Appreciative Inquiry as a self-evaluative tool at BISP

Neil Crossland is the Principal (Secondary School) at the British International School Phuket. Here he describes the process of using Appreciative Inquiry as a self-evaluative tool.

---------------------------------------------How does a new Principal get to know a school, build trust and positive relationships, and continue the process of evolutionary change during Covid times? This article provides the answer, and describes how the British International School Phuket (BISP) has thrown out the conventional ‘deficit focus’ of school self-evaluation processes, and utilised an Appreciative Inquiry model to inspire institutional growth from a strengths based perspective.

Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider and Srivastva - 1987) maximises an organization’s strengths to shine a light on what’s going right in an organization, rather than fixing what’s wrong. A change in school leadership can inevitably cause some apprehension as to how any future change is managed or led within an organisation, particularly during the uncertainty of the Covid pandemic where the skills and qualities of an adaptive leadership style come to the fore. Our motivation at BISP was therefore to implement a model of self-evaluation that was non-threatening, people-centric (seeking to gain insight from the whole school community), and able to draw upon elements of positive psychology to further facilitate organizational change.

Process The blueprint at BISP was set in simple phases: 1. Initiate a collaborative journey of discovery to reflect our mission - ‘Inspire Learning; Nurture Wellbeing; Ignite Passion’; 2. Empower and engage all members of the community to tell its own success story; 3. Find the best examples of working practices, innovation, and high performance and strategically plan to do more of the same; 4. Envision opportunities for further development and identify and design projects that sustain school improvement.

The process of self-evaluation became equally as important as the outcome, allowing a diverse cross section of teachers to lead focussed inquiry, build strong relationships through collaboration, and find new opportunities to impact our educational provision.

The project yielded: * 27 independent inquiries relating to Learning (12 inquiries), Wellbeing (8 inquiries) and Passion (7 inquiries); * Engagement of over 30 staff at all levels; * A professional resource website detailing all inquiries, each with rationale, evidence of impact, and opportunities for growth; * 5 core strategic impact areas identified for further development; * 23 strategic objectives set for further development; * A celebratory buzz about the campus!

Transformation The process transformed the way we discovered the root causes of success, and created a positive climate to identify and enhance further areas for development. The range and scope of inquiries left few stones unturned as the following details suggest: ●

Appreciative inquiries impacting our mission to ‘Inspire Learning’.

Cross-curricular collaboration; differentiation; stretch and challenge; formative feedback; summative assessment; intercultural understanding; pedagogical approaches; learning aesthetics and displays; learning spaces; retrieval practices; tech infrastructure and innovation.

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Appreciative inquiries impacting our mission to ‘Nurture Wellbeing’.

Coaching approaches; counselling; mind management education; intercultural community; safeguarding; play spaces; the wellbeing curriculum.

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Appreciative inquiries impacting our mission to ‘Ignite Passion’.

Extra-curricular provision; professional development; performing arts; student agency and voice; service learning; scholarship recruitment.

Having discovered ‘what was best about BISP’, the community then envisaged opportunities to lay out a preferred future. Bridging the best of ‘what is’ with ‘what might be’, we identified 5 core Strategic Impact Areas which became the core focus for further strategic planning as follows:

1. Provide a dynamic yet balanced curriculum which is responsive to the evolving nature of 21st Century learning, and the BISP demographic; 2. Further raise standards of teaching and learning to challenge and inspire our students; 3. Improve policies and practices to safeguard and enhance wellbeing, so that all members of our school community can flourish; 4. Enhance intercultural understanding, and explore cultural diversity and connection, within the context of our school values and ethos; 5. Enhance the quality, equitable access, and opportunity to partake in a holistic programme of enrichment activities, which pursue excellence and participation for all.

The design process pulled together evidence from members of the community to construct a strategic action plan with growth objectives relating to each area of our mission. The student body were key in contributing to the inquiries by engaging in the appreciative process and providing insight into areas of inquiry. Our aim here was to engender higher levels of student agency, a deeper sense of belonging, and heightened self-efficacy relating to our school programme.

Appreciative Mindset An enduring focus of the school for some years has been to enhance staff wellbeing and prioritize the physical, mental and social health of employees. The destabilizing impact of the Covid pandemic in Thailand required the Appreciative Inquiry initiative to be inclusive and immersive - wellbeing is as much to do with empowerment and decision making as it is to do with cakes in the staffroom. The process was positively embraced and provided an opportunity for institutional affirmation at a time of uncertainty. The opportunity to make evaluative decisions and engage fully in a ‘bottom up’ process, had a positive impact on psychological wellbeing during a time of need.

A shift in mindset away from a deficit focussed approach to one which leveraged optimism and growth emerged, and put a skip in the step of staff and students involved. Indeed during the 6 month period between the first and last inquiry, our aim was to develop an ‘appreciative culture’ as staff aligned to co-create a sustainable future. The appreciative inquiry model was adopted and adjusted beyond its function as a self-evaluative tool and colleagues embraced the cycle in areas such as setting Professional Growth Objectives and Faculty Development Planning. The Student Leadership Team even adopted the process into their formula for working with fellow students when planning events and leading advocacy activities.

---------------------------------------------The opportunity to think appreciatively and begin a journey of institutional self-discovery was contextually right for BISP. New leadership, new challenges, and a new opportunity to pull together as a professional learning community all fell into place. The whole process was comparable to a fresh pair of eyes reordering a wine cellar by its most important characteristics - vintage and variety. The school continues to taste the fruit of this process as aspects of the strategic plan are realised.

For further information or collaboration with like minded people, please contact Neil Crossland at: ncrossland@bisphuket.ac.th Reference: David L. Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva (1987) - APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY IN ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE - Research in Organizational Change and Development, Vol.1, pages 129-169 - JAI Press Inc.