Hoy 2006

Source:   RESEARCH ARTICLE

APA Citation:

Hoy, W. K., Gage, C. Q., III, & Tarter, C. J. (2006). School mindfulness and faculty trust: Necessary conditions for each other? Educational Administration Quarterly, 42(2), 236-255.

Author bio:

Wayne K. Hoy – Ohio State University (Novice Fawcett Chair in Educational Administration); research interests include school properties that enhance teaching and student learning, especially organizational structure, culture, motivation, and leadership.

Charles Quincy Gage, III – assistant principal of Barrington Elementary School (Ohio); main interests are leadership, motivation, and innovative school structures.

C. John Tarter – professor of educational administration at St. John’s University (NY); interests are organizational climate, decision-making, and school leadership; teaches courses in organizational theory, politics of education, and educational leadership.

Purpose:

To conceptualize and apply the construct of mindfulness to schools and to explore trust as a school condition that fosters mindful actions 236

This inquiry focused on two constructs: school mindfulness and faculty trust. Our initial task was to examine the theoretical and empirical components of each. 250

Participants: 2,600 teachers responded to survey instruments (in 75 schools)

Findings: faculty trust and school mindfulness seemed necessary conditions for each other; principals need to lead in mindful ways – by encouraging faculty to play with ideas, to create novelty in their classrooms, to feel safe to take reasonable risks, to experiment, and to be resilient, the principal can have profound effects on school mindfulness. 236

Quotes:

Mindful behavior of individuals and organizations is more than simply being alert; it is a habit of mind that scans for subtle changes that cause trouble. 237

When teachers and administrators simply follow rules or comply with senseless orders, they are mindless; … Mindlessness grows out of routine and general comfort that things are being done ‘correctly’ that is, according to standard procedures … for example, focusing on the outcome of tests often obscures the process of teaching. 238

Context controls our reactions and interpretations. When people confuse the context controlling the behavior of another with the context determining their own behavior, that is, assuming that motives of others are the same as their own, they fall prey to context confusion. The consequence is narrowness in perspective, which impedes understanding behavior. Contextual confusion reinforces action viewed from one perspective only and limits the use of multiple perspectives. The causes of mindfulness that influence daily behavior are repetition, narrow mindsets, preoccupation with ends rather than means, and context confusion. 238

Individual mindfulness is a habit of mind that continuously seeks disconfirming evidence to test assumptions. Mindful administrators know that ‘believing is seeing’ and they are on guard – wary of the obvious and searching for ‘the danger not yet arisen.’ 239

Preoccupation with failure is counterproductive … it suggests a dysfunctional pessimism, but first impressions are often wrong. The key to this preoccupation is to identify small mistakes before they become major problems. Mindful organizations continuously scan for problems, large and small, but mostly small. 239

Mindful schools have teachers and administrators who develop the ability to anticipate surprise by focusing on failure, avoiding simplification, and remaining sensitive to operations. But when the unexpected happens, the organization rebounds with persistence, resilience, and expertise. 240

Mindful organizations manage the unexpected in its earliest stages, when the signals of trouble are subtle and weak. 242

Openness, competence, and trust enable subordinates to engage in problem solving rather than defensive behavior 243

Themes: workers are competent, expert, and reliable; managers are benevolent and constructive in their interactions; an atmosphere of honesty and openness pervades a work environment that is focused on finding mistakes early, [then] correcting and learning from them. 243

These studies strongly suggest that a work environment characterized by competence, reliability, benevolence, honesty, and openness fosters mindful thought and action. 243-4

Trust and mindfulness go hand-in-hand. Faculty trust promotes school mindfulness and mindfulness reinforces trust. Both the theoretical and empirical underpinnings for this relationship is strong. Trust requires a group’s willingness to be vulnerable to another party based on the confidence that the latter party will be benevolent, reliable, competent, honest, and open. These same characteristics of trust are necessary for school mindfulness. 251

When things go wrong and surprises occur, trust is critical in creating an organizational resilience to bounce back and work together with problem solving anchored in expertise regardless of rank or status… trust is necessary for school mindfulness and school mindfulness reinforces a culture of trust. 252

The significance of both trust and mindfulness in schools is indisputable. They are inextricably related, and both create a climate for success. 252

Trust has already been linked to student achievement, leadership, success, moral authority, and sound, healthy interpersonal relationships in schools (see research cited). 252

Conclusion:

Mindfulness is a concept every school administrator should understand and practice, and a culture of trust seems necessary to achieve both the ends of understanding and practice. 254

Although this study was not concerned with student achievement, a strong case can be made that mindful schools facilitate higher student achievement. Ultimately, designing schools to improve student learning is a continuing challenge, and school mindfulness seems an important piece of the puzzle. 254