However, achieving turnaround demands more than merely ensuring teachers are familiar with relevant curriculum developments, modes of assessment, monitoring utilisation of teachers and physical resources within individual schools.
Given their professional training and experience, subjecting students to a robust instructional regimen many not pose serious challenges for many school principals. However, the one thing not so easy to achieve is the cultivation of a positive school climate in which both students and teachers can feel a sense of care, support and belonging.
Opportunities for success are lost when schools are preoccupied with grappling with hostilities and lawlessness. Moving away from negativity to a positive climate can do students a world of good. And principals must not wobble in this critical area. Students spend a better part of the day at school and they can only thrive when not treated as tourists.
A feeling of home away from home must prevail at all times in learning institutions. Conscious of the fact that a school environment can make or break students, principals should never shirk the responsibility of creating and sustaining a warm and hospitable environment for students.
A school should offer comfort and hope to students from all walks of life including offering safety nets to those emerging from dysfunctional families. Learners are most likely to navigate and exceed robust academic expectations in an atmosphere where they truly feel cared for and supported.
And school seeking to unleash the potential of students should invest time in expressing concern for what is happening in the world of students. Sharing her experiences, Linda Cliatt Wayman, a successful American School turnaround champion once said she got students realise their purpose in life through establishing and maintaining sound inter personal linkages.
Winning the confidence of students sometimes requires extra miles- personal sacrifices. And in this regard Wayman went to an extent of investing her resources in ensuring that even learners from less privileged backgrounds celebrated their birthdays in school. And this rare sense of love and generosity paid dividends in the form of order, discipline and improved learning outcomes. When dealing with students, the fundamental thing to keep in mind at all times is that students are no robots but human beings worthy of respect.
Respect takes precedence over engagement. Learners must never struggle for recognition. They must be valued and feel valued. Schools must embrace the concept of the fundamental goodness of students. Students should be regarded as precious (unprocessed) metals requiring polishing and not problems requiring fixing. Treated as a valuable resource, students would not allow themselves to be free passengers in the learning process.
They would strive for self-determination and contribute to their learning and general well-being. Generally a positive school milieu makes learners to look forward to another day in school. In a caring environment problems exist to be fixed and not used as justification for under achievement.
