In this chapter I construct and express the development of the key research question that guides this study. The problem to be investigated, the focus of the study and the motivation for the study will be articulated.
My research proposal
Our challenge is therefore to learn to be innovative and creative if we want to improve organizational learning at our school. How should we cultivate in ourselves those abilities and the right conditions that we need for continuous learning in our school.
Refined proposal
What strategies can be identified and implemented to develop and improve organizational learning in our school. What is the role of leadership in the development and improvement of organizational learning in our school.
Aim of the research
The information gathered in this study will be used as reference material to be kept in the school. So this study suggests that my role has changed from that of just a school principal to that of a managerial leader.
The stance of this research
To study my contextualized, interactive learning in this research, I will concentrate on those characteristics that are critical factors of organizational learning. The main focus of this study was, as mentioned above, to improve organizational learning at Khula Mlambo Primary School.
Objectives of the study
I emphasized the role I had to play in facilitating continuous learning in Khula Mlambo. I needed the ability to work with the individual, the ability to work with teams, and the ability to collaborate with the individual and teams to work toward organizational achievement.
Research setting and participants
In Chapter 4, I will indicate how I, as a practitioner, will put the information I have gained from the literature review into practice as we develop our school into a learning organization. In chapter 5, I will summarize the learning I achieved and also indicate how the learning contributes to improving organizational learning at Khula Mlambo Primary School.
A NARRATIVE SELF-STUDY RESEARCH PROCESS
- Introduction
- Enhancing trustworthiness and looking outward
- Working within both researcher and participant roles
- Generating and gathering research data
- My learning and researching journal
- The Research Outline
- Participants’ responses to the questionnaire
- Course work study
- Literature review
- Representing and making meaning of data
- Narrative portrayals based on my collected report
- Memoranda
- Conceptualising my learning researching experience
- Summary
I developed a self-study narrative approach (which I will describe in chapter four) to represent and make sense of the data I collected. I explained the roles I played in this research study and that of the participants as well.
CHAPTER THREE
MY EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING FROM THE LITERATURE REVIEW ABOUT ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING AND RESEARCH DESIGN
Introduction
This therefore indicates that we need to create a learning culture at Khula Mlambo Primary School, where everyone is committed and involved in learning, growing and developing everyone's leadership talent throughout the organization. I have realized that transformation is a requirement at Khula Mlambo Primary School, and that this happens successfully where leadership can enable and direct change rather than controlling and imposing it on people (Plowan et. al., 2007 p.244).
Critical success factors for improving organisational learning
Schools as systems have a learning mechanism built in; they are busy choosing goals, choosing how to achieve them, overcoming obstacles on the way and evaluating the outcomes of their work, so that in the process of work they learn to try to achieve valued goals (Sessa 200, p .5). Reflecting on what happened at Khula Mlambo Primary School, I discovered that things are not done that way. In such an established learning organization, learning will be a continuous process of growth and improvement through constant interaction, because every educator in the school will be aware of the need for continuous learning and must constantly interact with the environment. These changes mean that we must undergo a dramatic shift in the way we interact with the environment and we must develop an understanding of ourselves through reflective practice and experiential learning.
I then realized that I had a duty to harness the collective effort of those inside and outside Khula Mlambo Primary School to transform the school into a learning organisation. A learning organization is characterized by the frequent use of cross-functional work teams that offer people an opportunity to discover knowledge from the best practices of teammates and encourages a culture of continuous feedback and disclosure that indicates areas that will be affected in the future.
Strategies to improve organisational learning
In short, it will be the intentional culture of the school that emerges as a result of mastering Senge's five disciplines of learning. When people feel that they are part of the organization, they can be encouraged to share their commitment. When we allow the views of all stakeholders to influence decision-making in our school, we will develop and encourage team learning (Flood 1999, p. 24) so that we can be successful in dealing with the learning difficulties that hinder learning in our school.
This teaches us that we need good communication at our school, creating a balance between dialogue and discussion. We need thorough strategic planning as an important part of our school's renewal and reform process so that we can remain vibrant and relevant in the rapidly changing environment.
The function of leadership in the development of learning organisations
I must conduct a non-blaming investigation of the school in order to create a climate where trust is preserved and the truth prevails. I must always be visible and available because the closer the leader's point of view is, the more likely it is to determine the trust people will have in that leader (Covey 2005, p. 5). Therefore, the path-goal model of leadership states that the leadership style chosen depends on the demands of the environment and the personalities of the people being led.
Hersey and Blanchard's situational theory states that the style a leader chooses depends on his readiness. This means that I have to care, listening carefully to people's concerns and their development needs.
Summary
Sharma (2010, p. mentions four conversations about the 'Leading Without Title Philosophy' that he learned from his mentor and says that leadership is for everyone and a person does not need a title to lead, just one. In the third conversation he says Sharma that a leader must build deep relationships with the staff so that he/she can be a strong leader, you just need to be 'human' which means being helpful, understanding and have the ability to get along, to entertain and nurture. What has been said above indicates the kind of behavior and new way of practice that I need to develop so that I can improve organizational learning in our school.
It is very good that you can do an internal check to make sure that I am really inspired to become a better leader than I am today, but I have to want to learn so that I can improve my ability to lead and improve organizational learning at Khula Mlambo Primary School. I collected information about the school's status as an organization and the individual person in relation to the school and management, to identify the areas of development so that we can prioritize where to start transforming the school.
MY EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING THROUGH INTERACTING WITH THE RESPONSES OF EDUCATORS TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Introduction
Portrayals of learning 1. Section 1
- Educator Statements Why waste your
- Messages and comments
- Educator’s Reflective Comments
- Messages and Comments
- Section 2
From now on, I will participate in and attend all development programs introduced by the school. I felt very guilty when I thought about the time I spent on things that could not benefit the school. A good performance and good results will make me confident and satisfied in the work I do.
This exercise gave me the opportunity to learn independently about my own development and performance in school. I also felt guilty when one of the educators commented that she shouldn't bow to the circumstances when other educators did not cooperate with the development strategies that we wanted to implement in the school.
Narrative portrayals regarding critical success factors of successful learning organisations
- Explanatory Notes
- Educator Statements How do you put
- Messages and Comments
- Educator’s Reflective Comments
- Messages and Comments
- Section 3
With this part of the questionnaire I wanted to determine, establish and know what is going on in the school or which factors have the greatest impact on student performance in our school if they can be applied. I also learned from these statements that we are nowhere in terms of success, so the onus is on me to lead the school toward its mission and vision. These statements are the bullets that tell me that I must take up arms together with the soldiers and fight not for the dying, but for the recovery and survival of the school.
I need to help these people see the need to change, they need to feel that they need to act positively in order to be hit with the reality of our school situation. They are also willing to contribute strategies and techniques that can help the school perform better.
Narrative portrayals of leadership factors that would lead the school to organisational learning
- Explanatory Notes
- Educator Statements How can you say
- Messages and Comments
- Educator’s Reflective Responses
- Messages and comments from reflective statements
- Memoranda and Letters
- Memoranda
- Letters to respondents
- Summary
Advanced information technology has affected the quantity and quality of communication in the workplace. I need to instill a strong belief in the school community that everyone can be an achiever. I realized that organizational learning will be improved if the quality of the educators is improved, the quality of education offered in the school.
In the second letter, I realized that educators have been frustrated for a long time with the poor service and performance evident in our school. This activity cannot be performed by a single person; it involves all role players in the school.
CONCEPTUALISING MY SELF-STUDY EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT AS A PRACTITIONER RESEARCHER
- Introduction
- Positioning my learning researching experience
- Conceptualising my learning researching experience
- Looking at instructional issues in my learning research
- Entering into public conversations
- Summary
This also clearly indicated to me a change in tasks and responsibilities for the school's head. I discovered from the accounts of learning I constructed that the leadership style I practiced at school was not welcoming; The report pointed out that people and problems in the school must be looked after and nurtured.
Motivation and attitude change are the result of the attitude that is established through school. The question is: How do I communicate and connect with the people I work with at school.
A REFLECTIVE REVIEW OF THE STUDY
- A reflective reading of the study
- The educative worth of the study
- Personal Professional Growth and Development
- Organisational Growth and Development
- Summary
This competence also helped me a lot in the development of my work at school. Teachers began to realize and know what is important in school so that they can continuously improve performance. Teachers at the school are now dealing with what they need to do to help the students.
While engaged in this study, I noticed that educators in the school are now aware of the need for professional development. Overall, the school meets the commitments and requirements it needs to improve organizational learning in the school.
