Today I completed teaching a chapter titled 'Leaning curve' and I wonder how relevant three topics of the chapter are to education field. These topics are Individual learning, organizational learning, and managerial considerations.
Education Managers' roles and job descriptions:
Though education is a business now, it is different from factory, bank or any other corporate body . The difference is this - students are not consumers, parents are not customers, educational institutes are not sellers, and more importantly teachers are not service staff. The common factor between education business and other businesses is that both need change and continuous improvement.
Unlike in other businesses, teachers deal with students' short attention span and addiction to devices in the lectures. Teachers are not paid to just teach. They are researchers and administrators without titles. Teachers need their creative space too.
If I were a manager in a school/college, I would ask following eternity five questions to myself and try to find their answers:
Education Managers' roles and job descriptions:
- Planning-organizing-leading-coordinating
- Recruitment
- Training
- Performance review
- Promotion/transfer
- Support
Though education is a business now, it is different from factory, bank or any other corporate body . The difference is this - students are not consumers, parents are not customers, educational institutes are not sellers, and more importantly teachers are not service staff. The common factor between education business and other businesses is that both need change and continuous improvement.
Unlike in other businesses, teachers deal with students' short attention span and addiction to devices in the lectures. Teachers are not paid to just teach. They are researchers and administrators without titles. Teachers need their creative space too.
If I were a manager in a school/college, I would ask following eternity five questions to myself and try to find their answers:
- What qualities do I admire in my favorite teacher(s) during school/college days?
- Am I more educated than the teachers I manage?
- How is recruiting teachers different from recruiting bank employees or hotel staff?
- Why people join education industry?
- Can teachers help transform student's life?
- Am I giving enough training to teachers?
- Is this training effective?
- Am I taking feedback from teachers about students' preparedness, punctuality, attitude, and life goals?
- Can teachers happily work in corporate hours i.e. 9 to 5?
- Besides salary, what does motivate teachers?
- How much academic freedom do teachers need?
- What are the costs and benefits of academic freedom for the institute?
- How many tools and technologies I have updated in last 12 months?
- How many good teachers left the institute in last 12 months?
- Why were they called 'good teachers'?
- Where are those 'good teachers' now and what do they do?
- What do teachers mean exactly when they say 'organization politics'?
- How am I helping teachers in learning, re-learning, and refreshing their knowledge and skills?
- Are senior teachers helping junior teachers to learn and grow?
- Who are the troubleshooters for the teachers?
- What do teachers contribute in the development of the institute?
- As a manager, what is my contribution to the teachers and to the institute?
- Should teachers' performance always be quantified?
- Do teachers feel that top/middle level management of the institute is transparent?
- Do teachers feel that top/middle level management of the institute is just and fair?
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