Challenges in leading and managing people in educational institutions are worthwhile indicators that require constant checks and adjustments. These verifications are necessary because humans are complex beings and whose thinking faculties are not fixed and often guided by situational and environmental factors. Consequently, they must have divergent views which may pose unpredictable problems to administrators. Only very smart and ardent leaders maybe quick to detect, withstand and overcome such inevitables. The need for such challenges to be identified and controlled before they galvanize subordinates into negative behavioral tendencies cannot be under-estimated. This paper therefore examined possible challenges which may manifest as impediments or hindrances to the effective leading and managing of people in educational institutions in Cameroon. A number of challenges were examined and discussed in the paper. Suggestions for ways of checking and controlling the challenges have been made to serve as a reservoir of checks and guides for school administrators and leaders. The paper cautions school managers to be tactful and apply modern charismatic approaches in the control, directing of staff and managing of their institutions.
Influence of Inspirational Motivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public P...inventionjournals
The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers’ job commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya. One research objective guided the study. The study employed descriptive survey design. The sample for the study was 25 head teachers and 169 teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaires. Pearson product correlation coefficient was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between inspirational motivation and teachers’ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). Based on the findings, the study concluded that inspirational motivation increased teachers’ job commitment and thus head teachers should increase inspirational motivation which is a key to increasing teachers’ job commitment. The study suggested that comparable studies in other public primary schools should be carried out in other parts of the county to find out whether the findings can be generalized to the entire county. Secondly, since the study focused on one element of transformative leadership style, a study should be conducted to establish how other elements of transformational leadership styles influence teachers’ job commitment.
Influence of Inspirational Motivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public P...inventionjournals
The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers’ job commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya. One research objective guided the study. The study employed descriptive survey design. The sample for the study was 25 head teachers and 169 teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaires. Pearson product correlation coefficient was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between inspirational motivation and teachers’ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). Based on the findings, the study concluded that inspirational motivation increased teachers’ job commitment and thus head teachers should increase inspirational motivation which is a key to increasing teachers’ job commitment. The study suggested that comparable studies in other public primary schools should be carried out in other parts of the county to find out whether the findings can be generalized to the entire county. Secondly, since the study focused on one element of transformative leadership style, a study should be conducted to establish how other elements of transformational leadership styles influence teachers’ job commitment.
The Influence Of Leadership Behavior, Organizational Climate, Intrinsic Motiv...inventionjournals
ABSTRACT: This research aims to explicate the influence of leadership behavior, organizational climate, intrinsic motivation, and engagement as mediating variables on permanent lecturers’ performance (a study in a private university in region 3 of special region of Jakarta). This is an explanatory research which describes a relationship between the research variables. The object of this research was investigated 3 times in a private university in region 3 of special region of Jakarta, with one homogeneous factor: Faculty of Economics, Management Program, Bachelor’s Degree Level, with the number of students as many as 2,000 and has achieved an “A” accreditation level. The analysis unit employed in this research consisted of 150 permanent lecturers. The analysis instrument used to test 10 hypotheses employed in this research was Generalized Structured Component Analysis (GSCA). The result of the analyses showed that there were 4 out of the 10 hypotheses tested which were found to be influential and significant while the other 6 hypotheses were found to be insignificantly influential. The hypotheses which were empirically proven in this research were (1) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Organizational Climate, (2) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Engagement, (3) The Influence of Organizational Climate on the Engagement, and (4) The Influence of Organizational Climate on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer. Meanwhile, the hypotheses which were empirically not proven in this research were (1) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Intrinsic Motivation, (2) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer, (3) The Influence of Organizational Climate on the Intrinsic Motivation, (4) The Influence of Intrinsic Motivation on the Engagement, (5) The Influence of Intrinsic Motivation on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer, and (6) The Influence of Engagement on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer.
it is about the personality perception and motivation of a person along with the theories of the personality and traits of different personality organisational behavior is the subject and it will help you prepare for the presentation for free
Organizations can be said to be a system or combination of systems which is dependent on the structure of the organization, the people working inside the organization and behaviour, the technology that is being used inside an organization, etc.
Leadership: It's Not Just a Challenge, It's an Adventure by Dr. James D. Laubguest3c8a16c
Leadership: It's Not Just a Challenge, It's an Adventure by Dr. James D. Laub
NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL, Editor-in-Chief, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis
Change Management in Adult EducationalOrganizations A Slove.docxtidwellveronique
Change Management in Adult Educational
Organizations: A Slovenian Case Study
Romana Martinčič
Successful implementing and managing of change is urgently necessary
for each adult educational organization. During the process, leading
of the staff is becoming a key condition and the most significant fac-
tor. Beside certain personal traits of the leader, change management
demands also certain leadership knowledges, skills, versatilities and be-
haviour which may even border on changing the organizational culture.
The paper finds the significance of certain values and of organizational
climate and above all the significance of leadership style which a leader
will adjust to the staff and to the circumstances. The author presents a
multiple qualitative case study of managing change in three adult edu-
cational organizations. The paper finds that factors of successful lead-
ing of change exist which represent an adequate approach to leading the
staff during the introduction of changes in educational organizations.
Its originality/value is in providing information on the important re-
lationship between culture, leadership styles and leader’s behaviour as
preconditions for successful implementing and managing of strategic
change.
Key Words: change management, educational organization, leadership,
process of changes, qualitative research
jel Classification: i10, m10
Introduction
The only constant of the time we live in are the changes in all areas of our
life and work. They are incited by a number of factors: technological ad-
vancement, changed expectations and needs of the clients, changed mar-
ket conditions, changing of legislation, changed social values etc. (Paton
and McCalman 2000); no organization – large or small, local or global
– is immune to change (Kotter 1998b). Educational organization must
follow the opportunities and avoid the threats which occur in the con-
temporary turbulent environment. The changing of legislation and reg-
ulation of education entails change implementation in a special manner
‘from the top downwards.’ An educational organization has little or no
Romana Martinčič is a Director’s Human Resources Assistant at the
University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Slovenia
Managing Global Transitions 8 (1): 79–96
80 Romana Martinčič
influence on such change. Its task is more or less to respond to change, as
it has no choice but to operate in accordance with the rules. Much more
interesting for the long term efficiency of an organization is the change
that originates from the organization itself as a premeditated, planned
activity caused by various reasons: fewer pupils and students, young or
adults, the need to improve the quality in education or to introduce new
formal or informal forms of education etc.
Several authors (Fullan 2001; Bukovec 2005; Coleman 1994; Drucker
1999; Kotter and Cohen 2003; Tracy 1999) claim that successful imple-
menting and managing of change depends on the lead ...
Essay about Leadership Theories
Outline Of Leadership Theories
Leadership Theory Paper
Leadership Theories Essay
Essay on Different Leadership Theories
Leadership Theories Essay
Leadership Theories
Leadership Theories
Leadership Theories Essay
The Influence Of Leadership Behavior, Organizational Climate, Intrinsic Motiv...inventionjournals
ABSTRACT: This research aims to explicate the influence of leadership behavior, organizational climate, intrinsic motivation, and engagement as mediating variables on permanent lecturers’ performance (a study in a private university in region 3 of special region of Jakarta). This is an explanatory research which describes a relationship between the research variables. The object of this research was investigated 3 times in a private university in region 3 of special region of Jakarta, with one homogeneous factor: Faculty of Economics, Management Program, Bachelor’s Degree Level, with the number of students as many as 2,000 and has achieved an “A” accreditation level. The analysis unit employed in this research consisted of 150 permanent lecturers. The analysis instrument used to test 10 hypotheses employed in this research was Generalized Structured Component Analysis (GSCA). The result of the analyses showed that there were 4 out of the 10 hypotheses tested which were found to be influential and significant while the other 6 hypotheses were found to be insignificantly influential. The hypotheses which were empirically proven in this research were (1) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Organizational Climate, (2) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Engagement, (3) The Influence of Organizational Climate on the Engagement, and (4) The Influence of Organizational Climate on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer. Meanwhile, the hypotheses which were empirically not proven in this research were (1) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Intrinsic Motivation, (2) The Influence of Leadership Behavior on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer, (3) The Influence of Organizational Climate on the Intrinsic Motivation, (4) The Influence of Intrinsic Motivation on the Engagement, (5) The Influence of Intrinsic Motivation on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer, and (6) The Influence of Engagement on the Performance of Permanent Lecturer.
it is about the personality perception and motivation of a person along with the theories of the personality and traits of different personality organisational behavior is the subject and it will help you prepare for the presentation for free
Organizations can be said to be a system or combination of systems which is dependent on the structure of the organization, the people working inside the organization and behaviour, the technology that is being used inside an organization, etc.
Leadership: It's Not Just a Challenge, It's an Adventure by Dr. James D. Laubguest3c8a16c
Leadership: It's Not Just a Challenge, It's an Adventure by Dr. James D. Laub
NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL, Editor-in-Chief, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis
Change Management in Adult EducationalOrganizations A Slove.docxtidwellveronique
Change Management in Adult Educational
Organizations: A Slovenian Case Study
Romana Martinčič
Successful implementing and managing of change is urgently necessary
for each adult educational organization. During the process, leading
of the staff is becoming a key condition and the most significant fac-
tor. Beside certain personal traits of the leader, change management
demands also certain leadership knowledges, skills, versatilities and be-
haviour which may even border on changing the organizational culture.
The paper finds the significance of certain values and of organizational
climate and above all the significance of leadership style which a leader
will adjust to the staff and to the circumstances. The author presents a
multiple qualitative case study of managing change in three adult edu-
cational organizations. The paper finds that factors of successful lead-
ing of change exist which represent an adequate approach to leading the
staff during the introduction of changes in educational organizations.
Its originality/value is in providing information on the important re-
lationship between culture, leadership styles and leader’s behaviour as
preconditions for successful implementing and managing of strategic
change.
Key Words: change management, educational organization, leadership,
process of changes, qualitative research
jel Classification: i10, m10
Introduction
The only constant of the time we live in are the changes in all areas of our
life and work. They are incited by a number of factors: technological ad-
vancement, changed expectations and needs of the clients, changed mar-
ket conditions, changing of legislation, changed social values etc. (Paton
and McCalman 2000); no organization – large or small, local or global
– is immune to change (Kotter 1998b). Educational organization must
follow the opportunities and avoid the threats which occur in the con-
temporary turbulent environment. The changing of legislation and reg-
ulation of education entails change implementation in a special manner
‘from the top downwards.’ An educational organization has little or no
Romana Martinčič is a Director’s Human Resources Assistant at the
University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Slovenia
Managing Global Transitions 8 (1): 79–96
80 Romana Martinčič
influence on such change. Its task is more or less to respond to change, as
it has no choice but to operate in accordance with the rules. Much more
interesting for the long term efficiency of an organization is the change
that originates from the organization itself as a premeditated, planned
activity caused by various reasons: fewer pupils and students, young or
adults, the need to improve the quality in education or to introduce new
formal or informal forms of education etc.
Several authors (Fullan 2001; Bukovec 2005; Coleman 1994; Drucker
1999; Kotter and Cohen 2003; Tracy 1999) claim that successful imple-
menting and managing of change depends on the lead ...
Essay about Leadership Theories
Outline Of Leadership Theories
Leadership Theory Paper
Leadership Theories Essay
Essay on Different Leadership Theories
Leadership Theories Essay
Leadership Theories
Leadership Theories
Leadership Theories Essay
3In the previous chapter, we reviewed how theorists’ view .docxtamicawaysmith
3
In the previous chapter, we reviewed how theorists’ view of lead-ership has changed, from the belief that leaders are simply born
to the idea that the best way to learn about leadership is to study
the behaviors or practices of people who are viewed as leaders. The-
orizing has evolved even further into an understanding of leader-
ship as a complex process. Indeed, leadership is a transforming
process that raises all participants to levels at which they can
become effective leaders.
Leadership may best be understood as philosophy. At its core,
understanding philosophy means understanding values. “Affect,
motives, attitudes, beliefs, values, ethics, morals, will, commitment,
preferences, norms, expectations, responsibilities—such are the con-
cerns of leadership philosophy proper. Their study is paramount
because the very nature of leadership is that of practical philosophy,
philosophy-in-action” (Hodgkinson, 1983, p. 202). When we exam-
ine historical leaders, we often are analyzing the values and ethics
that characterized their leadership. It is critical that we each
develop our own personal philosophy—one we hope will include
the elements of the model presented in this chapter.
Chapter Overview
This chapter presents a relational model of leadership to consider
in building your own personal philosophy. Each of the elements of
The Relational Leadership Model
73
c03.qxd 10/30/06 10:07 AM Page 73
74 EXPLORING LEADERSHIP
the model is presented in detail to give you more information about
each component.
Relational Leadership
Leadership has to do with relationships, the role of which cannot
be overstated. Leadership is inherently a relational, communal
process. “Leadership is always dependent on the context, but the
context is established by the relationships we value” (Wheatley,
1992, p. 144). Although a person could exert leadership of ideas
through persuasive writings or making speeches, most leadership
happens in an interactive context between individuals and among
group members. We emphasize once again: we view leadership as a
relational and ethical process of people together attempting to accomplish
positive change.
Chapter Two presented an overview of how leadership theories
and models have changed over time. These changing frameworks
are reflected in the descriptive terms that have been affixed to the
word leadership. Examples of these leadership theories and concepts
include situational, transforming, servant-leadership, authentic lead-
ership, and principle-centered leadership. We have used the term
relational leadership as a reminder that relationships are the focal
point of the leadership process.
Relational leadership involves a focus on five primary compo-
nents. This approach to leadership is purposeful and builds com-
mitment toward positive purposes that are inclusive of people and
diverse points of view, empowers those involved, is ethical, and rec-
ognizes that all four of these elements are accomplished by ...
12The Best LeaderIn the modern times, leaders are.docxmoggdede
1
2
The Best Leader
In the modern times, leaders are identified and recognized based on what they do and deliver. Leaders are categorized in different theories that try to explain who they are, their characteristics, skills, abilities, personalities, roles or responsibilities and limitations.
Leadership Theories
Definition and Characteristics
Advantages
Disadvantages
Path-Goal Theory
It explains a leader’s influence through his behavior to the individual’s performance, especially in an organization.
It is goal oriented. The leader guides the people. It encourages participative, supportive, and directive leadership.
It may frustrate employees, and it may be difficult for them to follow the leadership behaviors styles thus poor performance.
Situational Leadership Theory
It explains that different situations in a company may use different styles of leadership. The behavior involved are telling, selling, participating and delegating.
Easy to apply.
Focus is on maturity.
Availability of competent leaders.
Allows testing of a leadership style.
It does not apply to managers but to leaders.
It is time-consuming when waiting for future predictions of the situations.
Leadership Substitutes Theory
Just like the name of the theory, it explains the conditions in an organization that a leader may not be needed or necessary or prevented from leading.
Provides a substitute or a neutralizer to act on behalf of the leader.
The leader’s actions, decisions or ideas may be prevented thus ineffective.
Multiple Linkage Model
According to developer Gary Yukl, this model explains a leader’s behavior impact on the effectiveness of a group in an organization.
Encourages managerial skills. It also promotes conflict resolution strategies and handling work situations that may arise.
It require a competent and intellectual leader.
The decision-making process may be long.
Transactional Leadership
It concentrates on the leader and followers and maintaining a healthy relationship between the two hence loyalty and realization of advantages.
Encourages follower’s loyalty.
Promotes commitment.
Promotes good relations.
Rewards good work.
Abuse of follower’s loyalty may occur.
Its focus is majorly on short term goals.Transformational Leadership
This theory focuses on the leadership and follower’s exchange of visions, beliefs, and values
It promotes the exchange of ideas through communication. The visions set give directions. There is employee recognition.
The leaders have high expectations and standards. Decision-making process may be time-consuming
Charismatic Leadership
The leaders have a high sense of self-confidence, esteem, and purpose and can easily influence people through their personal behaviors and traits.
Highly influential, visionary, self-confident, social and energetic leaders. The leaders are also self-motivated and focused.
The leader may be self-centered giving their visions and ideas for personal gains of power and influence. The leader may h ...
The purpose of this study was to determine how parenting contributes to deviancy in school among students at Bokamoso Junior Secondary School. The study was a descriptive survey in which a questionnaire was administered to Form 2 and Form 3 students of Bokamoso Secondary School to collect data. The results were then presented using mean and standard deviation. The results showed that majority of students were male around the age of 16-20 years. The results further revealed that parental involvement has a significant influence on students being deviant, which was given by an average mean of 2.55 which is above the criterion mean of 2.50 and average standard deviation of 0.572. It was concluded that parenting is factor associated with a deviancy amongst students at Bokamoso Secondary School. It was therefore recommended that they should be a joint disciplinary council consisting of parents or guardian, teachers and school management which usually recommends on how to deal or act on certain offences depending on the gravity of offences.
This paper studies the pattern of students’ movement within and around the various classes of degrees in Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Nigeria. In this paper, a transition matrix was developed for the five classes of degrees using movement patterns in ten consecutive semesters (2011 – 2016). The probabilities of moving across the five different classes was obtained. Furthermore, a fundamental matrix was obtained to determine the expected number of students who stay within each particular class (stayers).
This study endeavoured to establish the characteristics of effective teachers and how these characteristics assisted teachers to improve learner performance. To address this aim, a case study design was employed as a methodology for the study, consisting of five rural schools. A literature study was conducted, alongside semi-structured individual interviews with five school principals and focus group interviews with twenty eight teachers from the same rural schools from where school principals were drawn. The collected data was analysed thematically, by establishing themes and their emerging categories. The established themes and their categories were interpreted and discussed to answer the research questions. The major findings of the study revealed that an effective teacher has a blend of three characteristics, namely, professional characteristics, personality characteristics and social characteristics. The blend of characteristics contribute to the quality of teaching and learning processes. The study recommended that educational practitioners in diversity should be cognisant of the characteristics of effective teachers and nurture them appropriately as these characteristics have a life-transforming effects on the lives of the learners.
This study endeavoured to establish the characteristics of effective teachers and how these characteristics assisted teachers to improve learner performance. To address this aim, a case study design was employed as a methodology for the study, consisting of five rural schools. A literature study was conducted, alongside semi-structured individual interviews with five school principals and focus group interviews with twenty eight teachers from the same rural schools from where school principals were drawn. The collected data was analysed thematically, by establishing themes and their emerging categories. The established themes and their categories were interpreted and discussed to answer the research questions. The major findings of the study revealed that an effective teacher has a blend of three characteristics, namely, professional characteristics, personality characteristics and social characteristics. The blend of characteristics contribute to the quality of teaching and learning processes. The study recommended that educational practitioners in diversity should be cognisant of the characteristics of effective teachers and nurture them appropriately as these characteristics have a life-transforming effects on the lives of the learners.
This study determined the prevalence of se1f regulatory skills (behavioural, emotional,verbal) and assessed the level of social competence of primary school pupils in Osun State. The study further examined the influence of self-regulatory skills and social competence on primary school pupils’ academic achievement. These were with a view to providing information on the association between Self-regulation and Social Competence in relation to lower Primary School Pupils’ academic achievement in Osun State Nigeria. The study adopted the correlational survey research design. The population for the study comprised primary III pupils in Osun State. Sample size consisted of 418 Primary III pupils selected using the multistage sampling procedure. Firstly, from the three Senatorial districts in Osun State, nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) were selected using simple random sampling technique (three from each senatorial district). Secondly, in each LGA, two primary schools were selected using simple random sampling technique. Thirdly, eighteen intact classes of primary Ill pupils were selected from each of the selected schools using the simple random sampling technique.The three instruments used for this study were: Sell-Regulation Observation Scale (SROS) Teachers Rating Scale (TRS); and Pupils’ Achievement Test (PAT). Data was analyzed using percentage and chi-square. The results showed that the level of primary school pupils’ behavioural self-regulatory skill was low (30%), emotional self-regulatory skill was at average (43%) while the verbal self-regulatory skill was low (27%). Overall, the level of self-regulatory skills of primary school pupils’ was low (39%). The results also indicated that the level of’ manifestation of social competence was high (64%). Results further showed that there was a statistically significant influence of self-regulatory skills and social competence on primary school pupils’ academic achievement (x2= 873.532, p<0.05). The study concluded that whilst Self-regulatory skill contributed little to pupils‘ academic achievement, Social Competence greatly influenced primary school pupils’ academic achievement in Osun State.
With growth in enrollment in online courses at the university level, the quality of those courses is coming under increased scrutiny. This study surveyed faculty with experience in online, onsite, and blended courses to identify factors most likely to impede student success in online courses as well as strategies to improve online courses. The most common responses for why students might find online courses more challenging focus in the areas time management, student-teacher interaction, and motivation. The strategies for improving student success in online courses fall into the categories of assignments, teaching strategies, and training for both faculty and students. Steps for students to take before enrolling in an online course and tips for faculty who want to teach online courses for the first time are also included as appendices.
This paper focused on analysis of emergence of criminal groups in Dar es Salaam city and Zanzibar town. Data collection was based on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Content analysis was used in analysis of data collected from the study. The study findings revealed that youths are vulnerable and susceptible to criminal activities due to corruption, fake promises from politicians, education systems, laxity of parental or guardians’ care and inspiration of children to live luxurious life. In addition, the study recommended to take proper moves that police operation and other government authorities undertake on use of force that cannot end such societal challenges. Instead, the government should provide education system, which is skilled oriented to enable young people to employ themselves. In addition, more efforts are needed to fight corruption from low level to high level of government system.
Zambian communities are rich with voices of the value of adult education, albeit unsystematically documented. It is these insightful voices that this article unveils. Phenomenological research design was employed. Three research sites were targeted comprising two chiefdoms and covering four villages, two villages from each chief dom. Data was collected using interviews and focus group discussions. After coding the data, narrative and thematic methods of data analysis were used. Findings reveal that the value of adult education is measured informally by the number of the adult population able to access social amenities equitably and equally on one hand, and on the other, by their ability to read the ‘word and the world’ as purported by Freire and Macedo (1987).
Despite a healthy production of teachers, teacher attrition is a significant concern facing school administrators across the state of Texas. This study sought to determine the extent to which questions on the Exit and Principal Surveys reflect three sets of standards which guide educator preparation in Texas: Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Standards for Teacher Educators, Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Educator Preparation Program Curriculum Standards, and Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) Exam Standards. This analysis provides important information about the validity of survey questions as a measure of standards compliance for educator preparation in Texas and also sought to determine if there is a difference between teacher candidates’ Exit Survey evaluation of preparation and principals’ Principal Survey evaluation of first-year teachers’ preparation. Findings indicated a clear disconnect. Recommendations are provided as contributions for future discussion on much needed educator preparation program standards reform.
The study sought to investigate the effect of individual counselling on academic performance of underachievers’ pupil in Maimusari Public Primary School, Jere local Government Area, Borno State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to examine the nature and causes of underachievement in Maimusari Public Primary School, also the effect of individual counselling on academic performance of the underachievers’ pupil. Based on these objectives, two research questions and one null hypothesis were answered and tested respectively. Quasi-experimental design was used for the study. Twenty-two underachieving pupils were purposively sampled from the population of the study. Both questionnaire and interview were used as method of data collection; Effect of Individual Counselling on Underachievers in Public Primary Schools (EICUPPS) and interview schedule. The data collected was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study discovered that coming late to school, not having complete learning material, depression, anxiety and teachers attitude in the classroom were the major causes of underachievement in Maimusari primary school. The study also revealed that individual counselling has helped the pupils in overcoming their learning barriers. It is therefore, concluded that individual counselling has significant effect on underachievement among pupils of public primary school in Maiduguri, Borno State. It is recommended among others that class teachers need to be oriented on how to identify underachieving pupils in their various classes and inform the appropriate authority for proper management.
The study contributes to the on-going debate regarding the significance of early childhood teachers’ instructional decision-making that take into consideration their theoretical knowledge (explicit theories) and practical experiences (implicit theories) and how they impact their instructional decision-making processes in diverse socio-cultural contexts of children. To address this gap in the literature, a qualitative multi-case study into the perceptions and classroom practices of four kindergarten teachers in two Ghanaian schools, Tata and Kariba, was carried out over a six-month period. One research question that sought to explore factors and beliefs influencing teachers’ instructional decision-making in a kindergarten classroom guided the study. Data sources used were semi-structured individual interviews and pair-based interviews and fieldnotes of classroom observations. Both within and across case interpretative analysis, as outlined. The study’s findings revealed that these teachers’ explicit theories and implicit theories of teaching influenced their instructional decision-making processes in kinder garten classrooms.
The study aimed to evaluate the “Human resource management for vocational schools at Bac Ninh province, Viet Nam: A model of faculty development program”. It concentrated on evaluating the existing Human resource management for vocational schools of the province, determining demographic profile of the respondents, profile of vocational schools. In order to come up with this analysis, a survey covering 50 specific vocational schools is implemented aiming to assess current status of the development of contingent of teachers and the factors affecting the development of teaching staff for vocational schools in Bac Ninh province such as Human resource planning; Recruitment and selection; Training and development Retention and maintenance; Promotion; Labor relations; and Transfer and retirement. Thereby, identifing the limitations in Human resource management of vocational schools. Based from all the findings of this study, the following conclusions were derived: The human resource management of vocational schools on Bac Ninh province still limited. Human resources in sufficient quantity, but the structure is not reasonable, lack of highly qualified and experienced faculty. Support policies are not sufficient to motivate faculty and attract highly qualified human resources. From the cited summary of findings and conclusions, the following are hereby recommended: Re-examining all the plans and programs for the Quality of Human Resource so that necessary updating and modification can be done; Strongly focusing on recruitment process and policies of training and retraining human resources, Specific strategies for implementing these plans must also be considered. Conducting regular evaluation of all the programs must be implemented.
The study investigated the differences in leadership styles exhibited by principals of public Colleges of Education in Ghana in relation to their sex, age, years of work experience, and academic qualification. The cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. The target population was made up of all 46 principals of public Colleges of Education in Ghana. The target population consisted of all 38 public Colleges of Education which were in existence before the absorption of eight private Colleges of Education by the government of Ghana into public system. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 38 principals for the study. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire developed by Bass and Avolio (2004) was adapted to collect data. Means, standard deviations, t-test and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the leadership styles of the principals of public Colleges of Education in Ghana based on their sex, age, and academic qualification. However, there were statistically significant differences in the leadership styles adopted by the principals in relation to their years of work experience. It was therefore concluded that many years of experience of principals of public CoEs in Ghana is critical for good leadership in these colleges. Among the recommendations was that the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) should consider years of work experience in the selection and appointment of principals for public Colleges of Education in Ghana. Additionally, in-service training and refresher courses should be organized regularly by NCTE for principals on the leadership styles suitable for achievement of objectives and goals of their colleges.
The aim of this research paper is to identify the the perceptions of teachers of English language about the main challenges in teaching primary stage pupils; and to recognize the challenges that are experienced locally in the five educational areas available in the state of Kuwait. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have been applied because data are supposed to be in the form of numbers. The survey was provided by a hard copy to about (20) teachers of English language in the state of Kuwait. The survey itself consisted of two sections. The first section refers to some sort of a ranking question. That means the teachers ordered the factors that may develop teaching English to young learners according to their point of views. The second section of the survey included an open question as follows: Which aspect do you think the most challenging in teaching young pupils and why? The results revealed that teachers of English are challenged by several factors including lack of training, resources and acknowledge. Most teachers suffered from lack of time to teach; particularly, teaching writing and grammar.
The study examines the effect of improvisation of teacher-made instructional media on students’ performance in some selected primary science concepts. Thus, a pre-test and post-test, non-randomized experimental design was adopted for the study. Three thousand, three hundred and sixty-eight (3,368) primary six pupils from 48 public primary schools in Akwa Ibom State formed the population while two hundred and nineteen primary six pupils from two schools formed the sample for the study. The two intact classes were exposed to standard and improvised science equipment. A Primary Science Performance Test (PSPT) instrument was used to collect data before and after each lesson. A t-test statistical analysis revealed that there is no significant difference of the post-test performance of intact classes exposed to improvised science equipment and those standard equipment indicating that pupils benefited equally from the standardized and improvised equipment with t-calculated score of 1.34 below the t-critical 2.92. It is recommended that the government should organize workshop on the use of improvised materials to change the orientation of the teacher centred instructional approach to teaching primary science.
Child and Youth Care (CYC) students have the right to be engaged in pedagogical practices that inspire and arouse their curiosity about their field of practice. Undergraduate course-based research in which students have an opportunity to conduct authentic research within a for-credit course is one such high-impact pedagogical practice with a growing body of evidence-based outcomes. This article presents an undergraduate course-based research project that examined child and youth care student’s beliefs about displaying love as a component of their practice. Located in the constructivist/interpretive research paradigm, this course-based research project collected data through the use of an expressive arts-based data method followed by a semi-structured questionnaire. Four overarching themes were identified during the thematic analysis: (a) authentic caring involves expressions of love, (b) expressions of love are an essential component of growth and development, (c) loving care as an ethic of relational practice, and (d) but…professionalism stands in the way. The results of this course-based study suggest that expressing love as a component of relational-centred CYC practice is not fully understood by CYC students and that much more research is needed to explore this issue.
This research describes an attempt to establish a pedagogically useful list of the most frequent semantically non-compositional multi-word combinations for English for Journalism learners in an EFL context, who need to read English news in their field of study. The list was compiled from the NOW (News on the Web) Corpus, the largest English news database by far. In consideration of opaque multi-word combinations in widespread use and pedagogical value, the researcher applied a set of selection criteria when using the corpus. Based on frequency, meaningfulness, and semantic non-compositionality, a total of 318 non-compositional multi-word combinations of 2 to 5 words with the exclusion of phrasal verbs were selected and they accounted for approximately 2% of the total words in the corpus. The list, not highly technical in nature, contains the most commonly-used multi-word units traversing various topic areas and news readers may encounter these phrasal expressions very often. As with other individual word lists, it is hoped that this opaque expressions list may serve as a reference for English for Journalism teaching.
The main objective of this study is to explore how podcasting can be implemented in teaching English as a Second Language as a supportive technological tool and thus contribute to the development of positive attitudes and beliefs of the learners. To this aim, the field experiment research was conducted. The study was carried out in a total of 28 pupils of the first grade of high school at an educational institution on Rhodes, Greece in February 2018. The students were assigned into the experimental group (15 students) and the control group (13 students). The results of the research have shown a positive change in students’ attitudes and beliefs, though no statistically significant difference has arisen regarding the students’ interest in the course, their self-confidence in English, the role of gender in learning English and the difficulties students come across when studying English. Similarly, no significant change has occurred regarding the usefulness of English, the importance of the English accent and the knowledge of another foreign language as a contributing factor to learning English more easily. Finally, a negative change was found regarding difficulties in oral communication in English.
One of the challenges of higher education focuses on the improvement of personal and professional skills of students, with the aim of strengthening strategies that include cutting-edge resources in the learning process. The appropriate use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching work as support in face-to-face mode, has a significant impact on engineering professionals. With the correct handling of instruments, strategies, evaluations and educational materials mediated by technologies, which provide great advantages, where the student can work at their own pace and improve the synchronous and asynchronous communication channels with the teacher and their classmates to develop skills and acquire experiences. This work presents the incorporation of educational resources in virtual scenarios as support to the learning units taught in face-to-face modality in the Interdisciplinary Professional Unit of Engineering campus Guanajuato (UPIIG), with the purpose of reinforcing in the student self-management of knowledge to discover new teaching experiences and motivate them in the achievement of meaningful learning.
This study aims to recognize effectiveness methods of teaching skills in primary school in English , the researcher used the numbered heads together strategy as an effective method in education skills, the researcher used an experimental design with two groups (control group and experiment group), with a post-test for the achievement of Al-Khamaal Primary school , Fifth class , The sample of the study consisted of (60) pupils at Al-Khamaal Primary school in English, for the academic year (2018-2019). The researcher equaled the two research groups statistically by ( age by months, the marks of the last year, the achievement of the parents), so there were no statistical significance between the two groups in variables. The researcher used a test to collect data. The analysis of the data showed that the numbered heads together strategy has a great effect in teaching skills at primary schools. At the end of this study, the researcher presented some recommendations. These recommendations that focus on paying more attention to the learning strategies that used to improve educational process, moreover, teacher at primary schools should use effective strategies and effective methods in teaching skills.
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Challenges in Leading and Managing People in Institutions of Learning in Cameroon
1. Research Journal of Education
ISSN(e): 2413-0540, ISSN(p): 2413-8886
Vol. 3, No. 11, pp: 150-156, 2017
URL: http://arpgweb.com/?ic=journal&journal=15&info=aims
*Corresponding Author
150
Academic Research Publishing Group
Challenges in Leading and Managing People in Institutions of
Learning in Cameroon
Agbor Michael Ntui Ph.D Higher Teacher Technical Training College Bambili, The University of Bamenda, Northwestern
Cameroon
1. Introduction
Educational leadership involves working with and guiding teachers toward improving educational processes in
elementary, secondary and postsecondary institutions, going above and beyond just management and administrative
tasks. They are trained to advance and improve educational systems and create and enact policies. An administrator
is one who directs the activities of other persons and undertakes the responsibility for achieving certain objectives
through these efforts while leadership refers to people who bend the motivations and actions of others to achieving
certain goal; it implies taking initiatives (Fonkeng and Tamajong, 2009).
Being a leader is in itself a challenge. The challenges of leadership are really of three kinds: external, coming
from people and situations; internal, stemming from within the leader himself; and those arising from the nature of
the leadership role. Blame is a remarkably popular but ineffective strategy for change. School systems blame
colleges, who, in turn, blame school systems. In Cameroon, administrators blame teachers, who, in turn, blame
administrators for impossible workloads and inadequate working conditions. High schools blame secondary schools,
who in turn blame primary schools for the challenges faced and the blame continues.
If we aspire to seize the opportunities 21st century learning presents, then we must first make the shift from
blame to assuming responsibility. When our students confront difficulty and failure, we expect them to respect our
feedback, change their learning strategies, and try again. That is the essence of the resilience, self-discipline, and
work ethics that are essential for successful students in every century. Therefore, education professionals must
embrace feedback, seize personal responsibility, and model the changes required to close the gaps of the challenges
they face as far as leading or managing people in these institutions are concerned. This paper therefore seeks to
examine some challenges in leading and managing people in educational institutions of learning.
There is a great interest in educational leadership in the early part of the twenty first century. This is because of
the wide spread belief that the quality of leadership makes a significant difference to school and student outcomes
(Bush and Heystek, 2003). As such a key to understanding the processes within educational institutions and
organizations is to view a choice opportunity as a garbage can into which various problems and solutions are
dumped by participants. This mix of garbage in a single can depends partly on the labels attached to the alternative
cans and on what garbage is being produced at the moment, on the mix of cans available, and on the speed with
which garbage is collected and removed from the scene (Bush and Heystek, 2003). Therefore, whenever two or more
people with common objectives coverage to engage in activities of some sort towards achieving that common
objective, leadership is required to receive information, transform them to decisions and implement them in the
institutions concerned. Consequently, leadership can be described as the ability of an individual to influence,
motivate and enable others to contribute towards the effective and success of an organization or group of which they
are members. Simply, it is the ability to influence individuals to work towards attaining organizational objectives
Abstract: Challenges in leading and managing people in educational institutions are worthwhile indicators
that require constant checks and adjustments. These verifications are necessary because humans are complex
beings and whose thinking faculties are not fixed and often guided by situational and environmental factors.
Consequently, they must have divergent views which may pose unpredictable problems to administrators. Only
very smart and ardent leaders maybe quick to detect, withstand and overcome such inevitables. The need for
such challenges to be identified and controlled before they galvanize subordinates into negative behavioral
tendencies cannot be under-estimated. This paper therefore examined possible challenges which may manifest
as impediments or hindrances to the effective leading and managing of people in educational institutions in
Cameroon. A number of challenges were examined and discussed in the paper. Suggestions for ways of
checking and controlling the challenges have been made to serve as a reservoir of checks and guides for school
administrators and leaders. The paper cautions school managers to be tactful and apply modern charismatic
approaches in the control, directing of staff and managing of their institutions.
Keywords: Educational Leader; Challenges; Management; Administrator; Educational Institutions.
2. Research Journal of Education, 2017, 3(11): 150-156
151
(Mescon et al., 1988). Several leadership styles and related theories exist and some of which are instructional
leadership, transformational leadership, moral leadership, constructivist leadership, servant leadership, cultural
leadership, and primal leadership (Goleman et al., 2002). This piece of work dwells on theories related to very
specific styles which qualify as leadership theories. Four main generations of theory in classical leadership proposed
by Doyle and Smith (2001) are used.
Trait Theory of Leadership is based on the assumption that people are born with inherited traits and some traits
are particularly suited to leadership. People who make effective leaders have the right (or sufficient) combinations of
traits and great leaders have some common personality characteristics. It identifies traits and dispositions that are
helpful when leading others. This theory as described by Kelly (1974) attempts to classify what personal
characteristics such as physical, personality and mental, are associated with leadership success. Trait theory relies on
research that relates various traits to the success of a leader. Education leaders can utilize the information from the
theory to evaluate their position in the institutions and to assess how their position can be made stronger. It serves as
a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual can be assessed and individuals can get an in-depth
understanding of their identity and the way they will affect others in the educational institutions or organization.
Behavioural theory is another leadership theory which promotes the value of leadership styles with an emphasis
on concern for people and collaboration. It promotes participative decision making and team development by
supporting individual needs and aligning individual and group objectives. Behavioural Theories of Leadership, also
known as “The style approach to leadership” focuses on the behaviour of the leader and what leaders do and how
they act. Learn about the two general kinds of behaviour; task behavior and relationship behavior and advantages of
this approach to leadership. Behaviour is the range of actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or
artificial entities in conjunction with their environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as
well as the physical environment (Yusuf, 2008). It considers the observable actions and reactions of leaders and
followers in a given situation and focuses on how leaders behave. It also assumes that leaders can be made, rather
than born and successful leadership is based on definable and learnable behavior. This theory is based on the
principle that behavior can be conditioned in a manner that one can have a specific response to specific stimuli.
Rather than seeking inborn traits, this theory looks at what leaders actually do by studying their behavior in response
to different situations, assessing leadership success by studying their actions and then correlating significant
behavior with success. The practical application of the theory is that the leader’s behavior affects their performance
and different leadership behavior could be appropriate at different times. The best leaders are those who have the
adaptability to flex their behavioural style, and choose the right style suitable for each situation. It helps educational
leaders to evaluate and understand how their behavioural style as a leader affects their relationship with the team and
promotes commitment and contribution toward organizational goals.
Transformational leadership theory is premised on the assumption that the actions of leaders are based on moral,
ethical and equitable consideration of everyone within an organization (Fonkeng and Tamajong, 2009; Mgbodile,
2004). Transformational leadership motivates followers as it defines and articulates a vision for the institution.
Transformational leaders are charismatic, motivational, intellectual, and considerate and often display the qualities of
self-confidence, vision, inspiration, trust, care, passion, commitment, honesty, and integrity (Bass and Steidelmeier,
1998; Dixon, 1998). This theory of leadership is perceived as a link between the old and new views of leadership
(Rost, 1991). Transformational leaders are able to probe the current state of affairs, take a new approach to problem-
solving and decision-making, encourage the advancement of ideas and philosophies that differ from the norm, and
place emphasis on professional development. Transformational leaders inspire followers to be a source of inspiration
to each other to enable them attain advanced stages of “morality and motivation” (Burns, 1978), including justice
and equality. While transformational leaders determine new methods of solving problems refute bad practices that
are not acceptable; they are also convince to follow the new approach.
2. Statement of the Problem
The complex nature of human beings poses unpredictable problems to leaders and managers of institutions of
learning and other government and non-government parastatals in Cameroon. School managers have been attempting
to resolve these complexities but the task has not been easy. Chocked with the challenges, the writer thought it
worthwhile to identify the remote and immediate elements that militate against effective leadership and management
of people in working environment in Cameroon. These issues examined are from the internal and external
perspectives. The worries subjected the researcher to finding answers to the following questions: What are the
possible challenges that militate against effective leading and managing of workers in institutions of learning in
Cameroon? What possible strategies can be used to help administrators rid their institutions of negative challenges?
3. Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are to:
The main objective of this study was to examine the challenges in Leading and Managing People in Institutions
of Learning in Cameroon.
Specifically, this study was out to;
1. Examine the internal and external challenges in leading and managing people in educational institutions.
2. Explore some challenges stemming from the nature of the leadership role
3. Research Journal of Education, 2017, 3(11): 150-156
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3. Propose coping strategies for the challenges in educational institutions of learning in Cameroon.
4. Major Challenges Faced By Leaders in Leading and Managing People in
Institutions of Learning in Cameroon
4.1. External Challenges
It's almost impossible to imagine a situation where a leader doesn't have to cope with external challenges. In an
educational institution, such issues as lack of funding and other resources, opposition from the colleagues, and
interpersonal problems within the institution often raise their heads. Social, economic, and political forces in the
larger world can affect the institution as well. To some extent, the measure of any leader is how well he can deal
with the constant succession of crisis and minor annoyances that threaten the mission of his group. If he is able to
solve problems, take advantage of opportunities, and resolve conflict with an air of calm and a minimum of fuss,
most of the external issues are hardly noticeable to anyone else.
The world surprises us at every turn, throwing up barriers where the way seems clear, and revealing broad
highways where there seemed to be only brick walls. Both kinds of surprises - sometimes the positive more than the
negative - present opportunities for exercising leadership, with all the challenges they entail.
Again political upheavals and social unrest that plague the educational sector is a major challenge to the
educational leaders. They are in such situations expected to manifest or put to practice their highest tactical and
managerial skills in leading people in such perilous moments. This is exactly the case facing the educational
administrators of the Anglophone education sub system of education in Cameroon today.
4.2. Internal Challenges
Leadership presents to each of us the opportunity to demonstrate the best of what we are as well as it also
exposes our limitations. In many cases, good leaders have to overcome those limitations in order to transmit and
follow their vision. Fear, lack of confidence, insecurity, impatience and intolerance can act as barriers to leadership.
At the same time, acknowledging and overcoming them can turn a mediocre leader into a great one. It's often very
difficult for people, especially those who see themselves as leaders, to admit that they might have personality traits
or personal characteristics that interfere with their ability to reach their goals. Part of good leadership is learning to
accept the reality of those traits, and working to change them so they don't get in the way.
Sometimes, what seems to be an advantage may present a challenge as well. A leader who's extremely decisive
may alienate followers by never consulting them, or by consistently ignoring their advice. A leader who's terrific at
developing relationships with others in educational institutions may be unable to tell someone when she's not doing
her job. Some characteristics can be double-edged swords, positive in some circumstances and negative in others.
The real challenge is in knowing the difference, and adapting your behavior accordingly.
Leaders are human. That's hardly news, but it means that they come with all the same problems and failings as
everyone else. One of the greatest challenges of leadership is facing your own personal issues, and making sure they
don't prevent you from exercising leadership. Acknowledging the attitudes and tendencies that get in your way, and
working to overcome them, is absolutely necessary if you're to become an effective leader. Among the most
common personal traits that good leaders have to overcome or keep in check are:
Insecurity: Many people feel, at least some of the time, that they're not up to the tasks they face. They may
even believe that they're fooling people with their air of competence, when they know they're really not
very capable at all. Insecurity of that sort keeps them from being proactive, from following their vision,
from feeling like leaders. It can be crippling to both a leader and her group or organization.
Defensiveness: Also born of insecurity, defensiveness shows up most often as an inability to take criticism
(other people might catch on to the fact that you're as incompetent as you know you are), and continuing
hostility to anyone, even an ally, who voices it. Defensiveness often also includes a stubborn resistance to
change ideas, plans, or assumptions, even if they've been shown to be ineffective.
Lack of decisiveness: Sometimes it's hard to make a decision. You never know till later and sometimes not
even then whether you made the right decision. Maybe if you had a few more facts. The reality is that
leaders are called on to make decisions all the time, often with very little time to consider them. It is
important to have as much information as possible, but at some point, you just have to make the decision
and live with it. Some decisions are reversible, and some are not, but in either case, it's important to learn to
make a decision when necessary and understand that living with the consequences is part of being a leader.
Inability to be direct when there's a problem: Many people want so desperately to be liked, or are so
afraid of hurting others, that they find it difficult to say anything negative. They may be reluctant to tell
someone he's not doing his job adequately, for instance, or to address an interpersonal problem.
Unfortunately, by letting these things go, they only make them worse, which makes them still harder to
address. It's essential to learn when firmness is necessary, and to learn how to exercise it.
Inability to be objective: Neither looking at situations through rose-colored glasses nor being always on
the edge of hysteria is conducive to effective leadership. Just as objectivity is important in dealing with
external issues, it's important to monitor your own objectivity in general. There's a difference between being
an optimistic individual and being unable to see disaster looming because it's too painful to contemplate. By
the same token, seeing the possible negatives in an apparently positive situation are not the same as being
4. Research Journal of Education, 2017, 3(11): 150-156
153
paralyzed by the assumption that calamity lurks around every corner. The inability to accurately identify the
positive and negative in any situation and react appropriately can create serious problems.
Impatience: with others and with situations. It may seem, given the importance of decisiveness and
firmness, that patience is not a virtue a leader needs. In fact, it is perhaps the most important trait to
develop. Situations do not resolve themselves instantly, and anyone who's ever been involved in an
organization knows that Rule number 1 is that everything takes longer than you think it will. People in
unfamiliar situations need a while to orient themselves. Leaders who are impatient may make rash
decisions, may alienate staff members or volunteers or allies, and can often make situations worse rather
than better. It's hard to be patient, but it's worth the effort.
4.3. Challenges Arising From Leadership Itself
Real leadership makes great demands on people. As a leader, you are responsible for your group’s or
institution’s vision and mission, for upholding a standard, often for being the group's representative to the rest of the
world and its protector as well. These responsibilities might be shared, but in most organizations, one person takes
the largest part of the burden.
In addition to its responsibilities, leadership brings such challenges as motivating people - often without
seeming to do so - and keeping them from stagnating when they're doing well. Leaders also have to motivate
themselves, and not just to seem, but actually to be, enthusiastic about what they're doing. They have to be aware of
serving their group and its members and all that entails. In other words, they have to be leaders all the time.
The Assessment Gap: A major challenge of leading and managing people in educational institutions is the
assessment gap. Reasonable people differ about the details of 21st century skills, but the common themes that
emerge include communication, teamwork, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving. Although educations’
leaders will never advocate lower standards for communication or diminishing teamwork, there is an enormous gap
between rhetoric and reality. Effective communication includes both written and oral skills and the use of technology
to convey ideas, evidence, images, and emotions. Despite the evidence on the importance of communication, the use
of evidence-based practices to assess communication skills is remarkably low (Kiuhara et al., 2009).
Moreover, despite the clarion calls for teamwork and collaboration, no state test—the barometer by which many
teachers, administrators, and education systems are measured—assess students in a team or collaborative
environment. Our words may say "teamwork," but our assessments scream, "Compete, don't cooperate, with your
classmates."
Finally, although policymakers talk a good game about 21st century skills such as problem solving and
creativity, assessments of student performance (and, by implication, teaching and leadership performance) remain
overwhelmingly focused on content knowledge and basic literacy skills. Academic content and skills are necessary
but in insufficient condition to meet the needs of the 21st century.
The Teaching Gap: Marzano (2009) recently issued a scathing indictment of schools claiming to use "Marzano
strategies" that he neither supports nor endorses. In previous decades, one could substitute "Marzano" with "Hunter,"
"Dewey," or "Socrates" to see the pattern of thoughtful ingenuity followed by over simplification; mass production;
and, often, disappointment. The cottage industry that claims to use "Marzano strategies" without being informed by
Marzano's actual research is as superficial as the claim that "Socratic dialogue" is little more than asking questions to
students.
Socrates did indeed ask questions, but these queries were sufficiently challenging that the result was a state-
administered dose of hemlock for his efforts. Consider the contrast between Socrates' challenging pedagogical stance
and the contemporary education ethics in which the student is the customer, demanding immediate gratification.
Teachers fear delivering honest and challenging feedback, and with each stroke of candor, teachers and school
leaders risk negative evaluations that, through social networking tools, become an instantaneous combination of
indictment and presumed truth-the hemlock of the 21st century (Douglas, 2017).
Although the conventional wisdom is that teacher tenure is the root of all education evil, the other extreme is
equally pernicious. In a world where "customer satisfaction" is the coin of the realm, the teachers who are most
highly rewarded will not be those who tell the truth about student performance, but rather those who tell the
customers what they want to hear. "Your 9th grader can't read? No problem—it's a societal issue, and we'll deliver a
diploma without the inconvenience of work, remediation, or confrontation" (Douglas, 2017).
The Leadership Gap: No teacher wakes up in the morning thinking, "How can I mess up students today?"
Inadequate teaching practices, inconsistent curriculum; infrequent feedback; toxic grading systems; and resistance to
21st century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and communication are a direct result of leadership failures.
Leaders who bring in an inspirational speaker to talk about 21st century skills but who evaluates teachers with
centuries-old assessments should not point the finger at unions, teachers, or colleges of education. This is a failure of
leadership, not a failure of teachers.
If we aspire to have improved teaching and learning, then we must demand 21st century leaders. Specifically, if
we require critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and creativity, then leaders must assess now-today, this
very hour - the instances in which you can observe these characteristics in classrooms.
5. Research Journal of Education, 2017, 3(11): 150-156
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5. How to Cope with External Challenges
Be proactive: Regardless of the situation, it's important for leaders to do something. Waiting is occasionally the
right strategy, but even when it is, it makes a group nervous to see its leader apparently not exercising some control.
At the beginning of his first term, in the depths of the Depression, Franklin Roosevelt created government agencies
and programs, took steps to control the economy, and generally looked like he was in charge. Not everything he tried
worked, but the overall - and accurate - impression people got was that he was trying to control an awful situation,
and they took comfort from that (Burns, 1995). Throughout his long presidency, Roosevelt continued to be
proactive, and history has largely proven the wisdom and effectiveness of his strategy (Gardner, 1993). These are
examples that leaders of educational institutions should adopt when challenges crop up.
Be creative: Try to think "outside the box," that is in unexpected but effective ways. If disaster has struck, how can
you turn what looks like the end of the world into a new beginning? Can you change the way the institution operates
to deal with the loss? Can you use the fact that you're about to lose services to gain community and political support?
Is this an opportunity to diversify your funding? Can you expand your horizons and your reach through
collaboration? Don't just look at the obvious, but consider a situation from all perspectives, and search for unusual
ways to make things work. In such situations always adopt the Chinese adage which says the Chinese character for
"crisis" combines the characters for "danger" and "opportunity" (Greenleaf, 1983).
Face conflict squarely: Always identify and acknowledge the conflict, and work to resolve it. This is true both for
conflict within your institution, and conflict between the group and others outside it. Far too many people, leaders
included, act as if conflict doesn't exist, because they find it difficult or frightening to deal with. As a result, it only
grows worse, and by the time it erupts, it may be nearly impossible to resolve. If it's faced early, nearly any conflict
can be resolved in a way that is beneficial for everyone involved. It's a function of leadership to have the courage to
name the conflict and work on it. Such is an example of the present Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. If there's a
philosophical difference among the staff of an organization, for instance, it's important that it be acknowledged and
discussed. If that's done in a matter of fact way, without any finger-pointing or accusations about lack of political
correctness or philosophical purity - before it gets to the point where people are angry with one another - it can lead
to an exchange of ideas instead of insults and rancor. The mix of ideas in the institution can become richer, everyone
can feel that his point of view is taken seriously, and the whole staff can benefit.
Always look for common ground: If there's opposition to what you're doing, it may only be to one specific part of
it, or may be based on misunderstanding. There are few groups or individuals who don't have some common
interests. If you can find those, you may have a basis for solving problems and making it possible for people to work
together.
Retain your objectivity: It is not uncommon to find people in educational institutions in conflict with one another.
If you're mediating a conflict within the institution, don't take side, even if you think you know one side is right. That
will come out if you mediate objectively and well. If you're faced with detractors or opposition, don't automatically
assume they're villains. What are their concerns, and why do they disagree with what you're doing? Don't get sucked
into a fight unless there's really no alternative. Even rabid opposition can often be overcome through a combination
of respect, political pressure, and creative problem solving.
When you do feel you have to fight, pick your battles carefully. Make sure you have the resources - money, political
and other allies, and volunteer help, whatever you need - to sustain conflict. Battles can advance your cause, or they
can kill your initiative once and for all. Don't get into a fight you have no chance to win.
Look for opportunities to collaborate: This is important both within and outside your institutions. Within the
group, involve as many people as possible in decisions, and make sure they have control over what they do. The
more they own their jobs and the institution, the more enthusiastic they'll be and the more effective the institutions
will be, and the more effective you'll be as a leader.
Outside the institution, try to forge ties with other institutions and groups. Let them know what you're doing, get and
give support, and work with them to the extent you can. Make common cause with other groups that have similar
interests. In numbers, there is strength, and you'll be stronger as an alliance of groups than any one of you could be
individually.
6. Coping with Internal Challenges
Listen: Listen to people's responses to your ideas, plans, and opinions. Listen more than you talk. Listen to a broad
range of people, not just to those who agree with you. Probe to find out why they think or feel the way they do.
Assume that everyone has something important to say. If you hear the same things from a number of different and
diverse sources, you should at least consider the possibility that they're accurate. If they're about things you do that
you can change, you might give it a try.
Ask for 360-degree feedback...and use it: This is feedback (people's views of you) from everyone around you -
staff, volunteers, Board, participants, people from other organizations or groups you work with - anyone you work
with in any way. As with listening, if you hear the same thing from a lot of different sources, it's probably true. Act
on it. All the feedback in the world won't do you any good unless you do something with it.
Look at what's going on around you: Are you the center of controversy and chaos? Or do calm and good feeling
seem to reside wherever you go? The chances are that the answer lies somewhere in between these extremes, but it
probably should be closer to the calm and good feeling side. Even if you're involved in a battle with the forces of
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evil, you can foster calm in yourself and those you work with. At the same time, your institution could be on top of
the world, and you and your colleagues could still be climbing the walls if that's the kind of atmosphere you create.
Our institutions have been joyless places and teachers and students do not appear to be intensely involved in their
work. . Another question to ask is whether the people you work with are happy and enthusiastic. If you're meeting
their needs, the chances are they will be. If you're insensitive and impatient, if you play favorites, if you're
disengaged from them and from the cause, or if you're downright nasty, they'll probably wish they were somewhere
else. Taking a look around will tell you a lot about what - and how - you're doing as a leader.
Reach out for help in facing internal challenges: Most of us find it difficult to change entirely on our own. A
psychotherapist, a good friend, a perceptive colleague, or a trusted clergyman might be able to help you gain
perspective on issues that you find hard to face. Many people find meditation or some form of self-discovery helpful
in understanding themselves and in getting through change. Don't feel you have to do it all on your own. The
difficulty here is that, if you're defensive, you're likely to be defensive about being defensive. If you're insecure, you
may well be insecure about finding help - there's always the chance that you'll find out that your insecurity is well-
founded. One of the greatest challenges of leadership is shouldering the responsibility it confers. Part of that
responsibility is the responsibility to deal with those aspects of yourself that can keep you from being an effective
leader. That's not easy, but the rewards are great.
7. Coping with Challenges Stemming From the Nature of the Leadership Role
A leadership position brings with it unique demands. Leaders can be looked on as authority figures, as saviors,
as fixers of things that are broken, as spiritual guides, as mentors, as models, as inspirers, as teachers. In short, they
may be seen however others choose to see them. This in itself carries a set of challenges, in addition to those posed
by what all leaders indeed have to do in order to keep things going. Some of the issues that leaders have to cope with
specifically because they're leaders are:
Keeping an eye on, and communicating, the vision: As the guardian of a group's vision, it's up to the leader to
remind everyone of what that vision is, to keep it in mind in everything the group or organization does, to protect it
from funders or others who would try to change it...and to make sure it does change, if necessary, with changes in
circumstances, the needs of the target population, or the available information. That means not being distracted from
the bigger picture by day-to-day issues (even as those issues are addressed and resolved). It also means not
substituting another, lesser goal (getting enough funding to start a specific program, for instance) that may be
contrary to the true vision of the organization.
Keeping the everyday under control while you continue to pursue the vision: You can't maintain the vision
without making sure that there's paper in the printer, that you understand the legal implications of an action you plan
to take, that people know what they're supposed to be doing on a given day, that there's enough cash in the bank to
meet payroll, and that there's someone there to answer the phone, to pay the bills, and to look for funding. These
aren't necessarily all things a leader has to do herself (although there are certainly organizations where that's what
happens), but she's responsible for making sure they get done, and that things run smoothly. No matter how
transformative she is, no leader can accomplish much if the infrastructure doesn't work.
Setting an example: If you want others in the group to show mutual respect, to work hard, to embrace the vision and
mission of the organization, to include everyone in their thinking and decisions, you have to start by doing those
things yourself, and behaving in the ways you want others to behave. A leader who yells at people, consults no one,
and assumes his word is law will intentionally or unintentionally train everyone else in the group to be the same way.
A leader who acts collaboratively and inclusively will create an organization that functions similarly.
Maintaining effectiveness over time: One of the hardest lessons of leadership is that you're never done. No matter
how well things go, no matter how successful your group or organization or initiative is - unless it's aimed at
accomplishing a very specific, time-limited goal - you have to keep at it forever. Even if you get a bill passed or
manage to get money for your cause included in the state budget, you have to work to maintain your gains. If you're
running a community intervention, you have to recruit participants, refine your methods, do community outreach,
and raise funds indefinitely. Maintaining effectiveness is a matter both of monitoring what you do and working to
improve it, and of keeping up enthusiasm for the work within the group. It's part of the leader's role to maintain his
enthusiasm and drive, and to communicate and transfer them to others.
Avoiding burnout: This is a challenge not only for leaders, because a burned out leader can affect the workings of a
whole organization. Leader burnout is a product of being overwhelmed by the workload, the frustrations, the stress,
and the time demands of the position, multiplied by the number of years spent in it. It can reach a point where the
leader no longer cares about the vision, the work of the group, or anything but when he can go home. By that point,
the rest of the group is likely to be struggling, feeling rudderless and uncertain. It's crucial that leaders learn to
recognize the signs of burnout and - depending on where they are in their lives and a number of other factors - either
find ways to renew their commitment or leave.
Finding support: Clichés often become clichés because they're true. It is lonely at the top, largely because a good
leader tries to make things go smoothly enough that others aren't aware of the amount of work she's doing. The
leader may have no one to share her concerns with, and may have to find her own satisfaction, because others don't
recognize the amount and nature of her contribution. The buck may stop with her, but where then does she unburden
herself? As mentioned earlier, leaders are human. They need support and comfort as much as anyone else and it's
important that they find it.
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8. Conclusion
Leadership poses a host of challenges. They come in three categories: external (from people and situations);
internal (from within the leader herself); and stemming from the circumstance of being a leader. They often arise in
periods of instability or change, such as when a program or period of work is beginning or ending, or when a group
or organization is in transition. Some are concrete and limited - dealing with a particular situation, for instance - but
many are more abstract and ongoing, such as keeping your group focused on its vision over the long term. Any
individual who successfully manages the different situations occurring at these levels is a leader who can surmount
challenges to lead and manage people in the educational milieu. School managers and leaders should therefore to be
tactful and apply modern charismatic approaches in the control, directing of staff and managing of their institutions.
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