According to Beesley and Shebby, 2010, capacity building in the educational setting is a process to assist a school/college’s ability to accomplish its mission. The process involves combining elements and resources within a school to benefit all stakeholders. Its purpose is to create and implement programs that will allow all members to grow by way on enhancing their knowledge, skills and abilities. It is aligned along performance –base and catalyst for change. For example, schools that are experiencing difficulties relating to low self-esteem, behavior issues, and lack of parent involvement will require improvement, or in other words compacity building within the schools. These issues are deemed problematic and serve as obstacles to the long-term goals and mission of the school.
In every case of school improvements, it is critical that schools incorporate efforts to increase a sense of kinship, neighborliness, and collegiality among faculty. The school’s culture should feature a positive, safe, and trusting, working and learning environment that is conducive to student learning and staff professional development, by way of encouraging team-building, along with stimulating and motivating the culture through incentives and innovative changes.
I must add that in order for changes in capacity building to remain effective, all faculty members, principals, teachers, school leaders, district and all accountable stakeholders as a whole, must buy-in and invest in schools' improvements. Everyone must care about each other and help each other to grow learn and lead together. There must be active and ongoing collegiality, facilitating the development of shared visions and goals. Through collegial efforts, staffs members are encourage to be strong leaders while exemplifying their expertness to other staff members. The demonstration of knowledge and skills is imperative because it offers opportunities for faculty to gain insights from each other.
Another important aspect of compacity building involves mobilizing school and parent relationships to enable parents to be included in this emerging community. Schools need to include parents when schools set goals and choose improvement strategies. Schools should make it easier for parents to be informed and to play a part in what goes on in the classroom. New technologies such as school voice mail systems, homework hotlines, and the internet can serve as vehicles for staying connected with families. Schools also need to accommodate parents who do not understand English and schools should make sure teachers as well, know how to work with parents.
In terms of teaching and learning settings, I believe schools should work as a team to work more like a family. Distributive leadership should be the key in enforcing structure and responsibility. Teachers and students should work together effectively, yet are able to use their own strengths and styles in the classroom. Further, schools should utilize a student-centered approach in which project-based lessons are exemplified across each grade level. Lastly, schools should also encourage and support multiple learning styles and approaches. Teachers should be trained to incorporate multiple and varied techniques in the classroom to promote learning and success.
Through schools’ shared values and commitments towards learning, student success and achievement, professionalism, collaboration, respect, and excellence, will enable schools to become a community of minds.
Reference:
Beesley, A.D., & Shebby, S. (2010). Evaluating capacity building in education: The North Central Comprehensive Center. From ERIC, 1-22.
