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Michelle Nemec
Michelle Nemec has held senior positions in a variety of schools in the Independent sector, including appointments as Principal of a private independent school, as Deputy Principal at Wenona School, and as Head of Senior School (Years 7-12) at St Catherine’s School Waverley. She has also been a consultant at the Association of Independent Schools NSW and an author, syllabus writer and Director of Sport/PDHPE. As a Head of Department and Consultant, Michelle led schools through significant change processes and development over time.
She has a passion for education and in particular the capacity of our young people to take on leadership skills and shape our future in a positive way. In her thirty years in education, Michelle has continued to model life-long learning and believes in the relational capacity of the classroom as a key driver for student achievement.
Qualifications
Dip Ed, BEd, MEd (Sydney), MEd (Admin & Leadership) (UNSW)
Thesis title
A School Framework for Emotional Literacy (EL), Wellbeing and Participatory Approaches for Staff and Students
Supervisors
Professor Rhonda Craven & Dr Sue Roffey
Abstract
This thesis builds upon work done in the UK on a framework for emotional literacy by exploring how values, school climate, communication, leadership, and embedding social and emotional learning in school life impacts on relational quality and wellbeing. The aim is to develop an enhanced framework that schools can utilise to both assess and build upon emotional literacy for staff and student benefit. The qualitative research is based in multiple data and utilises an action research approach. The research definition of emotional literacy is the relational quality evident in the way of being and interacting. Within the research this definition is applied at a systems level using Bronfenbrenner as the theoretical model. The research consists of four studies involving middle school students.
The research advocates for a strengths-based and inclusive approach to teacher-leader and student-leader development in a team oriented environment that draw on, and further develop social capital, a sense of agency, and an atmosphere of high challenge and high expectation. The role of Principal and subsequent development of flexible school structures is revealed as vital to academic care and quality learning and the participatory processes that contribute to wellbeing. In addition the research shows that the Principal’s capacity to create a trusting environment can empower others to act. The framework for emotional literacy is further developed through the notion of leadership density and distributed leadership and the resultant impact on the wellbeing of all within the school milieu and the approach to learning that is modelled and valued.
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