PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERS AND MANAGERS OF SELF-GOVERNING SCHOOLS

Transcription

1 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERS AND MANAGERS OF SELF-GOVERNING SCHOOLS

2 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERS AND MANAGERS OF SELF-GOVERNING SCHOOLS By DAVID T. GAMAGE The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia

3 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN (HB) ISBN (HB) ISBN (e-book) ISBN (e-book) Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved 2006 Springer No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

4 CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgements xiii Part 1: Foundations in School Management 1. INTRODUCTION 3 Current Context 3 Background 4 New Challenges Confronted by the School Leaders 8 Plan of this Book 9 Review Questions DECENTRALIZATION AND DEVOLUTION OF AUTHORITY TOWARDS SELF-GOVERNING SCHOOLS 13 Learning Objectives 13 Introduction 13 Delegation and Decentralization 14 Political Decentralization 17 Devolution 22 Democratisation of School Management 24 Theory of SBM in the American Context by the Late-1980s 27 A Revised Theory of SBM Based on the Australian Experience 28 Self-governing Schools 31 The New Role of the Principal 32 Conclusion 35 Review Questions IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION 37 Learning Objectives 37 Introduction 37 Importance in Understanding Educational Administration 37 v

5 vi CONTENTS What is the Job of an Educational Administrator? 39 Integration of Resources 41 Affecting Change 42 Maintaining and Developing Resources 43 Understanding Organizational Attributes 44 Organizational Goals 44 Relationship of Technology and Core-business 45 Division of Labour 45 Organizational Structures and Power Centres 46 Environment 47 Key Features of a School 48 Why is it Necessary to Understand Theoretical Concepts? 50 Personal Characteristics and Administrative Roles 53 Should there be Pre-requisites for Administrative Roles? 54 Current Trends in Educational Administration 55 Conclusion 56 Review Questions HOW DOES ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE HELPS IMPROVE PERFORMANCE? 57 Learning Objectives 57 Introduction 57 Importance of Organizational Culture 58 Definitions and Interpretations of Organizational Culture 58 What do we Understand by Organizational Culture? 60 Different Components of Organizational Culture 61 Assumptions based on National Cultures 63 A Comparison of Organizational Culture and Climate 64 Developing, Reinforcing and Changing Culture 68 Redesigning Culture and Climate for Creating Effective Schools 70 Conclusion 74 Review Questions EMPLOYING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AS A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE 75 Learning Objectives 75 Introduction 75 What do we mean by an Organization? 76 What do we understand by Organizational Behavior? 76 Classical Theories on Organizational Operations 77

6 CONTENTS vii Impetus from Human Relations Theories 78 Evolution of Organizational Behavior 79 Influences on Behavior in Organizations 80 A Behavioral Science Approach to OB 81 Contrasting Perspectives of Organizations 82 Effectiveness of Organizations 83 Orientations to Work 83 Integrating Staff with the Organization 84 How does Psychological Contract Affect? 86 Influence of Organizational Culture on OB 87 How does Managerial Approaches Affect OB? 87 Leadership and Managerial Roles, Skills and Competencies 88 Creating Learning Organizations with Life-long Learning 89 Quality of Working Life and Job Satisfaction 90 Conclusion 91 Review Questions 91 Part 2: Effective Leadership and Management 6. FLEXIBILITY IN STYLE IS THE KEY TO PROVIDING EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP 95 Learning Objectives 95 Introduction 95 What do we understand by Leadership? 96 Different types of Leadership Concepts 96 Why is it important to Understand Human Nature? 98 Organizational Goals and Staff Motivation 99 Power and Authority of Leadership 100 What are the Kinds of Power Available to Leaders? 100 What do we mean by a Situation? 101 Maturity Levels of Followers and Leaders 102 Need for Flexibility in Leadership 103 What is More Appropriate: Task or Relationship Orientation? 104 Is there an Ideal Style of Leadership? 104 Leadership as a Relationship with Followers 105 Sergiovanni s Five Forces of Leadership 106 Transformational Leadership 108 Practical Steps for Transformational Leadership 110 Moral Leadership 111 Strategic Leadership 112

7 viii CONTENTS Distributed Leadership 112 Participatory Management 113 Practical Approaches to Leading and Managing 114 Need to have Combined Strengths of an Artist, an Architect and a Commissar 116 Conclusion 116 Review Questions MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS STAFFED BY PROFESSIONALS 119 Learning Objectives 119 Introduction 119 Challenges in Leading Professionally Staffed Organizations 119 Main Characteristics of the Professionals 120 Conflicts within Professional Organizations 122 Why do Professionals Want Autonomy 122 Professional Loyalties to their Professional Bodies 123 Professionals in Leadership Roles 124 Conflicting and Complementary Roles 125 Concepts of Power and Empowerment 127 How does Empowerment Benefit the Organization? 129 Why should Teachers Participate in Policy Formulation? 131 Bureaucratic-professional Conflicts 132 Conclusion 135 Review Questions ADOPTING STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT 137 Learning Objectives 137 Introduction 137 The Concept of Planning 138 Importance of Planning 139 Kinds of Planning 140 Strategic Planning vs. Long Range Planning 142 The Process of Planning 142 Different Perspectives in Strategy Formulation 143 Need for Wider Participation in Policy Formulation 145 Benefits that could be Derived from Policy Formulation 147 Developing a Strategic Plan in an Educational Setting 148 Processes Involved in Developing a Strategic Plan 148 Developing a Shared Vision within the Organizational Mission 149

8 CONTENTS ix Setting Objectives for the School 150 Developing the Strategies and the Strategic Plan 151 Implementation of the Strategic Plan 151 Monitoring and Evaluating the Progress 152 Examples from Best Practices 153 Benefits of Strategic Planning in Schools 154 The Output Driven Development Model (ODDM) 155 Teacher Support 155 Conclusion 156 Review Questions LEADING AND MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES 159 Learning Objectives 159 Introduction 159 What is the Significance of Human Resources? 159 Difference between Personnel and Human Resources Management 161 Structuring the Human Resources Function 162 Human Resources Policies and Activities 163 Job Design 164 Staff Recruitment 165 The Job Description 166 Personal Profile 167 Attracting Suitable Candidates 167 Referees 168 Interview and Selection Panel 168 Professional Development 170 Industrial Relations 172 Performance Appraisal 174 Creating Productive Work Environments 175 Conclusion 176 Review Questions LEADING AND MANAGING CHANGE TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONAL IMPROVEMENT 177 Learning Objectives 177 Introduction 177 Organizational Change is Unavoidable 177 How does Changing Times Affect Societal Contexts? 178 School Leader s Role as a Change Agent 180 Organizing Planned Change 181 How can Leaders be Proactive in Facing Change? 182 Leader s Responsibility to Change School Culture and Climate 183

9 x CONTENTS Taking a Socio-Technical Approach to Reforms 185 Force-field Approach to Action 186 Organizational Self-renewal 187 Leader Needs to Play the Key Role 188 Approaching Different Intervention Strategies 189 Finding an Organizational Theory Frame of Reference 190 Confronting the Organization s Problems 190 Exploring the Systemic Nature of the Organizational Structure 190 An Integrated Approach to Change 191 Developing a Shared Vision 191 Culture and Values 192 Focus on Evaluation of Progress 192 Overcoming Resistance 193 Conclusion 195 Review Questions IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION 197 Learning Objectives 197 Introduction 197 What do we mean by Communication? 198 Significance of Communication 199 Theoretical Concepts in Communication 200 Why should there be Effective Communication 202 Directional Flow of Communication 204 Communication Overload 206 Communication within Formal and Informal Groups 207 System Boundaries and Administration Competencies 208 Meeting Information Processing Needs 208 Interweaving of Organizational Tasks 209 Improving Communication 210 Controlling Communication Flow 211 Receiver Orientation and Empathy 212 Need for Repetition 212 Mutual Trust Helps Effective Communication 212 Timing of Different Types of Communication 213 Simplifying Language 213 Effective Listening 213 Using Grapevine 214 Promoting Ethical Communication 214 Conclusion 215 Review Questions 215

10 CONTENTS xi 12. NEED FOR WELL-INFORMED EFFECTIVE DECISION-MAKING 217 Learning Objectives 217 Introduction 217 Significance of Decision-making 218 How should we approach Organizational Decision-making? 219 How does Organizational Culture Affect Decision-making? 220 Different Models in Decision-making 222 The Classical (Rational) Model of Decision-making 222 The Administrative Model: A Satisficing Strategy 223 The Incremental Model: A Strategy of Muddling Through 225 The Mixed-scanning Model: An Adaptive Strategy 225 Processes of Decision-making 226 Styles of Decision-making 226 Autocratic Decision-making 227 Persuasive Decision-making 227 Consultative Decision-making 227 Co-determinate Decision-making 228 Participatory Decision-making 229 Contingencies Approach 232 The Nominal Group Technique 232 The Delphi Technique 232 The Consensus Card Method 233 The Paired-choice Matrix 233 The Criteria Rating Technique 234 How to Improve the Organizational Decision-making 235 Conclusion 236 Review Questions MEETINGS AS FORUMS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND DECISION-MAKING 237 Learning Objectives 237 Introduction 237 Significance of Meetings 237 Why do we have Meetings? 239 Planning of Meetings 240 Organizing the Agenda and Time-lines 241 Need for Efficiency and Effectiveness 242 Managing Meetings 245 Attendance at Meetings 246 Accuracy and Adequacy of Information 247 The Roles of the Participants 249 Minutes and Follow-up Action 249

11 xii CONTENTS Conclusion 251 Review Questions MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS 253 Learning Objectives 253 Introduction 253 What do we mean by Conflict? 254 Types of Conflict 255 The Value of Conflict 256 Destructive Nature of Some Conflicts 257 Philosophies of Conflict Management 257 Different Styles of Conflict Management 258 Avoiding Conflicts 259 Types of Approaches for Managing Conflicts 261 Solving Problems of Conflict 263 Different Approaches to Mitigating Conflicts 264 Conflict Model 264 Harmony Model 265 Seeking Solutions through Generalization of the Issue 265 The Nature of Strategic Conflict 266 Practical Guide for Handling Conflict 267 Conflict Management Skills 267 Direct Conflict Management Techniques 268 Conclusion 268 Review Questions 269 Appendix 271 Bibliography 279 Index 297

12 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This publication is the result of extensive research and over 17 years of experience in offering graduate level courses in Educational Administration, Management and Leadership in a number of universities complemented with another 17 years of experience as a school head, professional university administrator and a business executive. The work on the implementation of the concept of school-based or site-based management (SBM) or self-governing schools (SGS) included an extensive review of theoretical and applied literature combined with several large scale research projects in the public school systems in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria, and New South Wales (NSW). These were supplemented by small-scale research projects in Winnipeg and Edmonton in Canada; in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in the USA; London and Leicester in the UK; Dunedin in New Zealand; Cape Town in South Africa; New Territories in Hong Kong; Beijing and Sun De in China; in Hiroshima and Mishima in Japan; in Tromso and Oslo in Norway; Stockholm in Sweden; in Bangkok and its suburbs in Thailand; in Camarine Sur in the Philippines; and in Flores in Indonesia. These were supplemented and complemented by teaching/lectures to graduate students, conducting seminars/ workshops for staff and students; and discussions with school administrators and senior university academics at schools and universities in Australia, America, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Norway, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sweden, The Netherlands, Thailand and the UK. In addition, I was involved in conducting several research projects on The Profiles and Professional Development of School Principals, in the USA, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Sweden, and Thailand. It was the above extensive research; teaching and discussions with relevant stakeholder groups that enabled the author to develop this fairly comprehensive book on professional development for school leaders and managers in self-governing schools. Even though there are a number of books in this area; hardly any of these provide a comprehensive coverage of the field of theory and practice with particular reference to SGS. This book prepared with a practical orientation is an attempt to bridge this gap. xiii

13 xiv PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to emphasize that leadership is a concept that is of paramount importance to the success of any organization, whether large or small, including that of a country or even that of a city council. Similarly, management is a process applicable to all forms of organized activities, whether it is business, charitable, religious, governmental, hospital, military or educational. It is leadership and management that make organizations efficient and effective by moving them towards the articulation of organizational visions and achieving the set goals to realize the shared visions. Historically, books on management and administration tended to draw pictures of some ideal organizations, managed by some ideal leaders or managers. This book is a deviation, which blends the theoretical concepts with best practices, enabling the leaders and managers to refine and improve their practice in newly liberated autonomous, flexible, and accountable teaching and learning environments. The modification of the bureaucratic structures in terms of the concept of self-governing schools has brought immense pressure on the school leaders, forcing them to confront new challenges, thus making professional development an inescapable necessity. Training is the process of learning a sequence of programmed behaviors. Thus, we train brick-layers, electricians, word-processors, radiographers etc. The activities of these jobs can be precisely defined, broken down and analyzed to find the best approaches and methods to perform the jobs effectively. In contrast, education instills sound reasoning processes, rather than imparting a series of facts. Education is the understanding and interpretation of knowledge. It does not provide definitive answers, but rather develops a logical and rational mind that can determine relationships amongst pertinent variables and thereby understand phenomena. In this context, I would like to suggest that leaders and managers must be educated, rather than merely trained. It is true that there are specific managerial abilities that can be taught, but little of what leaders and managers do lends itself to training. Management is a discipline that is situational, having few laws and principles, and hence, the need for education and training of leaders and managers. We know that many of those who are exposed to a short course in leadership or management return to their positions unaffected by the experience. Such instant leaders and/or managers are not likely to succeed, as there are no instant solutions to organizational problems. Successful leaders and managers have analytical, human, conceptual and specialized skills. They are able to think and understand. However, training can fine-tune specific skills, and all leaders and managers need to develop specialized functional expertise. Leaders and Managers must have particular expertise in the area within which they lead and manage. They must possess

14 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xv an awareness of leadership and managerial concepts and best practices so that they are able to conceptualize, to question and to understand the leadership and managerial processes. By merging specialized skills with knowledge of leadership and managerial processes, people prepare themselves for successful leadership and managerial careers. Baltzell and Dentler (1983) have pointed out that the need to hold a master s degree in educational administration is one of the key criteria for a position of principal in almost every state in the United States. Research by Baron (1990) reveals that the US Superintendents believe that in the process of selection of school principals, high ratings should be given to the standard of administrative certification, followed by teaching experience and the possession of a master s degree. Since the establishment of the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) in England, the British system also has started to place high emphasis on leadership education and training. In 2002, the Hong Kong schools system also has made it compulsory for the aspiring or prospective principals to obtain the Certificate of Principal-ship (COP). In Australia, along with the provision of interest free loans for the university level professional development programs, the establishment of Institutes of Teachers in most Australian school systems, at the turn of the twentieth century, led to placing high emphasis on professional development for teachers and school leaders. Many other scholars also have pointed out the need to place strong emphasis on the leadership and management skills of the candidates. The research suggests that while innate characteristics influence the capacity to lead and manage; most leadership qualities and managerial concepts and practices can be learned or acquired, adding credibility to the study of leadership and management as distinct professions. In the circumstances, I would like to recommend this book to graduate students and teachers who by the nature of their roles are playing leadership roles and more specifically for current and prospective leaders and managers, as a means of acquiring professional development. In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge, with gratitude and thanks the university academics, graduate students, school principals, teachers, and systemic administrators in Australia, America, Britain, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Norway, Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Sweden for spending their valuable time in providing necessary clarifications and information. The visits to overseas universities and research projects were made possible by the research and travel grants provided by the University of Newcastle in Australia and a number of overseas institutions in Canada, the USA, UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden and the Philippines. I hereby extend my sincere thanks to the colleagues and authorities of these organizations.

15 xvi PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To all those referred to above, those who were interviewed, to those with whom that I had related discussions, and to others who knowingly or unknowingly contributed to this publication, I offer my heartfelt thanks and the usual absolution from responsibility. Last but not least, special thanks are extended to my wife Sriya for her patience and support, without which I would not have been able to complete this difficult task. David T. Gamage 8 January 2006