Guyana

Ministry of Education

Education
Management
Certificate
Course

Principles of
Education Management

Module Two
Drive
Developing

Teamwork

Influencing LEADERSHIP Vision

Confidence
Accountability

Commonwealth Secretariat
Modified from
Better Schools
Resource Materials for School Headteachers
 These materials were prepared co-operatively under the Training and Support
Programme for School Headteachers in Africa in the 1990s. They were adapted and updated
considerably in Guyana in 2000, 2008 and 2019 to meet the needs of the Guyanese
educational context.

Governments in developing Commonwealth countries wishing to reproduce or adapt the

materials in whole or in part in any language should inform the Commonwealth
Secretariat which may be able to offer some assistance in doing so.

For further information, write to the Director of the Education Programme, Commonwealth
Secretariat, London.

COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT

Education Programme
Human Resource Development Group
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London,
United Kingdom
SW1Y 5HX
or
THE DIRECTOR

National Centre for Educational Resource Development, MOE

3, Battery Road
Kingston
Georgetown
Guyana

Prepared for publication by the Materials Production Unit (MPU), National Centre for
Educational Resource Development (NCERD).
Originally designed and formatted by Geoffrey Wadsley.
Updated design and format by NCERD staff in partnership with

© Copyright Commonwealth Secretariat & Ministry of Education, NCERD Guyana 2019

Notes on Assessment
Please note that each unit contains two kinds of activities as follows: e.g.

1. Reflection – You will see these from time to time throughout the booklet in bold
text. You are not required to submit your thoughts on these issues to your
Master Trainer. You may make notes if you wish but they are your own
personal reflections on the issues raised.

2. Activities – These are formal assessments which you will have to submit to
your Master Trainer as part of your portfolio. You should number them in the
same way as the units and carry out the activity as stated.

1
 Principles of Educational
Management Module 2

Introduction
The task of running a school requires imagination and common sense. But there are also
certain principles of management which can provide useful guidance for the practising
headteacher. A number of these are examined in this module. The principles covered
here include: aspects of human and public relations, communication, delegation, decision
making and problem solving. It is hoped that the module will encourage you to reflect on your
own performance and consider ways in which you might improve your own school
management processes to become more effective in your role as headteacher and as a
manager of change.

All references throughout this module refer to headteachers who are already in post. If
these are not your circumstances and you are perhaps an aspiring headteacher, please
make the necessary adjustment in your reading.

Individual study time: 20 hours

Objectives
After working through this module you should be able to:

• discuss the contribution which management theory can make to understanding

management practice;
• relate your responsibilities and duties as a headteacher to the functions of the
Guyana Government and its Ministries and especially the Ministry of Education;
• differentiate between the main functions of the head of a school and identify some of
the tasks associated with each;
• understand the importance of good human relations and communication in
promoting a suitable working environment for teachers, learners and non-teaching staff
in a school;
• outline the importance of delegation and the key principles and procedures
involved in delegation in schools;
• explain decision making and problem solving and list the major factors which
contribute towards effective practice;
• describe the nature of the change process and identify the key management
functions and tasks associated with the effective management of school.

Units
Unit 1: Introduction to educational management 3 ½ hours
In this Unit you will learn about some theoretical perspectives on management
and identify key concepts and principles. A deeper understanding of the

2
nature of educational management should enable you to improve your practice as a school
manager.

Unit 2: Government organisation and functions 2 hours

Here you will find out about the nature of government as an organisation, and how it may
well affect the quality of management in your school. You are encouraged to apply the
general principles of management introduced in Unit 1 to the running of public affairs in
Guyana.

Unit 3: The functions of school management 3 hours

The major functions of management include planning, organising, directing, supervising and
evaluating. In this unit you will examine how they relate to each other and how together they
describe the role of the headteacher.

Unit 4: Human and public relations 3 hours

As headteacher you are responsible for a large number of people and you must therefore
know something about the behaviour of people in organisations and how best to motivate
people to ensure the success of your school.

Unit 5: Delegation in a school 2 hours

As a manager of your school you need to be well aware that you cannot achieve your goals
and objectives if you do all the tasks alone. In this unit you will consider the process of
delegation, its importance and some of the barriers to its effectiveness.

Unit 6: Communication and

negotiation 2 hours
Communication is an essential part of
management and here you will learn
about the concept of communication,
different forms of communication, and
the importance of effective
communications for staff meetings and
negotiations.

Unit 7: Decision making and problem

solving 2 hours
Here you will focus on these two key
management functions and examine
some of the major factors which
contribute towards effective decision making and problem solving.

Unit 8: The management of change 2½ hours

In the final unit, you will consider the nature of change in schools and focus on your role in
bringing about change. It is suggested that the effective manager of change is one who
adopts strategies derived from many of the management principles and practices explored
in the earlier units of the module.

3
 Introduction to Educational
Management
Unit 1
Introduction
In this first unit we introduce some theoretical perspectives on management and examine a
number of key management concepts and principles. We believe that a deeper
understanding of the nature of educational management will enable you to improve your
practice as a school manager.

Individual study time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
• discuss the contribution which management theory can make to understanding
management practice;
• explain the meaning of the terms: management, organisation, administration,
supervision, and leadership in education;
• understand how to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes in educational management
to enable more effective and efficient planning of resources for use in your school,
organising and co-ordinating of school programmes, projects and activities, and
directing, controlling and evaluating of the teaching and learning processes in school.

Concepts of management in education

Management can mean different things to different people at different times, and a variety
of definitions have been offered. The term 'management' itself, is derived from the verb 'to
manage', which can mean:
• to handle
• to control
• to make and keep submissive
• to organise
• to alter by manipulation
• to carry out for a purpose.

Activity 1.1
1) Give an example of how you manage your school in the way suggested by each of
the above meanings.
2) Which of these meanings most closely matches the way you manage your school?

Comments
Some of the meanings given above appear almost offensive. Do you really, as headteacher,
make and keep your staff and learners submissive? These terms suggest to us a variety of
styles of management, some of which will be more acceptable and productive than
others. Another way people talk of management is to describe it as an art, a science, an
organisation, a person, a discipline, or a process. Let us consider each of these in turn.

4
Management as an art
As an art, management is about carrying out organisational functions and tasks through
people. This art involves the application of techniques in:
• human and public relations
• the delegation of an authority: assigning and sharing responsibilities and duties
• communication: including decision making and problem solving
• managing change.
Management as a science
Management here is concerned with establishing a philosophy, laws, theories, principles,
processes and practices which can be applied in various situations, including schools.
Management as an organisation
As an organisation, management is about creating formal structures and an establishment
based on a mission (or goals), objectives, targets, functions and tasks. For example, social
and welfare organisations in government management can refer to education and health
services, whilst public security management services can refer to the police and military.
Management as a person
Management may be seen as a person or a group of people. For example, a teacher
could say 'The school management has changed the timetable in the middle of the term'.
This could be referring to you, as the headteacher alone, or to all the senior staff, or it could refer to
the members of the board of governors (if the school has one) or school committee. In
schools with several promoted staff, a 'Senior Leadership Team' might be formed in much
the same way as a government has a
cabinet of ministers.
Management as a discipline
In this sense, management is a field
of study with various subjects and
topics. Knowledge, skills and attitudes
in management can be acquired
through learning, from experience
and from certificated courses.
Management is a collection of
processes, including such things as
decision making, problem solving
action-planning and evaluating.
These processes involve the
management of resources including
human, material, financial and time. These processes are also known as the functions of
managers.

The functions of manager

We will briefly examine five (5) main functions of managers, namely: planning, organising,
directing, supervising and evaluating. These may be seen to form a management cycle as
shown below.

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A cycle of management functions

Strategic Planning

Evaluating Organising

Supervising Directing

Strategic Planning
If you have studied Module 1, Self-Development for Educational Leaders, you will have
learned that the first action of a school leader is to identify the mission of the school and to
set the objectives. The headteacher will then need to identify different strategies by which to
achieve the agreed mission and objectives. Through the strategic planning process, the
headteacher aims to manage an efficient and effective school. Efficient means using minimum
resources to get maximum results on time. Effective means to achieve the set of objecives.
The third part of the planning stage is thus to decide on an appropriate strategy.

Organising
Organising involves putting in order of priority and preference the resources which are
available. An Action Plan is needed in which actions and activities are scheduled. In order
to give the plan 'teeth', targets are set. These targets should be quite easily attainable within
a short period of time.

Directing
The manager needs to direct the implementation of the plan. He or she should provide
leadership by delegating duties and responsibilities to staff, and by motivating them. The
directing process also involves co-ordinating and controlling the supply and use of
resources.

Supervising
The manager will need to supervise the work which is being done, ensuring that activities
are carried out in line with agreed standards, and taking steps to correct problems. The manager
needs to understand how to apply knowledge, skills and attitude in education management to
enable more effective and efficient planning of resources for use in the school; organise and
coordinate school programmes, project and activities, and direct, control and evaluate the
teaching-learning process in school.

Evaluating
The final part of the management cycle is to assess the results and compare them with the
set targets and objectives. The performance of all the staff, including the managers, should
be assessed. The feedback is needed in the adjustment of future plans.

6
How useful do you find these views of management? Reflect on the processes followed
in your school, noting down strengths and weaknesses in your management practice.

Comments
We hope that you are now beginning to have a better understanding of the nature of
management and the range of processes you undertake in your role as manager. We
will be commenting on management role and functions later in this unit and again in
Unit 3, 'The Functions of School Management', when we will encourage a more
detailed diagnosis of school management functions. But first, let us look further at
management theory and principles.

Principles of educational management

A principle is a generally accepted truth which is based on experience and the available
information. The following are principles which are used to describe management generally:

• Everyone in the organisation takes a share of the work.

• Authority is given to groups and individuals to carry out tasks.
• Individuals and groups will take responsibility for their actions.
• Individuals and groups will be held accountable for their actions.
• There will be individuals who will take responsibility for command and direction.
• Organisations will have a chain of command and direction.
• Staff are paid for their efforts.
• Individual interest gives in to general interest.
• There will be equity within the organisation.
• Tenure of personnel will be stable.
• Efforts will be coordinated and planned.
• Everyone should be aware of the goals and objectives

Are these principles relevant in managing education in Guyana today? Look at current
practices in your school. Can you think of examples for some of the above principles of
management?

Two principles popularly practised are:

Chain of command
This means the optimum number of colleagues reporting to the same supervisor. It is often
suggested that this number should be between five (5) to eight (8). One person cannot effectively
supervise above this supposed limit, and some delegation may be appropriate.

Co-ordination
This principle highlights that effective organisational performance is achieved when all persons and
resources are synchronised, and given directions. This implies deliberate planned action towards
the achievement of specific goals or policy objectives.

7
 Comments
You may have noted the principle of division of work. The idea of specialisation in all
kinds of work, both managerial and technical, is widely upheld. For example, in
primary education, we all have a responsibility to provide quality education for the learners.
Our roles at different levels as a teacher, headteacher, Inspector, Regional Education
Officer, are indeed based on this principle of division of work. Within your school there will
be some clear divisions of work and it is not uncommon to find educational organisations
structured into:

• policy formulation units: to make and regulate policies

• planning/ development units: to translate policy into action - policy to goals
and objectives in relation to resources
• policy implementation units
• evaluation and monitoring units. (e.g. Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and
Development Unit, Ministry of Education)

So it will be seen that there is some universality in these principles of management.

However, some writers consider that the special characteristics of educational
organisations imply caution in too readily applying management models or practices
drawn from non-educational settings. Let us look further at the idea of schools as
organisations.

The school as an organisation

Activity 1.2
Draw the organisational structure and supervisory establishment chart for your school
starting with the headteacher and ending with the position of the learner. Preparing the
chart should assist you in understanding the nature of your school as an organization. If
this chart already exists, ensure that it is completely up-to-date and accurate.

Comments
A manager works for and is part of an organisation. Educational institutions are
organisations. Your school is an organisation.

The word organisation comes from the word organ, and organs are living things. Your
eye is an organ; so is your ear, mouth, heart, kidney, liver and many others. All these
organs have specific work to do. A healthy living body has all its organs working
properly. A healthy society has all its organisations working well in relation to one
another. Societies set up organisations to do specific work. An organisation is thus the
result of the grouping of work and the allocation of duties, responsibilities and authority
to achieve specific goals in the management of education. It is important that the
headteacher understands that a school as an organisation that has a specific purpose.

8
We can summarise some important organisation concepts in terms of the following:

Mission and objectives of the organisation

Functions of the organisation: What the organisation is supposed to do in order to

achieve its goals.

Responsibilities and duties: People in various positions in the organisation have to carry
these out. These responsibilities and duties are worked out from the functions:
responsibilities would include broad statements of the job; whereas duties are the
day-to-day jobs arising from the responsibilities.

Tasks: These are specific activities within a duty.

Standards: These describe the amount and the quality of products from the organisation.

Targets: These are the amount and quality of products which an organisation wishes to
give out over a given time. For example, a school which can enrol 105 learners in Grade 1
can hope to have at least 90 of those learners completing seven years of primary education.
Targets are now becoming much more focused on educational outputs, e.g. the number of
children achieving a certain predetermined standard at a particular age.

You will come across many more terms about management and organisations during the
course of this module, but we hope by now that you are beginning to appreciate how an
understanding of the key concepts and principles of management may help you to improve
your performance as a school manager.

As the summary of the concept of organisation highlights, a starting point for examining
whether a school 'works properly' is to clarify its purpose as an organisation. Typical
organisations have the following aspects clearly stated and understood by all of the persons in
them and those who have an interest in them:

• title of the organisation: its name, logo or symbol or emblem or badge or trade mark,
motto, location and address
• the mission statement and objectives of the organisation
• functions of the organisation
• expected results, products or outcomes

Activity 1.3
State the following about your school: name, motto, logo, current mission statement and
objectives, its functions, its philosophy, its expected results and actual results or the last
three years, if your school has none of these, it is time you initiate them. These are
all Ministry of Education requirements for schools in Guyana.

9
Comments
Efficient and effective schools are strongly guided by their vision and mission
statement. An efficient headteacher uses the minimum number of persons, materials,
machines, equipment, money and time to get maximum results. Efficiency in
management is important because there will nearly always be an inadequate supply of
resources for any job.

An effective headteacher is able to produce expected results in a school. Factors used in

judging an effective school include:

• achievement by many learners in examinations

• progress by all learners judged against the baseline assessment and
based ability
• performance in games, sports, athletics, drama, debates, music
festivals, etc.
• behaviour of learners
• the success of past learners.
• the school as a learning community
• excellent relationship among teachers, parents and learners
• parents’ readiness to participate in school activities

Your management practice can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your school.
We will be examining the concept of school effectiveness and the headteacher's contribution
towards this at a number of points in these Modules, particularly Module 6, Monitoring
School Effectiveness.

Activity 1.4
There are many different types of organisations. State some of the similarities and
differences between a school, a hospital, a bank, in terms of the organisation concepts
discussed earlier. What might be the implications of these for management practice?

Comments
You may have noticed in comparing a school to a hospital that they are both service
organisations, albeit with different client groups. Schools serve healthy people to change
their behaviour. Hospitals serve unhealthy people to become healthy. Other
organisations such as banks aim to make a profit as they serve people. Some private and
commercial schools also operate like banks. Other distinctive characteristics of
educational management concern the objectives, which may be hard to define, and the
fact that outcomes are rather difficult to measure. Another point relates to the time
available for managerial activities, a point which may become clearer when we look at
the role of the headteacher.

10
The role of the headteacher
As a headteacher, you fulfil a number of important roles. Your role ultimately involves
changing the behaviour and attitude of each learner. It is recognised that you get this job done
through other persons. This is the management role, and the key focus of this unit so far has
been to explore the nature of the management practices which make up this role.

State some other major roles which might describe the way a headteacher undertake his or
her job.

Comments
The roles you noted might have included the following:

• Leadership
• visionary
• supervising
• pastoral care
• change agent.
• administrative
• team builder

We will be commenting on many of the functions associated with these various roles
subsequently in this module. Here we attempt some clarifications of the leadership and
administrative roles to conclude this introductory unit.

Leadership, Management and

Administration
Pause for a moment and consider what
you think to be the difference between
Leadership, Management and
Administration.

Leadership is the principal role of the

headteacher. It is not just a simple
question of he / she leads and others
follow. The headteacher is a facilitator who
ensures that all within the school agree
on and follow common goals. He / she
verbalises the vision for the school and
ensures that all within it work together as a team to achieve it.

Some people use management to mean administration. However, management in an

organisation involves planning, designing, initiating actions, monitoring activities and
demanding results on the basis of allocated resources. It is policy making, policy control and
monitoring.

11
 Administration, on the other hand, involves
implementation of the policies, procedures, rules
and regulations as set up by the management.

A headteacher will only play the role of an

administrator in the implementation of policies
on education within Guyana. However, at this
point we must offer a word of caution.

As stated above, the main role of the

headteacher is the Leader of the School, often
referred to as “the lead professional”. This
involves being proactive in its development and
the vision for its future, as well as ensuring quality and results for the learners it serves.

It is common for headteachers to play the role of Administrator, and becoming too involved in
procedures, regulations and bureaucracy. This is a dangerous approach as it will stifle
creativity, impede progress and become an excuse for the failure to develop the school.

To test the extent that you, as headteacher, may have fallen into this mode of working,
ask yourself the following questions?

• Do I spend more time in my office than walking the school?

• Do I always respond to every administrative task as it appears?
• Do I pride myself on keeping a tidy desk?
• Do I fail to advise teachers because I have paperwork to do?
• Do I fail to observe lessons, comment on them and suggest further development
because day-to-day matters get in the way?
• Do I fail to get feedback from teachers, learners and parents?

If you are answering “yes” to any of these questions, then you need to seriously consider
your work practices.

Policies, paperwork, reports and records as such will not improve standards. Monitoring,
evaluation, development, support and praise for staff in a supportive atmosphere of
“working together” will have an impact on school development and ultimately results.

However, this does not mean that policy and administrative tasks can be neglected. It is a
matter of creating a balance. To that extent, you will need, for example, to be familiar with
educational policy statements in Guyana, such as:

• the language and numeracy policies

• policy statements on educational personnel matters and provision of education service
as stated in the education laws
• policy statements on education by Ministry of Education Officers, especially those on the
code of conduct for learners and for teachers, and curriculum development,
implementation and evaluation
• the five policy areas of education.

12
Supervision and leadership
In addition to the leadership, managerial and administrative roles, the headteacher also has a
supervisory role. S(he) is responsible for quality within the school and this is achieved by a
thorough monitoring and evaluation programme which involves the assessment of the work
of others, evaluating performance and acting upon the information gathered to make further
developments.

Consider the two (2) distinct roles of leader and supervisor and how you would use each
to implement strategies to improve results in Grade 7 Mathematics which have been
declining for several years.

Comments
Leadership: This involves the use of authority, power and influence in the process of
managing resources at work to produce results.

Supervision: This involves being able to do the job oneself, showing others how to do
it, checking that the job is well done and taking appropriate action when it is not.

Remember that an effective supervisor explains what is to be done, who is expected to

do it, how it should be done, when it is to be done and the consequences of a job well or
not well done. On the other hand, an effective leader sets the targets and the standards.
Success or failure in doing the job is measured against the set targets and standards.

Summary
In this unit we have introduced different
perspectives on educational leadership,
highlighting key concepts, principles and
processes of leadership, management,
supervision and administration. We hope that
you have been able to relate the discussion so
far to your own experience as a headteacher
and that you have started to reflect on your role
and functions as a leader and manager.

13
The following diagram should help to clarify your thoughts.

These features Before exploring the

are discussed in various elements of
greater detail in Management: school management in
the subsequent greater depth in Unit
theory and practice 3, Unit 2 focuses on
units of the the wider
module and in organisational context
other modules. within which schools
operate - government
Leadership organisation and
Authority, power, influence and functions.
people

Evaluation Supervision
Management of change:
planning, research

. Development and growth

14
 Government Organisation
and Functions
Unit 2

Introduction
In Unit 1 you were introduced to the concept of
the school as an organisation. In this unit, we
will look at the government as another type of
organisation and how this is likely to affect the
quality of leadership in your school. The unit
should also enable you to relate the
application of the general principles of
management to the running of public affairs in
Guyana.

Individual study time: 2 hours

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
• relate your responsibilities and duties to the functions of the central government
ministries and organisations responsible for education and training;
• advise teachers on their roles, responsibilities and duties in relation to functions of
government;
• promote responsible citizenship based on your understanding of the legislative,
administrative and judicial provisions in your country;
• abide by the laws of the land while discharging your official executive duties.

What is government?
A government is the part of the organisation of a state which has
powers to legislate, that is to make laws. The purpose of a
government is to promote and propagate justice for all the citizens
of a country for the public good.

The legal framework of a government is the constitution of the

country. A constitution describes all the constituent parts of the
government, their composition and their powers and functions. It
also states and guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms
of each individual.

It is important that you should realise that as headteacher you have a local role in
determining the quality of governance in your country. Consider what this role might be?

15
 Comments
You may help to determine the quality of government locally through voting, but also as a
community leader. Although some people maintain that the social position of the headteacher
in the local community has diminished in recent years, this depends on the view
headteachers have of themselves and what they can, and perhaps should, contribute to the
wider community. You should be able to think of many cases of headteachers who
have done this, and usually you will also find that their schools are recognised as good. By
involving staff and learners in the management of your school, you will be demonstrating in
a practical way how (on a smaller scale) democracy may work.

Unitary and federal systems of government

Decentralisation
Three different types of decentralisation may be recognised:

• Deconcentration The dispersion of authority to branch offices, for example, the

payment of teachers' salaries at district level.

• Devolution: Powers transferred by law to sub-national bodies, for example, tax raising
powers given to regions.

• Delegation: Central powers 'lent' to local authorities (but it could be readily revoked without
legislation), for example, regional education offices responsible for the opening of new
schools.

In unitary systems of government, the central

authority has all the principal powers of the state.
The decentralisation of functions to regions may be
done through deconcentration, devolution and
delegation from the central authority.

In federal systems of government, provinces or

states have powers delegated by the constitution.
The United States of America is an example of this.

With increased demands for democracy, for people to take more decisions on matters
affecting their lives, many unitary systems of government are increasing levels of
decentralisation of some powers and functions to the administrative regions, districts and
local authorities and also to schools.

Activity 2.1
(1) Do we have a federal or unitary system of government in Guyana?
(2) Give three (3) examples of how authority has been decentralised in Guyana.

16
 Comments
Guyana has a unitary system of government and is going through the process of
decentralisation with much authority placed in the hands of the Regional Democratic
Councils. However, educational policy is still created by the central Ministry of
Education. In many countries, governments still maintain quite tight central control over
most aspects of education. However, in Guyana, there are considerable moves to
provide more local management and authority to schools.

The Ministry of Education in Guyana has gone through a process of decentralisation

which demands that regions be accountable for the decisions they make which
affect the quality of education they provide.

The arms of government

Many countries have three main arms of government. In management, this is a principle
involving the separation of powers. The three arms are:

• the Legislature
• the Judiciary
• the Executive.

The Legislature
Parliament is made up of the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the
National Assembly. Elected, and maybe also nominated, Members of Parliament who
belong to various political parties constitute the National Assembly.

Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, Parliament has the power to make laws for the
peace, order, liberty and good governance of the country. Its main functions are:

• legislation and formulation of policies;

• control of the public budget and expenditure;
• control of the executive;
• representation of the people on matters of national concern.

The Speaker presides over meetings of the National Assembly. The Speaker is elected
from among persons who are members of the National Assembly, excluding the President,
The Prime Minister, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and the Attorney-General. The Speaker is
an ex-officio member of the National Assembly.

The Principal Administrative Officer of the National Assembly is the Clerk to the National
Assembly. He is responsible for the management of the staff of the National Assembly, its
finances, and all other matters relating to the operation of the National Assembly.

The Judiciary
The judicial arm of government settles disputes which arise out of the laws made by the
Legislature. When such laws are administered by the Executive, disagreements which
inevitably occur, need to be settled by an independent body, the Judiciary. This should ensure
that justice prevails. Laws are intended to guide and regulate the behaviour of individuals in

17
society for their own common good, and to serve individual interests without fear or favour.
Justice is administered in courts of law where civil and criminal cases are heard before a
judge or magistrate and with lawyers arguing for each side: the prosecution and the
defence.

The Chief Justice and other senior judges are appointed by the President on the advice of
the Judicial Service Commission. Once appointed, it is not easy to remove a judge. The
security of tenure for the office of the judge is stated in the constitution. The Chief Justice is
the Head of the Judiciary.

Types of dispute
Civil disputes between individuals and the state may be settled through the courts
according to the provisions of the law. The individual is protected against the excesses of
government through the arbitrary action of government officials. Civil disputes may also
occur between individuals.

In criminal cases, the state prosecutes a person for an alleged crime. The sentence for
those found guilty is within the discretion of the court.

Thus the Judiciary acts as the guardian of the constitution in both civil and criminal matters.
The Judiciary makes sure that the action of the officials of the Executive are in accordance
with the provisions of the Constitution. Thus it is that Acts of Parliament are seen to be
constitutional in both word and deed.

Judges
Independence of the Judiciary is ensured through the security of tenure of judges. Salaries
for judges are a permanent charge on the Consolidated Fund (Treasury) and are not
subject to debate by Parliament in the National Assembly, except where the salaries of
judges as a professional body are to be reviewed. “Sub judice” cases, that is cases which
are before the court, are not subject to discussion outside courts. Questions and debates in
the National Assembly concerning cases in court are not allowed by the standing orders.
Like Members of Parliament in the National Assembly, judges in the courts enjoy special
privileges and cannot be sued for anything they do while officially discharging their duties.
Any judge or magistrate can decide a case without any fear of recrimination for the decision
made in a court of law. Decisions made by judges are legally binding and cannot be
criticised in public. Such decisions can be reviewed, however, in a superior court of law on
appeal by the aggrieved parties. People may be tried and convicted for contempt of court
when they are found accused of discussing “sub judice” cases outside the law courts.

Module 7, The Governance of Schools, also touches on the relationship between

schools and the law.

The Executive
The executive arm of the government administers and enforces the laws which are enacted by the
National Assembly.

The Executive consists of:

• the President, who is the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of all the
Armed Forces

18
 • the Prime Minister
• Vice Presidents
• Ministers and Ministers within Ministries: all these are members of the National Assembly
• All public servants.

Headteachers and teachers in Guyana are employed by the Teaching Service Commission.
In any case, all civil servants, judges, teachers, doctors, who are employed by the
government and its agencies are public servants.

Some of the important bodies in the Executive include:

• the Cabinet and Government Ministries including Finance and Education

• the Office of the Attorney-General
• the Public Service
• Regional Democratic Councils
• government agencies and state corporations
• non-ministerial departments

Please note that the Audit Department is an autonomous body

The Cabinet
The Cabinet consists of the President, the Prime Minister, Ministers and the
Attorney-General. The function of the Cabinet is
to assist and advise the President on matters
pertaining to the running of the country. The
Cabinet considers and formulates the entire
government policy. In the Cabinet, the principle
of collective responsibility to the National
Assembly is emphasised. All things done by or
under the authority of the President, the Prime
Minister, Vice Presidents or any other Minister in
execution of their office may be regarded as the
best joint effort of the government. The members
of the Cabinet are expected to act together as a
team and speak with one voice.

The Attorney General

The Attorney General is an ex-officio member of the National Assembly. He or she is the
principal legal adviser to the government and is a member of the Cabinet with ministerial
status. All the legal needs of government ministries and departments are provided by the
Attorney General's Chambers. The security of tenure of the office of the Attorney General is
provided for in the Constitution. The headteacher of a government school may have the
representation of the Attorney-General in all legal matters of an official nature.

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The Public Service
The Public Service is made up of the civil service, the regional authorities and the
government agencies. The Public Service Commission is the personnel agency of the
government, involved, for example in all recruitment and disciplinary matters in respect of public
servants.

City and Town Councils

Georgetown is governed and administered by the Georgetown City Council. Other towns in
the country, such as Linden, New Amsterdam, Corriverton, Anna Regina, Bartica, Mabaruma
and others have Town Councils which fulfil the same functions as the City Council but on a
smaller scale. Local Councillors are elected to these Councils.

Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs)

These are the supreme local government organs in each region with the responsibility for the
overall management and administration of the region and coordination of activities of all Local
Democratic Organs within its boundaries. There are ten RDCs; each comprises councilors who
are elected at the same time as the members of the National Assembly at Regional Elections
which are due every five years.

Government Agencies
These agencies are state corporations which are established through Acts of Parliament in
pursuance of government policy. The corporations are manned by non-civil servants but
are in close co-operation with and under the supervision of the parent government
ministries.

Ministries
The civil service is divided into ministries and departments. Each of these is responsible for
some particular aspect of government activity.
The political head of the government ministry is the Minister, who is constitutionally and
politically responsible and accountable to the National Assembly for its operation. The
Minister is responsible for the general policy, direction, and control of the ministry.

The Permanent Secretary is the administrative head of the ministry. S(he) is the chief
executive, accounting officer, and the authorising officer in a ministry for all operational and
administrative functions. Beneath the Permanent Secretary there are Deputies who provide
professional advisory services to the Permanent Secretary and to the Minister, as well as
administer their fields of responsibility.

There are many different types of ministries, which may be broadly categorised into:

• Government policy co-ordination ministries: These are primarily

concerned with the formulation of high level policy and co-ordination of functions
and operations of other government ministries and departments. These ministries
include: the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Treasury,
the Ministry of Communities.

• The service and welfare ministries: These include Education, Youth, Sport and
Culture, Social Cohesion , Health, Public Works, Agriculture, Indigenous Peoples
affairs, etc.

20
The structure of a government ministry varies in matters of detail but, generally in most
ministries, below the Permanent Secretary, there are one or more professional or technical
divisions dealing with specialised areas. For example, there are administrative divisions to
deal with Finance, Accounts, Supply Services, Personnel Matters, Planning and
Development, Research and Evaluation.

In the Ministry of Education in Guyana, there is a Chief Education Officer (CEO) who has
overall responsibility for the delivery of education, standards and quality in the
education system. There are Deputy Chief Education Officers (DCEOs) with specific
responsibilities such as administration, monitoring, evaluation and development. In a
third layer, there are the Assistant Chief Education Officers (ACEOs) who have a much
more focused responsibility such as the different levels of education (nursery, primary, secondary,
technical, etc), inspection and curriculum support. In Guyana, the latter is mainly provided by the
National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), a semi-autonomous arm
of the Ministry of Education.

Within each ministry there will be ministerial management committees which are convened
as, and when, required, for example:

• a Consultative Committee chaired by the Minister

• a Management Committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary
• an Advisory Committee and Tender Board chaired by the Deputy Permanent
Secretary
• a Training Committee
• Directorate Management Committees for each of the various professional/ technical
groups.

All these committees exist to ensure the effective management of a government ministry.
Task Forces and ad hoc committees may also be set up to look into specific problems and
issues.

Guyana Ministry of Education

Decentralization in the Ministry of Education, as well as three other Ministries began
formally, in 1982. This system of government involved the division of the country into ten
Administrative Regions as it pursued a democratic process of national development. It was
believed that more involvement and greater development would take place at the regional
level when the state discharges some of the responsibilities to these bodies.
This process met with varying levels of success over the years as roles and functions of
central Ministry and the Regional system became clearer.

Responsibility of the Ministry of Education:

1) National Education Strategic Planning.
2) Policy formulation and development.
3) Resource Mobilization.
4) Providing centralized services such as teacher training and development, school
inspection, curriculum development, text / exercise books, school feeding,
administration of examination and reporting, setting of Academic and Non
Academic Standards.

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 5) Monitoring, Evaluating, Reporting and Development of the entire education
delivery process.

The actual implementation of the education programme in Guyana is the

responsibility of the ten (10) Regional Democratic Councils, (Georgetown is a special
educational district that is presently directly managed by the MOE). This is evident since
each region has its own education budget and is responsible for education, staffing and
infrastructure. Indeed, the education departments in the regions are not accountable to the
MOE but to the RDCs, which in turn reports to the Ministry of Communities.

The MOE understands that education delivery is very complex involving many variables.
However, it is believed that much greater value can be gained if school leadership improves,
that is, if all the factors which impact on school leadership are improved.

Such would require:

• improved planning, monitoring and evaluating at the central level;

• clear delineation of the responsibilities of the regional and national authorities;
• better supervision of the school system by the education departments;
• development and implementation of education plans, programmes and projects;
• designing education sector plans and strategy; and overseeing their implementation;
• widespread stakeholder participation at the regional, sub-regional and school levels;
• efficient day-to-day management of the school as an education unit.

The Political Head

The Minister of Education heads the MOE which has responsibility for establishing national
education policy and the national curriculum for all administrative regions in the country. He
has the authority over the educational system subject to Parliament and Cabinet. In
addition, the MOE monitors education progress in all regions, and funds and distributes
textbooks to all schools. MOE has its own budget, which is funded by allocation in the
central government budget. Assisting the Minister is a Junior Minister of Education or a
Minister within the Ministry. The Teaching Service Commission is a semi-autonomous
Government body not under the administrative control of the MOE, and is responsible for
promotion, transfer, hiring, disciplining and dismissing of tenured teachers, throughout the
country. Some schools are governed by School Boards which have similar functions to the
T.S.C.

The Administrative Head

The Permanent Secretary is the Administrative Head of the MOE and facilitates the efficient
management of the MOE; acts as Advisor / Assistant to the Minister of Education in the
formulation of policies and the preparation of the Ministry’s annual work plan,
budget, annual report and provides responses to parliamentary questions and motions.
(S)he is assisted by two Deputy Permanent Secretaries (Finance and Administration), a
Human Resource Manager and the Chief Planning Officer.

The Professional Head

The Chief Education Officer is the head of the professional arm of the Ministry of Education.
Reporting to this officer are two (2) Deputy Chief Education Officers- Administration,
and Development, five (5) Assistant Chief Education Officers- Nursery, Primary,
Secondary, Technical, and Inspectorate.

22
In addition, four other officers: Director NCERD, Principal CPCE, Human Resource
Manager and DPS (Administration) make up the Education Systems Committee (ESC). This
committee has the overall responsibility for managing the entire education delivery process.
This committee meets on average twice per month.

Activity 2.2
Either obtain an organisational chart for the Ministry of Education or, from the information
provided above, draw one of your own. Indicate clearly your position on the chart as
headteacher and the lines of communication between you and the Minister.

Summary
In all systems of government, all ministries and departments are under political direction. In
democratic systems, where the party in power has been chosen by popular vote in a public
election held in free competition with other parties, Acts of Parliament and other statutes
provide the rules which define how the education system is to be organised and managed.
All public servants are accountable for their work, to Parliament and to the party in power.

The executive, judicial and legislative arms of

government each provide a different balance in
the operation of political power and its
application to the government of our country.
Thus, in theory, public servants including
headteachers should not be afraid of direct
interference in the day-to-day management
of their schools.
In reality, a headteacher must be prepared to
accommodate some political influence in the
manner in which he or she manages the affairs
of the school. This is an important point to bear
in mind when considering school management
functions, the topic of the next unit.

23
The Functions of School
Management Unit 3
Introduction
In this unit, we will look at some of the management functions
you have to discharge as a headteacher, building on concepts
introduced in Unit 1.

We look first at a case study on School Mismanagement Fever.

We differentiate between the functions of planning, organising,
directing, supervising and evaluating in a school, and we see how
they relate to each other and how together they describe the role
of the school manager, or headteacher. Lastly, we consider some
indicators of effective school management.

Individual study time: 3 hours

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
• differentiate between the main functions of the headteacher and identify some of the
tasks associated with each function;
• describe some of the inter-relationships between these functions;
• identify the key indicators of effective headteachers.

Case study
The headteacher of a disorganised school which has considerable problems and is very
disorganised is asking for help.

The school is no longer supported by its Board of Governors. It has an inadequate

number of teachers; the learner drop-out rate is high; the results in public examinations
are poor; the buildings, equipment and materials are inadequate and poorly
maintained; the grounds are untidy and the morale of those connected with the school
is low.

But the main lesson from the case study which is being emphasised is that, if as a headteacher
you are asking for help either to prevent further difficulties or to solve existing problems, you
are miles ahead of those who do not recognise that they have a problem at all!

Clearly, you appreciate your role as manager of an organisation, which exists to provide the
learners with useful knowledge, skills and attitudes for responsible and successful living. To be
a successful headteacher you will need to acquire managerial Attitudes = A, Skills = S and
Knowledge = K for running your school. Thus school managers who are seeking to find a
cure for School Mismanagement Fever must recognise the need to ASK, that is, to involve
others in developing solutions, but must also recognise the three key components:
Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge, which they need to acquire. Maybe your S.M. Fever can be
traced to a specific managerial issue which interferes with the processes of instruction and

24
learning in the school, but, more likely there are very many issues about which you are
concerned. The successful headteacher is someone who is able to handle a range of problems
or issues, at one time.

Activity 3.1
A school management diagnosis
Let us examine or diagnose, by means of a checklist, how well you are doing as a school
manager. Complete the school management diagnosis checklist below by ticking “YES”
or “NO”

Indicate which of the following you have worked on, within the last school year, in your school.
In each case you should be able to explain to someone what was done.

# PLANNING YES NO
1 Translating national education policies into school-based teaching and
learning objectives and targets.
2 Planning both the long-term acquisition of relevant teaching and learning
resources (including finances).
3 Preparing school syllabuses
4 Preparing Schemes-of-Work
5 Preparing timetables
6 Preparing Schedules of Activities.
7 Preparing schedules for meetings of the Heads of Departments,
8 Preparing schedules for meetings of Level Heads
9 Preparing schedules for meetings of the Parent Teacher Association
10 Preparing schedules for meetings of the staff etc.

ORGANISING YES NO
1 Preparing up-to-date job descriptions for all employed staff, and assigning
roles, responsibilities and duties to staff and learners.
2 Arrange for the appointment of new staff and the selection and
appointment of all staff and learners holding responsible posts.

COMMUNICATION YES NO
1 Inducting new teachers, learners and parents.
2 Communicating regularly and fully, by the most appropriate means,
with all of those persons who have an interest in the school, about
school programmes and activities.
3 Holding formal and informal discussions with individuals and groups, including
staff and learners, and those outside of the school, about all aspects of school
life.

MONITORING AND SUPERVISION YES NO

1 Ensuring that classes are held, and that learners’ work is marked and
Assessed.

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# MONITORING AND SUPERVISION cont’d Yes No
2 Monitoring standards of learning and teaching in the classroom.
3 Checking the Schemes-of-Work and lesson plans of the teachers.
4 Ensuring attendance and punctuality of both staff and learners.
5 Conducting a full and fair appraisal of all staff, including observations,
discussions and in written reports.
6 Taking stock and physically checking the resources and equipment of
the school.

EVALUATING Yes No
1 Preparing the Annual Report of the school.
2 Analysing examinations results and making recommendations for raising
standards.
3 Reviewing the performance of all aspects of the school.
4 Setting new targets for individuals, departments and the school.
5 Presenting financial statements and reports to the appropriate authority.

Comments
If your 'Yes' scores exceed 75%, you are doing well.

However, if your 'No' scores exceed 50%, then you will need to seriously consider your
role as a headteacher and take appropriate steps to develop your skills.

The list indicates the five main management functions of headteachers: planning,
organising, directing, monitoring and supervision and evaluating all aspects of school life.
Although they occur in sequence, in fact each function is a continuous process. As the list
shows, each may be broken down into several tasks.

Thus the work of a headteacher is both complex and never complete!

The modules presented in this series for the training and support of headteachers should
guide you in improving your managerial capabilities.

26
Relating leadership functions
The functions and tasks identified in the checklist may be put in the form of a flow chart.

Plan
Involve all stakeholders, especially Teachers, Parents, Learners
Translation of national education policies into school level
programmes, projects and activities

Organise
Yourself, Teachers, other staff, and Parents
Teaching and learning activities

E E
V V
A A
L Direct L
U Yourself, Teachers, other staff, U
A A
T Parents and Community T
E Communicate, discuss, motivate for support and active E

& participation in the teaching and learning activities organised by &

the school
F F
E E
E E
D D
B B
A Monitor A
C C
K
Yourself and others to achieve set standards in the quality of K
teaching and learning, using role models, exemplary behaviour
and peer group support for setting targets to be achieved by
individuals and groups in the school

Evaluate
The results of the monitoring of learning and teaching to inform
development in the process at each stage

27
 Activity 3.2
Take one of the main areas of life in your school, such as the curriculum. Use the
diagram from Unit 1 in which we presented the five main functions or processess of
headteachers within a management cycle and demonstrate through specific examples,
how you, in your school, undertake tasks within each function in relation to the
curriculum.

Comments
This is not an easy activity to undertake as the range of tasks you have identified is
probably quite large, but you should have gained a clearer idea as to how every task
which you undertake as a headteacher in the various areas of operation may be
analysed and described in terms of the broad functions which make up the management
cycle. Moreover as noted in Unit 1, although presented cyclically, management
processes inter-relate. The flow chart depicted in Fig 4 highlights these relations. It is
important that you become analytical about your job, so that you can make sure you are
doing the right things, for the right reason, in the right way, and at the right time.

In examining the flow chart, you probably thought 'How can I, as a headteacher, manage
to plan, organise, direct, monitor, supervise and evaluate programmes, projects and
activities in my school. The answer to this question lies in the application of the principles
of:
• physical, programme, project and financial (budgeting) planning
• human and public relations
• communication and negotiation techniques
• delegation of authority, functions, responsibilities, duties and tasks
• decision making and problem solving
• management of change in relation to the operations in a school, through action
planning.

Headteachers - Chief executives or lead professionals?

The central role of the headteacher is to manage the teaching and learning which determine
the quality of education. Your attention is therefore drawn to current concerns for building the
capacity in educational leadership at three levels:

• in the delivery of education in schools

• in policy implementation through regional education offices
• in strategic policy development within the Ministry of Education, the entire
government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international agencies.

These concerns focus on the school as a social institution - an agency through which the
educational needs of the youth can be met. A school therefore is a means to an end and
not the end in itself. This is reflected in the various roles the headteacher performs. We introduced
a number of these in Unit 1, for example, leadership, supervisory, managerial and
administrative roles. Some people make a useful distinction between the headteacher as the Chief
Executive (CE) and the headteacher as the Lead Professional (LP).

28
Examples of the role of Chief Executive
Examples of activities which illustrate the role of the headteacher as Chief Executive are given
below.
• stating the mission and objectives of the school
• allocating duties to staff
• co-ordinating and supervising staff activities
• evaluating school performance
• establishing working relationships between the Department of Education and the
staff.
• ex officio member of the governing board (for schools governed by a board)

Consider some of the activities which you undertake as a headteacher in your Lead
professional role.

Examples of the role of Lead Professional

Check which of the following items you listed:
• personal teaching
• professional guidance to teachers as individuals and in the development of school
programmes
• counselling learners and parents on ethics, norms and values of the school
• spokesperson for the whole school on all educational matters
• participation in subject panels, curriculum development and other external professional
activities

Most jobs, not just that of a headteacher, involve different, maybe conflicting roles.
Achieving a balance between them is very important.
The headteacher who does not, or perhaps cannot,
provide professional leadership will not be a credible
person in the eyes of his or her staff. Yet a headteacher
who fails in the role of Chief Executive perhaps should
have stayed in the classroom.

Activity 3.3
Make a list of all the tasks you carry out as
headteacher in a typical week. Beside each task,
indicate whether it is your Chief Executive Role
with CE in brackets or whether it is your Leading
Professional Role with LP in the brackets. Which
role, CE or LP, has the larger number of tasks in
your week? Are there any other tasks which you
feel do not fit into either of these categories?

29
 Comments
In your list of CE tasks, you might have included 'signing purchase orders’. In the LP the
tasks might have included 'teaching Mathematics in Grade 4.’ You may have found
separating some tasks between these roles quite difficult. For example, when you are
chairing meetings, such as a staff meeting, you have both a Chief Executive and a Lead
Professional role. The two roles both support and conflict with each other. Some
countries have decided to separate the role totally and provide two separate people for
these posts. Achieving a balance is important, and yet is quite difficult. What is important
is that you realise their existence and work to improve your skills at carrying them out
effectively.

Indicators of an effective headteacher

In Module 6, Monitoring School Effectiveness, we will be considering how we may evaluate
the effectiveness of a school. Here let us consider how we might determine whether or not a
headteacher is an effective leader.

An effective headteacher demonstrates

Good relations and a

Professional competence concern for teamwork
• has good relations with
• has wide-ranging and
learners, staff and parents
up-to-date knowledge
• works for the
and skills, including the
development of the
ability to initiate, direct,
school through
communicate and
teamwork
delegate
• ensures communications
within the school are clear
and on time

Leadership
• creates confidence and
inspires others
• effectively evaluates
the qualities and
contributions of staff
• can take difficult
decisions

Activity 3.3
The list of items above might be used to determine whether or not a headteacher is an
effective school leader.
Do you agree with the three items listed here?
Can you think of anything else to add to each area?
Can you think of any other categories?

30
 Comments
The three items included here provide some essential characteristics of effectiveness with
regard to the work done by a headteacher. Notice that the list is not about an effective school,
nor is it concerned with describing the detailed tasks of a school manager, such as planning
the curriculum. We will come back again in Module 6. Not only do we need to explain what
effectiveness is, but also what effectiveness is not. In the same way as we apply grades to the
work done by learners, so we should be able to describe the work of the headteacher as
excellent, good, fair or below expectation, as appropriate, by using descriptive criteria such as
you have just attempted to write.

Summary
In this unit we have looked at the main elements in school leadership. This has involved
identifying the five main functions of a headteacher: planning, organising, directing,
monitoring and evaluating, and some of the tasks associated with each function. We have
drawn distinctions between headteachers as Chief Executives and as Lead Professionals.
Lastly, we have identified how indicators may be written to produce criteria for evaluating
the effectiveness of a headteacher. One item concerned human relations, which is the focus
of our next unit.

31
Human and
Public Relations Unit 4
Introduction
As a headteacher who is responsible for a large number of persons, you will almost certainly
agree that it is important for you to understand something about the behaviour of the persons
in your school organisation. The human factor in schools may cause problems and failure,
or may lead to success, depending on the behaviour of the teachers, learners, parents and all
the other members of the school community. Apart from the nature and availability of the
material and financial resources that are provided, the success of a school will also depend
on:
• the level of training of the teachers;
• the relations between the teachers and the headteacher;
• the relations between the teachers themselves;
• the relations between the learners and the teachers;
• the relations between the school and the surrounding community.

In this unit you will study the relations between people and how those relations affect their work.
From this you should understand how these relations affect the nature and quality of management
in our educational institutions.

Individual study time: 3 hours

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
• understand the importance of good human relations and communications in
providing a suitable working environment for the teachers, learners and non-teaching
staff;
• improve the motivation of the teachers and the learners so as to ensure the success of
the school;
• establish and maintain good working relations with the educational authorities;
• gain the support of the community in which the school is situated.

What are human relations?

We all belong to human society. In everyday life we live and work with people: they may be
our family members or neighbours or friends or other relatives, or they may be people we
work with in our places of employment. Whoever they are, we recognise their presence and
relate to them through various means of communication.

We may say that human relations is being together with other people and interacting with
them.

Human relations in a working place

As a headteacher your work will involve the following:

32
 • planning the activities of the school;
• organising the resources to be used, which includes getting the equipment and
materials required; assigning work to each member of staff, agreeing how it should
be done and when it should be done and ensuring that the work is done;
• maintaining high standards of education in your school.

Activity 4.1
You may wish to explore the following questions by yourself, or, perhaps with some
other trainees or colleagues informally in a group.
(1) Would the work listed above be for you alone as the headteacher, or would other
persons also be involved?
(2) In what ways would other persons be involved in each of these aspects of your
work? What has this to do with human relations?
(3) Why is an understanding of human relations important to the head of any
institution?

Comments
In every working place, each person must be given his or her duties. The headteacher
organises the programme for the school. He or she carries out the monitoring
necessary to ensure that the programme is followed. Each teacher prepares a scheme-
of-work, lesson plans and assessment records for his/her class. In addition, some of the
teachers may be in charge of co-curricular activities. At the end of each school term,
progress reports are prepared for the learners. If the headteacher does not produce the
school timetable in good time, teaching may be delayed at the beginning of the term. The
syllabuses may not be covered. If the teachers do not prepare their
schemes and lesson plans, the learners may not be taught properly. When this happens,
it is the responsibility of the headteacher. He or she must organise it. If the subject teacher
delays in preparing assessments for his or her subject, the class teacher will be late in
completing the end-of-term assessments. As a consequence, parents would not be
informed of learner progress.

In the working place, therefore, we need to recognise that what others do affects our
own work and our work affects what they do. This is because all of the different tasks in
an organisation are inter-related, and the individuals in the organisation have a
working relationship. Ensuring that everyone works in an agreed fashion is essential, if
all the staff are to work together harmoniously and effectively.

What do we know about the techniques of forming human relations? You will know that
when two people meet and establish either friendly or working relations, the three
stages listed below are involved.

33
 Exploration phase
This involves seeking clues and information
for forming opinions and impressions about
each other. In schools, this phase should be
planned, detailed and extensive. Learn about
yourself and the people with whom you work.

Consolidation phase
First impressions can be deceptive due to
misleading information. Repeated behaviour
patterns help in gauging levels of frankness,
openness, truthfulness, reliability, credibility
and integrity of a person. You may find it
helpful to keep records on the behaviour of
learners and staff to help you understand them.

Preservation phase
This is the stage of mutual understanding based on trust and acceptance of each other's
good and bad points, weaknesses and strengths.

Human relations and motivation

Staff motivation

Activity 4.2
The list below includes a number of items which are factors which might affect the
quality of performance of the teachers in a school.

Read through the list, and then place the ten items in rank order with the most important factor
1, the second 2, and so on. The factor which you consider as least important will have a rank
of 10.

The performance of teachers in school will be improved if:

• they are given an increase in salary

• they have a feeling of job security
• they are supplied wih all the basic resources required to teach
• the headteacher regularly consults with them
• their work is appreciated
• quality monitoring and supervision take place
• there are opportunities for promotion and personal development
• they are paid on time
• they are given advice to improve the quality of their teaching
• they receive sympathetic help with problems

34
 Comments
The way you have ranked these questions is likely to depend, to a large extent, upon the culture and
the context within which you live and work. Experts on management have observed that people in
their place of work like to:

• feel that their work is regarded as important – they do no like to be idle;

• be praised for what they have done, but not to be blamed – they fear to admit mistakes in
public;
• be given good advice as a result of monitoring and evaluation of their work;
• know what their managers think about their work – they feel encouraged when their own
knowledge of the subject is appreciated;
• be consulted when there are changes to be made in their organisation;
• have a leader who listens and to welcomes suggestions;
• sympathise with personal problems and give advice; show justice in dealing with problems
concerning relations between staff; give respect to all workers, whether in low or high
positions in the organisation;
• be told ‘thank you’ when good work is done and also to admit mistakes;
• feel secure in their job – nobody wants to work in a place where they feel they are not wanted,
or where they are threatened with dismissal;
• feel that they are appreciated by their fellow workers.

Whether these factors are the ones which motivate your teachers would be very interesting to find
out. What is important is that you realise the range and diversity of things which motivate people.
Even a small thing like greeting your staff and learners in a way which is generally accepted may
make a difference.

Case study
Please read the following case:

The absentee teacher

A primary school teacher has come to the headteacher to seek permission to be away for three days.
Her nanny has left suddenly and she has nobody at home to take care of her three-month old baby. She
wants to go in search of someone else to take care of her child.

The school is already short of teachers. The headteacher tells her that looking for a nanny does not
concern the school. She should make other arrangements to get one without affecting her work. He
reminds her that the District Education Officer may visit the school any time during that week. He does
not want any class to be found without a teacher. He refuses to give her permission. But the following
morning the teacher does not come to work.

Activity 4.3
What is your comment on the following case? Consider:
1) Should the teacher be disciplined for being absent without permission?
2) What effect might this have on the motivation of the other staff who have children?
3) What actions would you take in this situation to maintain the motivation of your teachers?

35
 Comments
A difficult case, and there is unlikely to be a right answer, but you will probably have noted
that this example is an illustration of poor human relations and you may have suggested the
need for improved communications and focused on the importance of working together and
shared responsibilities.

The role of headteacher is a difficult one. On the one hand s(he) must put the school first but
must also recognise that to get the best out of people one must be sympathetic to their
problems. Perhaps there were compromises that could have been made in this case. Maybe
the child could have been brought to school for a day. Maybe she only needed one day to go
in search of a nanny.

Learner motivation
Like their teachers, the learners in a school also need to be motivated.

Pause for a moment and think what steps might be taken to help motivate learners.

Learners are unlikely to be motivated unless:

• they are assured of care and protection in the school;
• their problems are treated with understanding and justice;
• the teachers show patience and are sincere in guiding them;
• their efforts in class and in other school activities are appreciated by the teachers and
the headteacher;
• their parents have a chance to see what they are doing in school;
• They can see the progress they are making and understand the reasons they are
doing what they are asked to do.

We could add other items to this list, but the important point to recognise is that it includes a
wide range of factors. An understanding of the nature of motivation suggests that for
learning to take place, learners' basic needs-physiological, safety, love and belonging - must
be met, as well as their need for self-esteem and self-fulfilment. Headteachers and teachers
can try to ensure that external and situational factors both in and outside the classroom will
stimulate their learners to learn.

Human relations and communications

We will now examine the relationship between communication and human relations.
Communication in an organisation is like the nervous system in the human body. If anything
interferes with a nerve line, it is no longer possible to co-ordinate the work of the affected
part with the rest of the body. Similarly, if anything interferes with the communication links
between individuals in an organisation, their work will be badly affected. Decisions will not be
taken at the right time. Work will not be done as required. It may not even be done at all, if
the instructions are not communicated. Or, it may be done incorrectly, if the instructions are
poorly communicated or received. Good communication is both about sending and
receiving information. Good relations between sender and receiver will help ensure effective
communication. Let us explore this relationship further.

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 Activity 4.4
1) Prepare a list of the different ways in which you, as a headteacher, might
communicate with your teachers and learners.
2) What affects the way you communicate with individual teachers and groups of
teachers? How might this be improved?
3) Have you noticed that at times certain members of your staff do not seem to be
talking to one another? How might this affect your work as a headteacher?
What can you do to help in solving this problem?

Comments
You are likely to have listed a wide range of patterns and methods of communication
from meetings and loudspeaker systems through to personal one-to-one discussions. It
. may well be that some of these could be improved. You may need to check whether
communications are actually getting through and consider changing your
communication strategy, if problems exist with current practice. We will be looking at
communication and the communication process in further depth in Unit 6.

In this context, it is worth noting that many things can interfere with communication
between individuals in a working place. One of these is the attitude that some persons
may hold against other workmates. If persons with whom we work know that we hold
negative attitudes towards them, they will not communicate freely with us. They may
even withhold certain information that is very important for carrying out a task; perhaps,
for some reason, they want us to fail. It is important, therefore, that headteachers never hold
a negative attitude towards their staff; or if they do, that they do not reveal it! Instead, they
should create a working environment in which all the staff are free to consult one
another. Good communications and good human relations go hand-in-hand. This is also
the case with regard to the relationship between the school and the external community.

The head as a public relations officer

A public relations officer is the spokesperson for an organisation. He or she provides
information to the public on what the organisation is doing and also listens to comments by
members of the public about the organisation. If these comments suggest that some
justified improvements are needed, then action should be taken to bring about the required
changes.
A school is part of the community in which it is situated. The members of the community in
general and the parents in particular have an interest in the school because it provides
education for their children. It is clear that the headteacher has an important role to play as a
public relations officer to ensure that good relations are established between the school and
the community, and with the education authorities. There are several ways of doing this.

1) The headteacher or his / her representative (e.g. Deputy Headteacher or Senior Teacher)
should be ready to meet parents and other members of the public who come to the
school to obtain information about education.
2) The headteacher and staff should be able to organise functions and ceremonies
to which parents are invited. Such functions might include, for example:

37
 • Parent-Teacher Association meetings
• Open Days in the school
• Speech and Prize Giving Days
• Sports Days
3) The headteacher and staff should be encouraged to participate in some community
development activities within the neighbourhood of the school.
4) Good working relations with the authorities in the Ministry and Education
Department will help ensure that any problems the headteacher encounters may be
listened to with greater understanding and that any assistance requested will be readily
forthcoming. This in turn will help with community relations.
5) The headteacher and staff should encourage social interaction like school visits/games
etc.

Activity 4.5
1) Can you suggest other ways in which the headteacher can help improve
relations with the community?
2) Taking your school as an example, list any community activities in which the
learners could usefully participate, noting potential benefits for the learners, school
and community at large.
3) What factors tend to give a school a bad image in its local community?

Comments
You will probably have been able to suggest a number of other methods for
improving relations with the community. Better communication is a popular option,
and some schools even produce newsletters for wider dissemination of school
ideas and information. Contributions by learners can add a further level of interest.
A point perhaps worth noting is that although the headteacher is responsible for
external relations, there is of course much that can be undertaken by delegating
specific tasks to members of staff.

Summary
This unit has looked at human relations in schools, drawing attention to motivational
aspects and the significance of good communications. Attention has also been focused on
the role of the headteacher, staff and learners in fostering good community relations.

It is easy for the headteacher to put blame on all around him / her for poor relations.
However, the fact is that it is his / her responsibility to foster good relationships. If the staff are
antagonistic towards each other or towards the headteacher, s(he) must ensure that this
situation must not be allowed to continue by working hard to bring the two sides closer together.
If this is not done, the school will be dysfunctional. If it is dysfunctional, learning will not take place,
If learning does not take place on the part of the learners, it is a failing school. We will touch on
these various processes in subsequent units and modules, but we now consider the process of
delegation, which is an important means by which staff can be motivated and, if used correctly,
human relations improved.

38
 Delegation in a School
Unit 5
Introduction
As a headteacher, you are expected to manage the school through your own work, the work of
other teachers, staff and even learners. You may have heard of sayings like “Many heads are
better than one”, “Many hands make light work”, etc. and certainly as a manager of a school
you cannot achieve your goals and objectives if you do all the tasks alone. In other words,
you cannot teach all the subjects in the school, head all the departments, be on duty every
day of the week, deal with all the correspondence and the discipline cases, be in charge of all
the clubs and so on. You will need to use the talents of the teachers who work with you, not
fearing that they will take over from you, but rather trusting them and having confidence in
them. Moreover, making use of even the most critical or uncooperative members of your
staff may result in their trusting you and feeling more motivated and needed. By doing the
above you will actually be delegating responsibilities and duties to your teachers, and in this
unit we will explore further the delegation process, considering its importance and the
barriers to its effectiveness.

Individual study time: 2 hours

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
• understand the importance of delegation, and outline the key principles and
procedures involved in delegation
• direct, support, develop and motivate the staff working in your school by giving them
responsibilities, duties and tasks that are appropriate to their talents, abilities and
capabilities
• build a team amongst your teachers through sharing the school workload by more
effective delegation
• improve your own managerial performance by alleviating pressures in your time and
improving the flow of work in school.

What is delegation?
Delegation is a process by which managers, such as
headteachers, transfer part of their authority to their colleagues,
for the performance of certain tasks and responsibilities. By
assigning tasks to them to perform on your behalf, you can
enable the decentralisation of authority or office functions, the
sharing of duties/tasks within the school and the grouping of
duties into departments with group heads for easier
management. Since delegation can take place at all levels of
management, departmental heads themselves may also become involved in delegation.

39
The importance of delegation
Activity 5.1
1) Reflect on your work for the past few months and make a note of any
tasks and responsibilities which you delegated to a colleague or which were
delegated to you. Why did you do this?
2) List some of the factors to be taken into account to ensure effective delegation.

Comments
You will probably have given a variety of reasons for delegating the tasks you did,
including such things as improving the flow of work and the management of your own
time.
There is in some ways a conflict. Often people say “I can do it better myself” or “It will
take too long to explain” or “I can do it faster myself”. This may be true, but how will
colleagues learn to do it as well and as quickly as you when they are not given the
opportunity to practise the skills?

The following summary highlights the importance of delegation in schools:

• In a school of 1,000 learners and 60 teachers the headteacher cannot control every activity.
• There is a physical and mental limit to the workload capacity of any individual or
group in authority.
• Delegation gives time to the headteacher to concentrate on other important matters.
• It is a way of preparing your colleagues to handle higher and more challenging
responsibilities in future, therefore a way of training and developing them.
• It creates confidence in your colleagues.
• It encourages co-operation and team work and thus colleagues feel part and parcel
of the successes or failures of the school.
• As a school grows, more specialisation in leadership, management and teaching
areas is necessary.

Delegation is an act of trust and an expression of confidence of the leader in the colleague/s.
It is one of the most important methods of creating and maintaining democracy in schools.
What then are some of the factors which need to be taken into consideration to ensure
effective delegation of tasks? They include:

• delegating authority with responsibility - remember you remain accountable for the
responsibilities delegated
• delegated responsibilities must be clear, specific and effectively communicated
• delegating authority with enough responsibility.

Determination of the right degree of delegation is part of the art of leadership. Effective
delegation means delegating the right amount of authority and the right kind of duties.

40
There will always be some tasks which should not be delegated at all. Let us summarise
some of the key principles and procedures of delegation:

Principles and procedures of delegation

• Select the person to delegate to, on the basis of a sound knowledge of staff
members in terms of their varying levels of competence, commitment and capability.
• The nature and scope of the work to be delegated must be clearly defined and be for
the benefit of the organisation as a whole.
• Delegated tasks must be clearly described.
• The person to whom a task is assigned must be capable of carrying out the task or
duty to the best of his/her ability and willing to take responsibility.
• Mutual co-operation, understanding and faith between the manager and staff
members are of the utmost importance to enable delegation to be successful.
• Some form of regular reporting to provide a means of progress control is required.
• Reward successful achievement of delegated tasks.

Barriers to effective delegation

Some managers are reluctant to delegate. They may choose not to delegate tasks feeling
that they can do them better than anybody else. They may feel that it will take too long a time to
explain to the colleague undertaking the assignment. Such feelings may be contributed by
concerns such as:

Insecurity: Where the leader is not ready to take chances/risks or fears that the colleague
may let him down.

Loss of power: If the colleague does the task very well or even better than the leader
would have done it.

Failure to plan ahead: This makes it difficult to decide which task to delegate and to whom
and when.

Some colleagues are reluctant to accept responsibility due to insecurity. They wish their
bosses to make decisions for fear of being held responsible for any failure. They may also
feel that they are not given enough incentives and are not given proper guidance and
support by the manager. Adequate means of communication may not be available to the
delegatee for consultation with the manager if necessary.

Are you a good delegator?

A good delegator is one who stimulates and motivates colleagues to undertake duties and
responsibilities delegated to them by:

• clearly indicating the standard of performance expected, time limit and any other
conditions involved
• giving the delegatee a chance to perform the given task without undue interference
• appreciating the efforts the delegatee has made, and assisting whenever assistance
is needed
• learning to accept that some delegated duties may not be done as perfectly as they
would by oneself

41
• making use of the mistakes made to develop rather than to ridicule and threaten the
delegatee: however, the delegator should make sure that the mistakes made will not
endanger the institution.

How well do you stand up against these criteria?

Activity 5.2
Refer to your responses to the questions raised in Activity 5.1, and taking each
delegation act in turn, try to draw up an account of how effective you were as a delegator.
You could use the above criteria to judge your performance in each case of delegation.
Are there other tasks and responsibilities which you could be delegating?
Draw up a brief plan of action for improving your performance in delegation.

Comments
We hope you found the activity useful as a means of reviewing your own performance
in delegation and you are encouraged to consider how you may ensure more
effective delegation in the future. There are of course many tasks which a headteacher
can delegate. Equally, there will be some which cannot be delegated. Much will depend
on the rules, regulations and practices which pertain. However, in general, the
headteacher can delegate almost all the tasks except:

• finances: for example, authority to spend. However, the day-to-day work of

accounting can be done by another and approved by the headteacher.
• admission of new learners into the school. Likewise the headteacher must give
final approval
• final decision making on policy issues and changes in the school
• assigning of duties to the Deputy Head and senior teachers
• final responsibility on examinations

Summary
In this unit we have examined the concept of delegation, the importance of delegation and
some of the key principles of delegation. We have encouraged you to consider how you
might improve your own performance of this crucial leadership function, to enable you to
build a team amongst teachers through the sharing of the workload of the school.

Remember that” building teams” and “empowering them” is one of the key functions of a
leader.

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 1

Communication and
Negotiation Unit 6
Introduction
Communication is an essential part of leadership and in this unit we will consider the
concept of communication and different types of communication. We will also be looking at
the importance of effective communications for staff meetings and negotiations.

Individual study time: 2 hours

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
• define the process of communication;
• identify different types and methods of communication;
• list the key characteristics of effective communication;
• appreciate the importance of listening to teachers, learners and parents for the purposes
of rational decision making and problem solving in the school;
• apply communication principles and practices to running the affairs of the school,
particularly with regard to staff meetings and negotiations.

Communication in schools
Case study

Consider the following scenario:

A Deputy headteacher in a primary school saw an advertisement in a national

newspaper for headteacherss. Part of the job specification is given below.

PERSON SPECIFICATION HEADTEACHER

An experienced, professionally trained and

qualified teacher with ten years teaching
experience, two of which must have been as a
Senior Master / Mistress, Head of Department or a
Deputy Head...

• able to communicate effectively with all levels of school

management and staff;
• should have substantial experience and/or training in
oral and written presentations with proven writing skills;
• able to prepare school-based reports, records and
development proposals and to negotiate and sell new
ideas;

43
 • able to cultivate and maintain good working relations
with learners, teachers, parents, education officials and
the public
• should have skills in gathering, analysing and
interpreting data and information on school matters
• should have proven integrity and credibility in handling
school-based resources, especially PTA funds
• able to steer meetings for decision making and problem
solving on school matters, etc.

What do you think this told the teacher about the job and the required skills?

Comments
The lesson to be learnt from this case study is the importance of the headteacher having
good communication techniques. In fact communication skills can be considered as
essential for career development and growth – as the diagram depicted below suggests!

Achieving Headship
Ladder to Headship

Ability to communicate

Ambition and drive

University Education

Making sound decisions

Self confidence

Good appearance

Capacity for hard work

Creating teams

44
 1

What is communication?
Communication is the process by which information is exchanged in order to initiate action
or solve a problem. In a school, this may involve giving notices about activities, events,
decisions and tasks which affect individuals or groups - learners, teachers, parents,
non-teaching staff, visitors to the school and others. It also suggests the sharing of opinions
and ideas openly and freely, being mindful of the views of other persons and encouraging
individuals to seek for information and advice.

Communication may be defined as the ability to express oneself through writing, through
the spoken language and through body expressions in order to pass on a message.

The process of communication

This involves:

• source of the message - the sender: writer, speaker.

• format of the message and media for transmitting the message - letter, memo, report,
speech, chart, etc.
• time factor - messages may take time to reach their destination
• receiver of the message - seeing, hearing, feeling, imagining, etc. by the recipient:
reader, listener.
• feedback - acknowledgement from receiver to indicate that there has been total
communication.

At each of the steps in the communication process barriers occur, and problems may arise
with the interpretation of messages. These arise from differing perceptions of reality, and
the influence of attitudes, opinions and emotions. Feedback serves to show up
misinterpretations of the communication. Negative reaction can result in the necessary
corrective measures being taken.

Types of communication
Communication can take place through:

• speech, including loudspeaker

systems, telephone, voicemail, cell
phone, radio, TV, DVD etc
• written word, including paper
documents, books, fax, email,
intranet, internet, instant
messaging, texts or other visual
displays or electronic devices
• body language, for example,
non-verbal forms, tone of voice,
etc.

In fact there are so many different ways of communicating in the 21st Century
that, not only is communication made easier for most of us, it is also open to much more
misunderstanding and misinterpretation because we comprehend what people want to

45
communicate to us through a variety of clues. Only face-to-face communication gives us all
of those clues and is the most efficient and, even then, we often get it wrong!

These may take place in different contexts, for example:

Informal communication: by word-of-mouth or by telephone through, for example,

get-together parties, recess discussions, personal or confidential talk, gestures, personal
impressions and the tone of voice used to reinforce communication.

Formal communication: includes official circulars, internal memos, emails, letters and staff
meetings.

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of speech and writing as a means of

communicating with staff and learners in your school. To what extent do you use the
various types of communication in different contexts in your school?

Comments
You will probably have included under a list of advantages of speech such things as
speed of communication, the fact that it is more personal, and that it gives the
opportunity for immediate feedback. You may have noted that writing has advantages in
providing a record of the communication and enabling communication with a large
number of people. Clearly, much will depend on the purposes of the communication,
whether or not you want feedback and so on

The essentials of effective communication

Hints and guidelines for the headteacher

When communicating, that is, when passing on information or giving instructions or orders
to the staff, the following guidelines should be taken into consideration:

• know your objective: what do you want to achieve? (inform, praise, discipline,
etc.)
• know the receiver: (for example, the underperforming teacher / learner) and the
reason for the communication (for example, poor examination results)
• formulate your message: be clear, specific and understandable by using short
sentences in simple English
• be brief: do not include unnecessary information
• do not under communicate: the message must cover questions such as why,
who, what, when and where?
• consider how the message is best communicated: this can be just as
essential as the content
• be aware: also of your attitude, behaviour, non-verbal communication, gestures
and facial expressions in delivering the message
• keep in mind: that positive feelings and emotions inspire positive attitudes
amongst the staff and learners

46
 1

• be yourself: show through the message that you respect the staff, trust and
accept them, are interested in them and are willing to help and listen to them
• be enthusiastic: and inspirational in your communication
• listen carefully: an effective communicator must be a good listener
• make use of effective feedback: communication is a two-way process so always
ask questions to determine whether the message has been understood.

Effective communication and staff meetings

Staff meetings provide means of communication between the headteacher and teachers on
matters concerning the running of the school. An essential feature of successful meetings is
good communication. The headteacher who communicates effectively can create an
environment of trust. This is very important so that the members of a school community can
feel secure and confident enough to communicate freely and openly in staff meetings and
other forums.

Let us now examine some of the important practical things to remember about staff
meetings.

Staff meeting notice

This should show the date, time, venue and purpose/agenda of the meeting, who is to
attend the meeting and the headteacher's signature as the convenor.

The notice should be sent out in good time before the meeting so that teachers can prepare
information for items on the agenda. However, impromptu and emergency staff meetings
can take place any time. Scheduled staff meetings should not interfere with normal teaching
time.

Minutes of the meeting

This is the brief record of things discussed, noted, adopted, agreed upon during the
meeting. Some schools number items in the minutes of staff meetings for example, SM/2/09
means it was the second item discussed in 2009. Again, SM/52/09 means it was the 52nd
item discussed in 2009.

Minutes of staff meetings usually include:

• title, date, time and venue of meeting

• attendance / absence with and without apology
• opening of the meeting / adoption of the agenda
• announcements
• confirmation and matters arising from previous meeting(s)
• new business / agenda
• any other business.

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Planning a staff meeting
It is important that you plan your meetings in order to reach agreements, resolve problems,
receive reports on actions undertaken and formulate plans for action. The following activity
on planning a staff meeting should help you to appreciate the range of tasks which need to
be undertaken in preparation for a meeting.

Case study
Primary School staff meeting
Important matters need to be discussed at the next staff meeting at this Primary School.
The headteacher contemplates the list below and begins to prepare a staff meeting notice...

• Cleaning of grounds and classrooms, especially as staff have been complaining of

cleaning work poorly done.
• The staff tea fund is not managing and higher contributions may be necessary. At
present membership is voluntary, but tea and coffee consumption is high.
• Use and control of the new photocopier.
• Results at the end of last year.
• Parents have complained at the cost of school uniforms. It would be possible to take
advantage of a cheaper range of clothing offered by a large retail chain, but this
would require some changes to the present school uniform.
• There have been errors in the register summary prepared each Friday..
• Ministry of Education promotion regulations, which were received and acted upon
late last year, but which have not yet been discussed properly as there was little
time.
• Exam results obtained by three staff members in their personal studies.
• Covering of learners' exercise books.
• Secretary’s telephone answering techniques.
• Ways to improve English among the staff.
• Use of four additional covered parking bays which were completed over the holidays.
(There are now 12 bays.)

There will be matters carried forward from the last meeting.

The school has 22 teachers. There is one secretary. There are three cleaners / ground staff
/ guard, one of whom has been at the school for 12 years and acts as Supervisor. The
school runs no after school classes.

Activity 6.1
Prepare a staff meeting notice for this Primary School. You will need to prepare an
agenda for the meeting, having put items in priority order and in categories. Give some
indication of the time per item. Decide on attendance requirements. Set a time and date
for the meeting.

Decide which items need to be on an agenda for the whole staff and which can be dealt
with in other ways.

48
 Comments
You will perhaps have found it difficult to prioritise some of these items and ensure that
the agenda was a true reflection of the items which warrant attention at this imaginary
school. Do you find this in your own situation? It may be that some items do not need to
be brought to the attention of a full meeting and can be dealt with on a one-to-one
basis.

Consultation with certain staff may well be appropriate in advance of the meeting, such
preparation can help avoid time-wasting discussion during the meeting, and sensitise
you to potential difficulties. This again highlights the importance of maintaining a good
communication flow at all times in the school. Effective communication can certainly
help ensure more successful staff meetings and it is a key feature of negotiations,
which we briefly explore in the last section of this unit.

Communication and negotiation

Communications within a school or
between a school and its local
community unfortunately can, and
sometimes do, break down. Careful
negotiations can rectify the situation.
Negotiation has been defined as
back-and-forth communication
designed to reach an agreement, when
two sides have some common interests
and other interests that are opposed.

People involved in any negotiation

process require:

• up-to-date, accurate and reliable data and information

• proper and timely presentation of the data and information
• participation and involvement of the parties on issues which directly affect them
• opportunities allowing negotiating parties to present and argue their cases
exhaustively
• possibilities for further consultations on doubtful data and information.

In schools where negotiation takes place effectively, there is order, self discipline and
responsible behaviour amongst learners, teachers, parents and all members of the school
community.

Consider which steps you would take as headteacher to help ensure that there was a
supportive climate for management at all times? How do you think you might improve your
success as a negotiator?

49
 Comments
Many of the points made earlier in this unit concerning effective communication are
pertinent here, particularly comments about the importance of building trust and being
a good listener. To summarise, to be an effective communicator and negotiator as a
headteacher, you should remember the following:

• See and talk to your learners, teachers and parents often: make them aware of
your positive attitudes and let them get to know you as a person.
• Establish a two-way atmosphere of receiving as well as giving data and
• information to improve understanding and explain actions.
• Get your school community to talk to you. Listen to them patiently and attentively;
get to know them individually and in groups and be sure to praise when necessary.

Summary
The unit has looked at the communication process, noting the various types of
communication used and the importance of good communications in a school. Attention has
been focused on the need for the headteacher to be an effective communicator to enable
more successful meetings and negotiation procedures as well as to be an effective leader.
Leadership without good communication cannot exist. It is one of the first requirements.

Remember at all times that the headteacher is first and foremost a leader!

50
 1

Decision Making
and Problem Solving Unit 7
Introduction
This unit focuses on two key management functions, introducing the concepts of decision
making and problem solving in schools.

Individual study time: 2 hours

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:

• define decision making and problem solving;

• list the major factors which contribute towards effective decision making;
• state the importance of analysing data and information for the purposes of making
sensible decisions;
• involve learners, teachers, parents and others in making decisions on matters which
affect them;
• outline steps that can help ensure that action is taken on decisions made in the
school.

Headteachers frequently find themselves in situations which require them to make

decisions. They make decisions when they delegate work or responsibility to staff and when
they communicate to superiors or colleagues at work. Decisions are made at all levels in
order to solve problems and affect the achievement of the goals and objectives of the
school. If decisions are not taken, a crisis situation may arise. Decision making and problem
solving go hand in hand and both are of fundamental importance in all aspects of school
management.

Definitions

Decision making
This is the process of identifying and selecting a course of action to be taken to solve a
problem. It is a process through which human, material and financial resources of an
organisation are allocated or committed toward the achievement of intended goals and
objectives. It can further be defined as the process through which information, ideas,
objectives and knowledge are brought together for action.

Problem solving
This involves the seeking of solutions to problems that arise in an organisation. The
problem solving process leads to the formulation of decisions intended to resolve the
recognised problems.

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 The problem solving process contains six main elements:

• recognising the problem

• analysing the problem
• working out alternative solutions
• choosing the best alternative
• implementing the chosen solution
• evaluating the effectiveness of the chosen solution.

Types and levels of decision making

Management writers often distinguish between two types of decisions. These are routine
decisions and unique or innovative decisions.

Routine decisions
These deal with operating procedures and are made through a thorough knowledge of
rules, regulations and policies of the organisation. For example, when you decide on the
weekly duty roster for teachers, this is fairly routine. In some manuals on the running of
schools, headteachers are guided as to how to make routine decisions.

Unique decisions
But what of unique or innovative decisions which go beyond established procedures?

Activity 7.1
Prepare a brief list of the key areas for decision making in your school (for example,
staffing, finance) and then see if you can recall an example of a routine decision
which you have recently made in each area.

Now think about any decisions which were in some way unique and state their
characteristics. These are those decisions that you will not need to make on a
regular basis.

Comments
When a headteacher is required to make unique decisions, there are usually exceptional
problems involved which require creativity and imagination to resolve. Unique
decisions could also be referred to as non-programmed decisions. They often take
time to implement because various factors (for example, resources, training of
personnel, production of support materials, etc.) may need to be taken into account
in the implementation process. For example, a decision to renovate a school’s
reading room to become the school’s resource centre for learners and teachers is an
innovative one.

Consider who should be involved and why they should be involved in making a decision
about renovating a school’s reading room to become the resource centre for learners and
teachers.

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Views on this will vary and may reflect prevailing cultural and organisational contexts. Two
points can be made here. Firstly, as a headteacher, you should recognise that there are
several levels of decisions. For example:

Policy decisions: These are made at higher levels of management such as the Ministry of
Education or Education Departments. These are decisions which govern matters
such as the educational reforms for the whole of Guyana or region, new curriculum, training,
employment and deployment of teachers, language policy, etc.

Operational decisions: These are made at the school level by the headteacher, learners and
parents. You implement policy decisions within the framework of your school.

A second point concerns the extent to which participation in decision making is desirable.
We will look at this in the next sub-section.

Decision making in the school context

Within the school there are many factors which can contribute to effective decision making
by the headteacher.

Activity 7.2
1) Refer to your responses on Activity 7.1 and make a few notes on the extent to
which members of your staff take part in decision making in these various areas.
2) Prepare a list of those factors which you believe can adversely affect decision
making.
3) What in your view is good decision making practice?

Comments
Decision making can involve varying degrees of participation and much will depend on
the nature of the decision area, your own leadership style and people's willingness to
participate. Arguments in favour of greater participation include the sense of
'ownership' by those who are involved in implementing decisions and the possible
reduction of conflict.

Decision making can be influenced by a range of organisational, political and personal

dimensions. For example:
• the role of the headteacher, the teachers and the non-teaching staff in the school
• individual behaviours, personality and style can affect the process of decision
making
• the role of education departments and parents: what decisions can they make
and how do these affect the headteacher's decisions?

Amongst the characteristics of effective decisions are that they are necessary and timely,
and appropriate to the task and situation at hand. They need also to be realisable, clearly
communicated to those who have to implement them and acceptable. The last point can be
problematic and the headteacher may need to invest considerable effort in persuading staff

53
of the desirability of the decision. Good decisions ideally need to meet a variety of
competing needs - the headteacher's own needs, the staff's, the task and the situation. The
possibility for conflict is always around.

Activity 7.3
Identify two decisions you made during the last two weeks. Outline stages you followed
to arrive at the decisions.
What steps might you take to improve your decision making?

A parent has informed you that her daughter is expecting a baby and one of the older
students is suspected to be responsible for the pregnancy. How do you go about solving
this problem?

Comments
You may have found it difficult to present your decision-making process in terms of the
rational stages of problem solving suggested earlier in this unit, that is, from 'recognising
the problem' to 'evaluating the effectiveness of your decision'. Decisions are rarely
entirely rational because of the many complex variables concerned. The mini-case in the
activity highlights this.

Decisions in the school which affect persons’ lives and welfare require extensive gathering
of data and information. The case requires extensive consultations concerning
regulations on the discipline of learners and the extent to which a school should be
concerned about a matter that occurred outside of school time. Attention will need to be
given to social and cultural roles, the parents’ wishes, the two learners and the
headteacher, and to reconciling a range of different perceptions as to what are
appropriate and acceptable decisions to make about the problem.

Remember, no decision is final. All decisions are subject to continuous review in order to
solve problems in life.

Summary
In this unit we have examined the nature of decision making in schools, noting its
relationship to problem solving. A number of characteristics of effective decision making
have been identified, including the importance of adopting a rational problem solving
process and the significance of participation in decision making to help reduce conflict and
improve the implementation of decisions.

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 1

The Management of
Change Unit 8
Introduction
A headteacher of a school today faces many challenges. These derive from a range of sources
including the constant agenda to raise the level of attainment of learners, the admission of
learners from diverse cultural, economic and social backgrounds; increasing levels of
indiscipline by learners, poorly motivated teachers; the introduction of government policies,
procedures and practices; and so forth.

Changes indeed call for extensive patience, emotional stability, self-restraint and control by
all members in a school environment - learners, teachers, non-teaching staff, parents,
government officials and communities at large. This unit looks at some aspects of this
process of change and examines how you can improve the management of change in your
school.

Individual study time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
• outline the range of changes in government policies, procedures and practices, with
which schools are involved;
• describe the nature of the change process and identify the key management functions
and tasks associated with effective implementation of change in schools;
• provide support and advice for teachers on accepting changes in education to minimise
resistance;
• promote acceptance and compliance to changes arising out of national policies and
practices.

What is change?
In the introduction to this unit we noted a range of sources or pressures for change and the
sorts of changes occurring. These include: changes in admission, curriculum, language
policies, structural reforms and the technology of education. It is clear that changes can
either be imposed on a school from outside or initiated within the school. However,
whatever the source of changes, many writers have noted the responses to change. For
example:

• 'Old attitudes die hard'

• 'Tough times never last but tough people do' (Robert Schultz)
• 'When the going gets tough, the tough get-going'.
• ‘Why break what is not broken?’

Think for a moment on what you understand by change? Do you think that response to
change is often characterized by the above quotations?

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 Comments
It is likely that you will have described change using some of the following terms:

• transfer from old to new position

• transformation of old form to new form
• displacement from one place to another place
• substitution of one item with another one
• alteration of something
• promotion /demotion in rank / transfer
• separation / division / loss of parts from a whole
• evolution / growth of living things
• shifting of alliance / allegiance, loyalty and control

The key point is that change means alteration from 'what was yesterday' to ‘what it is today'
and that is almost always uncomfortable. A change can be temporary where it is possible to
reverse to the old position or form. A change can be permanent when it is not possible to
reverse to the old position or form, for example, the ageing process of a living thing is an
irreversible process, as is the passing of time.
Change which takes place in education is often
a planned and deliberate attempt to bring about
improvement - this is called innovation. The
headteacher has a key role to play in the
management of change and innovation.

It is recognised that there is a great need for

change in Guyana at the moment. There are
many developments that need to be embraced
in order to provide the high quality of learning
and teaching and standards that is
desired. This will mean that the headteacher must be at the forefront of
these innovations, leading them, managing them, evaluating their success and adjusting
them to meet current needs,

This is no easy task for the headteacher who must be totally committed to providing the best
quality of education for the learners in his / her care. A headteacher who does not rise to the
challenge is potentially damaging the chances of hundreds of children, lives and families.

Sources of power
You may remember from Unit 1 that leadership was described as getting things done
through people. In order to bring about change, the headteacher may need to pay particular
attention to mobilising commitment to change amongst staff in order to ensure successful
implementation. He or she also has access to various sources of power which can be used
to influence the direction of change within the school.

Consider the sources of power which are available to you in your role as
headteacher.

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 Comments
There are many sources of power and most are available to a headteacher.
Unfortunately, many headteachers do not realise the power they possess. The ones who
manage successful schools are those who have accepted the power and used it to good
effect without any form of abuse. The last statement is very important. Power is often
abused and this will have a negative effect on the institution, often causing it to fail.
Headteachers must share power but maintain the “last say”.

Some of these sources of power are listed below:

Expert power
This derives from special knowledge about education and culture which others may need
and do not possess. Respect for, as well as need for, this knowledge, can create
compliance to change requirements.

Role power
The role of headteacher has rank, status and reputation. These can have a powerful influence on
learners, teachers, parents and the community. However, this is not automatic and must be
earned by your credibility in the role.

Reward power
The headteacher can reward teachers and learners for their efforts. This need not always involve
money. Praise, recognition, acknowledgement, thanks, showing appreciation are all forms
of reward. It can also be financially by recommending them for promotion.

Connection power
This derives from a headteacher's access and network membership upwards, downwards and
sideways anywhere in Guyana.

Coercive power
Remember that Guyana is a democratic society and you must apply this with care. It is
often used to create fear by use of threats or punishment. Used wisely and with severe
caution, there may be times when this is necessary but all other avenues should be
explored first.

Overcoming resistance to change

There is no doubt that, as a headteacher, you will encounter resistance to change, sometimes from
those very persons who are in high positions who you feel ought to be supporting you most,
such as your deputy headteacher or senior staff.

Activity 8.1
The statements below represent some conservative positions which individuals often
take in organisations. How often have you heard such statements made in staff
meetings? How do you handle them?

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Organisational
change is like
pulling up your
plants to see
This requires
how the roots
extensive and
are coming
thorough
along
analysis

Things are
changing so fast
that if we buy one
now it will soon
be out of date

Plus ca
change, plus
c’est la même
chose.

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 Your ability to handle resistance to change will depend on your awareness of the sources
of that resistance. Sources of resistance to change include:

• fear of the unknown

• lack of information
• misinformation
• threats to core skills and competence
• threat to status
• threat to power base
• no perceived benefits
• low trust organisational climate
• poor relationships
• fear of failure
• fear of looking stupid
• reluctance to experiment
• custom bound
• reluctance to let go
• strong peer group norms especially amongst teachers and learners.

If you study this list carefully, you will realise that the resistance to change formulation can
be rather an over-simplification of the reasons change is not always successful. Whilst
there may well be some teachers who will always resist change, the headteacher can try to
ensure that resistance does not develop in the first place or, if it does, that it is minimal. This
can be done by adopting appropriate implementation strategies and ensuring good
communications and support for implementation at all times.

Role of the headteacher in the management of change

As a headteacher, you are expected to be influencing results arising from changes instead
of waiting to survive the effects and consequences of change. You are expected to manage
change. Managing change and making it 'stick' is a process involving the following
important features:

• Recognise the need to change - starting with yourself.

• Diagnose current reality by taking stock of 'Where we are today and where we would
like to be tomorrow after the changes?'
• Convince others of the need for change and the benefits to the learners and the staff.
• Mobilise commitment to the change amongst those who will be affected by the
change in your school. This is best done by involving them in the change process –
the planning, etc.
• Draw up plans to get there by taking decisions as to appropriate courses of action,
implementing plans, monitoring results and giving feedback to the major actors and
beneficiaries involved.

Managing change essentially means taking control of and shaping the direction by
influencing in some way the outcome of changes. This involves planning to take action
on change.

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Planning and implementing change
Your ability to plan for action, to use power and to influence people effectively to bring about
change derives from your role as a Lead Professional and the Chief Executive in the school.
You are in a vantage point or high position! You will need to know and understand your
school and your role as change agent. This will involve data collection, reflection and
analysis, vision and concept-building, formulating a strategy for action, implementing action
and monitoring outcomes.

Data collection
This can be formal or informal. Often the latter will tell you more. So you will understand the
need to have a good professional relationship with all your staff. You could consider…

• walking around the school more often

• talking ‘with’ and not ‘to’ people
• asking for information and opinions about what would improve the school
• initiating a formal questionnaire asking for opinions and suggestions about what
needs to be developed.
• listening to new recruits, not just talking to them
• talking with drivers, porters, guards, colleague staff to find out how they feel about
changes - they hear a lot more than you
• listening to the 'grapevine' - it is rarely wrong
• smiling more often - people will tell you much more.

Reflection and analysis

This is the area that headteachers and managers often leave out. The need to reflect on the
situation and make it clear in your own mind before communicating to others is absolutely
essential. The time to do this will never appear unless you actually make time. Think about
it, sift it, sort it out, analyse it and write it down. Organise your thoughts in a logical fashion.
This will enable you to convey the message of change much better than if the thoughts
were purely from the top of your head. This is what a true leader will do and this is your role
as a headteacher.

Vision and concept-building

Apply some overall framework to the analysed data in terms of short-term solutions,
long-term goals, overall purpose or mission statements, visions and theories about
achieving goals, objectives and targets. Formulate strategies for action. Remember the role
of the leader is to have the long- and short-term vision.

Implementation
Ideas without action are useless. Implementation is translating ideas into action, 'Go out and
try' strategies. Sometimes you need to take risks and to allow others to do so without
recriminations or blame. Monitor events and report on the outcomes.
But how best can we implement change? What sorts of strategies are most useful? The
next activity should help you to develop some practical guidelines concerning the
management of change.

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 Activity 8.2
Reflect over the last year on some of the changes which you or other members of staff
have introduced into your school. Identify one change which was generally
successful and one which was less than successful and compile a list of reasons
for success and failure. Use the questions below to help you to organise your thoughts.

• What was the change?

• What was the process of the change?
• Was everybody who would be affected by the change involved in the process?
• Was it successful? Why?
• If it was not successful, why not?
• What were the factors that contributed to the success or failure?

Comments
There are many reasons things can go wrong in introducing and implementing
change in schools, and your reasons will probably have included items such as lack of
training, shortage of resources, resistance from teachers, etc. A large number of studies
have been undertaken into the nature of change and the change process and guidelines
have been developed concerning the factors which can contribute towards success. For
example, the importance of planning, of good communications, and of ensuring the
relevance and feasibility of the proposed change are often stressed. Indeed, what
emerges is the key role of leadership! The headteacher needs to deploy his or her
leadership skills in planning, organising, directing, supervising and evaluating change.
These are the key leadership functions which we introduced in Unit 1 'Introduction to
Educational Leadership'.

Summary
This unit has provided a brief overview of some of the important issues surrounding the
management of change in schools. It has explored a number of strategies which a
headteacher can adopt to help bring about change. Change is a complex process and often
hard to manage, and what we find is that the effective manager of change is one who adopts the
management principles and techniques which have been the focus of the various units
making up this Module.

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