Critical friend
The concept of a critical friend provides a useful way of characterising the relationship between ISTEs and their fellow educators and of exploring the educational leadership that ISTEs offer. The goal of a critical friend is to help individuals and communities to enhance their learning by providing new lenses through which they can refocus their work. Costa and Kallick (1993) define a critical friend as:
page 50a trusted person who asks provocative questions, provides data to be examined through another lens, and offers critique of a person’s work as a friend. A critical friend takes the time to fully understand the context of the work presented and the outcomes that the person or group is working toward. The friend is the advocate for the success of that work.
In Case 6, an ISTE explains the beliefs underpinning her practice as she works towards being a more effective critical friend.
The concept of critical friendship is a popular one and seems to bridge the dichotomy between the need to foster cognitive conflict and the desire to promote friendly and empathic relationships. As Swaffield (2004) argues, there is a dynamic relationship between the two elements of the critical friendship relationship.
page 6[The] essence of critical friendship is not simply a balancing of the roles of critic and friend through emphasising either pressure or support, but rather a richness resulting from providing both … Paradoxically, as “friendship” increases, involving the establishment and deepening of trust, so it becomes possible to increase “criticism”.
Lima (2001) warns that too much stress on the friendship side of the role “may compromise from the very outset the need for a true, deep, and critical exchange of views on the culture and the performance of the school and its teachers” (page 115). He argues that what schools really need are “friendly critics”.
“Critical friend” or “friendly critic”: Which view do you prefer?
Under which conditions would a critical friend be more effective than a friendly critic?
When might a friendly critic be more effective than a critical friend?
pages 115–116They need people from within and from outside who are not concerned with disguising their ability or willingness to look at the school from a different perspective and who do not feel the need to pretend they are friends in order to produce these judgements. These individuals hold a strong potential for promoting a change of frames of reference in schools. Of course, this should be accomplished in a friendly manner, by showing respect for the school and the teachers’ culture, within the framework of built-in mechanisms that are intentionally organized to promote the emergence of critique, divergence, dialogue and dynamic decision-making.
Lima does not believe that it is necessary to link any of these processes to external evaluation, as is common. It would be better to conceptualise the relationship as potentially reciprocal and to stress its roots in a strong ethic of care and interdependence in teaching.
page 116The central aim is to stimulate divergent thinking by introducing different views and new ways of looking at things in the school environment. Friendliness is certainly necessary to produce these outcomes in a manner that is acceptable for teachers. Friendship is not.
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