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The collegial model

In some countries, although there are many obvious elements of bureaucracy to be seen in the
management of schools, the trend over the past 20 years has been towards a more democratic
and participatory approach to power, authority and decision-making. In some countries, through
policies of decentralisation, principals and their teachers are now much more empowered to act
on their own initiative in order to change things so that they can meet the needs of their students
more effectively.

Highlight the definition of collegial models on page 64 of Bush and discuss it for a few
minutes. Can you see any advantages it might offer to primary school teachers and
principals?

- Collegial models presume that organization determine policy and make decisions through a
process of discussion leading to consensus. The teachers conferring and collaborating with
other teacher's, and discusses are the benefits of this approach.

Continue with pages 64-67 of Bush and summarise the major features of collegial models.

1-They are strongly normative in orientation. “The advocacy of collegiality is made more on the
basis of prescription than on research-based studies of school practice” (Webb & Vulliamy, 1996,
p. 443).

2-Collegial models seem to be particularly appropriate for organizations such as schools and
colleges that have significant numbers of professional staff. The teachers have an authority of
expertise that contrasts with the positional authority associated with formal models, so the
teachers require a measure of autonomy in the classroom but also need to collaborate to ensure a
coherent approach to teaching and learning (Brundrett, 1998, p. 307).

3-Collegial models assume a common set of values held by members of the organization. These
common values guide the managerial activities of the organization and are thought to lead to
share educational objectives.
4-The size of decision-making groups is an important element in collegial management. For
example, meetings of the whole staff may operate collegially in small schools but may be suitable
only for information exchange in larger institutions.

5-Collegial models assume that decisions are reached by consensus. The belief that there are
common values and shared objectives leads to the view that it is both desirable and possible to
resolve problems by agreement. The decision-making process may be elongated by the search for
compromise but this is regarded as an acceptable price to pay to maintain the aura of shared
values and beliefs.
Bush describes the suitability of the collegial model for primary schools on pages 71-72

Read these pages and then discuss how a decision might be made in such a school, for example,
to introduce a new English course book. You need to think in terms of a sequence of actions
and the people involved in each of these. Draw some kind of diagram (e.g. a time line or a flow
chart) to represent the process.

2- Sharing the planning and preparation.

1- Teachers talk about teaching.

3- Presence of observers in classrooms is common. 4-There is mutual training and development.

So how would you now define the concepts collegial (adj.) and collegiality (n.)? What do
they mean?

- Collegial means describing of work environment where the responsibility and authority is
participate equally by colleagues, while collegiality means cooperative interaction among
colleagues.

Do you think it is easier for a primary school to adopt this kind of decision-making process than
it is for a secondary school? Give reasons.

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Degrees of collegiality (Bush p72 – first paragraph; p91-94)

Finally, although collegial models are seen as the most progressive for schools nowadays, there
is often a gulf between the theory and the practice. Just because a certain school describes
itself as embracing a collegial approach, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is collegial in
practice.

Define the following terms and differentiate between them in your own words:

 partial or restricted collegiality

 pure or genuine collegiality
 contrived collegiality

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