Papers by Dr Neil MacNeill
Education Today, 2023
The Sunk Cost Effect dilemma is an important topic in finance, building, politics and education, ... more The Sunk Cost Effect dilemma is an important topic in finance, building, politics and education, and in this paper we reiterate the point that the Sunk Cost Effect is alive and well in our classrooms and schools’ planning. We see the effects of Sunk Cost every time a school examines aspects of their business and strategic plans, and evaluates the merits of retaining
already established and imbedded reading, STEM or maths programs. At the start of the current planning period, school staff constantly need to ask, “Are these existing programs producing the results we need, or, regardless of the money already outlaid, do we need to look for something more effective?”
Boyd, R., Harris, M., & MacNeill, N. (2023, August 20). The Sunk Cost Effect impacting
on school; decision making. Education Today.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/The-Sunk-Cost-Effect-6008
tes Times Educational Supplement, 2023
We worried that the concept of mattering did not get mileage in our schools, and yet 'mattering... more We worried that the concept of mattering did not get mileage in our schools, and yet 'mattering' is a key psychological component of wellbeing, and belonging. As such, it is too important to ignore. Drawing attention to this SEL situational deficit is the first step in resurrecting mattering into the language and actions in our classrooms.
Boyd, R., & MacNeill, N. (2023, July18). How to embed a culture of ‘mattering’ in your school. tes magazine. (Times Educational Supplement, London). https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/embed-culture-mattering-schools
Education Today, 2023
When examining schools’ performances, it is possible to track school leaders who have the ability... more When examining schools’ performances, it is possible to track school leaders who have the ability to turn around failing and mediocre schools. In this article the authors contend that the X-factor of brilliant school leadership may well be what Professor Joseph Nye and Professor Matt Kutz have called Contextual Intelligence. While this leadership quality is not well known in the school leadership literature, the authors propose that this concept is worth examining in all leadership development activities.
Boyd, R., Thompson, J., & MacNeill, N. (2023, July). Contextual Intelligence: The secret ingredient of winning leadership. Education Today.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Contextual-Intellige-5976
How the principal chooses to use the skills, knowledge and power of his/her position is the essen... more How the principal chooses to use the skills, knowledge and power of his/her position is the essence of leadership. All three principals discussed in this article were acutely aware of the intensification of work with regards to accountability in the current educational climate, and the paperwork this generates. However, each had decided that support for pedagogic development, rather than administrivia, was the most important aspect of their role. To accomplish this, they needed to be in classrooms and the school grounds.
Education Today, 2023
This power point presentation is offered as a resource for teachers presenting professional learn... more This power point presentation is offered as a resource for teachers presenting professional learning or discussion on "Mattering". It was developed in conjunction with the published paper:
MacNeill, N., Boyd, R., & Lehr, R. (2023, June). Mattering: Resurrecting this understated concept in school practices. Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Mattering-5951
Education Today, 2023
In Anglo-Australian English, mattering as a concept is often ignored, and in this paper the autho... more In Anglo-Australian English, mattering as a concept is often ignored, and in this paper the authors argue that mattering matters! The work being done at Dayton Primary School in building their new school culture attempts to reassert the place of mattering in teachers' dialogue and in building students' self-esteem. This is work in progress.
MacNeill, N., Boyd, R., & Lehr, R. (2023, June). Mattering: Resurrecting this understated concept in school practices. Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Mattering-5951.
Note: This is the third paper in the symposium on School renewal: recurrent themes about educativ... more Note: This is the third paper in the symposium on School renewal: recurrent themes about educative mission, pedagogy and leadership. 2 In the wash-up of the school effectiveness research and a growing disenchantment with the lack of change in schools, instructional leadership was promoted as the harbinger of change and the salvation of schooling. While the concept of instructional leadership has been predominant in theorising about school leadership and is supposedly widely applied in schools, it has inherent limitations. These limitations centre firstly upon instructional leadership, typically concerning principal-leadership and not teacher-leadership. This is inconsistent with contemporary leadership approaches that emphasise the need for multiple leadership throughout the school. Secondly, the notion of instruction implies focus on teacher actions rather than on student learning. The notion of pedagogic leadership is proposed as an alternative to instructional leadership. Pedagog...
The citizens of Western societies intuitively value the Utopian, democratic, egalitarianism that ... more The citizens of Western societies intuitively value the Utopian, democratic, egalitarianism that is embedded in the leadership and actions of both individuals and organisations. Leadership is a complex relational equation that takes into account the aspirations of the affected parties, but some organisations propose that leadership can be learned. For example, the Australian military advertises that the Royal Military College Duntroon is, “Where Leaders are Made” (Australian Army Television Advertisement, 2015). If leadership were only that simple! However, such is the power of leadership that its foil, management, is often relegated to a far lesser status in literature on the subject, and leadership is often projected as distributed. Our understandings of leadership have changed profoundly since Taylor developed his “scientific” approach to organisational management in the 1890s (Taylor, 1911). Ciulla (2003) in her developmental description of leadership showed how leadership morphed to a modern description incorporated in a mutual purpose equation. She argued that the perception of leadership has significantly altered from a 1920s perspective. Specifically, leadership as the ability to impress one’s will on those led and induce obedience, respect, loyalty and cooperation evolved to the more recent position of leadership as being a transactional relationship between leaders and followers who expect changes that reflect their mutual purposes (adapted from Ciulla, 2003). In schools it is important to note that the often-ignored concept of moral altruism (improving students’ life options) plays an important role in the mutual purpose equation for teachers and school administrators (Harris & MacNeill, 2015).
Trauma can be experienced either directly or vicariously. Vicarious, or transmitted trauma, is ra... more Trauma can be experienced either directly or vicariously. Vicarious, or transmitted trauma, is rarely researched but every time we turn on the television news we realise that trauma is embedded in our lives. How many serious vehicle crashes, armed robberies, murders, rapes, drownings, child abductions and serious dog attacks can we have in one day? Transmitted trauma is now recognised as being more problematic for a wide range of children in our schools, particularly as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is now acknowledged as extending into early childhood.
Education Today Term, 2018
The interview for the principal’s position at the new school was drawing to a close, and the pane... more The interview for the principal’s position at the new school was drawing to a close, and the panel Chairperson moved her empty coffee cup to one side, and then asked the applicant for a short summation of what he would bring to the role. Applicant: Thanks for allowing me to tell you about my leadership philosophy and successes. I believe I have been a transformational leader all of my life and that I have inspired staff and the community to do great things. I have never had to use transactional strategies because my vision and relationships ensure that I always win commitment, not compliance in respect to the school’s operations. The applicant then stood, thanked the panel, and moving around the table he shook the hands of the panellists with a firm two-handed connection. The door closed, and the chairperson turned to the other members of the panel and said with a wry smile, “School leadership is never that clean and defined!” and turning to the deputy principal she asked, “Jane did you get commitment from staff about the early start next term, and what will it cost us in terms of relief teachers?”
Education Today, 2023
The term aporophobia was coined by the Spanish professor, Adela Cortina, in her analyses of peopl... more The term aporophobia was coined by the Spanish professor, Adela Cortina, in her analyses of people's attitude toward the poor, which she saw as a systemic rejection towards poverty and people without resources.In schools, we need a concerted Australian effort to banish aporophobia, to break the poverty cycle, and to give every child a fair go. This change is bigger than a school-based collection of strategies, and it requires a commitment to a cultural valuing, such as Ubuntu (MacNeill & Boyd, 2023) in which an individual's humanity is fostered in a network of relationships-I am because you are; we are because you are; which then can drive the more communal sense of reciprocal care.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Aporophobia-5916
Boyd, R., Silcox, S., & MacNeill, N. (2023, May 5). Aporophobia: Poverty is not a learning disability (for discussion). Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Aporophobia-5916
Education Today, 2023
School culture, which incorporates the complex relational pedagogy in use in the school, is often... more School culture, which incorporates the complex relational pedagogy in use in the school, is often di8cult to identify. Having read the material on Ubuntu (pronounced "oo-boon-too") used by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela, we believe that these words and intents have a lot to commend this practical philosophy in underwriting long-term school philosophies, beliefs, and operations.
This philosophy provides a great foundation for the establishment of a school or organisational inclusive culture.
Education Today, 2023
Piaget, in his later years revised his theory of mental development, concluding that the stages o... more Piaget, in his later years revised his theory of mental development, concluding that the stages of mental growth did not re8ect a purely developmental process, that being an approach that says the students must understand a concept, through maturity, before progressing. Rather, they were powerfully in8uenced by speci<c content of education.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Explicit-Instruction-5836
School principal leadership of pedagogic renewal was conceptualised to include five behaviours: e... more School principal leadership of pedagogic renewal was conceptualised to include five behaviours: engaging teachers; expressing expectations of teacher instruction; sharing curriculum decision-making; developing a sense of common purpose; and effecting school renewal. Rating scale data on teacher observations of principal behaviours was analysed using Rasch and structural equation modeling techniques. Rasch analyses of data showed the items were eliciting data on a dominant trait. LISREL was applied to test the factorial structure of a five-element model and also the postulated relationships between variables within the model. The prevalence of pertinent leadership behaviours was revealed and the associations between these behaviours were examined. The empirical results of the investigation are discussed in terms of school leadership, pedagogical practise and school renewal.
Teachers College Record, 2022
One of the major problems in education is that we have been ploughing the same ground for hundred... more One of the major problems in education is that we have been ploughing the same ground for hundreds of years, and have become preoccupied with finessing introspections of the little variations that regularly coincide with political election cycles and machinations. "It Takes an Ecosystem" is a timely wake-up call to everyone involved in education because it points out an aspect of education that morally needs rethinking. The neglect of youth education is appalling because this is a time when students’ life prospects are being cast, and a failure here condemns some students to a life on the outside, which is not a cost that any caring family, society, or country, should have to bear.
https://journals.sagepub.com/pbassets/cmscontent/TCZ/Book%20Reviews%20Collecti n%202022/October%202022/It%20takes%20an%20ecosystem-1665505431.pdf
Education Today, 2022
It is wrong to think of hardskills and softskills as an unforgiving dichotomy, because they are n... more It is wrong to think of hardskills and softskills as an unforgiving dichotomy, because they are not discrete entities, and importantly, the adjectives of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ get in the way of understanding good leadership. While we initially set out to advocate a reassessment of the balance between softskills and hardskills in school leadership, we realised that they are closely related and these skills underpin all interactions and cultural issues in a school.
Education Today, 2022
For many young (and older for that matter) people around the world, our real-life reality is just... more For many young (and older for that matter) people around the world, our real-life reality is just that-a nightmare about our ecological destiny. A nightmare that doesn't end when you wake up. But what can we do about this reallife nightmare? How can we ease our students' anxiety about the world? Below is a 'tip sheet' on how to put our students at ease and put them more in control of their future.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Ecoanxiety-5675
Education Today, 2022
Teachers believe that the precursors of serious psychiatric behaviours are exhibited in school-ba... more Teachers believe that the precursors of serious psychiatric behaviours are exhibited in school-based behaviours well before the medical and psychological fraternity are permitted to formally label these psychiatric conditions. And, in many cases, the teachers cannot get psychological support in their classrooms because the behaviour is labelled as a behavioural issue, not a psychological issue. Consequently, teachers are expected to ameliorate the student's aberrant behaviours within the parameters of teacher training. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Psychosis-5648
Education Today, 2022
Teachers believe that the precursors of serious psychiatric behaviours are exhibited in school-ba... more Teachers believe that the precursors of serious psychiatric behaviours are exhibited in school-based behaviours well before the medical and psychological fraternity are permitted to formally label these psychiatric conditions. And, in many cases, the teachers cannot get psychological support in their classrooms because the behaviour is labelled as a behavioural issue, not a psychological issue. Consequently, teachers are expected to ameliorate the student's aberrant behaviours within the parameters of teacher training.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Psychosis-5648
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Papers by Dr Neil MacNeill
already established and imbedded reading, STEM or maths programs. At the start of the current planning period, school staff constantly need to ask, “Are these existing programs producing the results we need, or, regardless of the money already outlaid, do we need to look for something more effective?”
Boyd, R., Harris, M., & MacNeill, N. (2023, August 20). The Sunk Cost Effect impacting
on school; decision making. Education Today.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/The-Sunk-Cost-Effect-6008
Boyd, R., & MacNeill, N. (2023, July18). How to embed a culture of ‘mattering’ in your school. tes magazine. (Times Educational Supplement, London). https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/embed-culture-mattering-schools
Boyd, R., Thompson, J., & MacNeill, N. (2023, July). Contextual Intelligence: The secret ingredient of winning leadership. Education Today.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Contextual-Intellige-5976
MacNeill, N., Boyd, R., & Lehr, R. (2023, June). Mattering: Resurrecting this understated concept in school practices. Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Mattering-5951
MacNeill, N., Boyd, R., & Lehr, R. (2023, June). Mattering: Resurrecting this understated concept in school practices. Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Mattering-5951.
This paper exposes readers to what expert teaching looks like in the classroom. The Case Study is an excellent narrative that explains how expert teachers display their craft skills.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Aporophobia-5916
Boyd, R., Silcox, S., & MacNeill, N. (2023, May 5). Aporophobia: Poverty is not a learning disability (for discussion). Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Aporophobia-5916
This philosophy provides a great foundation for the establishment of a school or organisational inclusive culture.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Explicit-Instruction-5836
https://journals.sagepub.com/pbassets/cmscontent/TCZ/Book%20Reviews%20Collecti n%202022/October%202022/It%20takes%20an%20ecosystem-1665505431.pdf
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Ecoanxiety-5675
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Psychosis-5648
already established and imbedded reading, STEM or maths programs. At the start of the current planning period, school staff constantly need to ask, “Are these existing programs producing the results we need, or, regardless of the money already outlaid, do we need to look for something more effective?”
Boyd, R., Harris, M., & MacNeill, N. (2023, August 20). The Sunk Cost Effect impacting
on school; decision making. Education Today.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/The-Sunk-Cost-Effect-6008
Boyd, R., & MacNeill, N. (2023, July18). How to embed a culture of ‘mattering’ in your school. tes magazine. (Times Educational Supplement, London). https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/embed-culture-mattering-schools
Boyd, R., Thompson, J., & MacNeill, N. (2023, July). Contextual Intelligence: The secret ingredient of winning leadership. Education Today.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Contextual-Intellige-5976
MacNeill, N., Boyd, R., & Lehr, R. (2023, June). Mattering: Resurrecting this understated concept in school practices. Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Mattering-5951
MacNeill, N., Boyd, R., & Lehr, R. (2023, June). Mattering: Resurrecting this understated concept in school practices. Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Mattering-5951.
This paper exposes readers to what expert teaching looks like in the classroom. The Case Study is an excellent narrative that explains how expert teachers display their craft skills.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Aporophobia-5916
Boyd, R., Silcox, S., & MacNeill, N. (2023, May 5). Aporophobia: Poverty is not a learning disability (for discussion). Education Today. https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Aporophobia-5916
This philosophy provides a great foundation for the establishment of a school or organisational inclusive culture.
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Explicit-Instruction-5836
https://journals.sagepub.com/pbassets/cmscontent/TCZ/Book%20Reviews%20Collecti n%202022/October%202022/It%20takes%20an%20ecosystem-1665505431.pdf
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Ecoanxiety-5675
https://www.educationtoday.com.au/news-detail/Psychosis-5648