The dance of influence: professional relationships evolve as teachers and administrators engage in whole school renewal

Abstract

This paper explores how involvement in a whole school improvement process can change professional relationships in a school, particularly between the principal and the professional community. Before engaging in this process, the teachers in the study already enjoyed a supportive school environment nurtured by the principal. However, through engagement in the school improvement process they began to experience professional growth – both individually and as a teacher-lead professional community. As a result, they began to challenge the nature of the relationships which had been nurtured by the principal. This placed never before felt tensions between the teaching community and the principal. Our case study captures the dynamics of the continuing dance of influence as the improvement process unfolded. As a professional community, they were 'growing up' and moving beyond the cultural meaning that the principal has created. However, they could only continue to grow if the principal reconsidered the organizational and relationship system he had developed.