Upward Supportive Communication Essay

Upward Supportive Communication for School Principals
De Nobile presents data to show research that was done in Australian schools recognizes three types of supportive communication. “Supportive communication refers to interactions between people that serve functions relating to affirmation, encouragement, boosting morale and other forms of emotional and social support” (De Nobile, 2014). De Nobile’s goal was to discuss the three types of supportive communication and more specifically, highlight the data and results of upward communication. There are three types of supportive communication. The first type of supportive communication is horizontal, which is support that is given among staff members who are all at the same level as each other. Next, is downward supportive communication, which is support given from those in a higher position to individuals at lower levels. Lastly, is upward supportive communication, which refers to support moving up from lower staff members to staff who hold a higher position. The author mentions in the article that upward communication has not been given much attention in terms of empirical research. In recent research conducted by De Nobile, he found strong statistical support for upward supportive communication as a noticeable aspect of the school communication network, but he only found one instance that referred to this type
First, the study tried to recognize upward supportive communication as a major aspect of organizational communication in a different sample of schools from an earlier study (De Nobile, 2007). Secondly, the study intended to compare the amount of upward supportive communication compared to downward and horizontal supportive communication. Lastly, the third purposes of the study was to try to describe how upward supportive communication happens in terms of specific practices and suggest ways of how it could be promoted in schools.