Collective Responsibility

 

Collective Responsibility

To help create vibrant learning spaces there needs to be a feeling of collective responsibility on two levels.

First, is for teachers to share the collective responsibility for the success of each student and in supporting the school.  Hirsh (2010, p. 1) states that “schoolwide and team-based professional learning embedded in the daily work of educators is essential when professionals commit to sharing responsibility for the success of all students”. 

At my school this year, our school goal is “connection”.  In previous years, we have had various levels of buy-in regarding the school goal.  However, coming out of the pandemic, and facing significant learning and behaviour challenges last year, we have had much stronger commitment to the school goal that in previous years.  So the collective responsibility is much stronger, and I can see many staff members making a point to engage in activities and learning that moves our school forward in this goal.  While we do not have concrete data yet, I do know from my conversations with other staff members, and the general feeling in the school, is that there has been a huge improvement in school culture.

Second, it is also important for students to feel a collective responsibility for their class and their school.  When students accept responsibility for what the group as a whole is able to achieve then it leads to a much more positive environment (Ma, Matsuzawa & Scardamalia, 2015).  Students will take on more agency and this will enrich the classroom environment (Ma et al., 2015). 

When teachers take the time to create classroom environments where students feel responsibility for everything from how clean it is to how they treat each other, the entire class will benefit.

 

References

Hirsch, S. (2020, September). Collective responsibility makes all teachers the best. Teachers Teaching Teachers. Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/collective-responsibility.pdf

Ma, L., Matsuzawa, Y., & Scardamalia, M. (2016). Rotating leadership and collective responsibility in a grade 4 Knowledge Building classroom. International Journal of Organisational Design and Engineering, 4(1/2), 54. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijode.2016.080159

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