Mentoring school governance and management. An evaluation of support to schools’ boards of trustees
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230210433418 |
| Date | 01 August 2002 |
| Published date | 01 August 2002 |
| Pages | 323-348 |
| Author | Reynold J.S. Macpherson,Ann McKillop |
| Subject Matter | Education |
School
governance and
management
323
Journal of Educational
Administration,
Vol. 40 No. 4, 2002, pp. 323-348.
#MCB UP Limited, 0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/09578230210433418
Received December 2001
Accepted March 2002
Mentoring school governance
and management
An evaluation of support to schools'
boards of trustees
Reynold J.S. Macpherson
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, and
Ann McKillop
Northland Polytechnic, Whangarei, New Zealand
Keywords Evaluation, Mentoring, Governance, Management, New Zealand, Schools
Abstract The aim of the research project reported here was to evaluate the process and
outcomes of the in-depth training programme provided to primary and secondary schools' boards
of trustees by the Far North Rural Education Assistance Programme (REAP) in New Zealand.
Practical research questions were developed from an analysis of the policy context and
programme contracts. The international research literature on mentoring and effective support
programmes was then examined. Data were collected using four methods: documentary analysis;
case studies of eight selected school communities; a survey of all members of 24 participating
boards' of trustees; and a focus group interview of programme consultants. Construct validity,
multiple data types and sources, reasonable survey response rates, bias control strategies and
triangulation permitted tentative conclusions and provisional recommendations to be drawn. It
was found that the REAP scheme was valued for three main reasons; it built governance capacity
in school communities; delivered ``free'', appropriately-scaled, culturally sensitive and customized
support on-site; and it improved the ability of schools to self-manage improvements. It was also
found that the Far North REAP Office played a key role in conceptualizing, developing, brokering
and managing these board mentoring services, and developed a model of brokerage that might be
usefully replicated through the Ministry of Education's contracting processes.
Introduction
This section describes the initiation and development of the Far North REAP
mentoring scheme, its national policy context, the regional content and the
nature of its institutional host. It also clarifies the changing primary purposes
of the scheme, the services intended, the delivery system favoured, and the
criteria used to evaluate the scheme and select its consultants.
The Far North REAP entered into a series of contracts with the Ministry of
Education (MoE) to provide an education and mentoring service to a number of
schools' boards of trustees in the Northland region of New Zealand. Three
contracts were entered into over the period from May 1997 to September 2001.
The criteria for the selection of boards for inclusion in the programme were
originally to be the same as those established by the MoE's schools support
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Reynold Macpherson is Professor and Director of the Center of Professional Development at the
University of Auckland. From 2002 he will be CEO of the Waianki Institute of Technology,
Rotorua. Ann McKillop is the Coordinator of Research Development at Northland Polytechnic.
From 2002 she will be a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing at the University of Auckland.
Journal of
Educational
Administration
40,4
324
project. The third contract, however, specified that support was to be provided
for up to 29 boards per contracting year, with 14 to have ``high needs'' and the
balance having ``medium needs.'' The process for defining and selecting boards
with ``high needs'' was to involve the project manager of Te Putahitanga
Matauranga (TPM) (the Far North Education Improvement Initiative), with the
balance to be identified by the TPM or the Auckland office of the MoE. In
practice, however, REAP documentation showed that, of the 29 participating
boards, about one third initially responded to a letter of invitation sent by
REAP, one third were referred by TPM and/or the MoE, and one third were
self-referred.
The national policy context helped shape the scheme. Among the many
changes in education announced in 1989 in the Tomorrow's Schools policy,
boards of trustees were given statutory responsibility to govern their schools.
Schools' boards of trustees comprised elected parent representatives, principals
ex-officio, elected teaching staff representatives, as well as co-opted members as
required. These trustees were entitled to a small allowance for their
contribution to school governance.
REAP support was offered at no financial cost to boards. The first contract
indicated that it was to provide support and development to trustees wishing to
take up their responsibilities specified by the National Administration
Guidelines (NAGs) and the National Education Guidelines (NEGs), and to self-
manage school self-review and principal appraisal. The requirements
concerning NAGs were summarised by the MoE in six areas: curriculum;
reporting and review; personnel; finance and property; health and safety; and
general legislation. All contracts record that boards were paid a grant of $100,
as a contribution towards their costs, upon signing of an agreement that
recorded their needs and how these would be met.
It is also important to acknowledge the unique regional context of the
scheme. Education is widely regarded as intrinsic to the sustainable social,
cultural and economic development of Northland (APR Consultants, 2001).
There is equally wide concern, however, that many young people leave the
region for educational and employment opportunities, and that many small
communities lack the capacity to manage sustainable development.
Northland has nearly 150,000 people, half living in some 30 townships with
populations of more than 500 people. Since the population is concentrated along
the region's east coast, there are many small communities in most other parts of
Northland. The population is growing comparatively quickly, particularly
along the east coast, largely due to the return of many Maori to ancestral lands,
retirement into coastal areas, and the growth in tourism. It is growing fast from
a base of about 3 per cent of New Zealand's population. On the other hand, it
only has about 12 per cent of the population of its largely urbanised regional
neighbour, Auckland (Statistics New Zealand, 1998). It has a comparatively
high proportion of people who are of Maori descent, that is, about one third,
although the proportion of Maori as part of the total population varies
considerably throughout the region.
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