1. Communication inSchools
Chapter 12
Lebanese International University
International Education
Administration & Policy Analysis
EDU 677
Communication in Schools
Leila Zaim -11130067
Dr. Hasan Younis
December 2019
2. What is
Communication Communication is the process of
transmitting and sharing ideas, opinions,
facts, values etc. from one person to
another or one organization to another
Communication
is the process of
sending and
receiving
messages through
verbal or
nonverbal means
Communication
pervades in all
aspects of school
is essential to
enhance students
and school
performance
Communication
aims to express
meaning,
create similar
understandings
, and influence
actions
Communication
skills:
Through authentic
models of effective
communication,
students build
fluency in the
listening and
speaking skills
needed to achieve
academic and
personal success.
.
3. Four caveats (
cautions) for
Educational
Administrators
Communication is difficult
to isolate from other
administrative process such
as planning motivating and
leading
Not all school problems
involve
miscommunication. It
may be break down in
other school components
Communication reveals and
eliminates problems , yet It can
surface conflicts in values among
teachers, students, and
administrators that may otherwise
go unnoticed
u
Communication is a
process that evokes action
but is far from the
substance of good
administration.
4. Senders
• Referred to sources,
speakers, and signalers
can
• Distribute messages to
other individuals or groups
• Have Goals &Strategies
Receiver :destination of the message
Outcomes general
results : new
knowledge ,
change in rules
feedback shows If
message is
understood need
adjustment
Context most
important
influences all the
components.
Openness of school
climate -level of
bureaucratization-
level of trust
Mediaor channels simply
are the vehicles carrying the
messages. Face to face ; to
telephones,
e-mail, and video
–facetoface-letters
5. One-way
Communication
Unilateral : initiated by
the sender and
terminated by the receiver
Common examples in
schools Classroom lecture,
Announcements..
Two-way
communication
interactive process with all
participants in the process
Example Conversation
Debate) benefits we have
feed back
Types of
Communication
8. SendingSkills
arethe abilities to
makeoneself
understood.A key
to effective
communication.
Sending skills canbe
enhanced
throughthe following
five methods
1-Use
various and appropriate
media. Be skillful in matching
richness of the media to
communication needs
2-minimize noise from the
physical and psychological
environments.
3-Educators should use face
to face communication , use
richness repetition, and
feedback to enhance
understanding the message
4- Use appropriate, direct
language, avoiding educational
jargon and complex concepts –
show Knowledge of the subject to
establish credibility
5 - should provide clear,
complete information
to listener
9. Listening Skills: are the abilities of
individuals to understand others-
Active listening
Listening skills are required for
accurate, two-way exchanges
Active listening :encourages others to
develop and express their own points of
view
Critical elements in effective listening skills
Summarizing : similar to paraphrasing covers a longer
period of time, comes at the end of the conversation
Skillful
questions
clarify and
elaborate
and are
natural
part of skill
full
listening
Paraphrasing :shows
that you are paying
attention and
understanding it
provides feedback
to the speaker (
correction
Mechanism)
10. Feedback
skills is the
audience's
response; it
enables you to
evaluate the
effectiveness
of the
message
Asking questions, describing behaviour,
and paraphrasing what the speaker has
said.
Feedback consists of both verbal and
nonverbal messages
Information should be helpful to the
recipient, specific rather than general,
recent rather than old, encourage
effective behaviour
neutral or positive feedback is easier to
give than negative assessments; people
are reluctant both to give and receive
negative feedback
Some people rationalize such behaviour
as tact, human relations, or survival.
Acceptance of both positive and
negative feedback if timing the session
appropriately .and building trust within
the group through frequent
communication
11. Strategies for
feed back skills
Individuals should
develop feedback-
seeking skills
because such
actions will help
them adapt and
be successful
1-watch how people respond to and
reinforce others
feedback-seeking actions can be hard on an
individual’s self-esteem . Some students and
employees prefer doing the work wrong than being
corrected
2 -inquire directly about how others
perceive and evaluate your behavior.
12. Speak up :Talking is expected of
authority figures; in fact, it is a
necessary condition for status
. Use Standard English :
avoid Slang and street
language
Use sophisticated speech:
Refined vocabulary and varied
word choice conveys assurance
and competence
Pronounce your consonants :
Pronunciation is important in
conveying status, respect, and
confidence
Speak at an appropriate
articulate enhances credibility
and persuasiveness
Be direct : Get to the
point without excuses-
don’t undermine the
message
Be confident : Avoid
hesitant and uncertain
speech; it
communicates doubt
14. as the content of communication becomes
more complicated or uncertain, richer media will be
selected to improve communication
performance
• most effective and accurate
communication efforts use
a combination of written
and oral media
• Written communication
alone can be effective in
two situations—where
information requires future
action or where it is general.
• oral medium by itself also
can be effective in two
situations demanding
immediate feedback: for
administering reprimands
and settling disputes. Four criteria
define verbal media richness: Speed of feedback, variety of
communication channels,, and richness of language
Verbal Media
15. Signals
Symbols
Body language
• The face is the most obvious nonverbal conveyor of
feelings
• Without formal training, observers of facial expression can
distinguish a variety of human emotions such as
excitement, humiliation, and fear.
• Eye-to-eye contact is one of the most direct and powerful
ways people communicate nonverbally.
• Direct eye contact is also seen as an indication of honesty
and credibility
• Work Place : setting also is important represents personal
territory.Where a meeting is held may intimate the
purpose of the meeting.
• administrator talking across the desk to a person seated at
the other side.This layout emphasizes the administrator’s
authority and position.
• Meeting Desk indicates willingness to downplay
hierarchical differences, freer exchanges are encouraged.
Note :Verbal and nonverbal messages
must be consistent for effective understanding
Signals
Symbols
Body language
16. Congruence of
Verbal and
Nonverbal
Messages
( in Harmony )
Verbal and nonverbal
messages must be consistent
for effective understanding.
typical verbal statement is,
“If you have any questions or
problems, please come by
my office, and we’ll discuss
the situation. My door is
always open.”
if the person is met at the
door, ushered to a chair, and
a productive conference
results, the verbal message is
reinforced and the meaning
is understood.
The administrator remains in
the chair behind the desk,
leaves the staff member
standing or seats him across
the room, and continues to
write, the verbal message is
contradicted.
17. Sources in the
communication
process
Credibility:The credibility or
believability of the sender
influence the effectiveness of a
message.Two characteristics
that influence credibility are
expertness and trustworthiness
• Cognitive Capacities: Information-processing
capacity (communication skills, knowledge of subject) and
personality and motivation factors(attitudes,value,
interests, and expectations) combine to limit and filter the
content and the quality of the messages.
• Cognitive structures and processes also influence the
recipient’s ability to understand or decode the message.
18. Communicationin
CONTEX
the culturalsocialand
physical setting in
which communication
takes place in
The process is
clouded by
contextual factors
that are typically
called Noise or
Barriers
18
Noise
Noise is any distraction
that interferes with the
communication
process.
Noise can be so intense
that it becomes more
important than the content
of the message itself
19. Examples Prejudices toward age, gender,
race, social class, sexual orientation, and
ethnic group differences constitute barriers
in the communication process that distort
messages.
• Formula: Meaning=Information +Communication
+Media + Context
• Who speaking to whom and what roles do they occupy?
• Is the language or set of symbols able to convey the
information so both the sender and receiver can
understand it?
• What media are being used?
• What is the contextual factors are creating noise that
might block or distort the message?
20. Organizational
communication
Communication
activities, either
written or oral,
which happen
within the
organization
towards specific
goals.
:
.
Examples:
• Writing and sending emails
• Talking on the phone
• Having meetings.Tele and
video conferences
• Speeches and
presentations
• Organization
communication takes place
in;
- Meetings (Briefings/ Project
Performance)
- Interviews ( e.g.When
recruiting, development etc)
21. Purpose and
Benefits of
Organizational
Communication
benefits of effective organizational communication
• Higher quality of services and products.
• Greater levels of trust and commitment. increased
employee engagement .
• Higher levels of creativity.
• Greater employee job satisfaction and morale of
employees
22. A communication
network refers to how
information flows within
the organization. They
are the vehicles, or forms
a message travels in
organizations
Formal Communicati
on Network – is
created by
management and
described with the help
of an organizational
Chart.
The informal communication network that exists in a
workplace is often termed “the grapevine”. This is when
colleagues chat or gossip about what's going on in the
company
23. Communication
role that a
person serves.
communication
The role that a
person serves
A star role known as opinion
leader. Have influence. If they
are admired by other
employees and have a positive
commanding presence, the star
is potentially powerful.
Isolate role : less frequent
communication and even excluded
accompanied by feelings of
alienation, low job satisfaction,
little commitment often the last to
know of policy changes
, and low performance.
Bridges passing of information
between two groups .
Liaisons are individuals who link
groups to which they do not tend
to be grouped together Liaisons
are formally assigned by the
organization to link different
departments and ensure accurate
communication among
them.
24. Formal
Communication
Networks in
Schools
severalfactorsmustbe
present
•Thechannels mustlinkevery
member oftheorganization.
Thechannels ofcommunication
mustbeknown.
•Lines ofcommunication mustbe
asdirectandasshortaspossible.
•Thecompletenetworkof
communication shouldtypicallybe
used.
•Everycommunication mustbe
authenticated asbeingissuedfrom
thecorrectauthority
Formal communication channels, or networks, traverse the
organization through the hierarchy of authority.
Three characteristics of
school adopt formal the
system of communication:
1-Centralized: authority
restricted to upper
management .
2 Shape (Tall structure)
downward flow of
information. The taller the
more formal the
communication is
3-Hierarchy: Ranking of
employees according to
authority
25. Informal or grapevine communication promotes
social relationship among the participants. It helps
to build up unity, integrity and solidarity among
them and boosts up their morale. Informal
communication is the casual and unofficial form of
communication wherein the information is
exchanged spontaneously between two or more
persons without conforming the prescribed official
rules, processes, system, formalities and chain of
command
26. Within schools, there
is not a single unitary
network, but a series
of formal and informal
networks interrelated
and overlapping each
other. both the
substance and the
direction of
communication can
make the two systems
complementary.
For effective
communication
Formal and
Informal
Networks: must
complement
each other .
Substance is
Instrumental
communications instrumental
communication distributes information and
knowledge and develop consent about
methods and procedures. It is considered
concrete and clear. Examples
:administrative documentation, data
records ….
Expressive communication, attempts to
change or reinforce attitudes, norms, and
values
28. Informal downward provides fives
types of communications:
• Instructions about special tasks.
• Rationale about why the task needs
to be done and how it relates to
other tasks.
• Information about organizational
procedures and practices.
• Feedback about the performance
levels of individuals.
• Information regarding the
organization’s goals
29. Upward Communication is the process of information flowing from
the lower levels of a hierarchy to the upper levels.This type of
communication is becoming more popular in organizations as
traditional forms of communication are becoming less popular.
30. Horizontal /Lateral
communication refers
to the flow of
messages across
functional areas on the
same level of an
organization. Effective
use of horizontal
communication in the
workplace can
enhance productivity
by making information
sharing, problem
solving, collaboration,
and conflict resolution
more efficient.
