School climates play a crucial role in the education process, as they can either stimulate learning or signal the need to revise the school’s structure or specific activities. In this case study, the principal of the school, Lucinda Murphy, wants to understand the current state of affairs within her school. Since her educational institution consists of numerous groups from different cultural backgrounds and with varying levels of proficiency, covering all the aspects of these groups’ experiences is essential. Achieving this goal will require the usage of several methods of assessment at once. This paper will review possible approaches to assessing the school’s climate and discuss their purpose.
While all methods can provide results upon which further direction can be tailored, Lucinda needs to receive a complete picture of the situation. Therefore, the first recommendation will serve as a foundation for further assessment of specific parts. Without including views from all sides of the evaluation, the results will represent only aspects that are visible to the selected individuals and do not represent the actual school climate (Olsen et al., 2018). A schoolwide observation has the potential to cover many points of the assessment with regard to all involved stakeholders. This is a crucial source of data, although it requires one to avoid judgmental decisions, take time to reflect, and involve as many reporters whose observations can be trusted as possible (Glickman et al., 2018). This method should be used primarily among teachers and other school personnel who are likely to report any viable observations.
The ‘eyes and ears’ assessment is a feasible approach to gathering teachers’ and parents’ feedback for this scope of a study, yet it is also essential to consider how the surveyed groups are formed. According to the case study, there are many socioeconomic and ethical communities among both staff members and students. This technique can specify what schoolwide objectives must be revisioned, what professional opportunities might have been missing, and whether students’ needs are met (Glickman et al., 2018). It is applicable for purposes of identifying high-priority concerns among selected populations that may slip past reports from other sources due to their perceived lack of value.
A nominal group technique has the most potential to fill the gaps in the results obtained from the previous methods. This approach allows one to divide a more extensive study group into smaller parts, which will generate more specific responses (Glickman et al., 2018). In this case study, such groups can be formed among people who share either cultural or educational backgrounds and whose voices might not have been adequately represented in the first two assessments. The involved stakeholders must include teachers, students, and parents, whose opinions should be divided into categories depending on their classrooms and initial concerns regarding possible school climate issues. Answers that are unique to a particular group may indicate the need to improve an aspect of the learning process that may cause discrimination and disparity.
In conclusion, Lucinda can gather information via a schoolwide observation and fill the gaps in the data by performing ‘eyes and ears’ meetings with students, parents, and teachers and via a nominal group technique. This combination of assessment methods is intended to cover both small- and large-scale aspects of school functions, including individuals’ concerns and global problems. A close look into each different part via feedback that is divided into responses from various communities among students and personnel must eliminate any possibility of discrimination from generalizations.
References
Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2018). SuperVision and instructional leadership: A developmental approach (10th ed.). Pearson.
Olsen, J., Preston, A. I., Algozzine, B., Algozzine, K., & Cusumano, D. (2018). A review and analysis of selected school climate measures. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 91(2), 47-58. Web.