MY SCHOOL by Dr .Nilesh Gopal das Joshi (beginner reading books for adults .txt) 📕

and administration of existing educational establishments and system” – Terrypage and J.B. Thomas “Educational Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish stated objectives by the use of human beings and other resources.” - George R. Terry

It can be understood from the above definitions that:

Educational management is a comprehensive effort intended to achieve some specific pre-determined educational objectives. It is concerned with educational practices. Educational philosophy sets the goal, educational psychology explains the principles, educational administration tells how to achieve educational objectives and principles. It is concerned with both human and material resources where the human elements include: children, parents, teachers and other employees of the institution. Material resources include: finance, buildings, grounds, equipment and instructional supplies. There are also ideas, laws, regulations etc. that have a bearing on the educational process.

In a broader perspective educational management describes about:

Setting directions, aims and objectives of educational institutions Planning for progress of the institution Organizing available resources like men, material and money Controlling, implementing and evaluating processes Setting and improving institutional standards

Need for Educational Management

The educational system is undergoing fast and tremendous changes. This has resulted in the development of a distinct branch of study known as educational management. The educational administration needs the use of relevant management theories and techniques. It is increasingly becoming important that educational system, if it is to become meaningful, must have well trained and experienced managerial personnel to cope up with the changing context of educational system and its administration.

An application of the sound knowledge in related areas would enable the professionals in the field to improve effectiveness of their institutions. The important factors that have influenced the development of educational management in recent years are:

Growing complexity of educational enterprise

Since the nature of education is so complex, its proper management is very vital. With increase in complexity, it necessitated the need to manage it systematically.

Modern technological developments

Developments in the field of science and technology significantly contributed to the emergence of educational management as a single discipline. With the introduction of new technological devices in education, there was a need felt for their proper management.

Ever changing pattern of education

The pattern of education never stands still and it changes as the society undergoes a change. So experts found a method to manage the educational institutions according to the changes in the society.

Rising cost of education

The cost of education is continuously increasing. Management ensures that all the available resources are effectively utilized to produce maximum results with minimum costs.

Increasing politicization of education

Both politics and education are closely interrelated. Even minor changes in the political system of a country would necessitate consequential changes in the educational system.

Social changes

School is a miniature society and it is the duty of the educational institution to equip the learner to lead an effective social life. Proper management is essential to prepare educational institutions according to social changes.

Educational management will have the following importance in today’s world:

To function effectively and efficiently

Educational management helps any institution to function effectively for achieving its desired goals. With timely management of all resources, maximum output can be produced.

To bring qualitative changes

Proper management will lead to creative and qualitative changes in all aspects of the educational institution

To achieve goals

By managing the resources efficiently, we can check the progress against pre-determined goals. Management helps to ensure that all efforts are directed to achievement of pre-planned goals.

Optimum utilization of resources

Educational management helps in coordinating all available resources for the optimum utilization to achieve expected goals.

Expansion and diversification

Management helps to identify required modifications, renovations and diversifications of material resources and programmes which in turn guides in enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure leading to expansion of institution.

Motivating members

All members in the institution gets motivated when their attempts are regularly supervised and reinforced.

Maintaining good interpersonal relationships

Educational management helps to have good inter-personal relationship and mutual understanding among different stakeholders.

Scope of educational management

The scope of educational management is very vast. It includes everything regarding the efficient functioning of the educational institution, securing the greatest benefits through an adoption of practical measures. It interprets and clarifies the functions of an educational programme and harmonises their mutual action. It ensures sound planning, good direction and efficient and systematic execution. Thus, everything concerned with an educational institution come under the scope of educational management. They are:

Human resources- To provide human resources like teaching and non-teaching staff to schools and colleges. Material resources- To organize material resources for their effective utilization. It selects and purchases school sites. It selects and arranges supply of text books. School records- To maintain school records and accounts properly to ensure smooth functioning of school Evaluation- To provide timely evaluation of pupil achievement and to provide regular supervision Time table- To prepare time table for effective functioning of school Discipline- To maintain good discipline in the institution Co-curricular activities- To systematically organize co-curricular activities Supervision- To effectively supervise school work. It is concerned with the selection, supervision and inspection of the teachers and other employees. It also pays the teachers and other employees and promotes them. Finance- Prepares the school budget and secures revenues for financing the school. It ensures that all school money is economically spent and every expenditure is accounted for. Educational research and publications- To encourage educational researches and publications

Functions of Educational Management

Management means steering an organization towards specified objectives through certain processes. These processes include planning, organizing, controlling, decision-making, motivating, leading, communicating, performance appraisal, linking rewards to performance, human resource development etc.

Planning

This is the most basic and extensive process in managing. It means deciding in advance what results are to be achieved and what actions are to be taken for the same and who should take such actions, where, when and how. It is necessary for a rational allocation of the resources and for anticipating the opportunities and problems that lie ahead.

Organising

This is the process of grouping people and activities at the disposal of an organization. In a judicious manner, people and activities have to be grouped to produce the best results by following the most appropriate sequence of events.

Controlling

Controlling means checking the progress of the plans and correcting any deviations that might occur along the way of implementation of plans. Controls ensure quality, appropriateness of means and actions.

Decision-making

This means converting intentions into action plans on a rational basis, on the basis of a perceived relationship between actions and outcomes. For every intended outcome, there has to be an appropriate action plan, committing energy and resources to the same. So, decision-making is the essence of all management.

Motivating

When people are brought together in an organization, there has to be a continuous process of generating sufficient interesting them to carry out actions that can benefit the organization. The process of accomplishing this is called motivation. As strategies for motivation, both monetary rewards and non-monetary rewardsare used. Motivation skill is an important component of managerial success.

Leadership

A group of people always needs leadership to function effectively and to produce significant results. Leadership is a process of making ordinary people to do extra ordinary things which they would not accomplish if left alone. Leadership involves skills in ideal building, inspiring, divergent interests, building self-confidence and morale etc.

Communicating

Communication is aimed at making others understand what they are expected to do and at ensuring whether they are doing it or not. This calls for clarity of objectives, of means, of the capacity and willingness of the people concerned, of their styles of thinking and acting etc.

Performance appraisal

For ensuring effective performance of individuals, groups and organisations, it is necessary to have good systems of performance appraisal. Performance appraisal is the process of evaluating the contribution of an employee for the purpose of determining his reward and development needs. This can be done through;

Establishing acceptable levels of performance in quantitative and qualitative terms Adopting effective methods of assessment Using performance appraisal data for various managerial objectives Giving feedback to the employee to help him modify his/her behavior in the organization. Linking rewards to performance

Rewards given to employees should be linked to their performance so as to motivate employees to perform better. Where such a linking is absent, fall in standards and failure to achieve excellence in performance are natural outcomes.

Human resource development

This is a process of helping employees to develop their competence in a continuous manner, for the benefit of themselves, their organization, and the society. Supervision and performance appraisal should always be accompanied by steps for human resource development. It is only then that it becomes developmental supervision. Career planning, career guidance, setting of standards for performance, performance appraisal, feedback on performance, training programmes etc. are some of the strategies for human resource development.

Principles of Educational Management

Henri Fayol’s principles of management (1916) are given below:

Division of work Parity of authority and responsibility Discipline Unity of command Subordination of individual interest to general interest Fair remuneration Centralisation and decentralization Scalar chain of employees in ranks Order Equity(fair treatment) Stability of tenure of personnel Initiate (eagerness to work) Team spirit

Management may be compared to a lens that brings everything about the educational system into focus for the community, faculty and students. If it is a poor lens, the image is fuzzy ,obscure and no one in the educational system or the community gets a clear picture of the educational system. If it is a good lens, the educational system becomes clear-cut and vivid projection of the ideals and ideas whose existence have been envisaged.

Aspects of Educational Management (5M’s)

Management of Men- Human resources

Human resources of an educational institution involves the entire staff, both teaching and non-teaching- teachers, clerks, researchers, students, parents, members of the community, members of the managing or governing body and departmental officials. Management of human resources is very vital at present and demands for selection, recruitment, appointment, retention, development and motivation of the personnel to achieve the educational objectives.

The individuals involved in the process should be provided with adequate facilities for reaching the highest levels of achievement and for improving their professional growth to a maximum. So, an educational institution in order to be effective and efficient must ensure that there are right type of people with the right skills, in the right place and at the right time for carrying out the various services.

Management of Money- Financial resources

It deals with the utilization and development of financial resources and its allocation in different heads for the smooth management of educational institutions. School management requires proper budgeting, accounting and audit system as these are required for making transparent policies, plans, rules and regulations.

Management of Machines- Instrumental resources

The modern age of science and technology has made it possible to equip the educational institutions with various media, machines and technological innovations. All these materials are to be utilized effectively and efficiently to yield maximum output.

Management of Materials- Physical Resources

Basic infrastructure is essential for every institution. Buildings, playgrounds, equipments, furniture, machineries and stationaries are required for varios practical purposes. Libraries, laboratories, auditorium, playground etc. are part and parcel of an educational institution for organizing different curricular and co-curricular programmes.

Management of Method- Ideational resources

This implies the organization of ideas and principles into the educational institutions. The resources based on ideas include the curriculum, method of teaching, innovations and experiments. Since these ideational resources have significant role in contributing to the well-being of the institution, their management is also crucial.

Models of Management

There are a number of different models of school management; each recognizable by the particular way in which decision-making is carried out. Some of them are as follows:

The Hierarchical Model

In this system, there is clearly defined structure of authority. The headmaster takes complete authority over all that goes on in the school. The lines of authority move downwards.

The Departmental Model

In this system, the headmaster delegates authority to senior members of staff and the lines of authority move outwards rather than downwards. The headmaster will usually make clear what he would like to see happening in the school and will do this through discussion with other teachers of the school.

The Democratic Model

In this system, there are no lines of authority operating as in the other models. Instead, the school operates through a school council which has representatives of all interest groups. Policy-making decisions are taken by this council with the headmaster in the role of chairman or co-ordinator