Tag: library

ETL504- Module 3.1 Change in Organisations

Read

Reynolds, P. (2013, July 22). Principals of Total Quality Management (TQM). Etech. https://www.etechgs.com/principles-total-quality-management-tqm/ 

Consider which leadership styles would be advantageous if implementing TQM in a school.

I would recommend utilising a transformational leadership style to introduce the changes involved in establishing TQM. This style of leadership supports the TQM strategy through;

– the development and support of employee empowerment by encouraging collaboration

– developing active leaders via upskilling and education opportunities

– encouraging collaboration and professional growth for all employees,

therefore, reducing the vertical differentiation amongst staff and providing staff with a sense of ownership over changes (Ingram, 2017; Reynolds, 2013).

 

Reflect 



Consider the readings in Module 2 to identify leadership approaches that would help mitigate stress in the workplace. Transfer this to the library context to identify strategies that the teacher librarian could implement that would be supportive and educationally relevant to classroom teachers. Reinsel Soulen presents a process to support first year teachers, however; the underpinning steps could be applied in multiple situations.

Some of the main causes of stress in educators include excessive workload, school climate and self-esteem or perceived status, which is often directly linked to the presence and severity of other stressors (Larrivee, 2012; Cross, 2015). These stressors are often equally felt by librarians and library staff, particularly when operating in seeming isolation to the rest of the school (Carmody, 2019).

I believe that transformational and instructional leadership styles would assist in mitigating stress in the workplace and possess tools that can be utilised by the TL to assist classroom staff. The transformational leader would be open to promoting positive school culture, team-building and motivation (Ingram, 2017). For example, offering TL time to team teach or assist in planning and programming, providing reliable, relevant resources and staff development opportunities to learn how to utilise resources from the library including specialised technology and programs.

Working in tandem, an instructional style provides leaders the opportunity to scaffold specific learning and training opportunities for staff to upskill and educate themselves, while remaining flexible and adaptable to the needs of individuals and the school (Spencekao, 2013). For example, offering staff the opportunity to develop research skills via professional development that can then be passed on to students, would be one way of utilising the library and TL in this context.

References

Carmody, R. (2019, September 15). School libraries hit by the loss of a dying breed as teacher librarians enter ‘survival mode’. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/

Cross, D. (2015). Teacher well being and its impact on student learning [Slide presentation]. Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia. http://www.research.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2633590/teacher-wellbeing-and-student.pdf

Ingram, D. (2019, February 4). Transformational leadership vs transactional leadership definition. Hearst Newspapers: Small Business. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/transformational-leadership-vs-transactional-leadership-definition-13834.html

Larrivee, B. (2012). Cultivating teacher renewal: guarding against stress and burnout. R&L Education. Available from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=1076212

Reynolds, P. (2013, July 22). Principals of Total Quality Management (TQM). Etech. https://www.etechgs.com/principles-total-quality-management-tqm/

Spencekao. (2013, April 6). Instructional leadership. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efzXDk1–4w
[6.03 mins]

ETL504- Module 2: Organisation theory

Activity and reflection

Go to the CSU Library and explore the library site. How does this library change information sources to information resources? Note down 5 items in your notes.

Having searched up ‘draw.io’, the results provide numerous tips and hints as to whether or not each source will be a useful resource.

1)The search bar and detailed abilities (subject code, articles etc) allows easy access to grouped or selected information sources. This changes a collection of information into a collection related to your specific search terms and needs.

2)Source type: newspaper article, online article and so on. Allows you to determine if this type of resource is appropriate to use for your needs/task.

3) Reference information allows you to check up on its relevance and reliability. Also allows you to determine context of publishing, is it too old? This means it is an out-dated source of information.

4) Quote from text allows you to determine if the subject matter is relevant and if the writing style is appropriate for your needs/task.

5) Peer Reviewed icon- determines reliability and relevance depending on if it has or has not been used and reviewed by fellow academics.

Managing the info era

Special section: The capitalist century. “In the Knowledge-based economy, workers will be valued for their ability to create, judge, imagine and build relationships.”

How does the content of Colvin’s article relate the school libraries? In point form, note down your thoughts on your blog.

Colvin (2000) points out that ‘humans…haven’t evolved significantly in 20,000 years’ and for a long time were using an outdated and irrelevant management model, as established by Taylor. The same could be said of libraries. For a long time, there was no forward movement within the sphere of school (and general) libraries. Despite the changes in technology, social opinion and lifestyles, libraries remained the place where books were shelved and librarians shushed people being too loud.

Colvin (2000) acknowledges that people ‘still very much need interaction, recognition, and relationships’ and that managers now need to concentrate on ‘what really attracts and motivates the best knowledge workers, the value of teams, organizing by projects, using infotech wisely, the flattening of hierarchies…’. This can seem contradictory, as he goes on to highlight the changing nature of workplaces in that people are capable of working from anwyhere at any time nowadays, and are not restricted to 9-5 office building jobs. However, good managers must continue to foster building relationships and business communities despite space and time complications.

Additionally, the suggestion that the removal of managers (and staff) who do not ‘live’ the company values is novel in that it demonstrates companies placing a higher value on operational cohesiveness, staff wellbeing and company morals, rather than money and numbers. This suggestion is in line with the increasing awareness of staff, suppliers and customers who are requiring ethical responsibility from the companies in which they engage with (McAvoy, 2016; Ebbers, 2017/2018)

In a similar way, Teacher Librarians (TLs) have always operated on a slightly different space-time level to Classroom Teachers (CTs). TLs would come at an assigned time of day to retrieve the students and take them to another space, the library. This could, and still often does, result in a disconnect from the CT cohort as, often, CTs have little idea of what it takes to run a library and what happens within that space during the hour or so that TLs have their students. Misconceptions about workload, job roles and student achievements abound when CTs consider the library space.

With the development of technology and the increased popularity of team-teaching, it is possible to integrate TLs and the library into whole-school environments with the right management. However, we cannot ‘we tinker around the edges’ (Colvin, 2000) with the redisgn of TL roles and library as a concept. We MUST think of something completely new, consider things we have not, previously.

One concept that has arisen is the removal of school libraries and the integration of skills building into CT roles. Although I don’t agree with this concept, this is the kind of radical change we need to consider- Why should TLs be relegated to one place in the school? Could there be another way to store physical copies? Can we open students awareness of digital resources further? Is it possible develop whole-school programming that integrates the use of the library in lessons other than RFF or library skills? Can teachers bring their classes to the library to teach a lesson? Can TLs and CTs team teach units in different spaces to encourage a transfer of knowledge and a development of awareness that learning does not only happen in one space?

There is not one good answer and, even when good ideas arrise, they will look different in different schools. Colvin (2000) explains that management should be considered an organism, rather than a machine, which means it can grow and adapt when necessary, rather than become stuck in the same old rotaiton of cogs and sprockets.

References

Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5). http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm?iid=sr-link1.

Ebbers, A. M. (2017/2018). Modelling the way. The Journal of Government Financial Management, (66)4, 4. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/2279850707?accountid=10344

McAvoy, K. (2016, February 15). Ethical sourcing: Do consumers and companies really care? Spend Matters. https://spendmatters.com/2016/02/15/ethical-sourcing-do-consumers-and-companies-really-care/