
Greta Lindberg, universitetsadjunkt vid Luleå tekniska universitet och Malin Grahn, rektor Centrumskolan i Kalix.
Strengthening the educational leadership of the principal to increase the safety and well-being of students
The aim is to investigate, at an overall level, how a head teacher can contribute to promoting and preventing offensive treatment, discrimination and harassment through their educational leadership and to investigate whether and how the KiVa method can contribute to this work.
Who are we?
We are a primary school in Kalix municipality that together with a researcher from LTU participates in a project aimed at strengthening students' safety and study peace in school. Through cooperation, we find sustainable collaboration models for practical research in selected areas that in a larger perspective help more schools and municipalities to strengthen the area of safety and study peace.
The area for R&D practice-oriented research
In its systematic quality work, Centrumskolan has identified that we need to increase students' safety and study peace at the school. Based on the analysis, efforts are underway at various levels within the school, one of which is to implement the evidence-based anti-bullying method KiVa. Part of the project is to strengthen the scientific competence of the school's staff, which leads to operational development in the selected area. Furthermore, the project is taking place in a highly topical area at national level: the Government Offices have commissioned the Ministry of Education to produce a proposal for a national plan for schools' work on safety and study peace. This investigation will be completed in December 2020.
The purpose of the project
At an overall level, investigate how a principal can contribute to promoting and preventing abusive treatment, discrimination and harassment through their educational leadership and to investigate whether and how the KiVa method can contribute to this work. At the operational level, find collaboration models where the principal's and staff's collaboration with researchers at LTU finds a sustainable model for practice-based research and operational development in the school's work with safety and study peace.
Implementation and documentation
The project starts in the autumn semester 2020 with researchers and project managers analysing the school's needs where the researcher, based on his area of knowledge, contributes to an in-depth analysis at school level. Based on the analysis, the researcher and project manager plan future practice-oriented initiatives that are implemented during the 2020-2021 academic year. The researcher follows, participates in and documents the work continuously and evaluates the project's results in collaboration with the principal and process manager in the autumn of 2021.
The project will be documented within the framework of Centrumskolan's and the principal's systematic quality work. The project is partially reported in the business and in the municipal school organization at decided times and the final results are reported in a written report and a scientific article. Data collection consists of individual interviews and focus group interviews with the project manager, key personnel, teachers and other stakeholders.
Dissemination of results
The principal will disseminate the project results within the organization via the management team, networks and offer study visits to the school. Student teachers will be offered the opportunity to carry out their work placement (VFU) and degree project at the school. To create transparency in the process where guardians get an insight into the school's everyday life, current activities from the classroom and school will be disseminated via our social media and platforms such as Instagram and Schoolsoft. The final results of the project will be presented in a written report and in a scientific article when the project ends in December 2021.
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