Abstract
While the government continues to embark on new educational reforms to address the current crises in education, educational leaders are left with the daily challenges and constant pressure of managing people and change. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the SchoolWeavers Tool could be used as a diagnostic assessment tool, that would allow educational leaders to assess current school culture from the perspective of teachers, staff, parents, students and members of the school community.
The study explored how the data gathered could be used to interpret the strengths and weaknesses of the school ecosystem. Thus, being empowered to better understand the various subsystems affecting organisational learning, educational leaders could draw upon the social capital at their disposal to strategize and prioritise individual and organisational learning.
Observations were conducted to ascertain the current school culture. Next, educational leaders at School X completed the online survey and participated in focus group interviews. The quantitative data gathered from the survey and the qualitative data gathered were analysed against the theoretical framework of the study. This analysis revealed that the implementation of the tool resulted in deep reflection by the educational leaders, as well as individual and organisational learning. Based upon these findings, recommendations were made for future implementation.
This study found that the SchoolWeavers Tool could be beneficial to educational leaders by providing the benchmark needed to create a learning ecosystem that facilitates learners’ success.
Keywords: Bioecological model; Complexity Leadership Theory; Learning ecosystems; School culture; The SchoolWeavers Tool.