Sunday, December 2, 2012

Assessment Item 1: The Role of the Teacher Librarian in Practice with Regard to Principal Support


What a Teacher Librarian does and his/her impact within a school community is fundamentally linked to the level of support from the Principal. Potentially, with Principal support a Teacher Librarian can be a collaborative teaching partner, a technology driver, a school leader, an innovator and a strategist that is a valued team member of the whole school community (Harvey II, 2009). Without such support, the role of the practicing Teacher Librarian can be little more than a baby sitting service (Martin, 2010) or a role relegated to providing relief from face to face for other teachers (Scheffers, 2009), both duties that limit opportunities for collaborative teaching and for being professionally valued and respected.


Gaining Principal support when it does not currently exist is challenging but not unattainable. It is common knowledge that many school budgets are limited. Developing the respect of the Principal is essential if the Teacher Librarian is going to successfully "compete"for program and resource funding that allow the Teacher Librarian to be valued as an asset to the school community, rather than a cost (Spence, 2006).  Evidence based practice is one effective way to build such respect. Dr. Ross Todd, an advocate for Teacher Librarians actively proving their value to teaching and learning within a school, states that to do so involves being outcomes focussed. Focussing on providing evidence of what students achieve and will achieve through engagement with innovative, collaborative and critically reflective Teacher Librarians and their embedded programs will help establish why they matter (Todd, 2008).

Further, building connections with influential people within a school community can facilitate Principal support through positive feedback. In a response posted on the School Libraries 21C blog, Ian Maclean (an experienced and influential Teacher Librarian at Penrith Public School) explained, that for him,  it is the support from across the executive leadership of the school that is crucial to embedding the Teacher Librarian into the curriculum through collaborative teaching with time for collaborative planning and programming (Maclean, 2009). Principals are extremely busy, working long hours (Riley, 2011) and may be removed from the classroom environment. Collaboration in the classroom with influential teachers thus, can provide models for good teaching in practice and in doing so, highlight the value of an effective Teacher Librarian to the Principal. 

As professional credibility within the school environment develops, Principals are more likely to give support for programs that enable Teacher Librarians to work collaboratively across the curriculum and develop school wide shared visions of information literacy, management of digital footprints, cybersafety, resource selection, scholarly principles and practice, ethical use of information and much more (Oberg, 2006).

In conclusion, with support from the Principal and his/her executive leadership team, the role of the Teacher Librarian  is one where the Teacher Librarian is teacher, collaborator, resource locator and streamliner, innovator, professional development provider, technology leader and role model, team player, negotiator and strategist (Harvey II, 2009)... an amazingly diverse, exhilarating and respected role that is a positive and integral part of a whole school community.


References

Harvey II, C. (2009). What should an administrator expect a school library media specialist to be?  
    Retrieved from http://hoorayforbooks.pbworks.com/f/lms+evaluation+ideas.pdf


I Maclean (2009, Jul 30). School libraries 21C:  (3b) Identify strategies / initiatives / support at the
    school level[weblog comment]. Retrieved from  
    http://schoollibraries21c.edublogs.org/group-3-questions/question3b/

Martin, J. (2010). Inquiry into school libraries and teacher librarians in Australian schools. 
     [Submission]. Retrieved from
     http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=ee/schoollibraries/subs/sub38.pdf

Oberg, D. (2006). Developing the respect and support of school administrators. Teacher Librarian, 
    33(3), 13.

Riley, P. (2011). Principal health and well being survey: 2011 Interim report. Retrieved from
     http://www.principalhealth.org/2011_Principal_HWB_Interim%20Report.pdf

Scheffers, J. (2009). Collaborative leadership - a primary perspective, Scan, 28(4), 8-11.

Spence, S. (2006). Invest in school libraries to create 21st century learning communities. Access20(3), 17-20.

Todd, Dr. R. (2008). The Evidence-Based Manifesto for School Librarian.  Retrieved from
     http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6545434.html 

1 comment:

  1. Well done Megan, this is an excellent first blog task. You have done well to develop an argument on the importance of principal support for TLs to be successful leaders, collaborators and teaching partners within a school. Good use of the research and professional literature to support your argument. Your writing effectively presents your voice as writer while citing the ideas and writing of others which is one of the skills students have most difficulty with when studying at the 400 level - so well done! Citation and referencing style is all fine.

    Can I just ask that you use black font when writing up your reflective piece for your final assignment on this blog - I find the orange colour a bit difficult to read.

    All the best with Assignment 1. Kind regards, Lyn

    ReplyDelete