Day to day concerns/Key Areas of School Management

Whitaker (1983) writing with particular reference to school Head teachers but, never the less, with a more general message, suggests that there are four elements, which can be identified in response to the question “What is to be managed?” These are:

1. The allocation and application of responsibilities within the school;
2. The curriculum;
3. The organization of the school including the distribution of resources and the arrangements for communication, and
4. Decision-making; the people in and connected with the school.

• Managing Cooperation within School
• Relationship of School and Community
• Staff Management
• Resource Management
• Curriculum Management
• Evaluation of Institutional Performance
• Management of School
• School Culture/environment
• Co-curricular Activities

3.1 Managing Cooperation within School

A school must first and foremost, be a cooperative institution. Cooperation between headmaster and staff, among members of the staff, between headmaster and pupils, between teachers and pupils, and between school and parents is emphasized. Organization is a means to secure the smooth and efficient running of this cooperative society. L.P. Jacks says that the most precious art in the world is that by which crowds can be turned into communities and the school is undoubtedly the first and the foremost agency, which can perform this duty most efficiently. The school with a community life of its own is an excellent training for learners. When the child cannot live in this small organization on a cooperative basis, how can we expect that he will be able to pull on well in a very complex world where co-operation is necessary?

3.2 Relationship of the School and Community

The school must have the most intimate relationship with community. The modern idea is to consider the school as a community centre. Education is not to be regarded as an isolated activity, but is related to life at all points. It is wrong to think that education in a school is the exclusive responsibility and privilege of teachers. It is the business of the whole society. Teachers should find ways and means for attracting the society to the school.

3.3 Staff Management

The function of managing all employees in the organization, including the development of staff skills through training and other forms of staff development as well as the identification, development and implementation of training needs and programs available for staff.

3.4       Resource Management

In an organization, resource management is the efficient and effective deployment of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, physical resources, or information technology. (Wikipedia. 2007)

It is the discovery and selection of resources, their allocation and effective utilization and advance reservation of resources.

3.5       Curriculum Management:

The most important objective of school management is achieved through proper curriculum, the primary objective of which is the transmission of traditions and culture and preparation of individual for the future. It is a sad commentary on the education of developing countries like Pakistan that due to modernization their traditions have found no prominent place in school system. School should not be mere mirrors of society but should be critics of society as well. In the interest of proper education, therefore, it is imperative that the curriculum be modified in terms of culture of respective community and responsive to the needs of individuals and society.

After 18th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan, Education is the provincial subject. Previously we had centralized system of education and curriculum planning and development was a federal activity carried out by Curriculum Wing, Ministry of Education. Now provinces are responsible for curriculum development. Punjab Curriculum Authority has been created to undertake these activities. However efforts are underway to have centralized system of curriculum development by creating Ministry of Education and Training. The institutions are thus the implementers of curriculum.

Curriculum is defined as planned set of activities / learning experiences to be carried out in and outside the institution performed individually or in groups. At institutional level it is the delivery of curriculum, which is managed with respect to the guidelines, provided in the prescribed curriculum document, Teachers training, required facilities etc.

3.6       Institutional Performance

Typically, when we think of performance of organizations, we think of the performance of employees. However, performance management should also be focused on units/ sections, processes, programs, services and teams to accomplish results.

Simply, performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on performance of the organization, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees, etc

3.7   School Management

          School Management mainly refers to the effective utilization of the available resources to efficiently attain the educational objectives. New trends in school management also includes School Based Curriculum Development, school focused in-service training and the self-evaluation of schools. However, the mission of each school leads to the realization of school management as a specialized and specific field.

 3.8      Institutional Culture/Environment

Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate"), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity. All the conditions and practices of an institution forms its environment. The environment has a direct link with the quality of school and the quality of education.

3.9   Co-curricular Activities

One of the important activities of the school management is training its pupils in the gracious art of living. It includes training in the habit and graces of social life and the capacity for co-operative work. It calls for patience, temper, sincerity, fellow feeling and discipline. These can only be cultivated in the context of social life and the many curricular and co-curricular activities that must find a recognized place in every school.

 3.10     Supervision

   Supervision is a compound term. ‘Super’ connotes above, over or beyond, whereas ‘Vision’ is derived from video – to see. Conceptually, then supervision means overseeing. In turn, this overseeing suggests, being watchful, in control, providing direction. These elements of supervision are manifested, behaviorally, in the procedures, used in overseeing or directing work of others.