The fifth C-B dynamic: invoking reaction

Abstract

In previous chapters we have seen how schools seeking to improve the quality of their outcomes must first establish that they are 'in tune' and then create significant new educational knowledge, preferably incorporating an inspiring vision and a highly meaningful schoolwide pedagogical framework. Those tasks accomplished, they can approach the challenge of classroom-based pedagogical enhancement with a sense of mutual trust, shared understanding, and collective motivation. But that is not the end of their school improvement journey. To the contrary, for sustained improvement to occur, a school must subject its educational products to intense internal and external scrutiny. Thus, in this chapter, we examine some of the core processes associated with it. We proceed to do this through three steps: exploration of a case study from our research schools, discussion of the meaning of invoking reaction in educational literature and research, and discussion of the fifth C-B dynamic's school-based leadership implications. That done, we proceed to explore a non-educational exemplar of invoking reaction, namely the work of MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders), and provide an exercise to assist you to develop invoking reaction leadership capabilities for application in your school context.