The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on community, school culture and organizational leadership.

School as a Community

Every school should be central to its local community, reflecting beliefs and values through the actions of its members.

Multidimensional Community

A community influenced by its environment and system of control. Example: A school near a river integrates water conservation.

Structured Community

A community with administrative elements ensuring equality. Example: Implementing inclusive policies for students with disabilities.

Process-Oriented Community

A community managing people with a shared understanding of beliefs and values. Example: School assemblies promoting discipline and pride.

Shared Commitment

All school members encouraged to commit to forming the school community. Example: Peer mentoring programs.

Effective School

Individuals supporting each other to achieve common goals. Example: Parents and teachers collaborate on school improvement plans.

Mirrored Purpose

A school's goals reflecting the local community's beliefs and values. Example: Local artisans teaching traditional crafts.

Individual Identity

Members possess their own goals and objectives. Example: A student pursuing leadership roles.

Collective Understanding

A shared understanding that creates a sense of unity.

Learning Community

A school environment where all members acquire new ideas and take responsibility. All workers insights are valued.

Participants

Parents and students are active participants not just recipients.

Common goal

The school must reflect the inherent characteristics of a community. Goal is student learning, and collaboration forms a community.

Servant leader

A guide and nurturer, encouraging community members Example: A principal who visits classrooms to assist and mentor teachers.

Shared moral purpose

Appeals to the common good, vital strength that binds the school together Example: A school adopts a shared mission to prioritize inclusive education.

Trust and respect

Necessary among all members; leaders understand the qualities and lives of every member. Example: Open-door policy of the school allows staff and students to share concerns.

Collaborative decision-making

Harnessing experiences to build a communication network. Example: teachers and students co-plan activities

Community of Practice

A group sharing a passion and interacting to improve their skills.

Domain (Communities of Practice)

Shared interest, competence, and commitment. Example: Science teachers focusing on STEM

Community (Communities of Practice)

Pursuing interest through joint activities, problem-solving, and relationship building. Example: Weekly team meetings to plan interdisciplinary lessons.

Practice (Communities of Practice)

Practitioners build shared resources and ideas. Example: Teachers sharing lesson plans in a shared Google Drive.

School Learning Action Cell (SLAC)

Professional Development strategy for teachers to cooperate and resolve shared challenges.

Learning Action Cell

Group of teachers in collaborative sessions facilitated by the school head or a designated LAC Leader.

PLC (Professional Learning Community)

Group of educators meeting regularly, shares expertise and work collaboratively to improve skills.

School Environment

Facilities, classrooms, health supports, and disciplinary policies affecting students.

Positive Environment

Appropriate facilities, well-managed classrooms, available health supports, and clear discipline policy.

Resource Dependence

The need for a resource and its availability that determines power within the organization.

Limited Resources

Dynamics of limited resources cause issues that come with restricted resources, the impact and interdependencies

Accountability

Schools' responsibility to meet standards, manage resources, engage stakeholders, and operate ethically.

Administering Resource Environment

Teachers and students were a community of learners. Teachers were facilitators in with administering processes

Resource Planning

Organizes, identifies and lists the resources required to complete a project successful.

Buffering

Stockpiling inputs or outputs to cope with environmental fluctuations.

Smoothing

Tools and techniques used to predict developments, like sales and profits.

Forecasting

Predicting changing conditions and future events.

Partnership

Relationship of two or more partners with a view to making a profit.

Accountability

Obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for actions.

Client Focus

Primary focus is to meet the needs of the students and parents

Performance Orientation

Results are the main criteria for assessing success in continuous effort

Adopting to external environment

A crucial skill in today's dynamic world. Adjust and thrive in various settings, whether it's a new job, a different culture, or changing circumstances

National Standards and Framework

Guidelines ensuring consistency and quality in education, curriculum and assessment

Internalization

Embracing the world's diversity within the learning environment.

Globalization

Stresses worldwide flow of economy, ideas, culture in education

Good communicator

Various experts have identified characteristics of a global teacher. Most say that a global teacher should be an expert in his field, a good communicator, pragmatic, critical thinker, problem solver and creative thinker.

Teachers

Important members of society because their efforts affect the fate of the earth.

Role Model

Teachers are the ultimate role models for students . They give children purpose, set them up for success as citizens of our world, and inspire in them a drive to do well and succeed in life.

Second Parent

Under the Latin doctrine, in loco parentis means when the parents entrust their child in an educational institution, the teachers, alongside with the administrators, take some responsibility, and some authority of the parents.

Code of ethics

Teachers help students learn the academic basics, but they also teach valuable life lessons by setting a positive example. As role models, teachers must follow a professional code of ethics to ensure students receive a fair and uncompromising education.

Ethical

Follow integrity, impartially in the classroom and in their conduct with parents and coworkers.

Teacher responsibilities

Providing a quality education to all students in the classroom. As a part of ethics they cannot exhibit favoritism or discrimination

Commitment towards profession

To enhance the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process by providing requirements and proper communication.

Cooperating with colleagues

Teachers must collaborate to give a rich learning experience for the learners.

Interacting with community

Educators must engage in positive interactions with parents or guardians for the child's future, in case of troublesome parents, the meetings must be conducted under the supervision of administrator.

A teacher as facilitator

Render the best service by providing an environment conducive to learning and growth

Teacher and moral leadership

Provide leadership and initiative to participate in community movements for moral, social, educational, economic and civic betterment

The school, nurseries of the future citizens

Each teacher is a trustee of the cultural and educational heritage of the nation and is under obligation to transmit to learners such as well as to elevate national morality, promote national pride, cultivate love of country

Teacher and State

The school are the nurseries of the future citizens of the state: each teacher is a trustee of the cultural and educational heritage of the nation and is under obligation to transmit to learners such as well as to elevate national morality, promote national pride, cultivate love of country, instill allegiance to the constitution and for all duly constituted authorities, and promote obedience to the laws of the state

Teacher leaders

Educators that fall under the motif of potentially taking on additive responsibilities that will help to improve the school community.

Bureaucracy

Formal organization characterized by hierarchy, division of labor, explicit rules, and impersonal interactions.

Rationalization

Transition in society where motivators like values are replaced with rational calculations

WEBERIAN STRUCTURE IN SCHOOLS

Authority based on position in the hierarchy.

Organization inventory

Richard H. Hall developed an organizational inventory that measures various characteristics of the bureaucracy. Hall categorized bureaucracy into six areas: (a) hierarchy of authority. (b)specialization. (c) rules (d) impersonality, (e) procedural specifications, (f) technical competence

Formalization

Management of an organization through written rules, regulations, and procedures (Hoy& Miskel, 2004/2010).

Coercive Formalization

Rigid bureaucratic rules restricting employee autonomy by compliance enforcement.

Enabling Formalization

Construction of rules enabling employees to solve problems and take initiative. (rules are more flexible )

Mintzberg Model

Suggests organizations are differentiated along 3 basic dimensions: (1) the key part of the organization (2) the prime coordinating mechanism (3) the type of decentralization used

Key part of the organization

The strategic apex (top management) the operative core (workers) The middle line (management) The techno structure Analysts and planners The support staff (people providing indirect services).

Prime Coordinating Mechanism

Direct supervision, standardization of work process or skills or output and mutual adjustment

Type of Decentralization

Vertical decentralization, Horizontal decentralization and Selective decentralization

Organizational Culture

The way we do things around here coming from shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

Levels of organizational culture

Made of basic assumptions, basic values that are important. And level of Arte facts can be seen on the material levels (Schein 1992)

Handy’s typology

Consist of: power culture (Zeus), role culture (Apollo), task culture (Athena) and person culture (Dionysus).

Changing school culture

Process needed in an inclusive action for the current beliefs of the students and their activities

Organizational Climate

Perception of the work environment and quality for the relationship between organization and their employees.

Open school climate

Teacher relations that are professional, collegial, friendly, committed to education

Closed school climate

characterized by teacher’s relations that are disengaged, distant, suspicious, and not professional.

Healthy school climate

Teachers are protected from other outside forces. Principal has influence integrated leadership style

Unhealthy school climate

School climate is vulnerable to disruptive outside forces due to scarcity of leadership or resources.

Areas for development

The feelings and attitudes that are elicited by a school’s environment are referred to as school climate. Climate has physical social and academic dimensions