School support services: Professional development and schools as professional organisations

Abstract

When the responsibility of operating compulsory schools was transferred to municipalities in 1996 (lög um grunnskóla nr. 66/1995 [Act on Primary Education]), they took over the responsibility of counselling and psychological support services for the schools (Börkur Hansen & Ólafur H. Jóhannsson, 2010). The purpose of the services is to strengthen schools as professional institutions that can solve most of the issues that arise in schoolwork. The services are intended to promote the best possible use of pedagogical and psychological knowledge in practice and to provide teachers and principals with access to counselling and support in pedagogical issues as well as in professional development. Additionally, the services are intended to provide parents with guidance in parenting, and to carry out equal prevention work with observations and diagnoses of students who have psychological or social difficulties that affect their education (reglugerð um skólaþjónustu sveitarfélaga við leik- og grunnskóla og nemendaverndarráð í grunnskólum nr. 444/2019 [Regulation on municipal services to preschools and primary schools and student support councils in primary schools]). For schools to become stronger professional institutions, school development must be supported; an organized process of improvement and learning within the school that aims to change its practices and culture in the long term (Fullan, 2016; Hall & Hord, 2015).

Research in Iceland has only to a small extent focused on the emphasis and working methods of the school support service and there is little follow-up on how municipalities fulfil the provisions of the law. The few studies that have been conducted indicate that many municipalities have not formulated a policy on school services (Rúnar Sigþórsson, 2013).

The aim of the study is to shed light on how municipal school support services fulfil their legal obligations for ensuring teachers’ and principals’ support for professional development and for strengthening schools as professional institutions.

The study consists of mixed methods. An electronic questionnaire was submitted in 2019 to the principals of preschools and compulsory schools and those in charge of school services in municipalities in Iceland (superintendents). The survey consisted of questions about different aspects of the school support services. Here, special attention is paid to questions concerning the organization of school services and municipal policy on them, and on support for school staff and school practice. To follow up on the questionnaire, five cases of school services were selected. Interviews with eight superintendents and eleven department heads and consultants in those services were conducted. In 2019–2020, information was collected from the websites of the school offices and the municipalities and schools within their jurisdiction. The documents were reviewed regarding the policy and vision of the school services, its framework, organization and working conditions, and the school office’s presentation of its own activities.

The results indicate that there is a lack of balance between the subjects of the school services as prescribed in the regulation on school support services (reglugerð um skólaþjónustu sveitarfélaga við leik- og grunnskóla og nemendaverndarráð í grunnskólum nr. 444/2019 [Regulation on municipal services to preschools and primary schools and student support councils in primary schools]). The part of the school services that aims at strengthening schools as professional institutions is less attended to and the school support services provide little initiative in this regard. This applies not least to support and school-oriented counselling for teachers and principals and whole-school oriented development. The findings also indicate that there is a lack of a common understanding of the responsibility and empowerment of teachers, leading to a friction between school services staff and teachers. It seems that the school services lack a clearer policy on strengthening and developing schools as professional institutions and thereby fulfilling regulatory provisions. To this end, the school authorities and superintendents need to safeguard that, in collaboration with teachers and principals, comprehensive services are ensured with an emphasis on professional development and school-oriented counselling for school staff.