Mission+Building+Capacity

==media type="custom" key="10054837"Michael Fullan puts it nicely. Educators, he says, face “compliance requirements” — what we are expected to do. Capacity has to do with whether the compliance requirements actually result in “people getting out of bed and doing something.” (Fullan, 1998, p. 5). Let’s think of capacity then as the factors that motivate action. What conditions support the achievement of change?==

Mitchell and Sackney (2001) present a nice framework for thinking about capacity building. They suggest that three areas of capacity must be nurtured if meaningful change is to occur.
==The first is //personal capacity//. Fullan notes that personal purpose is the catalyst for organizational change (1993, p. 3). Think about Freire's idea of dialogue. Beyond being an 'existential necessity' (Freire, 2009, p. 147), dialogue becomes the catalyst through which change becomes possible, as the teacher comes to know his/her students, not just in terms of their realities, but also in terms of how they construct meaning around those realities. From this, the teacher can begin to discover his/her personal purpose.==

==Mitchell and Sackney suggest that the personal purpose must come from a process of reflective //deconstruction// of one’s professional narrative, followed by a phase of active //reconstruction// of the knowledge base. This reconstruction phase means tapping into professional networks as the teacher seeks out new information or new knowledge.==

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==As teachers connect with their networks, the second area of capacity building comes into play: **//interpersonal capacity//**. As the focus moves from the individual to the group, interpersonal skills and what Mitchell and Sackney call the “affective climate” (p. 4) become important, as the seeking out of new information or knowledge becomes a “…process of negotiation among the individuals in a learning community.” (p. 4) Collaborative relationships are a crucial aspect of capacity building.==

==The acceptance of dissonance or disagreement also becomes an important part of the process (Ross & Hannay, 2001, p. 5). In addressing interpersonal capacity, it is important to affirm and support in a climate of open dialogue and trust, so that different perspectives can be voiced safely.==

media type="custom" key="10054393" width="200" height="200" align="right" ==Both personal and interpersonal capacities will be heavily influenced by the third area: **//organizational capacity//**. Oberg observes that the key to building any capacity lies in positive school culture (2003). As Mitchell and Sackney note, “Organizational capacity begins with the awareness that structural arrangements can open doors for teachers and break down walls between them or they can slam doors shut and keep people away from one another.” (p. 5).[| Saphier and King (1985)] have identified 12 norms of positive school culture:==

==Accompanying the positive school culture, organizational structures come into play in capacity building. For example, decentralization, shared decision-making, shared leadership and site-based management are cited as contributing to organization capacity. All contribute to a sense of empowerment and autonomy. Fullan tells us that “…in short, there is no substitute for internal school development.” ([|The Three Stories of Educational Reform...]). ==

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==// “…there is a fusion of three powerful forces: the spiritual, the political and the intellectual. The spiritual dimension has to do with the purpose and meaning of reform. The moral purpose of reform is to make a difference in the lives of students. I have argued elsewhere that concern for finding spiritual meaning in reform is on the ascendancy (Fullan, 1999). The purposeful interactions that occur within and across the learning communities serve to mobilize moral commitments and energies. Second, mobilization is power, so the political capacity to overcome obstacles and to persist despite setbacks is also enhanced. Third, good ideas in the marketplace, hitherto not noticed or implemented become more accessible as schools and school systems increase their capacity to find out about select, integrate and use new ideas effectively." //==