Queensland School Communities Build Sustainable Futures: Case Studies from Diverse Contexts

Andrews D¹*, Starr H²*

1. University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
2. Department of Education and the Arts, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

This presentation will provide case studies of school communities that have engaged in a process of school revitalisation. The case studies will illuminate the experiences of Queensland Schools engaging with IDEAS – Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievement in Schools. The IDEAS process engages the professional community along with the broader school community in processes of whole school renewal. Using the IDEAS process, the school community develop a distinct identity and a vision of a preferred future and a strong sense of shared purpose which enhances the professional capacity of teachers to improve school outcomes, namely, the learning of their students, relationships with the community, and the coherence of school operation.

The case studies will illustrate how teachers, working together and building a strong link with the broader community have transformed the experiences of students and how they have contributed to transforming their communities. The case studies presented include rural communities, Torres Straits communities as well schools in suburban areas with a high proportion students from challenging and disadvantaged groups.

IDEAS began in early 1977 as the result of dialogue between Education Queensland and the University of Southern Queensland’s Leadership Research Institute. In its present form, IDEAS represents a strategic partnership between these two institutions and 7 years of research and development by Professor Frank Crowther and a research team based at the university in Toowoomba. Professor Crowther and his team have worked with over 170 schools in Queensland and in 2003, at the invitation of the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Technology, successfully trialled IDEAS in schools in NSW, Canberra and Western Australia. The presentation will provide case study evidence of school groups improving their local school communities in a sustainable way.

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