EDUCATIONAL
ADMINISTRATION
Introduction
The study of Education
Administration or simply said the leadership within a school is that which
guides, leads, propels, and motivates the teachers and thereby the students as
well.
The environment of the
school is critical in setting the stage for the optimal learning experience. It
is initially the superintendent and principal who will determine the primary
focus of the school both in terms of curriculum, environment and learning
atmosphere in relation to ethnicity, race, and gender mutual-respect, autonomy
and equality in the learning experience.
In the applying of a
definition to the "leadership" role it must be comprehended that
leadership "inherently involves core values or principles that inform the
leaders' actions. Covey states that "The most effective leaders are, first
models" of that called principle-centered leadership."
The initiative of
training and education in local schools is one that is very important however
the training and education of the administrators in education must not be slighted
Educational Management and Administration
Successful
operation of an educational institution requires competent management and
administration system.
Educational
management and administration provide instructional leadership and manage the
day-to-day activities in schools, preschools, day care centers, and colleges
and universities.
They
also direct the educational programs of businesses, correctional institutions,
museums, and job training and community service organizations.
Education
administrators set educational standards and goals and establish the policies
and procedures required to achieve them.
They
also supervise managers, support staff, teachers, counselors, librarians,
coaches, and other employees.
They
develop academic programs, monitor students educational progress, train and
motivate teachers and other staff, manage career counseling and other student
services, administer recordkeeping, prepare budgets, and perform many other
duties. They also handle relations with parents, prospective and current
students, employers, and the community. In a smaller organization such as a
small day care center, one administrator may handle all these functions. In
universities or large school systems, responsibilities are divided among many
administrators, each with a specific function.
2.1 The Concept of Management and Administration
By
the 21st century the main theories of management and administration have either
been developed in the educational context or have been adapted from industrial
models to meet the specific requirements of schools and colleges. Educational
management and administration has progressed from being a new field dependent
upon ideas developed in other settings to become an established field with its
own theories and research.
Concept
of Management
The
verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle especially tools), which in turn derives from
the Latinmanus (hand). The French word management (later ménagement) influenced
the development in meaning of the English word management in the 17th and 18th
centuries.
Some
definitions of management are
:a)
Organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance
with certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives.
Management is often included as a factor of production along with machines,
materials, and money. The basic task of a management is twofold: marketing and
innovation.
Directors
and managers have the power and responsibility to make decisions to manage
an enterprise. As a discipline, management comprises the interlocking functions
of formulating corporate policy and organizing, planning, controlling, and
directing the firm's resources to achieve the policy's objectives. The size of
management can range from one person in a small firm to hundreds or thousands
of managers in multinational companies. In large firms the board of directors
formulates the policy which is implemented by the chief executive officer. Educational
management as a field of study and practice was derived from management
principles first applied to industry and commerce. Theory development largely
involved the application of industrial models to educational settings. As the subject
became established as an academic field in its own right, its theorists and
practitioners began to develop alternative models based on their observation
of, and experience in, schools and colleges.
Educational Planning and Administration:
Education
Different
philosophers and educationists have defined education differently.
Froebel defined education as ‘the
unfoldment of what is already enfolded in the germ. It is the process by which
the child makes internal external.’
For Swami Vivekananda,
"education is the manifestation of the divine perfection already existing
in man".
According
to Mahatma Gandhi, "Education is an all round drawing out of the best in
the child and man - body, mind and spirit".
However,
for the purpose of educational statistics, education, according to UNESCO, “is
understood to involve, organized and sustained communication designed to bring
about learning”.1 Here, the words organized, sustained, communication and
learning need to be explained.
1.1
Organized: means
planned in a pattern or sequence with explicit or implicit aims. It involves a
providing agency (person or persons or body), which sets up the learning
environment and a method of teaching through which the communication is
organized. The method is typically the one that is engaged in communicating or
releasing knowledge and skills with a view to bringing about learning. It can
also be indirect or inanimate, e.g. a piece of computer software, a film or
tape, etc.
1.2
Sustained:means that the learning
experience has the elements of duration and continuity. No minimum duration has
been stipulated. The appropriate minima differ from course to course and
program to program.
1.3 Communication:
Communication is a relationship between
two or more persons involving the transfer of information in the form of
messages, ideas, knowledge, strategies, skills etc. Communication may be verbal
or non-verbal, direct/face to face, or indirect/remote, and may involve a wide
variety of channels and media.
1 ISCED 1997.UNESCO, Paris (November, 1997) 2 Concepts and Terms in
Educational Planning
Definition of administration
1. The
process or activity of running a business, organization, etc.: the
day-to-day administration of the company a career in arts administration(the administration) the people responsible
for running a business, organization, etc.: the university administration
took their demands seriously
2. The management of public
affairs; government: the inhabitants of the island voted to remain under
French administration
3. The action of
dispensing, giving, or applying something: the oral administration of the
antibioticthe administration of justice
The
act of administering; government of public affairs; the service rendered, or
duties assumed, in conducting affairs; the conducting of any office or
employment; direction; management.
The
executive part of government; the persons collectively who are in trusted with
the execution of laws and the superintendence of public affairs; the chief
magistrate and his cabinet or council; or the council, or ministry, alone, as
in Great Britain.
The
act of administering, or tendering something to another; dispensation; as, the
administration of a medicine, of an oath, of justice, or of the sacrament.
The
management and disposal, under legal authority, of the estate of an intestate,
or of a testator having no competent executor.
The
management of an estate of a deceased person by an executor, the strictly
corresponding term execution not being in use.
PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATIONAL
MANAGEMENT -
Management Key Concepts
l Organizations:
People
working together and coordinating their actions to achieve specific goals.
l Goal:
A
desired future condition that the organization seeks to achieve.
l Management:
The
process of using organizational resources to achieve the organization’s goals
by...
n Planning,
Organizing, Leading, and Controlling
Additional Key Concepts
l Resources
are organizational assets and include:
u People,
u Machinery,
u Raw
materials,
u Information,
skills,
u Financial
capital.
l Managers
are the people responsible for supervising the use of an organization’s
resources to meet its goals.
Achieving High Performance
l Organizations
must provide a good or service desired by its customers.
n David
Johnson of Campbell Soup manages his firm to provide quality food products.
n Physicians,
nurses and health care administrators seek to provide healing from sickness.
n McDonald’s
restaurants provide burgers, fries and shakes that people want to buy.
l Measures
how efficiently and effectively managers use resources to satisfy customers and
achieve goals.
n Efficiency:
A measure of how well resources are used to achieve a goal.
o
Usually, managers must try to minimize
the input of resources to attain the same goal.
n Effectiveness:
A measure of the appropriateness of the goals chosen (are these the right
goals?), and the degree to which they are achieved.
o
Organizations are more effective when
managers choose the correct goals and then achieve them.
Managerial Functions
l Henri
Fayol was the first to describe the four managerial functions when he was the
CEO of a large mining company in the later 1800’s.
l Fayol
noted managers at all levels, operating in a for profit or not for profit
organization, must perform each of the functions of:
o
Planning,
o
organizing,
o
leading,
o
controlling.
Four
Functions of Management
o
Planning - Choose Goals
o
Organizing - Working together
o
Leading - Monitor & measure
o
Controlling - Coordinate
Planning
Planning
is the process used by managers to identify and select appropriate goals and
courses of action for an organization.
3 steps to good planning:
1. Which goals should be pursued?
2. How should the goal be
attained?
3. How should resources be
allocated?
n The
planning function determines how effective and efficient the organization is
and determines the strategy of the organization.
Organizing
l In
organizing, managers create the structure of working relationships between
organizational members that best allows them to work together and achieve
goals.
l Managers
will group people into departments according to the tasks performed.
n Managers
will also lay out lines of authority and responsibility for members.
l An
organizational structure is the outcome of organizing. This structure coordinates
and motivates employees so that they work together to achieve goals.
Leading
l In
leading, managers determine direction, state a clear vision for employees to
follow, and help employees understand the role they play in attaining goals.
l Leadership
involves a manager using power, influence, vision, persuasion, and
communication skills.
l The
outcome of the leading function is a high level of motivation and commitment
from employees to the organization.
Controlling
l In
controlling, managers evaluate how well the organization is achieving its goals
and takes corrective action to improve performance.
l Managers
will monitor individuals, departments, and the organization to determine if
desired performance has been reached.
n Managers
will also take action to increase performance as required.
l The
outcome of the controlling function is the accurate measurement of performance
and regulation of efficiency and effectiveness.
Management Levels
l Organizations
often have 3 levels of managers:
First-line
Managers: responsible for day-to-day operation. They
supervise the people performing the activities required to make the good or
service.
Middle
Managers: Supervise first-line managers. They are also
responsible to find the best way to use departmental resources to achieve
goals.
Top
Managers: Responsible for the performance of all
departments and have cross-departmental responsibility. They establish
organizational goals and monitor middle managers.
Restructuring
l Top
Management have sought methods to restructure their organizations and save
costs.
l Downsizing:eliminate
jobs at all levels of management.
n Can
lead to higher efficiency.
n Often
results in low morale and customer complaints about service.
Management Trends
l Empowerment:expand
the tasks and responsibilities of workers.
n Supervisors
might be empowered to make some resource allocation decisions.
l Self-managed
teams:give a group of employees responsibility for
supervising their own actions.
n The
team can monitor its members and the quality of the work performed.
Managerial Roles
l Described
by Mintzberg.
n A
role is a set of specific tasks a person performs because of the position they
hold.
l Roles
are directed inside as well as outside the organization.
l There
are 3 broad role categories:
1.
Interpersonal
2.
Informational
3.
Decisional
Interpersonal Roles
l Roles managers assume to coordinate and interact
with employees and provide direction to the organization.
n Figurehead role: symbolizes the
organization and what it is trying to achieve.
n Leader role: train, counsel, mentor
and encourage high employee performance.
n Liaison role: link and coordinate
people inside and outside the organization to help achieve goals.
Informational Roles
l Associated
with the tasks needed to obtain and transmit information for management of the
organization.
n Monitor
role: analyzes information from both the internal and
external environment.
n Disseminator
role: manager transmits information to influence
attitudes and behavior of employees.
n Spokesperson
role: use of information to positively influence the way
people in and out of the organization respond to it.
Decisional Roles
l Associated
with the methods managers use to plan strategy and utilize resources to achieve
goals.
n Entrepreneur
role: deciding upon new projects or programs to initiate
and invest.
n Disturbance
handler role: assume responsibility for handling an
unexpected event or crisis.
n Resource
allocator role: assign resources between functions and
divisions, set budgets of lower managers.
n Negotiator
role: seeks to negotiate solutions between other
managers, unions, customers, or shareholders.
Managerial Skills
There are three skill sets that managers need to
perform effectively.
1.
Conceptual skills: the
ability to analyze and diagnose a situation and find the cause and effect.
2.
Human skills: the ability
to understand, alter, lead, and control people’s behavior.
3.
Technical skills: the
job-specific knowledge required to perform a task. Common examples include
marketing, accounting, and manufacturing.
All
three skills are enhanced through formal training, reading, and practice.
Management Challenges
l Increasing
number of global organizations.
l Building
competitive advantage through superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and
responsiveness.
l Increasing
performance while remaining ethical managers.
l Managing
an increasingly diverse work force.
l Using
new technologies.
MANAGEMENT THEORIES:
Fredrick
W. Taylor (1856-1915)
Performance:
1. His
theory of scientific management became prominent during the years 1856-1918.
His
thoughts were necessitated by the following problems in industrial production:
-
Poor production industries
-
Poor industrial efficiency
-
Absent person in places of work
-
High costs of production
2. The
theory emphasized the following view in;
-
Hard work
-
Economic rationality
-
Individualism
-
Each man had a role to play in economic
production
-
Improve productivity
3. The
main emphasis of scientific management was on;
-
Planning
-
Standardizing work and improving the
human efforts at the operative level in order to maximize input with minimum
inputs and costs
4. Taylor
thought that work could be analyzed scientifically and that it is managements’
responsibility to provide the specific guideline for workers performance.
5. This
led to the development of the following methods:-
(1)
Selection of best workers suited to
performing the specific tasks.
(2)
Standardization of work methods
(3)
Training them in the most efficient
method for performing the job
6. The
assumption was that workers could be motivated by greater economic rewards
which would come from increased productivity (the man v/s the rational man).
7. In
short scientific management advocated the following;-
-
The use of science instead of the rule
of thumb
-
Harmony and not discord
-
Cooperation and not individualism
-
Maximum output instead of restricted
output
-
Development of each worker to his
prosperity
-
Make management as a science rather than
an individualistic approach based upon the rule of thumb
The Human Relations Theories:-
1. Growing
out the scientific management school of thought was the human relations school
of management (1930-1950s)
2. The
pioneer of these theories was Elton Mayo with his famous how thome experience.
3. His
experience was based on the principles that changing working conditions within
an organization will result into a lead to high productivity.
4. Mayo
established that workers are not economically motivated robots they also
respond to their co-workers. Besides the need for money people have also a need
to feel that they are accepted and that and that they belong to society.
5. Mayo
and his followers believe that if management could reduce conflict in the
organization, the increased harmony would increase workers satisfaction and
intimately lead to increased productivity.
The Administrative
Theories:
1. This
theory spanned the entire period from 1900 to date. These groups of people
concentrated their studies on:-
-
Organization and structure
-
Top and middle management
-
Authority and responsibilities
The
chief pioneer was Henri Fayo, he is
known as the father of modern management theories.
2. Fayo
proposed 14 principles of administration which today we refer than as the
functions of management;-
-
Planning
-
Organizing
-
Commanding/Directing
-
Co-coordinating
-
Controlling
3. The
14 principles are as follows:-
a) Division
of Labour: The principle of specialization concentrates
activities for more efficiency.
b) Authority
and Responsibility: Authority is the right to give orders
and powers to exert obedience.
c) Discipline:
Discipline must be exercised for smooth running of production as services.
d) Unity
of Command: An employee should receive orders from
only one superior.
e) Unity
of Direction: One head and one plan for a group of
activities having the same objectives
f) Subordination
of individual interest to general interests: The interest of
an employee or group should not prevail over those of the organization
g) Remuneration
of personnel
h) Centralization
i) The
Scalar Chair
j) Equity
k) Order
l) Initiative
m)
Stability of tenure
n) Esprit
de corps – Spirit of loyalty and devotion which unites the members of a group
or society
4. In
general the administrative theory concentrated on the areas of;-
-
Division of labour
-
How authority is distributed within
organization
-
Line staff relationship
-
The span of control
-
Unity of command
Contributions:-
-
Pyramidal term of organizational
structure
-
The scalar chain principle
-
Unity of command
-
Delegation of authority
-
Spam of control (limited)
-
Not as a discipline
F. Taylor was concerned with
-
Performance
-
Workers – operational
o
Work design
o
Work measurements
-
He regarded a worker as an economic
-
He argued that a worker will be
motivated if he is highly paid
-
The rule of thumb should be abolished
-
Management should operate smoothly
E. Mayo= was concerned with:
-
Group behavior. He argues that people are not economic factor. He also argues
that man is un effective concerning different economic, political, and social
factor.
He
maintained that e.g. people have their own behavior. He was very concerned with
group behavior.
H. Fayo:- was concerned with;
1. Structure
of organization
2. Role
of managers – what should be the role of function of managers
o
To utilize the resources for achieving
organization
In
term of the role of managers he came with five functions
1. Plan
2. Organizing
3. Co-coordinating
4. Directing
5. Budgeting
On Structure
Organization
Fayo
profound 14 principles:-
1. Unity
of command – every worker should be answerable to one superior e.g. General
Managers – power is being delegated to other people
2. Authority
and Responsibility – Structures
3. Scalar
Chain – e.g.
Head teacher
Assistant Head teacher Teacher
Head prefect
Children
An order from the head teacher should go
down ward.
4. Unity
of direct for effective management there should be a limited number of people
answerable to them.
Motivation:
We
ought to talk on
-
Human needs
-
Psychologists make the following
assumptions
1. All
human behavior has a cause. Normally the cause is due to two factors
a. Combination
of heredity
b. The
need factor of want this is inherit
When
you satisfy your needs and once this needs have been satisfied then we say that
s/he is motivated. After being motivated individual can perform well.
So management should study the behavior
of his workers satisfy their needs motivate so that their performance will be
effective and productivity will increase.
c.
Human
behavior is goal seeking
 |
Self
actualization needs |
Ego/Esteem
needs  |
Belonging/Affection
needs
Safety needs 
Physiological /basic needs food, shelter and clothing 
Maslow's
hierarchy of needs
1. Biological and Physiological needs –
air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements,
security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.
3. Belongingness and Love needs –
work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.
4. Esteem needs - self-esteem,
achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial
responsibility, etc.
-
5. Self-Actualization needs –
realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and
peak experiences. Interest to utilize, to the
fullest/highest
Examples in Use:
Examples in Use:
§ You can't motivate someone to
achieve their sales target (level 4) when they're having problems with their
marriage (level 3).
You can't expect someone to work as a team member (level 3) when they're
having their house re-possessed (level 2).
Work And Need Satisfaction:
1. By
implication, Maslow’s’ hierarchy of needs shows that work can be made more
satisfying by giving greater attention to affection ego and self-actualization needs.
2. A
job is looked at not simply as a means of efficiency carrying out specific
functions but as something which could be intrinsically satisfy to work. The
reward for work can go beyond pay or bringing benefits.
3. Using
Maslow’s hierarchy management can only satisfy physiological and security
needs.
|
5 NEEDS
|
METHOD OF SATISFACTION AT WORK
|
|
1. BASIC
NEEDS
|
Money
(salary/wage) and physical working conditions
|
|
2. SECURITY
NEEDS
|
Physical
working conditions, pension, sick pay schemes, trade union membership policy
regarding security of tenure
|
|
3. BELONGING/
AFFECTION NEEDS
|
Companionship
of fellow workers, group norms of production, trade union membership, company
social activities.
|
|
4. ECO
NEEDS/ESTEEM
|
Job
title, possession of certain skill, possession of authority, status symbols
like good car and office carpet, money etc.
|
|
5. SELF
ACTUALIZATION
|
Job
that is satisfying for its own sake, self regulations, opportunity to be
creative.
|
Fredrick Hertzberg
1. An
American psychologist has propounded a theory of motivation at which divided
the factors of work environment into two classes.
a. Motivators
or satisfiers
b. Hygiene
factors or maintenance factors
2. He
developed this theory by analyzing the answers to two basic question:-
a. What
wants at work have resulted in a marked increase in your job satisfaction.
b. What
events at work have resulted in a marked reduction in your job satisfaction?
3. From
his analysis, Hertzberg concluded that the elements in a job which produced
satisfaction were:
-
Recognition
-
Responsibilities
-
Promotion prospects
-
Work itself
He
called these as motivations or satisfiers.
4. The
elements which absence or inadequacy in a job produced dissatisfaction were:-
a. Pay
b. Relation
with other
c. Type
of supervision
d. Company
policy
e. Physical
working conditions
f. Fringe
benefits
He
concluded these HYGIENE FACTORS because they made the job environment fit to
occupy or maintenance factors because they tended to maintain the employee in
his job
5. He
argues that the employee might leave firm because s/he disliked its working
conditions or would not be to work harder or better if working conditions or
working scheme were not improved.
6. On
the other hand, the absence of achievement or responsibility for example would
be linked to cause an employee to leave, but if these could be increased the
employee would be more motivated in work.
7. In
relation to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, motivators and maintenance factors
propounded by Hertzberg can be shown in this relationship.
|
|||
 |
|||
5 SELF ACTUALIZATION NEEDS
MOTIVATORS
4 EGO
3 BELONGING NEEDS
2 SECURITY NEEDS MAINTANANCE FACTOR
1 BASIC NEEDS
Theory“X” and“Y”
1. These
theories were set by McGregor. He set two alternatives which views about the
attitudes and behavior of people in places of work. He drew experiences from
the earlier management of Taylor, Fayo, Mayo, and Maslow.
2. He
termed them as theory Y and theory X
Theory
“X”
1. He
argues that management is responsible for organizing the elements of productive
enterprises which are money, materials, equipment, people, time, markets in
terms of economic ends.
2. With
respect with people this is the process of directing their efforts motivating
them controlling their actions, modifying their behaviors to fit the needs of
the organization
3. Without
this active intervention by management, people would be passive, even resistant
to organization needs. They must therefore be persuaded, rewarded, punished and
controlled. Their activities must be directed. This is a management task (i.e.
management consists of getting things done through other people)
4. Behind
this theory it is generally assumed that;-
(i)
The average man is by nature indolent.
S/He works as little as possible.
(ii) S/He
lacks ambition, dislikes responsibilities and prefers to be led.
(iii) S/He
is intently self- centred and in different to organizational needs.
(iv) S/He
is busy by nature and resistant to change
(v)
S/He is gullible and not very bright.
Theory “Y”
1. Assumes
that management is responsible for organizing the elements of money, materials
equipments, people, time and markets in the interest of economic needs.
2. People
are not by nature passive or resistant to organizational needs.
3. The
motivation, the potential for development, the capacity for assuming
responsibility, the neediness to direct behavior towards organization goals are
all present in people. Management doesn’t put them there. It is the
responsibility of management to make it possible for people to recognize and
develop these human characteristics for themselves.
4. The
essential task of management is to arrange organizational conditions and
methods of operation so that people can achieve their own goals best by
directing their own efforts towards organizational objectives.
Theories
These theories can be related to the
needs hierarchy in the sense that the traditional view of directing control
relies on the assumption that lower needs are dominant in motivating people to
perform better. It assumes that an average human being has an inherent dislike
of work and will avoid it if he can. He works to satisfy physiological needs
primarily through the threat of punishment and must be coerced and controlled
in order to assure good performance.
Theory Y on the other hand assumes that
people will exercise self correction and self-control in working towards
organizational objectives.
It assumes that individuals have
potential for development will seek responsibility and will be motivated by
esteem and self-actualization needs, which if met will satisfy both individual
and organizational objectives.
TEAM BUILDING
People in every workplace
talk about building the team, working as a team, and my team, but few
understand how to create the experience of team work or how to develop an
effective team.
Belonging to a team, in the
broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than your-self.
In a team-oriented
environment, you contribute to the overall success of the organization.
§ You
work with fellow members of the organization to produce these results.
§ Even
though you have a specific job function and you belong to a specific
department, you are unified with other organization members to accomplish the
overall objectives.
§ The
bigger picture drives your actions; your function exists to serve the bigger
picture.
You need to differentiate
this overall
sense of teamwork from the task of developing an effective
intact team that is formed to accomplish a specific goal.
§ People
confuse the two team building objectives. This is why so many team
building seminars, meetings, retreats and activities are
deemed failures by their participants.
§ Leaders
failed to define the team they wanted to build.
§ Developing
an overall sense of team work is different from building an effective, focused
work team when you consider team building approaches.
Twelve Cs for Team Building
Executives, managers and
organization staff members universally explore ways to improve business
results and profitability.
§ Many
view team-based, horizontal, organization structures as the best design for
involving all employees in creating business success.
§ No
matter what you call your team-based
improvement effort: continuous improvement, total quality, lean
manufacturing or self-directed work teams, you are striving to improve results
for customers.
§ Few
organizations, however, are totally pleased with the results their team
improvement efforts produce. If your team improvement efforts are not living up
to your expectations, this self-diagnosing checklist may tell you why.
§ Successful
team building, that creates effective, focused work teams, requires attention
to each of the following.
1. Clear Expectations:
o Has executive leadership clearly communicated
its expectations for
the team performance and expected outcomes?
o Do team members understand why the team was
created?
o Is the organization demonstrating constancy
of purpose in supporting the team with resources of people, time and money?
o Does the work of the team receive sufficient
emphasis as a priority in terms of the time, discussion, attention and interest
directed its way by executive leaders?
2. Context:
o Do they understand how the strategy of using
teams will help the organization attain its communicated business goals?
o Can team members define their team importance
to the accomplishment of corporate goals?
o Does the team understand where its work fits
in the total context of the organizational goals, principles, vision and values?
Read more about Team Culture and Context.
Read more about Team Culture and Context.
3. Commitment:
o Do team members want to participate on the
team?
o Are members committed to accomplishing the
team mission and expected outcomes?
o Do team members perceive their service as
valuable to the organization and to their own careers?
o Do team members anticipate recognition for
their contributions?
o Do team members expect their skills to grow
and develop on the team?
o Are team members excited and challenged by
the team opportunity?
4. Competence:
o Does the team feel that it has the
appropriate people participating? (As an example, in a process improvement, is
each step of the process represented on the team?)
o Does the team feel that its members have the
knowledge, skill and capability to address the issues for which the team was
formed? If not, does the team have access to the help it needs?
o Does the team feel it has the resources,
strategies and support needed to accomplish its mission?
5. Charter:
o Has the team taken its assigned area of
responsibility and designed its own mission, vision and strategies to
accomplish the mission.
o Has the team defined and communicated its
goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it
will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to
accomplish their task?
o Does the leadership team or other
coordinating group support what the team has designed?
6. Control:
o Does the team have enough freedom
and empowerment to
feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter? At the same time, do
team members clearly understand their boundaries?
o How far may members go in pursuit of
solutions? Are limitations (i.e. monetary and time resources) defined at the
beginning of the project before the team experiences barriers and rework?
o Is the team’s reporting relationship and
accountability understood by all members of the organization?
o Has the organization defined the team’s
authority? To make recommendations? To implement its plan?
o Is there a defined review process so both the
team and the organization are consistently aligned in direction and purpose?
o Do team members hold each other accountable
for project timelines, commitments and results?
o Does the organization have a plan to increase
opportunities for self-management among organization members?
7. Collaboration:
o Does the team understand team and group
process?
o Do members understand the stages of group
development?
o Are team members working together effectively
interpersonally?
o Do all team members understand the roles and
responsibilities of team members? team leaders? team recorders?
o Can the team approach problem solving,
process improvement, goal setting and measurement jointly?
o Do team members cooperate to accomplish the
team charter?
o Has the team established group norms or rules
of conduct in areas such as conflict resolution, consensus decision making and
meeting management?
o Is the team using an appropriate strategy to
accomplish its action plan?
8. Communication:
o Are team members clear about the priority of
their tasks?
o Is there an established method for the teams
to give
feedback and receive
honest performance feedback?
o Does the organization provide important
business information regularly?
o Do the teams understand the complete context
for their existence?
o Do team members communicate clearly and
honestly with each other?
o Do team members bring diverse opinions to the
table? Are necessary conflicts raised and addressed?
9. Creative Innovation:
o Is the organization really interested in
change?
o Does it reward people who take reasonable
risks to make improvements? Or does it reward the people who fit in and
maintain the status quo?
o Does it provide the training, education,
access to books and films, and field trips necessary to stimulate new thinking?
0.
Consequences:
o Do team members feel responsible and
accountable for team achievements?
o Is reasonable risk respected and encouraged
in the organization?
o Do team members fear reprisal? violent
o Do team members spend their time finger
pointing rather than resolving problems?
o Is the organization designing reward systems
that recognize both team and individual performance?
o Is the organization planning to share gains
and increased profitability with team and individual contributors?
o Can contributors see their impact on
increased organization success?
11.
Coordination:
o Are teams coordinated by a central leadership
team that assists the groups to obtain what they need for success?
o Have priorities and resource allocation been
planned across departments?
o Do teams understand the concept of the
internal customer—the next process, anyone to whom they provide a product or a
service?
o Are
cross-functional and multi-department teams common and working together
effectively?
o Is the organization developing a
customer-focused process-focused orientation and moving away from traditional
departmental thinking?
12.
Cultural
Change:
o Does the organization recognize that the
team-based, collaborative, empowering, enabling organizational
culture of the future is
different than the traditional, hierarchical organization it may currently be?
o Is the organization planning to or in the
process of changing how it rewards, recognizes, appraises, hires, develops,
plans with, motivates and manages the people it employs?
o Does the organization plan to use failures
for learning and support reasonable risk?
o Does the organization recognize that the more
it can change its climate to support teams, the more it will receive in pay
back from the work of the teams?
Spend
time and attention on each of these twelve tips to ensure your work teams
contribute most effectively to your business success.
Your
team members will love you, your business will soar, and empowered people will
"own" and be responsible for their work processes. Can your work life
get any better than this?
CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
Change is a small word that can
strike fear in the hearts of many. Yet life is full of change, especially in
the business world. While those affected may not always get to decide when
change happens, they can learn to manage it.
These tips will help even
the most change-phobic person stay calm and in control:
10
Tips for Managing Change Effectively
1. Understand why you want or need to change. If you don’t, no-one else will… Effective communication is one of the key factors in the successful implementation of change.
2. Get the right people in place to lead the change. What skills do you need? What attitudes are you looking for? And who has them? Use a tool like Belbin team roles to help you identify who has the attributes you are looking for.
3. Devise the vision and strategy – what needs to be done and when. If you are sponsoring or leading change it’s hard to remember that everyone does not have all the knowledge that you do. So using a simple method of identifying what needs to happen when and updating it regularly allows others to understand the impact on them.
4. Explain the reasons for the change to your people. Give people the opportunity to ask questions and to challenge what is happening – throughout the process. This helps their understanding of why things need to change. The more open the process the more trust will be built as the project proceeds.
5. Get everyone involved in how the change is implemented. They will help you identify the real impact where it matters most – at the front line. Find out who’s implemented that type of change before and give your people the opportunity to visit or see for themselves what pitfalls have been encountered and how things have changed for the better.
6. Get rid of obstacles that stand in the way of achieving your vision. For example, get rid of old systems and procedures that no longer serve a purpose. Remember that people will hang on to the familiar and do what they’ve always done if they have the opportunity to! This will dis-empower the saboteurs - people who stand in the way of progress.
7. Identify some short term wins – nothing motivates like success! Changes, like providing new PCs before the implementation of a new IT system, can help people see some benefits from the change, and at an early stage.
8. Encourage risk taking, new ideas, activities and actions. Involving people along the way helps them to understand what’s in it for them. Remember that there are lots of examples from history of many failures before a great success, so encouragement from you could lead to more benefits than you ever expected.
9. Recognise and reward people who made the wins possible. Differentiate between those who are championing the change and those who aren’t. You want to encourage the heroes rather than the saboteurs. And those who are not either (the sheep!) will follow those with the loudest voices.
10. Keep asking questions to check out the progress you are making. Talk to people involved in the project often – and not just those who are accountable for the delivery of the project. By talking to anyone affected by the project you will be demonstrating that you are interested in people’s views and discover what is really happening.
1. Understand why you want or need to change. If you don’t, no-one else will… Effective communication is one of the key factors in the successful implementation of change.
2. Get the right people in place to lead the change. What skills do you need? What attitudes are you looking for? And who has them? Use a tool like Belbin team roles to help you identify who has the attributes you are looking for.
3. Devise the vision and strategy – what needs to be done and when. If you are sponsoring or leading change it’s hard to remember that everyone does not have all the knowledge that you do. So using a simple method of identifying what needs to happen when and updating it regularly allows others to understand the impact on them.
4. Explain the reasons for the change to your people. Give people the opportunity to ask questions and to challenge what is happening – throughout the process. This helps their understanding of why things need to change. The more open the process the more trust will be built as the project proceeds.
5. Get everyone involved in how the change is implemented. They will help you identify the real impact where it matters most – at the front line. Find out who’s implemented that type of change before and give your people the opportunity to visit or see for themselves what pitfalls have been encountered and how things have changed for the better.
6. Get rid of obstacles that stand in the way of achieving your vision. For example, get rid of old systems and procedures that no longer serve a purpose. Remember that people will hang on to the familiar and do what they’ve always done if they have the opportunity to! This will dis-empower the saboteurs - people who stand in the way of progress.
7. Identify some short term wins – nothing motivates like success! Changes, like providing new PCs before the implementation of a new IT system, can help people see some benefits from the change, and at an early stage.
8. Encourage risk taking, new ideas, activities and actions. Involving people along the way helps them to understand what’s in it for them. Remember that there are lots of examples from history of many failures before a great success, so encouragement from you could lead to more benefits than you ever expected.
9. Recognise and reward people who made the wins possible. Differentiate between those who are championing the change and those who aren’t. You want to encourage the heroes rather than the saboteurs. And those who are not either (the sheep!) will follow those with the loudest voices.
10. Keep asking questions to check out the progress you are making. Talk to people involved in the project often – and not just those who are accountable for the delivery of the project. By talking to anyone affected by the project you will be demonstrating that you are interested in people’s views and discover what is really happening.
11. Don’t resist. While your gut reaction to change is often refusal, such a
response is not productive. Change is inevitable, and you must learn to accept
it. The quicker you do, the smoother your transition.
12. Find the positive. Even the most difficult
changes can produce positive results. Don’t waste time dwelling on what you
don't like. Focus instead on the potential benefits and new opportunities the
changes may bring, and your spirits will remain lighter throughout the
transition.
13. Create a list. You'll feel much better about
change when you're able to manage its details and results. Make a list of what
needs to be done to implement the change. The more prepared you are, the less
change will overwhelm you.
14. Familiarize quickly. Jump headfirst into
change, whether it’s new ways of doing things, new offices, or new teams. Take
time up front to learn a new program, take a tour of a new office facility, or
introduce yourself to a new coworker. The more quickly you are acclimated to
new things, the more quickly they will become familiar to you.
Follow these tips and watch your change
project succeed.
7
Essential Skills for Managing Change
It’s a
cliché,(formula) but change has always been the only constant. In recent times,
the pace of change has accelerated greatly, and we all need to find ways to
deal creatively with this fact of modern life. Leaders, in particular, need to
face and manage change in a constructive way, but everyone who wants to be
successful – in career, in relationships, in life – must learn how to see and
manage change the way that successful ‘change leaders’ do. Such leaders are
adaptable and creative, responding to change in three key ways.
1. People who respond
well to change will have a high ‘ambiguity threshold.’ Change is inherently
ambiguous, and those who deal creatively with change will have a high tolerance
for uncertainty and ‘shades of grey.’
2. Skillful managers
of change will have a constructive ‘internal monologue.’ They will see
themselves as inherently powerful and having the ability to control elements of
the situation in which they find themselves. Some circumstances cannot be
changed, but the way we respond to them is always a choice, and we always have
a sphere of influence, however small. By focusing on this sphere of influence,
and not expending energy bemoaning the area outside it, the circle will start
to expand and give us progressively more control. Solutions to problems always
exist, and the ‘internal monologue’ should reflect the desire to find them and
the certainty that they can be successfully implemented.
3. Those who deal well
with change will have a good reservoir of emotional, physical and mental
energyfrom which to draw when things get tough.
Managing Change
The above ways of
dealing with change tend to be innate, with some people having a greater
capacity for one or more of them than others. However, they can be learned, and
the following are seven tips for improving your skills in managing change.
1. Spend time
reflecting on your own core values and your mission in life. A sense of purpose
is essential to success and effectiveness, and those without a clear idea of
what they are doing and why they are doing it will not have the foundation to
keep going in the face of change.
2. Be persistent
(enduring).
Success is usually more to do with tenacity that genius. Persistence is only
possible when you have clarified your values and when you are able to build on
the bedrock of purpose. Successful people keep going in the face of change,
finding new and creative ways to achieve a positive outcome.
3. Be flexible and
creative.
Persistence does not mean pushing through by force. If you are unable to
achieve success one way, try another, and then another. Keep looking for more
creative solutions and innovative responses to problems.
4. Think outside the
box. Read widely, and
don’t confine yourself to your own area of ‘expertise.’ Try to see links
between apparently separate and diverse elements in your life and experience.
5. Accept uncertainty
and be optimistic. Life is inherently uncertain, so don’t waste your energy
trying to predict the future. Of all the possible outcomes, focus on the most
positive one. This is not to be a ‘Pollyanna,’ but to accept that if you respond
well and work to the best of your ability; a good outcome is as likely as any
other. Don’t waste your energy being negative.
6. Keep fit and
healthy.
Eat well, get enough sleep, and exercise regularly. Meditation can help, too.
This will keep up your energy levels and allow you to keep going in tough
times. Not taking care of yourself physically, mentally and spiritually is
foolish and short sighted.
7. See the big picture.
Change is inevitable, but if you take a bird’s-eye-view of the landscape, the
change won’t be so disorientating (confusing) and you will keep perspective at
all times.
It’s Not Necessary to Change. Survivals Is Not Mandatory
The above quote is by
W. Edwards Deming. It's also the focus of an article by Mike Esposito in the
July issue of F&I Showroom Magazine. Mike's guest editorial is on page 40
and is titled, "State Your Purpose." Here is the article in it's entirety:
Regardless of what
industry you’re in, sometimes there is a divide between what’s good for a
business and what’s good for the employees of that business. In retail
automotive, this means what’s good for the dealer may not always be perceived
as being good for the employees. Take change, for instance.
Dr. Demming understood
completely that change is necessary to survive. Change can be difficult, but
necessary if dealerships are going to stay competitive in this market. Even
though the volume of sales has picked up this year, the Internet has made
pricing so transparent that dealerships all over are being forced into
price-matching wars. Continued, downward pressure on pricing means lower
margins, and unfortunately for dealers it looks like this trend is here to stay.
In order to be profitable in today’s world and in the future, dealers must look
for ways to stay lean and improve processes. They must continue to test new
technologies that can either save them money or make more money.
But often when a dealer
or GM attempts to introduce a new process or technology, they are met with
stone-cold resistance from employees. As a DMS provider, I often hear from
dealers who would love to implement a new system, but decided not to because
when the idea was presented to the dealerships’ employees, there was such an
uproar that you’d think they had proposed a permanent ban on all coffee
consumption within the dealership.
I don’t blame the
employees, however. Implementing a new process or learning a new technology can
be difficult. If a major change is being considered in your dealership, here
are a few things to keep in mind:
Most employees are tuned into that old radio
station WII – FM (What’s In It – For Me)
A new process or technology may indeed
add thousands of dollars per month to a dealership’s bottom line. That’s great
for the dealer, but what do the employees get out of it?
Take the service
manager, for example. Switching to a new DMS would definitely be a pain for him
because he probably gets paid a bonus based on the amount of gross profits he
generates in the service department. If a new system is implemented, it’s going
to take a lot of time to learn it, which takes time away from other activities
that generate profits.
Office managers are
notorious for objecting to a DMS switch. Their life can be pretty miserable
throughout the entire process, and is their pay changing for the better?
Probably not. So where’s the incentive to change and learn a new system?
Extrapolate these
examples out to everyone else in the dealership; the parts manager who is used
to the inventory system, the salespeople who are used to and like their CRM,
etc. No wonder there’s an uproar, and no wonder dealers throw up their hands
and say they can’t change.
Yet, wouldn’t a more
profitable dealership ultimately benefit all the employees too?
By Changing Nothing, Nothing Changes
Dealers, your name is on the sign and
you are the decision maker. Yet you are also part of a team. You want to do
what’s best for you and your bottom line, but you don’t want to upset everyone
else on the team. Is it possible to do both?
Of course, but the
trick is to find and offer something unique to each team member that will help
them accept the change. Tell them what is in it for them. For service managers,
the extra savings or revenue could be used to purchase more lifts and hire more
technicians. For parts, it could be extra cash to stock more inventories; for
sales, it could be more money spent on advertising; for the office manager, it
could be a bonus.
One thing’s for sure.
By changing nothing, nothing changes. In today’s increasingly transparent
world, dealers must be proactive in looking for ways to increase profit
margins. More efficient processes and new technologies are the way to do it;
but buy-in from the team is necessary to make them—and your
dealership—successful.
COMMUNICATION
Communication is an art or process of
delivering and transferring information (message) from the source to the
receiver through a mode by using words. The mode can be oral or written. The
information may contain feelings, ideas, opinions and judgments.
Types
of communication
1. Letter
writing
2. Telephoning
3. Face
to face talking
4. Signals
5. Radio/TV
broadcasting
Ways of Communication:
1. One
way communication (Sender----------Receiver (no feedback)
2. Two
way Communication (S-------R (there is feedback)
Message flows from the sender to the receiver
and vise-versa (feedback). Communication is a process because it requires
stages:
1. Encoding
– arrangement of ideas in meaningful method.
2. Transmission
– after arranging ideas, you transmit them
3. Decoding
– realization of the meaning of the message
Social cultural environmental
factors affecting communication.
i.
Different in language
ii.
Different in age
iii.
Different in culture
iv.
Region belief
v.
Medium used
vi.
The best time for communication
vii.
Physical setting
viii.
Channel of communication
ix.
The attitude of the people
x.
The expectations of the receiver.
Understanding
Factors that Affect Communication
Communication
is the most important tool humans have to interact with each other. Effective
communication is required to learn, succeed in business and relate well with
others in personal relationships. There are many social factors and social
disorders that can alter communication styles and preferences. Many of these
factors affect the speaker unconsciously.
No one communication method presents a
perfect solution but rather communication must match the specific needs of the
survivor.
Cultural
Norms
l Cultural
norms play an important role in communication. Different cultures can have very
different ways of communication and engage in foreign customs when regarding
communication. For example, in some cultures women may not be permitted to
speak unless spoken to. In Western nations, such a concept is quite absurd, but
a woman who grew up with that custom who now lives in the West may still be
affected by it. This woman may then be judged as shy or disinterested because
she chooses not to speak.
Shyness and
Anxiety Disorders
l The audience,
form of communication and setting all impact the type of communication that
will be delivered. People suffering from anxiety disorders, such as shyness,
may be perfectly comfortable talking to close friends in their home but may
find it excruciating to talk to a member of the opposite sex in a public
setting such as a bar. The severity and scope of the disorder varies by
individual.
Self-Esteem and
Ego
l Self-esteem
and ego have a lot to do with verbal communication. Someone with a low sense of
self-esteem may find it difficult to voice their opinion or feel they are not
worthy of speaking. Contrarily, someone with an inflated ego may find it very
easy to dominate the conversation and even offend others with their dominance.
Social Norms
l Social
norms also play an important role in verbal communication. The setting, context
and people communicating help dictate what is deemed as appropriate
conversation. For example, two lovers may find it acceptable to profess their
love for each other in private but may not want to do so in public. Certain
topics may be acceptable in one circle and not in another. For example,
discussing health matters among a group of health care professionals may be
acceptable, but that same discussion may not be acceptable at a black-tie
political gala.
Types of Barriers
1. Find physical barriers to
good communication by noticing the environment around you. Physical barriers
can be identified in the characteristics of the setting where communication is
taking place, and can include such things as noise, light, and comfort level.
Physical barriers may also include location. For example, in the work
environment, a physical barrier to communication could be a closed office door
or actual spatial separation caused working in different buildings.
2. Notice verbal barriers to
communication by examining the way that you speak to people. Verbal barriers
include speaking in a quiet or monotone voice, using confusing language, and
mumbling or not speaking clearly.
3. Recognize body-oriented
barriers to communication by making an effort to notice what is happening in
your body while you communicate with others. Barriers to communication in body
language include crossing arms and legs, having bad posture, fidgeting while
speaking, and avoiding eye contact.
4. Examine cultural or
language-oriented barriers to communication that may be present in your
relationships. Cultural barriers include age, gender, ethnicity, religion and
all other cultural aspects of life that make people different from one another.
Language barriers are easy to recognize because of their obviousness, but can
cause a major barrier to effective communication.
5. Find psychological
barriers to communication by examining what is happening in your mind while
communicating with others. Perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and cognitions are
psychological factors that can affect communication. An example of this could
be having a belief that you do not communicate well, therefore clouding the
real communication that is taking place.
Factors
include but are not limited to:
l Individual
characteristics – Each survivor must be approached as
an individual with unique needs. People with the same disability do not
necessarily experience similar functional limitations or may not approach their
disability in the same way.
l Cultural
dynamics – An awareness of cultural norms is crucial for
successful communication.
l Functional
limitations – According to the World Health
Organization, disability is not something that a person has but, instead,
something that occurs outside of the person; disability occurs in the
interaction between a person, his or her functional ability, and the environment.
If the proper communication modifications are addressed, the less limited the
survivor will feel and the more likely successful communication will be
achieved.
l Differences
in learning – Learning styles vary among all
people; survivors with disabilities and who are Deaf are no exception.
l Environmental
conditions
o Noise;Everyone benefits from low
background noise and short reverberation times. Noise causes stress. Background
noise and excessive reverberation are especially difficult for the person with
poor concentration or distractibility (like a survivor with a concussion or
traumatic brain injury). Reducing risks for people with cognitive limitations
also reduces the level of stress that everyone is exposed to in any
environment.
o Time; Remember, the best strategy during any
communication is to honor the individual’s preferences for communication, even
if preferences change or extra time is needed:
§ Survivors
of violence with disabilities or who are Deaf might require more time than your
"average" person due to the nature of their functional limitation and
environmental barriers.
§ Allow
extra time in conversations for someone whether or not the have a hearing aid
or other assistive technologies.
Ø Awareness
of the surrounding environment and how it may effect communication can decrease
the degree to which survivors experience disabilities.
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
Multicultural education is more than just teaching about
"heroes and holidays" (Lee et al., 1998). It goes beyond teaching
tolerance of differences, and it is much deeper than studying or celebrating
Black History Month in February. So, what is multicultural education? To answer
the question, we must first understand the goals, definitions, and a
predominant model of multicultural education (Banks, 1998). Although I am not
an adult basic educator, multicultural education as it is studied,
conceptualized, and practiced in K-12 and higher education is applicable to
adult basic education as well. In the next sections, I review the goals of
multicultural education and provide a theoretical framework for implementing
multicultural education into adult basic education programs.
Defining Multicultural Education
Banks and Banks (1995) define multicultural education:
Banks and Banks (1995) define multicultural education:
"Multicultural education is a field of study and an emerging
discipline whose major aim is to create equal educational opportunities for
students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups. One of
its important goals is to help all students to acquire the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic
democratic society and to interact, negotiate, and communicate with peoples
from diverse groups in order to create a civic and moral community that works
for the common good." (p. xi)
"Multicultural education not only draws content, concepts,
paradigms, and theories from specialized interdisciplinary fields such as
ethnic studies and women studies (and from history and the social and
behavioral sciences), it also interrogates, challenges, and reinterprets content,
concepts, and paradigms from the established disciplines. Multicultural
education applies content from these fields and disciplines to pedagogy and
curriculum development in educational settings.
Consequently, we may define multicultural
education as a field of study designed to increase educational equity for all
students that incorporates, for this purpose, content, concepts, principles,
theories, and paradigms from history, the social and behavioral sciences, and
particularly from ethnic studies and women studies." (p. xii)
The primary goal of multicultural education is not merely to
promote human relations, to help students feel good about themselves, or to
preserve students' native languages and cultures. While these outcomes may be
by-products, the primary goal of multicultural education is to promote the
education and achievement of all students, particularly those who are
traditionally dismissed and underserved in our education system (see box
below). Sonia Nieto (1996) defines multicultural education as antiracist basic
education for all students that permeates all areas of schooling, characterized
by a commitment to social justice and critical approaches to learning.
Furthermore, multicultural education challenges and rejects racism and other forms
of discrimination in schools and society. It accepts and affirms differences in
race, ethnicity, religion, language, economics, sexual orientation, gender, and
other differences that students, communities, and teachers encompass. It should
permeate the curriculum and instructional strategies used in schools, as well
as interactions among teachers, students, and families in school and outside of
it (Nieto, 1999).
Multicultural Education
l Analyzes ways in which
schools and the education system as institutions in our society work to
maintain and perpetuate racism (Banks, 1997)
l Examines the history and
underlying causes of racism, sexism, and other forms of institutional
oppression (Banks, 1997)
l Encourages academic
excellence (Nieto, 1999)
l Is for all students, not
just students of color (Nieto, 1996)
l Requires the authentic
examination of white privilege and the legacy of white dominance (McIntosh,
1989; Howard, 1999)
l Teaches how racism hurts
not only people of color but also whites, and how it keeps us from being allies
(Howard, 1999)
l Demonstrates how people
have worked together in history to fight against all forms of oppression
(Howard, 1999)
l Teaches about the shared
aspects of racism and other forms of oppression (Gorski, 2002)
l Helps students,
families, teachers, and administrators understand and relate to the histories,
cultures, and languages of people different from themselves (Sleeter&
Grant, 1994)
l Provides opportunities
to envision a better world: a just and fair society with equitable
opportunities for all
l Inspires and empowers us
to work to make those visions come true.
Cultural
Competency and Your School Improvement Plan
People view the world through the lens of
culture— a system of beliefs, values, customs, and behaviors that are filtered
through our personalities and experiences. Culture is more than race and
ethnicity; it also includes language, national origin, religion, region,
community, disability, gender and age. There are both subtle and apparent
cultural perspectives that influence the way all people think, interact, and
make decisions.
Cultural competency in education encompasses
a system of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that enable teachers
to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. Cultural competency includes
the use of knowledge concerning individuals and groups to develop specific
standards, policies, practices, and attitudes to be used in appropriate
cultural settings to increase student academic performance. Additionally, being
culturally competent means being able to function effectively in cultural
contexts which differ from your own. Educators skilled in this area facilitate
the achievement of all students through effective teaching and learning
practices grounded in an awareness of cultural context and the strengths
students bring with them to school.
To successfully implement the cultural
competency component of the school improvement plan (SIP), achieving cultural
competence must be a district- and school-wide priority. Because culture
affects every aspect of education, so too must cultural competency efforts. The
SIP must consider school leadership, curriculum and instruction, school
environment, data-based decision making, and family and community engagement.
Becoming culturally competent is a developmental and ongoingprocess4 which
begins with having conversations about race and equity, reflecting on one’s own
culture and beliefs, and gaining awareness of other cultures. The process also
includes looking at and disaggregating data (such as achievement data and
graduation rates), exploring what the data reveals and determining a plan to
address any inequities within student subgroups. There is no one correct way to
implement cultural competency, since it depends upon the composition and needs
of the school population.
The
Legal Requirements
When developing a SIP, designated committee
members must consider ways to improve the cultural competency of the school's
teachers, administrators, staff, parents, and students as part of the school’s
professional development program. The SIP must do the following:
1. Identify the various subgroups that are
included in the school's student population (e.g. racial, ethnic,
language-minority, cultural, exceptional learning, and socioeconomic);
2. Incorporate culturally appropriate strategies
for increasing educational opportunities and educational performance for each
group in the school's plan; and
3. Recommend areas in which professional
development is necessary to increase cultural competency in the school's
educational environment.
Cultural
competence consists of the following:
n Acknowledging the strengths and benefits that
students and staff bring with them to the classroom
n Making connections between what students
already know and what they are expected to learn
n Including multiple perspectives in
decision-making and instruction
n Validating students’ cultural identity in
classroom practices and instructional materials.
n Acknowledging students’ differences and
commonalities
n Being aware of one’s own cultural identify
and views and the influence those views have on classroom practices
n Engaging families in a culturally meaningful
way
n Believing that students from culturally
diverse and low-income backgrounds are capable learners
The
following are not components of cultural competence:
n Color-blindness or cultural neutrality
n Cultural celebrations at designated times of
the year
n Making assumptions that all students from one
culture operate in similar ways and have had similar experiences
n Assuming that only minority teachers are
culturally competent or that white teachers are not culturally competent
Characteristics
of Culturally Competent Organizations
1. Culturally competent organizations have a
defined set of values and principles and demonstrate behaviors, attitudes,
policies and structures that enable them to work effectively cross-culturally;
2. They have the capacity to value diversity,
conduct self-assessment, manage the dynamics of difference, acquire and
institutionalize cultural knowledge, and adapt to diversity and the cultural
contexts of the communities they serve; and
3. They “incorporate the aforementioned in all
aspects of policymaking, administration, practice, and service delivery and
involve consumers, key stakeholders, and communities.”
Characteristics
of a Culturally Competent Teacher
1. The teacher understands that the way students
think, behave, and learn are influenced by factors such as race/ethnicity,
social class, and language;
2. The teacher affirms the views of students
from diverse backgrounds;
3. The teacher views himself or herself as
responsible for and capable of bringing about educational change that will make
schools more responsive to all students;
4. The teacher understands how learners
construct knowledge;
5. The teacher knows about the lives of his or
her students; and
6. The teacher uses his or her understanding of
how students’ learn and the knowledge about his or her students’ lives to
connect what they already know to the new material they are expected to learn.
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– Management and Organization
Well written article. It focuses on all essential aspects needed for an educational institute's administration to excel at in order to keep the environment healthy and productive.
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