Empowering Teachers: What Successful Principals Do - Essay Example

Enabling vs Empowering in Education Traditionally, education was limited to learning in the rooms. Teachers would come, dictate their s, give home assignments and set question papers for the students. There was in general, a one way communication, where the teacher would speak or write and the students would listen. A lot would depend on the actual knowledge of the teacher, his teaching and communication abilities and sometimes, his personality and mood at that moment. In the nursing profession, the common problems faced by the teaching faculty could be classified as follows: 1. Amount of course content very high. Many teachers feel that the course content is very vast and thus they have to go through the course at a rapid pace. 2. Aptitude more important than knowledge. A common problem in any profession, especially any profession linked to the medical field is that sometimes students who are excellent in theoretical knowledge lack aptitude and practical knowledge required for the course. There are also frequent changes happening in the medical field in terms of technology used for equipment and testing, procedures etc.A good learner needs to be well equipped with the latest knowledge on the same. 3. Difficulty to meet the needs of non traditional students Teachers sometimes find it difficult to meet the needs of non traditional students. This could be in the form of language difficulties, knowledge gaps or international students who are from a different cultural background. Empowering vs Enabling As the article clearly points out, empowering the learner is always better than enabling him/her in the process. When the faculty acts as a tool for empowerment, it enhances its professional and social standing. When the faculty acts as a tool for empowerment of the learners, there is a raising of consciousness and increased self esteem among the learners. They also learn political skills required to negotiate and change healthcare system.[ Glass] The faculty should be the facilitator of learning rather than just instructor and evaluator in the learning process. The goal of empowering is to help them develop autonomy and a sense of accountability for professional practice. A faculty that would have tried to humanize the education process by reducing expectations and shouldering some of the responsibility for learning that should actually have been done by the students might actually undermine the confidence and autonomy (independence) of the students Enabling is defined as behavior of others that perpetuates dependent behavior.[Haber etal,1997].The term enabling might not be used in a positive sense. Many researchers feel that enabling is a component of codependency. Codependency is when a person allows another’s behavior(generally not conducive) to affect him/her.(Beatie,1987).80% of nurses had problems of codependency(Snow & Willard).Codependency ,might manifest itself as an urge to control other’s behavior, assume responsibility for their acts and take care of others’ needs. Teachers manifesting codependency symptoms might have difficulty in empowering students , esp. in the nursing profession. They would have to make big changes in teaching strategies to empower , instead of enabling students. Sometimes faculty develop patterns that are more enabling than empowering. Elements of Empowerment/Enabling Environment Collegialty: In an enabling environment, the faculty is weighed down by “feel good” factor. The faculty tries to act as parent/friend. The teachers are ready to please students. They are pleased when students are pleased. There is no authoritarian approach, but subordination instead to the students. In an empowering environment, teachers give honest feedback to students to empower them. With the help of mentoring/coaching, insider information is given to students to help them in the profession. Mentorship could also take place among students, peers where students menor each other and each is empowered to perform to his/her best capacity. Sheila Grossman, in the book, Mentoring in Nursing , pg 51,chap.3 applauds the mentoring process. She feels that if there is mutual respect, the leader and learners are empowered and can achieve greater professional success. Communication Traditional (Enabling): enabling process.non interactive lecture format, no feedback or consultation with students. Student participation, critical thinking, synthesis, creativity not encouraged. May start feeling that teachers are all knowing. Empowering: Free communication is based on mutual respect and honesty. These are key to collaborative communication (Glass).Strategies to facilitate professional communication in later life must be encouraged by faculty. In the book, Empowering Researchers in Further Education, Yvonne Hillier and Jill Jameson discuss the role and importance of the mentors as facilitators in research. It also talks about the ways and means by which a student can undertake independent research, thus acting as a mentor itself. Empowering Teachers: What Successful Principals Do is another book, which though not directly related to learning strategies among students, might just help teachers adopt the right approach to their own teaching to bring out the best in the learners. The book discusses the role of teachers in the decision-making process. If the teachers have high levels of motivation and self-esteem, they would automatically not be codependent and thus encourage empowerment of their students instead of enabling them. If the teacher imbibes the values of motivation, self respect and autonomy, the students will automatically be guided by him/her in the empowerment process. [Blasé,1994] Autonomy Autonomy is generally a result of education process and demonstrates shared responsibility for learning. An enabling environment does not encourage problem solving at any level: classroom, clinical setting or personal life.This could reduce self esteem in students. In an empowering environment , the faculty maintains flexible but intact boundaries while dealing with students. The faculty gives frequent feedback and guidance to students.eg reinforcing positive behavior and decision making encourages empowerment. Accountability Accountability can be defined as assumption of responsibility for one’s own learning. In an enabling environment, the faculty becomes overprotective and may sometimes make excuses on behalf of students’ lack of preparation/skills in practical lessons and written assignments. They might try to shield students and become overprotective. In an empowered environment, deliberate strategies are designed to facilitate development of introspection, problem-solving skills and strategies, and assertiveness, professional accountability. Participatory approach, students assume responsibility. Here, the faculty acts as facilitator. In the book, Learning vs Testing, Strategies that Bridge the Gap, Pat Wyman discussing about learning strategies. She talks at length about the roe of teachers as facilitators in the learning process and strategies for students to score better in written tests. Enabling vs Empowerment: A Case in Favour of Empowerment The foundation of empowerment in any learning process is democracy. There is freedom to choose, freedom to think, create and act. There is freedom to give feedback, clear doubts, present ideas and participate in the process of learning and teaching. Faculty and learners are partners. Naturally, these individuals become strong personalities who are independent, confident and capable of handling situations. Glenn Laverack talks about community capacity building through empowerment of health promoters. When the lowest level of health promoters is an empowered lot, it will lead to empowering subsequent ladders of society and thus the whole community will become empowered with knowledge. In the Journal of Advanced Nursing, Volume 17 Issue 5, Pages 609 – 618, Jane Hokanson Hawks argues about the benefits of empowerment in the nursing profession. She feels empowerment is the ability to create an environment where each individual helps the other achieves higher goals. In comparison, in an enabled environment, the learners are over-dependent on the faculty. The faculty too might be codependent on the students, building its own self-esteem on the performance of the students. The faculty might be encouraging the students to not think out of the box, instead creating an atmosphere of dependency.The students would be a protected lot, their own behavior shaping the behavior of the faculty and also endorsing it. Thus, in my opinion, an empowering environment leads to better learners in universities and in professional lives. An empowered environment creates flexible minds, confident personalities and professional who can deal with any situation. References: 1. Learning vs. Testing, Strategies That Bridge The Gap, The Center for New Discoveries in Learning, Inc. 2. Empowering Researchers in Further Education, Yvonne Hillier and Jill Jameson, Trentham Books Limited, Oct. 2003. 3. Empowering Teachers: What Successful Principals Do, Joseph Blasé, Sage Publications. 4. Mentoring in Nursing : A Dynamic and Collaborative Process, Sheila C. Grossman, Springer Publishing Company, New York. 5. Health Promotion Practice: Power and Empowerment, Glenn Laverick, Sage Publications Ltd. 6. Jane Hokanson Hawks, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Volume 17 Issue 5, Pages 609 - 618 Read More