The Australian Education Reporter
COLLEGIAL SUPPORT FOR PRINCIPALS
The South Australian Catholic Primary Principals Association (SACPPA) caters for Primary School Principals, Deputy Principals and Primary Heads of Schools, focusing on ‘training the trainer’, as well as collegiality, support and wellbeing amongst its memb
WHILE the association is governed by the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools, SACPPA is organised around regional groups and clusters of schools that report to SACPPA on professional development ( PD) initiatives, their regional priorities, and challenges at the local level.
President Phil Schultz says the association is about collegiality, professional development and information sharing about sector and school based initiatives, with the executive of the association conducting general meetings where professional development is a priority.
“Our current PD initiatives are woven into our regular general meetings, and include Evidence based teaching and learning ( with a lens of Literacy) Early Years pedagogy and services and STEM education,” Mr Schultz said.
When asked about the recent International Space Congress, Mr Schultz said there was a strong focus in South Australia on generating quality STEM education.
“There’s an understanding of what STEM is as acronym for four curriculum areas, but we’ve been trying to bring an understanding of the idea of STEM being about integrated learning.”
“There’s a focus on how we develop a pedagogy and a curriculum around that for our schools and this happens within SACPPA, but also at the local level in schools [which] have their own STEM strategies,” he said.
The South Australian Education Department and individual schools are looking at resources and infrastructure to create networks and partnerships in the broader community.
“Individual schools are developing STEM master plans; my school is looking at building a facility that will facilitate STEM education and the arts as well,” said Mr Schultz.
“The professional learning model in SACPPA is centred on leaders and our current and recent professional learning has been that notion of `train the trainer`.”
“In order for leaders to be effective in their work they need to be informed and they need to have the capacity to lead in STEM. We’re providing the opportunity to bring focus to that with the hope that that will increase leadership density and increase development at the local level,” he said.
Mr Schultz encourages Catholic Primary
“The professional learning model in SACPPA is centred on leaders and our current and recent professional learning has been that notion of train the trainer.”
School Principals to join SACPPA because of the collegiality, support and the strong wellbeing component of being able to share stories and seek advice in a safe environment.
“As a professional learning organisation our Catholic identity is important to us and is our guiding principle,” he said.
“We want to be a contemporary and forward thinking association with an education focus of bringing about contemporary teaching and learning that is responsive to the needs of these times and responsive to the needs of learners into the future.”