david palmer and william allan kritsonis, phd

8/14/2019 David Palmer and William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

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DAVID M. PALMER and WILLIAM ALLAN KRITSONIS

Introduction

The Ways of Knowing Through theRealms of Meaning(Kritsonis, 2007)is a

philosophy for selecting the curriculum for general education. The organizational core

of any school is its instruction. The curriculum and its broader objectives is a criticaltopic in every planning cycle or strategic performance system. Long term strategic

plans, action plans, strategic thinking or SWOT analysis must have issues of

curriculum and instruction Planning is reflexive and implies that schools are more

than just inert pawns in the hands of socioeconomic forces (Holmes, Wootten,

Motion, Zorn, & Roper, 2005). Strategic planning in education must have as its

primary goal student achievements. If this is so the approach in any strategic plan will

be a unitary philosophy of the curriculum with a strategy for reference to the

meaningful relationships to the other components of the curriculum. When this is the

case, we right away have a postmodern understanding of what it means to give

meaning to the human experience through a solid foundation established by the six

patterns in the realms of meaning namely symbolics, empirics, esthetics, synnoetics,

ethics and synoptics (Kritsonis & Watkins, 2007).

Since strategic planning in schools should command the attention of the

curriculum then the strategic planning of the curriculum requires strategic and tactical

decision making. With regard to the ordering of content, the relevant teaching

materials should simplify learners task. The thinking should make their modes of

thought less transient while at the same time allowing them to actively assimilate

pragmatically and constructively throughout their student centered adventure

(Dolence, 2004).

Purpose of the Article

The purpose of this article is to show the linkage between the realms of

meaning and strategic planning. The article will show how symbolics, empirics,

esthetics, synnoetics, ethics, and synoptics has an under pinning value to the planning

that is required for successful schools.

What is Strategic Planning?

Strategic planning is a management instrument. As with any executive tool, it

is used to help an institution do an improved job - to concentrate its energy; ensurethat members of the organization are working toward the same goals; and to appraise

and direct the organization in a changing environment. Strategic planning is a

disciplined effort to produce decisions and actions that shape and guide what a school

is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. Strategic planning has

its complexities in terms of what it requires. It is aimed at an overall focus of the

organization's resources on mutually preset planned quantifiable outcomes. Useful

plans include an organization's entire resources and purpose so it must be developed

calculatingly and attentively (McNamara, 2008).

Strategic planning begins with strategic thinking. The difference is one is

analysis and the other is synthesis. It is a constant, methodical thinking process that

identifies a preferred future and strategies to bring it about by linking deliberate planswith medium and short term operating programs and budgeting controls. Planning is

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getting people involved in collecting high-quality information and using it to make

intelligent decisions about the future. It is the navigator and roadmap to guide a team

and board to make use of an assessable plan that will bring together the priorities and

maximize the performance of the school. Basically, a school undertakes strategic

planningto reiterate or fine-tune its mission why it exists, what is its rationale, whatit achieves now and to concur on its vision what it needs to be and achieve in the

future. The reason is not to decide what ought to be done in the years ahead but to

decide what must be done presently to make you the most excellent school.

The real value of a strategic planningblueprint is more than just having anoutline that guides prospective decisions although that is extremely important on its

own. It is an effective all-inclusive approach to building harmony and inspiring

support, laying out critical priorities for the board and school head who are charged

with the execution of the plan, and channeling all your energies in one agreed path.

Strategic planning is a continuous, organized practice that helps schools and districts

to foresee and chart their annual and multi-year goals and activities by analyzing their

system-specific strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities, as well as those of

their community (Anderson & Kumari, 2008).

Strategic planning should be designed to enhance organizational and staff

competences, capability and resources while facilitating results. Strategic planning

involves ongoing activities whereby schools and districts: develop, implement, and

evaluate programs and activities designed to meet their charge, goals, and student-

related outcomes; track their needs, plans, and progress over time. Strategic planning

should analyzes what programs, curricula, or interventions to add, remove, replace, or

add-on to existing programs, while shaping when and how to make the mid-course

changes to take full advantage of these programs. It anticipates and reacts as needs

arise. Strategic planning uses a systems approach to impact the educational process

emphasizing valuable and efficient data-based forecast and decision-making,

personnel and resource development and management, monetary and technological

reliability, and school and community integration. Plainly put, strategic planning

determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going

to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. The hub of a strategic plan is

usually on the whole organization, while the focal point of a business plan is more

often than not on a particular service or program (Gregory, 2007).

There are a diversity of perspectives, models and contemporary advancements

used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the

nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of theorganization's climate, size of the organization, and proficiency of the planners. Case

in point, there are a variety of strategic planning models. Goals-based planning is

maybe the most common and begins with focusing on the organization's mission (and

vision and/or values), objectives to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the

objectives or goals, and action planning who will do what and by when (McNamara,

2008). Issues-based strategic planning begins by probing issues facing the

organization, strategies to address those concerns, and action plans. Organic strategic

planning might start by articulating the organization's vision and ideals and then

action plans to accomplish the vision while adhering to those values. Various planners

have a preference for a particular approach to planning, e.g., appreciative inquiry.

Plans are scoped to a year, three years, or five to ten years into the future. Some plansinclude only executive information and no action plans. Lastly, strategic planning is a

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schools process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on

allocating its resources to pursue its strategies, including its staff and students

(McNamara, 2008).

The best curriculum and the best staff development and campus safety

programs is a must. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategicplanning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and

Threats ) and in the wider educational business circle PEST analysis (Political,

Economic, Social, and Technological analysis) or STEER analysis (Socio-cultural,

Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors) and EPISTEL -

Environment, Political, Informatics, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal

( Ronco, 2007).

What are the Benefits of Strategic Planning

Strategic planning enables people to manipulate the future. A number of

trends that already strongly affect schools include; an aging population, an increasing

proportion of minority students, and growing numbers of special interest groups

competing for scarce public resources (Wirth, 2009). School officials must plan for

shortages of teachers, particularly in math, science, and bilingual education, and they

must prepare to accommodate rising numbers of Hispanic students, many of whom

will not speak English. More students of all types will keep on coming from low socio

economic status. These profound demographic changes will continue to reshape the

nation and its schools in the coming decades. They make strategic planning

particularly important and show why it must be done in unison with a strategy, plan

and policy. Change is taking place at an extraordinary pace. Era and remoteness

continue to be less and less significant due to fast growth of technological toolsincluding the Internet.With no strategic planning, schools just drift, and are always

reactive other than deliberate (Gregory, 2007). The benefit of creating vision and

direction that is simple and clear gets your primary targets, the students, closer to the

achievement outcomes you seek for them. That plan in essence is a good plan for it

challenges assumptions, and is created with input from sources inside and outside the

school. It attracts commitment and accountability and it becomes part of the culture to

reflect changes in the environment. It allows effective communication using a

different medium. Too often communication is done half way. We tell and ask and

suggest and advise but dont test for understanding. To close the loop, build in

ways to test at every level and area within an organization, along with an

understanding of the vision. (Mogavero, & Lake, 2006).At some point in the strategic planning process (sometimes in the activity of

setting the strategic direction), planners usually identify or update what might be

called the strategic philosophy. This includes identifying or updating the

organization's mission, vision and/or values statements. Mission statements are brief

written descriptions of the purpose of the organization. Mission statements vary in

nature from brief to quite comprehensive, and including having a specific purpose

statement that is part of the overall mission statement. A campus improvement plan

must include specifying responsibilities and timelines with each objective, or who

needs to do what and by when. It should also include methods to monitor and evaluate

the plan, mainly student progress which includes knowing how the organization will

know who has done what and by when.

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How are the Realms of Meaning Relevant and Applicable to Strategic Planning?

Symbolics

The first realm symbolics consists of ordinary language, mathematics, andnon-discursive symbolic forms. The underpinning of education can be found in the

symbolics realm. Reason and reality concerning all things is defined by and has its

essence in Language. Effective communication is most critical to strategic planning

because since it focuses on the curriculum as being the inner hub of the instructional

core, and since the curriculum is subject to being and rightly so a unitary philosophy

within the strategic plan then symbolics represent a very fundamental foundation

underpinning the path to every thing else. Symbolics is even postmodern in its

congruency to planning cycle, strategic performance system, long range strategic

plan, action plan, strategic thinking and SWOT analysis, these issues being critical to

the success of the process. Symbolics encompasses the other constructs included in

empirics, esthetics, synnoetics, and ethics and synoptic so we get analytic abstraction,

comprehensive integrativeness and reinforcement from multiple interpretations in

looking at the contributions, data and ideas that you get from your staff in developing

it using the all inclusive approach. The integrity and moral meanings of the strategic

plan is also revealed (Kritsonis, 2007).

The realms of meaning can assess the planning, implementation and

amendments of the strategic plan right along the continuum for the life cycle of that

plan. Language allows knowledge to be conveyed and received. Non discursive

ordinary language is one of the building blocks of the educational process. Strategic

planning is a management tool. The language of the strategic plan and its components

sharpens this tool expressly to produce disciplined effort towards decisions andactions that shape what a school is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on

the future.

Empirics

Empirics are the second realm of meaning, dealing with facts. This realm

includes the sciences of the physical world, of living things, and of man (Kritsonis

2007, p. 12). Empirics describe factual descriptions, mathematical generalizations,

and theoretical formulations and explanations (Kritsonis 2007, p. 12). The theoretical

formulations and explanations are based upon observation and testing in the world of

matter, life, mind and society (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 12). Strategic planning begins withstrategic thinking. In that statement lays both analysis and synthesis. The methodical

thinking process required for strategic planning therefore is grounded in empirics.

The linking of deliberate plans with medium and short term operating

programs, budgeting controls, and fiscal prudence has deep empirical meanings

requiring mathematics for their expression. To know a skill is to be able to put

together valid general description of matters of fact (Kritsonis, 2006), but a meta

analytic process is needed to communicate rationales, vision and goals at the

leadership level since outcomes are directly tied to tax-based resources. Fiscal

management requires disciplined logical thought. The facts of empirics are framed

in accordance with rules of evidence and verification (Kritsonis, 2007, p.12).

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Esthetics

In all things demonstrate the beauty and usefulness of esthetics. Esthetics

appeals to knowledge of a singular particular form (Kritsonis 2007, p 273). A

beautiful vision that inspires a flawless inclusion climate, enhanced organizationaland staff competences, programs and activities designed to meet their charge, goals,

and student-related outcome, valuable and efficient data-based forecast and decision-

making; personnel and resource development and management, monetary and

technological reliability, and good school and community integration are all beautiful

enrichments like music to the ear that deepens esthetic insight.

Synnoetics signifies relational insight or direct awareness (Kritsonis, 2007,

p. 12). Strategic planning uses a systems approach to affecting the educational process

emphasizing valuable and efficient data-based forecast and decision-making. That

awareness sets the stage for us of a diversity of perspectives, models and

contemporary advancements used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic planis developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture

proficiency of the organization and the complexity of the school as social system

(Gregory, 2007).

Ethics

The relationship between individuals and conflict resolution in school is a sore

point in many schools. Ethics is the fifth realm, and should be the foundation of our

personal conduct and free conscience. Professionals and leaders often resort solutions

inconsistent with integrity, professionalism ethics and dignity as exampled by therubber room experiences of hundreds of New York teachers. Without strategic

planning, schools just drift. When that happens and with the subsequent potential

effect on the learners, it becomes unethical. An internal code of conduct, not

explicitly written in a strategic plan should always guide operational plan.

Professional development for staff should be reflected in the strategic plan.

Synoptics

Synoptics is a term that comprises meanings having an integrative function,

uniting meanings from all the realms into a unified perspective (Kritsonis, 2007, p.479). Faith can be a reservoir of strength to draw upon when difficulties arise.

Strategic planning is also about essential decisions and actions, but it does not make

future decisions. Strategic planning involves anticipating the eventual environment,

but the decisions are made in the now. This means that over time, the school must stay

abreast of changes in order to make the best decisions it can at any time.

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion, strategic planning through the lens of the realms of meaning

can be used to determine mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, roles,responsibilities and timelines. Strategic planning has also been described as a tool

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but it is not a substitute for the exercise of judgment by leaders. Strategic planning,

though described as disciplined, does not typically flow smoothly from one step to the

next. It is a creative process, and the fresh insight arrived at today might very well

alter the decisions made previously. Symbolics empowers to communicate

effectively. Empirics provides mathematical soundness to decisions. Estheticspromotes the beauty in accuracy. Synnoetics, embraces relational knowledge. Ethics

gives moral meaning that expresses awareness of fairness and success without

question. This means we self evaluate honestly and we evaluate our strategic plan

outcomes truthfully. The final realm, synoptics, refers to meanings that are

comprehensively integrative. All these are relevant to a successful strategic plan.

REFERENCES

Anderson, S., & Kumari, R. (2008). Continuous improvement in schools:

Understanding the practice. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE),University of Toronto, Canada. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob

Dolence, M. G. (2004). The curriculum centered strategic planning model. ResearchBulletin, 10. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from the Center of Research Web sit

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERB0410.pdf

Gregory, A.J. (2007).A systems approach to strategic management. Retrieved July

23, 2009, from the Centre for Systems Studies, Business School, University of

Hull, UK Web site:

http://journals.isss.org/index.php/proceedings51st/article/viewFileHolmes, P., Cockburn-Wootten, C., Motion, J., Zorn, E.T., & Roper, J. (2005) Critical

reflexive practice in teaching management communication.BusinessCommunication Quarterly, 68 (2), 247-257. Retrieved July 23, 2009, fromhttp://www.nipissingu.ca/oar/PDFS/V812E.pdf

Kritsonis, W.A. (2007). Ways of knowing through the realms of meaning: A

philosophy for selecting the curriculum for general education. Houston,TX:National FORUM Journals.

McNamara, C. (2008). Strategic planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations).Retrieved July 23, 2009, from the Authenticity Consulting Web site:

http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/str_plan.htm

Mogavero, M. A., & Lake, E. (2006). Collaborative strategic planning in a student-centered university. Paper presented at NCCI, Edinboro, PA. Retrieved July

28, 2009, from http:// www.ncci-cu.org

Ronco, S. L. (2007). Start your planning with a SWOT: Institutional effectiveness &

analysis. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from the Florida Atlantic University Web

site: http://iea.fau.edu/inst/sair05.doc

Watkins, D., & Kritsonis, W. A.(2008). Developing and designing an effective

school curriculum: Enhancing student achievement based on an integrated

curriculum model and the ways of knowing through the realms of meaning.

FOCUS on Colleges, Universities, and Schools, (2)1, 1-15. Retrieved July 23,

2009, from http://www.nationalforum.com

Wirth, RA. (2009).Benefits of strategic planning. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from

http://www.entarga.com/stratplan/plngbenefits.htm

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david palmer and william allan kritsonis, phd

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