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ADMINISTRATION-TEACHER RELATIONSHIP.
Term Paper ID:26454
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Essay Subject:
Examimes ways administration can help teachers develop & improve skills, in context of administrative, organizational & leadership theory.... More...
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7 Pages / 1575 Words
5 sources, 14 Citations,
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Paper Abstract:
Examimes ways administration can help teachers develop & improve skills, in context of administrative, organizational & leadership theory.
Paper Introduction:
The ideal relationship between school administrators and teachers is a complex one, in large measure because that relationship must cover both hierarchical contingencies and egalitarian ones: Sometimes the administrator must serve the traditional role of a supervisor while at other times to be most effective he or she must serve in the role of a colleague – and sometimes the administrator must be both things at once. This paper examines the relationship between administrators and teachers in the arena of staff development, looking at the most effective ways an administrator can encourage the teachers at his or her school to engage in the continuing upgrading of their skills and sharpening of their pedagogical insights so that they become increasingly better – and more personally fulfilled – teachers.
Text of the Paper:
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No one would advocate that teachers do whatever they like intheir classrooms with no accountability or sense of working toward commongoals; however, it is also true that in some significant measure teachersmust be left to do their jobs in the classroom. Hillsdale,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 117). However, while this makes sense from an intuitive level, how totranslate this concept into daily practice for an administrator is adifficult task. Indeed, the ability to delegate both tasksand responsibility appropriately this may be the most important skill thata school administrator can posses to foster a healthy climate for staffdevelopment. However, some theoretical insights fromthe field of organizational development are helpful at this point inexplaining the basics of how any educational administrator might implementa staff development program based on both accountability and collegiality.Organization development models of work have as their primary aim theimprovement of the interpersonal and group procedures used byadministrators, teachers, students, and parents to reach the educationalobjectives of each member of the community. These include: close supervision of teacherswhose performance is marginal or worse; checking regularly that childrenare achieving in all subjects by examining both good and poor work;praising teachers whose students do particularly well; ensuring thatteachers understand that the administrator cares foremost about what thestudents are learning and doing; providing direct help to teachers whoseteaching outcomes are only adequate; confining negative comments to areaswhere there is clear evidence of failure and avoiding negative comments inareas that simply happen to be uncongenial to the administrator; and makingclear that the central concern of the administrator is what the studentsare learning, not what the teachers are doing (Holmes and Wynne, 1989, p.123). This is not of overwhelming concern forthe educational administrator because schools should incorporate a morehumanistic model than that adopted by, for example, businesses. School and classroom organization. 187). The goal of the educator is no less than to create people whowill be able to contribute to their communities as citizens and as workersas well as to achieve their own personal happiness. 187) and the far more expansive idea of leadership, which is "thedesire and attempt to change the human condition" (p. (1989). 11). It is especially important for the administrator to resistcriticizing teachers for pursuing effective strategies that theadministrator is unfamiliar with or that did not work when theadministrator applied them. No schooladministrator can be a success unless he or she is willing to strive forthe kinds of leadership qualities described above. While administrators mustnever be felt to be abandoning teachers or to be uninterested in curriculaor the daily mechanics of teaching, administrators should also make itclear to teachers that they trust the instructors' abilities. New York: Falmer Press. As Schmuck and Runkel (1985, p.1) note, organizational development models focus primarily on "the how ofinterpersonal and group interactions rather than on the what of theircontent." Such a focus has been found to be highly successful within aneducational setting, and the measure of the success of these models ofschool improvement can be measured by the effectiveness with whicheducators, students, and parents work together in reaching their respectiveobjectives (Schmuck and Runkel, 1985, p. 143-4). What this paper hastried to do is to describe a generally viable framework for schooladministration, which is a combination of intercession in daily teachingactivities only when and where required and a concentration on longer termgoals. This paper has touched on some of the most important issues that anyschool administrator must grapple with in addressing the area of staffdevelopment. and Wideen, M. These qualities are notquantifiable or easily summarized, and yet they are instantly recognizedand respected by a person's colleagues and subordinates and must beinculcated by the person wanting to be a successful educationaladministrator. Such a goal is far morecomplex and unwieldy than, for example, the goal of a business seeking toexpand its distribution system. The ideal relationship between school administrators and teachers is acomplex one, in large measure because that relationship must cover bothhierarchical contingencies and egalitarian ones: Sometimes theadministrator must serve the traditional role of a supervisor while atother times to be most effective he or she must serve in the role of acolleague - and sometimes the administrator must be both things at once.This paper examines the relationship between administrators and teachers inthe arena of staff development, looking at the most effective ways anadministrator can encourage the teachers at his or her school to engage inthe continuing upgrading of their skills and sharpening of theirpedagogical insights so that they become increasingly better - and morepersonally fulfilled - teachers. It is a field that will never be subject to easy answersbecause of the complex nature of the educational process and because of thehigh degree of variability amongst different schools. More time should be spent on activities outside the teachers' discretionary zone, on the assessment of student progress, and on the evaluation of the program itself (Holmes and Wynne, 1989, pp. References Foster, W. This strategymeans that the administrator has more time for planning overall strategy, atask that teachers do not have either the time nor the authority to do, andfor which they may also lack essential knowledge or skills (Hopkins andWideen, 1984, p. one who isfollowing an administrative theory model of work) is likely to produce aschool in which there exists psychological manipulation of teachers throughgroup pressure to ensure conformity; extreme dilution of authority; absenceof accountability and indifference or condescension to parents and students(Holmes and Wynne, 1989, p. Unfortunately, this paper is not able to provide a simpleformula for doing so, if only because the social structures andenvironments of different schools are so varied from each other that anypossibility of synthesizing a golden rule of staff development for allschool administrators is precluded. Foster (1986) summarizes this ideal of leadership as applied tothe school administrator as a combination of empowerment and the ability totransform the way that people see things. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. Schools areintricate institutions and education is a complex process. Making the school an effectivecommunity: Belief, practice and theory in school administration. As discussed above, this basic modus operandi for the schoolprincipal or other administrator may in fact be summarized by the oldfashioned ideal of leadership. Slavin, R. 1). Holmes and Wynne (1989) summarize and extend theseparticular recommendations in this passage: It makes sense for principles to concentrate their supervisory time, which should not be a substantial portion of their working life, on (i) attempting to raise incompetent and mediocre teachers to levels of competency and, in the event of failure, in moving to dismiss them; (ii) helping teachers in a supportive, non-directive, informal way. Easy solutions willalso remain elusive because what works one year may well not work in yearsto come as school populations and other aspects of society that affect theeducational process change. In education as in all human endeavors,different methods work for different people, and a skillful administratormust recognize this. The true leaderis both fully conscious of contemporary conditions and capable of seeingbeyond the details of the way a workplace is currently structured to seehow it might be transformed into a more humane and more effective arena, atransformational process that can only occur when the leader is willing toempower those under her or him and by doing so modify all hierarchicalstructures that set up false distinctions among people (Foster, 1986, pp.187-8). An organizational development models can help a school administratorunderstand the importance of group dynamics, among these the importance ofproper delegation of authority. This paper also touches on another aspect of the complexity ofadministrator-teacher relationships, which is the fact that theadministrator is responsible for establishing the goals a school should beaiming for and instilling a sense of vision in every member of thecommunity to help the institution attain those goals. Schmuck, R. Moreover, the education of a young personis a lengthy task, one that will not be accomplished in a single schoolyear nor even during the term a student spends at a single school.Therefore, any educational administrator must be prepared to create policythat will result in a well-rounded human being and yet not expect directreward or praise for that policy since the results will only be apparentmany years into the future. and Wynne, E. 1 9). (1985). and Runkel, P. Hopkins, D. Indeed, perhaps themost important job of an educational administrator is to set goals for theschool and the teachers; the most successful administrator may well be theone who can delineate and communicate goals that take into account theneeds of both teachers and students. One strategy that will make it easier for the administrator toachieve such a leadership style is a focus on long-term institutionalgoals; fortunately a number of specific recommendations (although these doremain somewhat general to allow for distinctions among schools) can beoffered to the administrator dedicating himself or herself to long-termgoals and overall strategies. This is no simple task both because itis always difficult to establish and achieve long-term goals for aninstitution and because the particular aims of a school are so difficult tobring about. Administrative theory addresses the issue of howorganizations are - or should be - run and so is primarily concerned withissues of control and management. The handbook of organizationdevelopment in schools. Palo Alto: Mayfield Publishing. Foster makes an essentialdistinction between management, with its "grids and formulas" (Foster,1987, p. 95). New York:Falmer Press. Schooladministrators should be concerned with implementing and following anorganizational theory (or organizational developmental) model, one thatpromotes an understanding of how organizations are structured and how theyfit into their environment (Foster, 1986, p. A more humanistic atmosphere will tend tolead to a recognition by the administrator of the professional and personalconcerns of teachers, a careful delegation of responsibility and anemphasis on cooperation rather than hierarchy - an atmosphere that is mostlikely to benefit both students and teachers (Holmes and Wynne, 1989, p.1 9). Education is by definition a long-termstrategy, and all decisions made by an educator must bear that in mind(Slavin, 1989, p. (1984). Before beginning any discussion of educational staff development, onemust first make a clear distinction between administrative theory andorganizational theory. An administrator who focuses on an overly rigid and overlyhierarchical model of relations with his or her staff (i.e. Educational administrators will continuallyhave to make adjustments in how they perform their jobs to keep up withchanges in the society, culture and polity around them. Paradigms and promises: New approaches toeducational administration. (1986). (ed.) (1989). Alternative perspectives on schoolimprovement. Holmes, M. Obviously, this is a tremendously high goal to set for anyone toachieve, but it lies at the core of successful staff development as well asthe successful completion of all other administrative tasks. This approach to a combination and balancing of administrativedelegation and responsibility can be explained by invoking an ideal ofleadership.
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