present within the community.
Everyone who works in a school is entitled to unique
personal vision of the way he or she would like the
school to become, but has an obligation to uncover,
discover, and rediscover what the vision is and contribute
it to the betterment of the school community. R
Barth (1990) Improving Schools from Within |
Seeking change
At the heart of teaching is the notion of change. Teachers seek to
change the way students think, feel and perceive the
world and their place in it. A school's vision provides
an image of the sort of direction in which that change
might happen. |
Standards and moral vision
Moral vision and standards are two sides of the same coin that cannot
easily be separated. Schools with an effective vision and ethos are
generally also effective in terms of standards and achievement. Personal
development and learning achievement together constitute attainment.
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Participatory
In order to drive the practices of a school community at all levels
vision needs to be drawn from the views about what matters to people
in that community and what sort of future community they want to create.
'Nothing so professionalises work in schools as educators
who create within the school house visions of good education.
R Barth (1990) Improving Schools from Within
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Future 21st century
Taking vision and values seriously is an increasingly important part
of professionalism in education, particularly in a rapidly
changing and unpredictable world. Schools should also
relate and include the aims of citizenship to the broader
aims of their schools and publish these. |
Mission is localised vision
To be useful, an educational vision has to be made specific in terms of a school's particular context, its history, locality and community for example. A mission statement tries to do this. It is a statement of aims and objectives that flow from an educational vision. |
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'How To' Guide
In Summary
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Establishing your vision
Asking yourself why you teach is important
in understanding and developing your vision:
this is a clear focus of what you want to achieve.
Establishing a focused vision will give you a sense
of meaning and purpose, and the inspiration and motivation
to achieve your vision.
The 'why ladder'
The 'why ladder' is constructed to help you to establish
your vision by first uncovering what lies at the heart
of your teaching. Look at Example 1 below. Ask yourself:
how would your motivation and practices be affected
if you stopped at: a) the first rung of the ladder?
b) the last rung of the ladder?
The 'why ladder '
- Example 1
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| Why do you teach maths? |
It pays the mortgage. |
| Ok, why else? |
Because I got a maths degree. |
| Why did you get a maths degree? |
Because I got 'A' Level. |
| Why did you get 'A' level? |
Because I was good at maths. |
| Why were you good at maths? |
Because I loved maths. |
| Why did you love maths? |
Because it is all about order and relationship. It is a
fascinating way of understanding the world |
| Interactive Task 1 |
| You can create your own 'why ladder'. You
can use the form on this
page and have the result e-mailed to you. |
| Interactive Task 2 |
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Using your last answer from the 'why ladder' exercise
above, take a few minutes to write a few sentences to
express your answer in more detail - this could be a personal vision statement (for assistance
see Example 2).
You can use this 'scratch
pad' to record your thoughts
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| Personal
vision - Example 2 |
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From Example 1 -
Because it [maths] is all about order
and relationship. It is a fascinating way
of understanding the world.
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My primary aim in my teaching of maths is
to encourage my students to see how maths
produces a world of order and relationship
and to excite them about it.
I also aim to communicate my love of maths
and to train my students effectively in the
skills they need to do maths well.
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From vision to mission
Vision statements and mission statements often have
considerable overlap. Sometimes this causes 'vision
statements' to be rather long and not very memorable.
It is helpful to think of a process: from vision to
mission.
A mission statement makes an educational vision useful. The mission statement tries to make the school's vision specific in terms of its history, locality and community. It is a statement of aims and objectives that flow from an educational vision.
A school's sense of mission involves the whole community:
students, teachers, parents, managers, governors and
others. If you are a class teacher it will be best
to work with your managers and curriculum leaders
to ensure that there is consistency between the educational
vision of teachers and the mission of the school or
faculty or department.
Those with managerial or curriculum leadership responsibilities
will find it useful to explore the links in the Resources
section below.
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In the next step of the Learning Centre - 'Values'
- we will see that, as well as providing a basis for
all school aims and objectives a mission statement
also provides a cluster of core values which
are very useful tools in delivering the
mission statement at several levels:
- curriculum delivery in the classroom
- whole school management
- external relations
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Resources
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Presentation: Importance of vision
All of the ideas discussed above are summarised in
a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation which is downloadable
from here.
Once downloaded the presentation slides are editable
if you have a version of PowerPoint. The slides may
be freely adapted for your own purpose. (The file
is 60KB in size and will take about 20 seconds to
download using a 56K modem.)
The same set of slides are offered in an all-in-one
format which does not require any software other
than Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP/NT. There are two files
to be downloaded totalling 2.5MB. Note: these slides
are not editable.
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Transforming school ethos: transforming learning
This
reading is an address given by Professor Bart McGettrick
to Bristol headteachers in April 2002. Its core idea
is that schools need to be values driven, rather than
systems driven and that this is a basic requirement
for a transformative approach to citizenship education.
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Writing a vision statement
Developing a vision for our school
http://www.nc.uk.net/esd/prof_dev/activity_10.htm
Writing
a vision statement - a summary of the advice from
The Total Quality Toolkit by J Marsh
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Example vision & mission statements
A collection
of vision statements published by a variety of schools
in the UK during 2001-02.
Many of these texts illustrate the finding that schools'
statements of vision, of mission, of aims and values
are often interwoven in several paragraphs. One difficulty
with this form of statement is that the purpose of
the vision statement - to describe the organisation's
overall purpose in a memorable, inspirational way
- is not achieved.
We have put in bold text what appear to us to be
statements of vision in most of these texts.
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National Curriculum Resources
The school curriculum and the National Curriculum:
values, aims and purposes
http://www.nc.uk.net/statement_of_values.html
Examples of incorporating 'Education for sustainable
development' principles into school policies
http://www.nc.uk.net/esd/school_management/index.htm
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From Vision to Mission
Mission impossible - research shows the key role
of mission statements in post 16 education and training.
See the following paper published by the Learning
and Skills Development Agency in 2003
www.successforall.gov.uk/linkattachments/ACF2539.pdf
The leadership and management section of the 'Support
and Access for Learners and Teachers' resource from
Cheshire contains resources to support the development
of a mission statement
http://www.salt.cheshire.gov.uk/sise/sub1todoclist.asp?
submenu1_name=Shared%20Visions%20and%20Goals
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Further Reflection
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Vision
Staessens K & Vandenberghe, R. (1994) ‘Vision
as a core component in school culture’ Curriculum
Studies Vol 26 (No2): 187 – 200
Abstract. This article is for educators, providing
a thorough discussion of the way that vision relates
clearly to practice within school. In recent studies
of school improvement and school culture, vision is
a central theme (Pettigrew 1979, Bormann 1983, Wilson
and Corbett 1983, Herriott and Firestone 1984, Hallinger
and Murphy 1985). The study of ‘vision’ as it is reflected
in the daily routine of a school is important, but
the authors argue that we need to understand more
about what themes and visions are...how they can be
orchestrated, or we risk introducing abstract concepts
that have little practical meaning for educators.
In the first part of the paper, the concepts of vision
and development of vision are discussed. Next, based
on a case-study, a concrete and specific description
of a vision is elaborated. Special attention is given
to daily events and activities as reflections of a
vision. In the third part of the paper high-vision
and low-vision primary schools are compared.
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Wallace, R. (1996) Vision for Practice London,
SAGE. Chapters 1 & 3
Abstract. This book was written by a practitioner
for practitioners. It gives concrete direction and
practical guidance on how to become a vision-based
leader. A leader of education is expected to be visionary
in the sense that he or she aims to organise human
and financial resources to pursue the best future
for the school. The chapters here provide definitions
and descriptions of what excellence, visionary and
visionary leadership are. It gives guidance as to
how to establish a vision through an initial needs
assessment. This assessment provides the foundation
for identifying the way in which the school community
wants to go forward, its ‘vision of the future.’ This
vision is then linked to specific learning goals by
drawing up an ‘excellence agenda’, making the general
elements of vision statement explicit in terms of
student outcomes.
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Covey, S. (1999) ‘Habit 2’. The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People. London, Simon & Schuster.
Abstract: In this book Stephen Covey presents
a holistic, integrated, principle-centred approach
to solving personal and professional problems. In
this chapter, ‘Habit 2’, he addresses specifically
the issue of vision and its importance for personal
and professional leadership. He argues that in order
to be truly effective as people, or as organisations,
a clear view of the future is necessary, a need to
‘begin with the end in mind’. Without this there may
be a lot of activity that is misdirected, a ‘building
of ladders against the wrong wall’. In a highly thoughtful,
creative and interactive way Covey outlines how to
go about establishing a clear sense of personal vision;
these same steps can be applied at an organisational
level. Developing a clear sense of what is at the
centre of life, or of an organisation, helps to identify
what is most important (core values) and this process
can provide purpose and direction (vision). This vision
can then be articulated in a personal or organisational
mission statement that relates the vision to specific
goals. Covey emphasises how thinking less of control,
efficiency and rules and thinking instead of direction,
purpose and relationship can energise a person and
community towards chosen ends. He inspires creativity
and proactivity, highlighting how vision is essential
in focusing personal or organisational activity towards
achieving it.
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Mission Statements
For Christian/Church Schools: ‘Mission
Statements, development plans and aims’, Entry
Points (1997). London, Care for Education Chapter
2
Abstract. Care is a charitable organisation
whose education department's key activity is to envision
and equip Christian governors in all school settings.
This section gives examples of mission statements
that are based on the values or philosophy of education
in selected Christian schools. It outlines the mission
statements of these schools and their underlying values
and philosophies. This is a useful reference for Church
or Christian schools seeking to clarify their own
vision or draw up a mission statement. The CARE for
Education website has many
other relevant resources.
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Schools as Learning Organisations (1997). Aspinwall
K & Pedler, M. In Choices for Self- Managing Schools.
Fidler B, Russell, S & Simkins, T (eds). London,
Paul Chapman.
Abstract. In contemporary society schools
are faced with constant change in an increasingly
complex world. In order to survive and function effectively
in this context schools need to be learning organisations.
This chapter outlines the disciplines a school needs
in order to develop its learning capacity. It discusses
the sort of learning needed, and models of organisational
learning. One of the central disciplines is that of
shared vision, the underpinning values and purpose
of an organisation, that inform policy, and provide
direction and focus for all the activity within the
school community.
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Citizenship Education
Schools and Community: The Communitarian Agenda
in Education (1999) Arthur J and Bailey R
Abstract
- link opens in the BeCaL bibliography
Citizenship Schools: a practical guide to education
for citizenship and personal development (2001) Alexander,
T
Abstract
- link opens in the BeCaL bibliography
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Education and vision - views from the US
Critical Issue: Building a Collective Vision
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/leadrshp/le100.htm
Based in Illinois, the North Central Regional Education
Laboratory (NCREL) is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation
that provides research-based expertise, resources,
assistance, and professional development opportunities
for teachers, administrators and policymakers.
Abstract. This section of the NCREL site provides
extensive information on educational vision. In summary
it gives an overview of the importance of vision,
definitions, indicators and success stories of schools
that have established clear visions. There is also
more material to explore vision in greater depth along
with links to other sites relating to this topic.
Either go straight to this page or go to the NCREL
home page and search using the keyword 'vision'
for access to other information.
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Education and vision - more views from the US
Forward-Thinking, Shared Vision
Considers the question 'How is the education system
building a shared, community-based vision that prepares
students to learn, work, and live successfully in
the Digital Age?' http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/framewk/vis/visin.htm.
Also from NCREL.
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