Page 20 - Agency Project

Step 1:

Propose a Field of Inquiry

1.1 What does it mean?

A ‘field of inquiry’ acknowledges that at the beginning of your project, your team
should start by looking into a more general area of possible improvement and
NOT start with a specific focus. For example, your field of interest might relate
to leadership with regards to improving staff engagement in student centred
learning, or your field of interest might be leadership in regards to improving
relationships with parents as partners in learning.

At this first stage your field of inquiry should be fairly open and broad. Later you
will narrow this down and settle on specific Lines of Inquiry, but at the start you
should propose a general field of interest.

1.2 Hints

The best place to start is by examining your school’s strategic plan or improvement
plans. Can you contribute to achieving these plans through your inquiry?

Another good place to start is to begin with stories of success. Ask your staff
to tell you about what is working well, what is good about the school and its
leadership. From these stories of success, imagine how you can improve and
build on what is happening. An inquiry into leadership DOES NOT have to
be about fixing problems, it can be about building on success! Consider the
following ideas:

1. Reflect on issues of concern/problems of the school.
2. Reflect on stories of success, and imagine how it might be
possible to build on these.
3. Reflect on your school’s current strategic plans or improvement
plans. What priorities or goals in your school’s plan interest
you?

14