Schools have a defined structure, culture and social fabric that is unique to them. When educational change and the unique influences of a school are considered, what is a major shift in one school might be common practice at another. I can only speak from my current experience and the cultural environment of my school. I believe that a teacher librarian can align themselves with the strategic plan formed by the school leadership while concurrently disrupting educational paradigms. I think that schools want to find a more authentic and dynamic picture for education, and action plans might outline as such, but then daily small jobs mount, life gets in the way and the status quo is maintained.
On a structural level, the teacher librarian might broaden the members of administration that they report to in order to create a greater advocacy for library programs and to encourage greater support for collaboration or for developments in the library. For example, a teacher librarian might include the a curriculum head such as a Middle Years Program Coordinator (at an IB school) if they are wanting to encourage more teachers to participate in collaborative learning or team teaching. By building a relationship with this leader, both staff members can work together for a shared vision of teaching an learning. Another example might be that the school board or senior leadership might be a report when planning a large scale change such as a library redesign. I chose to report to our Executive principal when I was planning a library redesign so that my design ideas supported the aesthetic vision and pedagogical underpinnings of our strategic vision.
A teacher librarian might agitate a cultural shift through the explicit teaching and modelling of critical thinking skills or more innovative pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning. Critical thinking, while a General Capability of the Australian curriculum, is a skills which our students struggle to embed this type of thinking and reasoning into their research. As a librarian, I addressed this need by devising a program I called “Study Hacks” which aimed to support students in information literacy and critical thinking. Authentic tasks could be devised in the library to encourage real world applications of these critical thinking skills.
To support a societal shift within a school, a key driver for change might be a focus on collaboration and community within the library. In an individual result driven, high pressure school environment, it is important to have a safe community environment where students can be free to be themselves. The teacher librarian can create an environment which encourages collaboration and provides a safe haven for students. It is a small disrupter, but I have started offering chess and games that support thinking and reasoning skills in break times. It has brought out leadership qualities in the senior students and created a stimulating and safe community atmosphere.