Deal with the cases presented below with reference to relevant Fiji MEHA and your school policies.

Case Study 1

Parents, school communities, and unions are among the many stakeholders that demand influence, if not control, of the educational process in Paradise Secondary School. How does the school head balance all the needs of the various groups and still remain true to the ultimate, though most powerless stakeholder: - the students?

Case Study 2

A group of teachers and administrators in Sunshine Primary School grapple with how to discipline a student who posted a nasty meme on a classmate's social media feed. How would the Head Teacher engage the senior leadership colleagues to address the issue?

Case Study 3

A school principal is asked to respond to growing numbers of parents opting their children out of External Examinations. How should the principal balance these parents' concerns with other parent viewpoints supporting assessment, his/her own professional obligations, as well as with district and the MEHA's accountability pressures?

Case Study 4

Alex is a child on the autism spectrum who was assigned a full time Teacher Assistant (TA) to support him in his regular grade three classroom. Earlier this week, Alex's mother, who is a qualified TA, came to the school to meet with the principal. She shared that she had recently completed training in Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) and is excited about her new knowledge. She offered to volunteer full time to support Alex in the classroom and believes this would improve her relationship with her son as well as help him succeed. The principal has strong empathy for families with children who have special education needs and accepted her kind offer. This decision meant that the TA assigned to Alex would be reassigned. At the end of the day, the principal met with Alex's TA to indicate that her duties had been reassigned to another classroom and would be effective the following day. The next morning, the Year Three teacher was surprised to find Alex's mother organizing Alex`s work space in her classroom. His mother excitedly told the teacher that she would be working with her from now on, as Alex's TA. The teacher was speechless and stormed into the office to confront the principal. The teacher demanded that the parent be removed from her classroom. The principal was surprised at the teacher's reaction as she is usually very flexible and supportive of parental involvement. After listening attentively to the teacher's concerns, the principal asked the teacher to return to the classroom, promising to monitor the situation for the next week. The teacher unhappily returned to the classroom but made a quick call to the Teacher Union. The day seemed to have gone smoothly until the principal listened to two voicemail messages at the end of the day. The first was from the Divisional Education Officer: "I understand that a parent is acting as a TA in support of a child with special education needs in one of your classrooms. Can you please return my call as soon as possible?" The second message was from the School Manager, thanking the principal for proactively addressing both the student and parent needs. The principal realizes that the decision to accept the parent as a volunteer has created issues that must be dealt with. The parent and trustee are satisfied with the decision. The Divisional Education Officer and the teacher have concerns.

Reflective Questions:

1) Has the principal successfully found a viable solution to a problem in the school? Explain.

2) What other school-level leadership challenges has the principal created as a result of the decision to allow a parent to act as TA in the classroom?

3) What could be the implications in relation to the relationship of trust between management and stakeholders (school staff, parents, the Divisional Education Officer, school manager)?

4) What are the issues that the Divisional Education Officer must deal with as a result of the principal's decision to allow the parent to act as her child's TA?

5) As the Divisional Education Officer, how would you approach the school manager? The principal?

6) How will the principal maintain the relationship with Alex's mother once she is removed from the classroom?