The Role and Importance of the Director in the Quality and Effective Work of Teachers - Essay Example

?Relations between Teachers and Principals: Teachers’ Perceptions Introduction: a- Goals and Context: The accomplishment of the organization is completely dependent on the efficiency and quality of the hired staff personnel. This is because these are the people who are responsible for the fulfilment of the stated goals and objectives. The level to which the quality of education succeeds in a particular organization depends on the personnel’s engagement in the process of education, and on the effectiveness with which the individuals carry out their responsibilities (Nakpodia, 2006). The teachers are considered the main pillars of the educational and pedagogical operation. Training and qualifying them and raising their social rank are one of the most important issues and priorities of the authorities responsible for education in the world. The school manager has a leading role in dealing with teachers, as s/he must work seriously to facilitate the obstacles and difficulties in order to make the teachers achieve their goals for the interest of the educational operation in the school. S/he should be an effective and interactive manager keen on assisting occupational growth and providing the proper atmosphere for the educational operation. S/he should also accommodate the teachers in the major decisions related to student’s education (Hargreaves & Bascia, 2000). The school manager holds a unique position in the administration of the school. In a way, the manager is needed by all and is gifted with the knowledge and skills so that they not only manage the other people that come under their umbrella effectively, but also perform their assigned tasks (Nakpodia, 2010). In order to perform the task smoothly the manager has to show good leadership behaviour. This managing power helps them to handle the relationship with the teachers perfectly. Likewise, they are also able to run and excel the organization. In case when the manager fails to run the school smoothly, this means they are not able to show leadership qualities with their teachers (Maleke, 2003). The main aim of the research is to explore the nature of the relationship between the teachers and the principals and the impact of their relationship on the learning of the students. Research questions: 1. What is the nature of the relationship between teachers and the principal? 2. How, if at all, does this impact on student learning? 3. In what ways, if at all, are teachers rewarded for their work? b- The Country and the School: The teaching profession is considered one of the most important, dangerous, and responsible professions in all countries because the teacher actually is the one who prepares the country and its generations to be able to bear burdens of work, building, and development in all fields required for the nation. Therefore, the school manager has many duties in developing the teachers and their capabilities through educational efficiencies that include two important aspects: the knowledge aspect and the behavioural aspect (Al-Khatib, 2003). The recent educational reforms by the Saudi Arabian government have focused on the leadership role of the managers. This is because the responsibility of initiating school improvement efforts and the maintenance of the school effectiveness lies with the managers of the school. Additionally, the research designates that the manager is a key leader in development of the excellent schools, and in due course good educational institutes will ultimately give a constructive hand in the development of excellent country. Hence, the managers of the schools should adopt their complex roles so that they can be able to work with the teachers in harmony and dig out the best out of them. Moreover, the teachers should also understand the importance of the skills that will help them to excel in the school. Thus, the development of such skills can help them to become a significant factor in building a productive and fruitful environment of the school. 2- Previous Studies: There was a variation in the studies, both Arabian and international, that dealt with the relationship between teachers and schools managers. Studies from Gulf Schools Naser Fallah Al-Shahrani(2001), produced a study aimed at knowing the leading pattern prevailing in middle schools managers in the educational region of Asser from the point of view of teachers and managers themselves. The researcher in this study used the descriptive analytical approach. The most important results of the study were: 1- In the educational regions of Asser, the leading pattern that is found in middle schools managers is the participation pattern, followed by the marketing pattern and, finally, the delegation pattern. These patterns have not been proved to be satisfying the teachers. Therefore, it is seen that their performance level is not found excellent in the schools. In their case, the managers adopt some other patterns in the schools. A notable difference in the result of the teachers’ participation can be seen. If managers had adopted consideration patterns instead of structural patterns, the results would have been different. 2- The second finding was in the educational region of Asser, where the performance level of the middle stage teachers was moderate. The reason behind this moderation can be the leading patterns adopted by the managers in schools. Since the policies adopted by the managers of the school hold a great importance on the performance of the teachers, here it is seen that the stance has proven to be true in that light. Since the adopted pattern is not reasonable for the teachers, and they do not themselves feel part of the organization’s success, therefore this affects their performance level in the field. 3- The last result of the study was that no significant relationship was seen between the leading pattern of middle schools managers in the educational region of Asser and the teaching performance of the teachers. Therefore, the significance level found between them was 0.05. The reason behind this result can be that the teachers do not have interest in the adopted patterns by the managers. As discussed above, these structure patterns do not interest the teachers. If the consideration patterns are adopted by the managers of Asser schools, the performance level of the school would increase and the level of significance between the relationship of leading patterns and the teaching performance would also increase. Ultimately, the increase in the educational level of the students would be evident. Saed ibn Muhammad Al-Ateq Al-Ghamedi examined the leading pattern of school managers and its effect on the organising commitment of the teachers in the public secondary schools at the governorate of Jeddah by using the administrative net theory. It was aimed at achieving the following goals: 1- Clarifying the leading patterns prevailing in secondary school managers at the governorate of Jeddah according to the administrative net theory from the teachers’ point of view. 2- Knowing the organisational commitment level of the secondary schools teachers at the governorate of Jeddah towards their schools from their point of view. The most important results were: 1- From the teachers’ point of view, the leading pattern that is found in the public secondary schools in Jeddah was team leadership pattern. The other adopted patterns by the managers were oscillating leadership pattern, social leadership pattern, paternal leadership pattern, dominating leadership pattern, the negative leadership pattern. Finally, the last one was unstable leadership pattern; it was the least sovereign pattern. The research shows that in this school, the manager had given priority to the team leadership pattern, which means that he had given importance to the teachers and considered them as part of the crucial part of the system. Not only this, the manager had also included the parental leadership pattern showing that he also considered parents as the vital building block for the school. The later results showed that the adoption of such leadership patterns could make the organization work as a team. Thus, it makes the teachers work harder on the students, and parents give extra attention towards the education of their children. As a result, when the student has been properly guided and supervised by the teachers and parents, they tend to produce better results. Thus, the cooperation from all the stakeholders leads the school to flourish in its field. 2- As anticipated from the adopted leadership patterns by the managers in schools, the teachers of the public secondary schools at the governorate of Jeddah had shown a high level of commitment with their organization. From their viewpoint, the average was (3.85) and the standard deviation was (0.57132). Their level of commitment would have been on the low scale if the managers had not included them in growth of the school. This process is vice versa, as the growth of the school would not have been possible if the teachers had not shown commitment towards their organization. Therefore, it is derived from the results that for the better development of schools, the managers should work in harmony with the teachers. Research on “The role of schools’ managers in raising teachers’ efficiency at the College of Education in Damascus University” was conducted by Ali Ahmad Abdullah. The purpose of the research was to discover the role of school managers in raising the efficiency of the teachers. For the collection of data, the managers of primary, middle, and secondary schools, and those joining the course of the Collage of Education at Abha in the first and second terms in 1425H, were considered. The research was conducted by the help of a questionnaire and the result was that if the mangers played a positive role with the teachers and worked together as a team with them, then it is possible that the teachers get more room for the discussion. Likewise, they can discuss their problems and concerns with the manager and give and take advice from them. The research shows that the friendly attitude of the manager towards the teachers, and the mutual understanding between them is highly appreciated by all the teachers of the school. This shows that the role of the manager can be the key component to raise or drop the efficiency level on the students. Mohammad S. Al-Bandary and Adnan Y. Atoum (2000) examined the nature of the teacher- principal personal relationship and the job satisfaction level of high school teachers in Sultanate of Oman and Jordan. Results showed an intermediate level of personal relationship among Omani and Jordanian teachers with statistical differences in favour of Jordanian teachers. It was also interpreted from the results that the Omani teachers’ major, gender, and experience predicted the levels of teacher-principals personal relationship and job satisfaction, and teachers’ major, experience, and the qualification degrees predicted the levels of teacher-principals’ personal relationship and job satisfaction among the Jordanian teachers. As these countries have gender discrimination in them, therefore this aspect is evident from the research that the teachers feel more comfortable with the principal if they have their gender as common. The study shows that the level of good relationship and job satisfaction is based on the common gender between the teachers and the principal. 3- Methodology: The research approaches are the means of gathering data that aim at having the information in constant, valued, and reliable ways. This research is governed and judged by the authenticity procedures, which are used to address the matter of validity, reliability and triangulation. They could be considered important and complex terms in which their meaning and salience surely varies and differs according to the stance of the researcher and can be used for positivist and quantitative research (Bush, 2007). The author’s research is an exploratory case study (Bassey, 2007). By using this approach, we mean the way of gathering data after determining the suitable method. There are two ways usually approved in data gathering, which are the direct way of communication (personal interview) and indirect communication (by telephone, email or fax). In the case study method, the researcher has a deep and thorough study of the literature, so that a better understanding is developed (Patton, 1987). The case study is one of the most important works done by the researcher in the academic field but it is the advantage that distinguishes him from others. Because of the fieldwork, it requires a lot of experience and knowledge (Yin, 1993). Telephone interviews: The researcher used a telephone interview method in this study since it presents a definition that gives a useful perspective account of what constitutes a worthwhile educational case study (Bush, 2007). It gains an importance and suitability in terms of the research nature as the researcher looks for more information about the subjects because using the telephone can save time and effort. Through this type of interview, it is advised to show interest and concentration during the call, talk with a clear voice, and answer each inquiry. Certainly, good conduct and communication are the factors that determine the success or failure of this interview. It could be done nationally and internationally from any place, its cost is relatively low and the person feels comfortable during it. Its negative aspects include the possibility of ending the call at any time without previous notice and the interviewer being unable to read the subject’s reactions. While taking interview on the phone the element of time should be kept in mind. Usually, people do not like to send so much time on the interview or on the phone (Godart, 2009). While taking data on the phone, speed factor is very important. In other data gathering methods the same process takes more than one month (Ibsen & Ballweg, 1974). For instance, to conclude a study we need time to gather data by phone ranging from a few days to one week but, in the case of correspondence, we may need one month at least or even many months. A questionnaire through the phone must not exceed 10 minutes, while giving the subject an opportunity to answer and taking into consideration that some questions need some thinking time especially if the questions are about the past. Therefore, the researcher must be concerned with the following: 1- Giving enough time to the interviewee to think about the answer, in particular in the case of a telephone call. 2- Helping the subject in remembering some previous instances. When comparing a telephone interview to other kinds of interviews, we should know that there is a necessity to be ready for the telephone interview, that there is an importance of controlling the voice tone, presenting the application introduction, and know how to ask and write answers. There should also be mechanisms in place to deal with abnormal conditions such as answer refusal. The method and clarification of ending the telephone interview should be researched in addition to explaining the way of recalling and the recalling tables. In the telephone interviews, the cost factor or what is allocated from the study budget should be taken into consideration. Usually the telephone calls are expensive, especially in the case of distant communications and it is not expected that everyone have access to a telephone (Godart, 2009). The researcher thinks that the questionnaire length or number of questions depends on the time needed by the asked person to answer. So, if we have many questions that can be asked in less than one hour, it will be better for the data gathering method to undertake a personal interview. If we cannot do this, the correspondence method is approved. The researcher should look at the telephone interview as being of the same kind of personal interviews that are done face-to-face from one person to another. So, he should be ready, self-confident, speak clearly and answer questions accurately, while remembering that he can ask the other party the questions easily and confidently. Survey Questions The survey was conducted on one of the primary schools of Riyadh. The school was chosen from the list of primary schools. The total number of teachers in the school was 15, out of which 4 teachers were chosen, according to the convenience and availability of the teachers. 4- Findings: Saudi Arabia is passing through a clear shift towards academic and technological development in all directions and seeks continuously to make the school principals and teachers contribute together to this shift with what is suitable for the educational operation. This increases the development in the Kingdom greatly in terms of becoming compatible with the rest of the world in this important field because the future will be different from the present. This is because changing technology will create new educational environments, so it is necessary to undertake more studies through which the relationship between teachers and schools principals can be highlighted and developed to help raise the overall educational operation. 1- The nature of the relationship between teachers and the principal Schools are considered one of the most important educational organisations that need to foster distinguished relationships among their members. This is achieved when the school principal works toward accomplishing cooperation, trust, and respect between him and the teachers (Al-Haqeel, 1403H) and after the survey the result of teacher (X) and (XX) shows the same results, which means 50 % of the sample agrees with this concept. The other findings that we got from the interview for this particular question from the teacher (X) was, “the work should be based on understanding and harmony because tense relations between the principal and teachers form major obstacles in terms of schoolwork increases the intensity of the problems in school”. This shows, when the school principals understands the nature of their work, leads the school and teachers well, recognises the great responsibility, works on qualifying the suitable conditions that help them in achieving the desired goals. The other answer that we received from the teacher (XX) was that if the principals appreciate the ideas and suggestions of the teachers, encouraging them to participate in developing the school plan, and giving them the opportunity to express their opinion and consultation, this gives freedom to the teachers, narrows the distance, and helps the relationship between the principal and teacher. This shows that if the school managers are working in the cooperation, trust and respect, the overall environment of the school changes altogether. This change does not only confide to the teachers of the school, but also has a direct link with the students and thus leads them have a better learning experience. 2- The principal’s impact on a teacher's classroom teaching: The principal is responsible for providing a good atmosphere for teaching inside the classroom and finding the proper solutions for the problems that are faced by their employees or students (Morsi, 1984). The thinking pattern of the surveyed teachers also matches with the same concept. The teacher (X) said that the principals are the one whose connection exists with the teachers, visits them in their classrooms, and follows their performance and their way of dealing with the problems occurring in the classroom. By that, the principal can know all things related to the teacher. The school principal is the connecting and communicating ring between the educational operation elements, and he is the constructive and effective pivot and the leader. The educational organisation’s success is derived from his own success (Nashwan, 1406H). The survey shows that in this regard the teacher (XXX) said, “Principals must know the administrative and technical business requirements completely and this needs skill, experience, and wise leadership as they can have an argumentative relationship with the students and their understanding”. According to Al- Taweel (1999), the school principals will not be able to lead their team to achieve complete outputs unless they are friendly and cooperative and strive to have multi-directional interaction with these groups that communicate with the educational work. The survey results from different teacher shows that the managers of the school should be aware of the problems that the teachers are facing and must work to strengthen their mutual relationship. As the teacher, (X) and (XXX) have given almost the same reply. In fact, knowing the extent of the teachers acceptance of the school principal’s role is considered a very important matter because of its importance in determining the degree of the school or educational association management, and its achievement of goals. 3- The impact of the relationship on student learning: The modern methods that could be used by the school principal to deal with teachers could be divided into direct methods that include general meeting for teachers, classrooms visits, educational workshops, model lessons, committees and study seminars meetings, and lectures and indirect methods that include library, brochures, directed readings, educational research, and educational exhibitions (Ahmad, 1998). From the interview results, the answers from the teachers (XXXX) and (XX) indicated that certain activities like seminars, workshops, and lectures by the principal will boost the level of confidence in the teachers and will also help them have a better understanding of their career. They said that these attempts will also make them a better teacher in the class and the administrative gap between the teachers and principal will start to fade and they are also willing to adapt to new ideas, as these new methods will help them achieve the following goals. 1- Teaching the student to think and providing him with useful knowledge beneficial skills, and high values. 2- Raising the academic, health, and social level of the student. 3- Diagnosing the weakness aspects of the student and treating them before they increase. 4- Working on the student’s participation in school activities effectively and in a programmed way through school meetings. Teacher (X) said, “It is also important to choose representatives from the students in order to join the board of directors, as the students are trained in leadership in real life situations. The Social Services in the school works on directing the students to all things that are good for them in terms of understanding subjects, choosing a career, about their physical and psychological health or regarding what is related to behaviour improvement and benefiting from leisure time.” 4 - Five ways to reward teachers for their work inside the classroom and other works in the school: According to Bamshmos (1423H) the school principal can reward the teachers for their work in many ways like knowing the teachers professional needs, which affect the education and learning operations cooperatively. This can be achieved by particular procedures and methods that should be done before starting the process of developing the teachers’ professional efficiencies, which will no doubt raise their rank and experiences in their practical life. Suitable reports should be submitted about the teachers material rewards and the degree of their worth appreciation certificates from the educational administration according to the effort of each of them in the educational operation inside the school and in the educational and pedagogical activities. In the survey, teacher (X) reported that the primary school teachers in Saudi Arabia are obligated to supervise the preparatory and secondary stage exams while the teachers of these stages are absent or resting. For this question, the teacher (XXXX) has suggested that the school principal can implement many procedures that are considered to be rewards for the teachers: 1- Working on giving them reward for extra work that exceeds the main duties of the teacher, both inside and outside the school. 2- Exempting the supervising teacher from returning to his school after the exam period and considering his supervision end as his work end. 3- Developing courses in the supervision centres in this period helps in promoting teachers’ efficiency. 4- Exempting the supervising teachers from going to schools in the school holidays as compensation for their supervision in the preparatory and secondary stages. 5- Calculating the supervision system with strength points for the teacher with any educational comparison. The common reply for this question was that the teachers should be provided with constant enthusiasm so that they concentrate on their work and feel motivated towards their work. The research questions asked were: 1. What is the nature of the relationship between teachers and the principal? 2. How, if at all, does this impact on student learning? 3. In what ways, if at all, are teachers rewarded for their work? Overall, the answers to the research questions are: 1- The primary stage view of the teacher is determined by what he does in education by cooperating with the school principal. The school principal is concerned with forming professional and humane relations between him and the teachers and developing this relationship to make everyone feel the importance and value of his effort by giving them some freedom. He should be aware and recognise the problems faced by the teachers in terms of being educational supervisors and help them in order to strengthen their morale and motivate them to duplicate their efforts automatically. 2- Through suitable training, the teacher can continue using the new methods. 3- The teacher who is considered the person most benefiting from the training is the teacher with high efficiency and self-confidence. 4- The initial enthusiasm of the primary teacher’s training is considered reassuring for the training organisers but its effect is limited in terms of student learning. So it is necessary to provide the teacher with constant enthusiasm at this stage. 5- Conclusion: For this educational change teachers can play a very positive role. As they are the agents between the school and the students therefore, for the better management of the classroom and students, the teachers should be involved in the initiating, planning and management phases (Singh & Lokotsch, 2005). Their active participation in the decision making process will engage them seriously in the future change (Poppleton & William, 2004). For this, if the teachers are involved in the process of responsibility and in other important decision-making process, the possibility of adopting the changes in the school and the environment would be easier. As per the research conducted, it is seen that the involvement of the teachers in the school activity is also desired by the teachers. Hence, if the school manages to adopt this strategy in their school, the possibility of developing a deep relationship with the teachers and the management is evident. As a result, of this growing relationship the studying status of the school should surely increase. Along with the positive relationship between the teachers and the principals, such activities will decentralise the process of decision- making in the school, which is now considered as an international trend (Kruger, 2003). As per the literature findings, and the finding from the survey, it can be concluded that when teachers would be attending the activities related to the pedagogy, they would be having an improved understanding about the latest new methods. Likewise would be updating their principals about it, ultimately, working constructively in the development of the students. The conducted research shows that the principal should have an effective role in raising the teachers’ efficiency in the different research fields whether it is academic, social, or administrative. They should work seriously and with enthusiasm to deepen the self-confidence, pride, and honour of the job and give them the required skills to deal with the problems that they face. This is in addition to helping them use modern teaching methods and educational methods. As per the findings of the research, it is seen that if the principal will acknowledge the individual difference of the teachers and will reward them for their extra work that they do on the base of their capabilities. Such advancements would add extra points in teachers’ confidence as well as their level of interest in the school; their teaching, their classroom and students will see a higher graph. The principal relationship with the teacher will be accurate and fruitful if it is based on justice in treatment and mutual trust. If justice disappears, trust will decrease and if trust is missed, every party will fear his partner (Edwards, 2004). Therefore, the teacher will be concerned with counting the principal’s mistakes and the principal will be concerned with conspiring against the teacher to get rid of him. The conducted research also predicts that such relationships will certainly make the schools see the downfall. The principal of the schools have been the only authority who fulfils the management task. Since the teachers of the school become the principals, therefore, the teachers should also have an understanding of the administrative process at the time of teaching; so that by the time they come to the place of the principal they can have a better understanding of the process. This will help in the smooth running of the school and due to this mutual understanding between the teachers and the managers will help to build a better image of the school. References: Ahmad, Ibrahim Ahmad (1998) Updating the Educational Management. Alexandria, Al-Maaref modern library. Al-Habib. I.F (1984) School Role Towards the Teacher Professional Growth. King Saud university magazine, 8, p. 18. Al-Haqeel. A.R.S (1403H) The School Management and Mobilizing Its Human Force in The Kingdom, p. 33. Al-Khatib. R. et al. (2003) Educational Management and Supervision, Modern Tendencies. Al-Taweel. H. A.F. (1999) The Educational Management and the Organisational Behaviour, Wael publication house, Jordan. Al-Taweel. H. A.-F. (1999) The Educational Management: Concepts and Outlooks. Wael publication house. Ballweg.A.J & Ibsen.A.C, 1974. Telephone Interviews in Social Research: Some Methodological Considerations. Accessed on 6th April 2011 http://www.springerlink.com/content/xxn0271x684x3q5v/ Bamshmos. M (1423H), Introduction in Schools Principals, Jeddah: Konoz el-Mearefa, p. 36. Blaikie. N. (2010), Designing Social Research. Polity Press, Cambridge. Accessed on 6th April 2011from http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AcQ7mBUIkGEC&pg=PA154&dq=Research+Approach+Inductive,+Deductive&hl=en&ei=cyybTf2HLsXlrAf4ppH9Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Research%20Approach-%20Inductive%2C%20Deductive&f=false Briggs, Ann R. J. and Coleman, Marianne (2007) Research Methods in Educational Leadership and Management, London: 2nd Edition, MPG Books Group. Edwards. W. (2002). Excellence in Principal Leadership. The International Principal. 5. Experiment-Resources, 2011. The Research Methodology. Accessed on 6th April 2011 http://www.experiment-resources.com/research-methodology.html Godart. C.(2009). Software Services for E-Business and E-Society: 9th IFIP WG 6.1 Conference. Accessed on 31st March 2011 from http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eB_nWQKT3dwC&pg=PA31&dq=Data+Collection+Methods-+Questionnaire+and+Interviews,&hl=en&ei=dy6bTekahOmsB-7jhIoH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Data%20Collection%20Methods-%20Questionnaire%20and%20Interviews%2C&f=false Kruger, A.G. (2003). Instructional Leadership: Impact on The Culture Of Teaching and Learning in Two Effective Secondary Schools. South African Journal of Education. 23; 206-211. 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Researching Social Life. London. Patton, M., (1987). How to Use Qualitative Methods in Evaluation. Sage Publication, California. Poppleton P & Willianson J (2004). New Realities of Secondary Teachers’ work lives. Oxford: Symposium Books. Singh P & Lokotsch K (2005). Effects of transformational leadership on human resource management in primary schools. South African Journal of Education, 25 : 279-286 Yin, R. (1993). Application of Case Study Research. Sage Publication, California. Read More