International Schools, Teaching and Governance: An Autoethnography of a Teacher in Conflict PDF
Preview International Schools, Teaching and Governance: An Autoethnography of a Teacher in Conflict
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS, TEACHING AND GOVERNANCE An Autoethnography of a Teacher in Conflict Carmen Blyth International Schools, Teaching and Governance Carmen Blyth International Schools, Teaching and Governance An Autoethnography of a Teacher in Conflict Carmen Blyth Cape Town, South Africa ISBN 978-3-319-46782-5 ISBN 978-3-319-46783-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-46783-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017933307 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover image: © Lisa Schaetzle / Getty Images Cover design by Samantha Johnson Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Conflict: An unresolved profound and prolonged disagreement or dispute, which, whatever the cause of the particular conflict, can escalate over time to have serious consequences for those involved. P rologue Laurel Richardson, professor emeritus at Oregon State University (USA) and more importantly a sociologist of everyday life experience, together with former student and professor of educational theory and practice Elizabeth St Pierre, explains that writing is a different way of knowing, a way of knowing differently. And that if we write as a way of knowing, how we write is as important if not more so than what we write. For Richardson writing is: a method of inquiry, a way of finding out about yourself and your topic. Although we usually think about writing as a mode of ‘telling’ about the social world …Writing is also a way of “knowing”—a method of discov- ery and analysis. By writing in different ways, we discover new aspects of our topic and our relationship to it. Form and content are inseparable. (Richardson, 1994, p. 516) For this reason the background to my experience of conflict at one partic- ular international school is written as: (a) the first act of ‘a surrealist drama about a surreal, yet real’ (Richardson, 1997, p. 296) international school and (b) an equally surreal response to authority’s demands. Richardson (1997) explains that the surreal can seem appropriately equal and equally appropriate to the real if not identical in form and relations. In other words, the words and setting might differ from what actually occurred but the contexts and meanings are inherently the same. The two examples I give below use school politics as site for the writing and discipline as con- text (Richardson, 1997). vii viii PROLOGUE Act 1 [Scene 1: It is a hot and humid August afternoon at the start of the aca- demic year at the Tepapawai International Secondary School (TISS)1 yet the office is chilly bordering on cold. The sound of the air conditioner whirrs in the background. The room is clinical: there are no plants, no per- sonal photos or pictures, and the sea view from the sole window has been blocked out with a heavy blind. At a coffee table sits a man who motions to the head of department as she enters to close the door and take a seat opposite him.] Man: We’ve made a decision not to offer you another contract after this year I’m afraid to say. We think that is the best way of solving the problem between you and the team. Head of Department: Okay. Man: I think we need to move the situation on. Head of Department: [Silence] Man: Here is a letter for you to take away that has been counter signed by the HR Director [he hands let- ter to Head of Department]. Head of Department: Wow! Man: I am sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but I think that’s how we need to move forward. That’s how it is. So you obviously need to go away and think about that. Head of Department: Well there is not much to think about, is there? Man: No, not a lot. [Scene 2: In the drab and dingy staff room, the Vice Chair of the Teachers Association and the Head of Department are seated having a cup of tea. Their cups remain untouched.] Vice Chair: Well, there’s no point in your filing grievances against your principal and deputy principal, not now that you’ve been given a non-renewal. No, no point at all. I hope you can see that. Head of Department: [Silence] PROLOGUE ix [Scene 3: It is a cold and miserable day at the Labour Tribunal court. The last case of the morning session is being heard. The court room is empty save for the lady judge, the plaintiff (a head of department at the Tepapawai International Secondary School (TISS)) and the HR Director of the TIS]. Judge: Has the school paid all monies owing to the plaintiff? Plaintiff: Yes. Judge: Then case dismissed. Plaintiff: But your Honour they can’t just get around the difficulty of a disciplinary and grievance procedure by giving me a non renewal. Judge: Yes they can. A contrAPuntAl resPonse Dear Deputy Principal Further to our discussions yesterday and today, I wish to clarify the problem. 1. A member of staff in my department has approached you to say that she feels uncomfortable with my leadership and therefore has asked for you to line manage her. She refused to meet earlier today as arranged by you to discuss the ‘issues’ with me present. 2. You have been line managing Yvonne at my request as of this year due to the fact that on more than one occasion she has physically threatened and intimidated members of the department. This was well docu- mented by three members of the department as well as myself; however, no action was taken by you to resolve this issue. 3. I cannot allow that you resume your previous backdoor policy with members of my department as this makes my position as Head of Department [HoD] untenable. 4. The areas of dissatisfaction and tension were well aired at the meeting of the whole department in March, following which a number of actions were agreed and apparently the situation improved until last week since when it appears your policy of allowing members of the depart- ment to approach you directly rather than directing them to air their concerns with me first (as you had agreed to do) caused a serious dete- rioration in communication. x PROLOGUE 5. I can only conclude that this situation continues to be an issue because of your current line management strategies. When I return from medical tests in Australia, we need to take some action to rectify this current situation of insubordination and your backdoor management policy before the situation becomes irrecoverable. If we cannot find a way to do so, I cannot see how you can continue to line manage the ESOL2 team. notes 1. All names used are fictitious. 2. ‘English to Speakers of Other Languages’ (ESOL) is now more fre- quently used in lieu of ‘English as a Second Language’ (ESL). references Richardson, L. (1994). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 516–529). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Richardson, L. (1997). Skirting a pleated text: De-d isciplining an academic life. Qualitative Inquiry, 3(3), 295–303. doi:10.1177/107780049700300303. c ontents Part I The Journey/al and Reflections 1 1 The Story from Start to Finish 3 2 Re-theorising and Re-problematising Conflict from a Posthumanist Stance: Meaning, Truth, and Understanding in a Posthumanist World 49 Part II Dimensions of Conflict 69 3 The International School: Taking Stock of a World ‘Commodity’—Leadership and Management 71 4 The Apparatuses of Conflict 87 5 The Dark Side: Teacher Emotions and Their Affect/ Effect on Conflict 119 6 Concluding on a More Optimistic Note 149 Index 163 xi
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