Consumidor frente a productos de moda sostenible

On 6th December 2012 I met with the Deputy Head to discuss a 20 page report that I had submitted to the SMT in November of that year. The content of the report was based around chapter 7 section II and the executive summary comprised 13 points which are recorded below:

My research would suggest that the stakeholders sampled at the Bishop Pritchard School perceive the following:

1. That there was a distinct ethos at the Bishop Pritchard School;

2. That this ethos was based on, inter alia, respect, love (in the sense of wanting the best for others), hard work, high expectations and submission to a higher authority;

3. That this ethos may justifiably be called a Christian ethos (see, for example Galatians 5:22). In addition, there was frequent reference to the three inter-related themes of Faith, Hope and Love (1 Corinthians 13:13);

4. That the source of the ethos was complex and represented a cocktail of values held by many stakeholders within the broader school community, both Christian and non- Christian;

5. That the ethos that emerged did so as a symbiotic relationship between the various actors in the school community;

6. That the actual effect of this ethos on the educational outcomes of the school was a more contested issue. Stakeholders differed in their views on this;

7. That from the perspective of some pupils there was a duality of provision where one aspect is the assemblies, tutor times and RE lessons and the other aspect is the other curriculum subjects. For many pupils there was no obvious link between the two aspects;

8. That according to some pupils the success of the school was down to the quality of the teaching alone;

9. That, in contrast, for a few pupils and the majority of the staff, there was a clear understanding that all these different aspects of school life were interwoven and, together, helped to create the positive outcomes;

10. That the values internalized by the pupils as a result of the pervading ethos enabled them to be successful in school for three separate reasons: diligence, resilience and

compliance. These three reasons for success may legitimately be termed as ‘learning

habits’;

11. That in general and on average, pupils at the Bishop Pritchard School may be more diligent in completing and submitting work on time, more able to adapt to the world of

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school and happier to comply with the rules and regulations of the school than might have been the case if they attended another school without the same ethos;

12. That the character, theology and performance of the (now) executive headteacher may have been influential in creating and moulding an ethos where these learning habits flourished;

13. That more research is needed on these three attributes both at Bishop Pritchard School and in the wider context of Church schools before any firm conclusions can be made. Based on number 2 and 10 above, there appeared to be not one, but several character virtues which emerged from the ethos of the school in the perception of its stakeholders. DFE (2015) identified no fewer than 18 character virtues which may operate in schools. These included, amongst others: perseverance, resilience, ambition, tolerance, respect, curiosity, optimism, integrity, conscientiousness and focus. Jubilee (2015) categorised these 18 virtues into 4 main groups: performance, moral, intellectual and civic. What was significant from this data was that the stakeholders perceived that the different groups of character virtues co-existed with each other in explaining the ethos of their schools. What was considerably less clear was how certain virtues such as tolerance (love) and respect could have an impact on exam results. Given the parameters of this study with its focus on the link between ethos and outcomes, the main type of character virtue that began to stick with the stakeholders was the performance virtues. These included resilience and diligence. While the other virtues, like love and respect, may be equally vital it was hard for the stakeholders to explain how they could be measured and used as a justification for examination success.

Quite justifiably this ethos could also be described as a Christian ethos for two main reasons. Firstly, it accords with much of the New Testament teaching, for example the words from the book of Galatians (see chapter 7 section II, and point number 3 above) and, secondly, many of the key leaders, and others, who carry the ethos would profess to be Christians. There are also many, who would not profess to be Christians, who are nonetheless keen to embrace this ethos, as outlined, for example, in the school mission statement. The reason for this may stem from the respect held for the Senior Management Team (SMT)31 and, linked to this, the high morale amongst staff, parents and pupils. The stakeholders liked their school and took pride in their school and what it stood for. There was a loyalty to the school by the pupils, parents and staff which goes beyond the loose agreement made to uphold Christian values on joining the school.

The source of the ethos is therefore complex and represents a cocktail of values held by many stakeholders within the broader school community. This would involve governors, the SMT, staff, parents and pupils. The ethos that emerges does so as a symbiotic relationship between the various actors in the school community. When staff and pupils come together for worship there is a sense of common purpose and identity through which different stakeholders are able

31

At the Bishop Pritchard school, like most similar secondary schools, the SMT comprised the headteacher, deputy headteachers, assistant headteachers and bursar

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to feed off each other in promoting this ethos even if they are not self-professing Christians (see for example interview transcript CP, 07/03/12 in chapter 7 section II part f).

The effect of this ethos on the educational outcomes of the school is a more contested issue. Does the ethos have an impact on behaviour, attendance, exam results and the personal development of the pupils? The opinions of the various stakeholders differ on this topic. Generally the senior staff think that there is a strong link whilst many of the pupils cannot discern any link at all. Frequently when asked about the Christian ethos or the worship life of the school, the pupils cannot see how this has any impact on the curriculum subjects outside of RE. For the pupils, there is something of a ‘duality of provision’ within the school. There are the curriculum subjects and then there are the tutor times, assemblies and RE lessons. For many of the pupils there was a chasm between the two (see, for example field notes L5F8, 09/07/12 in chapter 7 section II part h). This lends weight to the view that education is split between the secular/sacred, fact/value, public/private spheres where issues of faith are only addressed in assemblies and RE lessons. This is a key issue and worthy of further research which is beyond the scope of this study. Here we note en passant that the consequence may be that a school could end up with what Benne calls ‘two-spheres’ or two unconnected areas: faith and learning (Benne, 2001, p.142).

However, on closer investigation, this duality of provision view may be exposed as being overly simplistic. There were a small number of pupils at the school who could see that the reason for the good teaching and learning in the curriculum subjects stemmed, in part, from the ethos that pervades the school (see, for example group interview transcript with L1M7, 27/03/12 in chapter 7 section II part h). Teachers, parents and pupils combine to create a positive learning atmosphere in the classroom which feeds directly into good examination results and other positive outcomes (see, for example group interview transcript Ks3 pupils, 27/03/12 in chapter 7

section II part e). This accords with Blomberg’s argument for an ‘integral epistemology’ which

recognises that: “all things are part of one larger whole – God’s creation.” (Blomberg, 2007, p.58)

With regard to points number 10 and 11, the data from my case-study suggests that there may be something worth exploring with regard to the learning habits of diligence, resilience and compliance in Church schools in general. The data obtained from the Bishop Pritchard School indicated that the stakeholders perceived these three learning habits to be significant. As a result of the pervading ethos which operated at the school, certain values or habits were believed to be internalized by the pupils. The habits of diligence, resilience and compliance were transmitted within the wider school culture and inculcated within the school community. As a result it was believed that pupils were diligent in completing and submitting work on time, they were able to adapt to the world of school and they were, in general, happy to comply with the rules and regulations of the school and the examination boards.

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