School Policy

 

INTRODUCTION

My innovation, like all other curriculum plans and strategies, has to operate within our country’s laws, regulations and policies. Although they may have some common elements, there is a marked difference between law, regulation and policy. Clinical psychologist, Alyssa Lee (UpJourney, 2019) differentiated law as “a policy written into legal language and passed by our elected officials” (UpJourney, 2019) and regulation as, “a rule within a law that specifies how the ideas of the law are actually going to be implemented” (UpJourney, 2019), while defining a policy as ideas “informed by how people would like to see the space defined. They are often aspirational in nature and do not typically have legal implications if they are not followed” (UpJourney, 2019).

POLICIES

 Marouchak (UpJourney, 2019) explained that “policies are drafted and created by an organisation to help the members achieve their goals. They bring to completion whatever their plans are and unlike law, policies are flexible.” At our school we have a whole list of policies which facilitates the smooth running of the school.  The school's policies are governed by the Ministry of Education’s Education Act 1989 and Digital Technologies. All of our policies are drafted and housed on the Ministry approved School Docs website.  In delivering the innovation of vocabulary acquisition, I had to adhere to the school policies that included: the ICT policy - the use of devices, the internet, and being safe when online as students learn, create and share information online; the curriculum delivery policy - ensuring the innovation is delivered in an approved manner and assessed according to pertinent guidelines; The inclusion policy - that celebrates diversity and involves the identification and minimising of barriers to learning and participation that may be experienced by any pupils, irrespective of age, ability, gender, ethnicity, language and social and social background; the “Kawa of Care” policy - ensures that students know how to take care of digital devices.  As teachers, we are also subjected to the Teachers Council’s codes and standards. Our school policies are local, unique to our school and are reviewed and changed periodically.  

LAWS

Marouchak (UpJourney, 2019) defines law as: “Laws are directives which were outlined, drafted and directed by highly authorized personalities, the legislative body.  This is absolute and fixed and cannot be changed instantly not unless the body will amend that existing law provided that it will bring more unity, order, and benefit to the majority.”   Therefore my innovation of vocabulary acquisition is subject to the Education  Act of 1989 and Digital Technology. “The Education Act 1989 contains provisions that are directly relevant to how schools should manage an incident involving digital technology when it is involved in an incident.” (Ministry of Education. n.d)

REGULATIONS

Regulations are closely linked to laws as they represent the ways the law is to be applied. Lübeck (UpJourney, 2019) defines regulations as: “a set of rules created to make people comply. These are restrictions set by those people in authority to encourage people to follow the desired code of conduct. Like law, this is fixed.” Laws need regulations to ensure that the law is applied. Petersen (Upjourney, 2019) defined regulations as “a rule promulgated by the agency which is responsible for enforcing the regulation”. Lee (UpJourney, 2019), on the other hand, describes regulations as “a rule within a law that specifies how the ideas of the law are actually going to be implemented.” He went further to add that, “Regulations are vital to the implementation of the law.” (UpJourney, 2019). The  Education  Act of 1989 and Digital Technology lays out a whole list of regulations on how the Act is to be applied. We are bound by this act when creating and applying our innovation in the State Schools where we are employed. As an example, The Education Act 1989 contains provisions that are directly relevant to how schools should manage an incident involving digital technology when it is involved in an incident. The chart (Figure 1) below shows the steps a teacher must take if there is reason to retain a student's digital device.

Fig 1: Steps a teacher must take if there is reason to retain a student's digital device

CONCLUSION:

As initiators of our digital innovation, Hevaha and I have no authority to make changes in the laws and regulations of the country.  Regulations, either required by the Ministry of Education or The school’s Board of Trustees, need to be incorporated in our digital innovation and we are required to work within these parameters.  Working in the Manaiakalani Kāhui Ako has immense advantages in practising our innovation, as the cluster has a very comprehensive “Kawa of Care” and “Cybersmart” policies. These policies outline what we as innovators can produce/disseminate in our school while still working within the schools’ policies.  Account ownership, content ownership, privacy and guidance policies are entrenched in these two policies.  Finally, Nicholas Marouchak (UpJourney, 2019) sums up the concepts of policies, laws and regulations as:

"Think of policy as the seed we plant, an idea that we have envisioned to improve our surroundings. The seed is planted and out of that seed grows the trunk of the tree, a law with a firm foundation. Finally, from the law, we get branches of regulations that reach out into the community and assist with the growth of leaves or community improvements in our tree scenario.... Watering that tree and helping it grow and thrive can be considered an essential part of our civic duties"

References:

Ministry of Education. (n.d) Digital Technology: Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from: https://education.govt.nz/school/digital-technology/digital-technology-guide-for-schools/digital-technology-safe-and-responsible-use-in-schools/new-cd-page-3/the-legislation-and-rules/

Teaching Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards. Retrieved from: https://teachingcouncil.nz/content/our-code-our-standards

Toki Pounamu (n.d) Kawa of Care. Retrieved from: https://www.tokipounamu.org.nz/parents/kawa-of-care

UpJourney. (2019). What is the difference between law, policy, and regulation, according to 7 experts. Retrieved from:  https://upjourney.com/what-is-the-difference-between-law-policy-and-regulation 

New Zealand Government. (2020). New Zealand Legislation. Education Act 1989. Retrieved from: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0080/latest/whole.html