Collaborative decision making 504 reading 4

I really enjoyed this insightful reading by Hough & Paine (1997) on collaborative decision making teams in schools. The article outlines 4 methods of decision making in schools:

autocratic - Principal makes decisions with little or any input from others

• bureaucratic - principal delegates through a hierarchy in a departmental system.


• consultative - decision making occurs when the Principal works through a secondary hierarchy (department heads, deputies) and may extend consultation into the school community.


• collegiate - voting occurs by staff on issues with Principal retaining the right of veto. Allows some knowledge input from staff into the decision making process, and gives limited levels of staff empowerment.

Often a collegiate system exists along with a consultative system.

Decision making & the classroom

There is a similarity between teachers teachers in front of a classroom & the traditional autocratic bureaucratic decision making in schools.

There is some evidence that students learn more in schools that are restructured away from bureaucratic organisation towards a more open or communal organisation.

Collaborative decision making & the team concept

Committees in schools do not provide the opportunity for a sense of team to develop.

Collaborative decision making involves:

• open system of sharing of knowledge and empowerment by the principal beyond the leadership team of the school.
• working in combination with colleagues and stakeholders towards the same goals. Involves stakeholders at all levels work to crate knowledge of school processes and decisions. Empowers these people to make meaningful decisions and accept responsibility for their implementation.
• will only successful if the principal shows a commitment to it and is prepared to train people in collaborative practices, nurture, develop and led (by example) in the collaborative practice.

Similarities & differences between sport & school teams:

• both require training, preparation, goal setting, planning, motivation & communication

Sport team - aggressively competitive, physical effort, goal = to win, physical activity, time/season

Workplace team - task orientated & collaborative with other teams in the school, mental effort, unsure as to what they're creating, part of continuous improvement & innovation, have indefinite time spans

Teams in schools:

Work together in a non-adversarial way to create new organisational knowledge.

• storming stage - conflict evident as individuals think differently and have different knowledge and understandings. Teams need to focus on their shared vision & beliefs for the school and the actual mission.
• Never be focused on personalities in the team
• team should be representative of stakeholders
• decision made by consensus.
• teams gather data and information before making decisions
• teams use definite methodology in planning and problem solving.

Team and team learning

Team learning - process of teams working together to create the school that will align with the shared vision of a preferred future. Builds on individual learning & personal mastery and life long learning. Good role modelling for students - influencing the co-operative learning activities of students. Two types of teams in the team learning process & decision making in schools:

1. Lead learning team (collaborative decision making with stakeholders working with the owner of the process to make the decision) - sets direction of the school through planning & developing community ownership of a shared vision, mission & beliefs. Responsible for strategic plan & annual management plan. Should be representative of stakeholders of 10-15 members & have flexibility to work in sub teams. Opportunities for input from people not on the lead learning team through sharing of information on the noticeboard of minutes, data, recommendations.

2. Task learning team (collaborative decision making with stakeholders) - empower members of the school to be involved in continuous improvement or innovation as the need arises on a process, system or policy. Teams remain in existence until the task is completed.

Task learning teams provide genuine opportunities for individual for roving leadership - lead the process/system improvement or innovation.