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IMPLEMENTING A QUALITY APPROACH means
- Working with new paradigms about how things work & who does what ...
- Changing roles into relationships moving from control to cooperation
- Working with everyone not just specified parties such as teachers & students
- Changing the culture to collaboration and improvement
- Acting on the basis of knowledge and understanding of the current local reality
- Focusing less on change and more on improvement
As a result you and the majority of the people you work with will develop a much more consistent approach to all that you do. You may even share a common 'job description' whether you are Principal, cleaner, teacher or Kinder child, eg,
- Know what is happening around you
- Work with others to improve what is happening
- Do your own work (in a way that will)
- Make it easier for the next person to do their work really well.
Personal Development Implementing quality is not just a matter of applying a 'new technology'. In fact that will not work.
Implementing quality will involve a whole new understanding of the world, ourselves and the people with whom we share it. Quality is based on things that we do not know about, at least at the beginning. This was certainly true for the author of this website.
It may be helpful to have in mind the following 'simple' 4 stage framework for understanding our own development, and the development of others, viz,
1. Unaware of inability &/or 'ignorance'
- Initially we are unaware of our short comings with respect to particular knowledge or a particular skill. We don't even know that we don't know.
- Then we have an experience that gives us an insight in to ourselves or our practices. Some insights are contrary to our existing paradigm and so we may need a profound experience in order for the insight to become conscious. Our current paradigms filter out what does not fit!!!
2. Aware of inability &/or 'ignorance'
- Having moved (or been moved by an experience) to Stage 2 we are then able to recognise a need to acquire the appropriate knowledge or skill.
- We move to Stage 3 by acquiring the knowledge and skill
3. Aware of ability and or insight
- When we apply our new knowledge or skill it often feels strange and unnatural. It may well be contrary to the experience and understanding of those around us.
- By continuing to apply our recently acquired knowledge or skill we are able to confirm our learning as valuable and 'true'.
4. Unaware of ability and or insight
- After some time we incorporate this learning into our everyday normal practice and eventually lose consciousness of it.
- If others admire these abilities we will be given credit for being a 'natural'.
It is easy to see why telling someone something is often ineffective. It is not possible to move from Stage 1 to Stage 4 just by being told. Understanding the above helps us to treat ourselves and others decently.
We construct our knowledge from our experiences and we modify our paradigms slowly
In the early stages of applying quality you will (Make a Start)
- analyse some important processes, eg, class placement, reporting, homework ...
- make it easy for others to contribute to the process,
- capture what you learn
- use what you learn to make it easier and better next time
- release resources for other purposes, eg, working with students
- understand the difference between change and improvement
- move from making changes to making improvements
(Moving On) you will
- understand the your purposes better
- understand the parts of your system and how they work
- reduce stress & conflict and increase fun
- recognise connections between different parts of your systems
- understand cause and effect more clearly
- respond to problems intelligently & constructively
- analyse aspects of you class, school that you thought impossible
- have effective teams that work naturally and well together
- make continuous improvement part of your school or class culture
(And then) you and those with whom you work will
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work on knowledge, skills, systems and culture simultaneously
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upgrade your educational programs to focus on what counts, viz, the personal systems of everyone concerned
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resolve impossible conflicts
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meet the needs of others who don't understand
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have fun and easily work hard
And that's just the beginning !!!