Personnel Management Strategies for Headteachers

This paper is intended for headteachers, prospective headteachers and others who supervise staff in schools. Drawing upon interviews and observations of executives over a number of years, the paper records a range of personnel management tactics which have proved effective in practice and which educational managers may find useful. Attention is given to the importance of and approaches to induction of new personnel, involvement of staff in managerial tasks, use of goals to focus the school's work, and techniques for communicating productively with staff. The paper also examines the importance and implications of managerial optimism and determination.     

校长体验式培训模式的应用及其反思——以广东省中小学校长实践锻炼项目为例

中小学校长实践锻炼项目是广东省校长培训工作的一次模式创新,基于体验式学习理论,在培训工作开展过程中表现出不同于传统培训模式的特点,主要表现在离开狭窄的理论课堂,为校长提供一个在实践中体验学习的平台,使之全方位地感悟另一种不同的教育文化背景下的学校管理经验。     

1265: An examination of some of the management implications of directed time

This enquiry seeks to establish how some secondary school headteachers have directed their DEs‐prescribed allocation of 1265 hours. Investigations focus particularly on those management processes used to determine the budget, the measures employed to ensure a flexibility in a budget once it has been defined, and some effects of budgeting on meetings. The allocation of hours to specific school tasks is scrutinized and the authors conclude with recommendations and suggestions for improving budgeting decisions in the future.     

Improving the implementation of educational change

In the academic year 1987–1988 24 primary school Headteachers were interviewed about the appraisal of their managerial performance. In the course of the interviews the Heads discussed their perceptions of their jobs and what they perceived as the changing nature of their roles. They felt under considerable pressure to focus on the administrative and managerial aspects of headship and to reduce the time they spent in teaching. There was evidence that they found the non‐teaching tasks were increasing markedly in recent years in primary schools. They did not, however, appear to consider delegation of these tasks to other staff to be an appropriate strategy. This paper then goes on to consider issues surrounding delegation and collegial structures and makes recommendations about levels of consultation in primary schools.     

Management Problems of New Primary Headteachers

This paper presents initial findings of research into problems encountered by recently appointed primary headteachers. The study from which its data are drawn was undertaken in Wales in the summer of 1994 as one dimension of a broader European study of the preparation and early years in post of headteachers and replicated elements of an earlier survey of new secondary headteachers appointed to post in 1982–83. This paper discusses findings from the 1994 primary study relating to headteachers’ perceptions of three categories of problems: those internal to their schools, those external to their schools and those related to staff and staffing issues. To provide a context for these empirical data the paper also presents a brief review of research on problems and approaches to problem‐solving relevant to educational administrators.     

Headteacher as a Pedagogical Leader: a Comparative Study of Headteachers in Sweden and England

ABSTRACT

This is a comparative study, drawing on data obtained from interviews conducted with headteachers, that compares the roles of Swedish and British headteachers as pedagogical leaders. For its analytical framework the study uses the qualitative research approach known as phenomenography and, in the context of the guiding legal documents related to education, examines the study's findings as frame factors and as tight and loosely coupled systems. Based on interviews with the study's subjects (five Swedish and five English headteachers), discernible differences were noted between Swedish and English headteachers in their roles as pedagogical leaders. Both groups are responsible for the administration and management of the school but, compared to the Swedish headteachers, their English counterparts have greater personal responsibility for the school's overall performance and are more focused on providing leadership in teaching and learning. In contrast, the Swedish headteachers had a greater separation of the two roles, with the headteacher taking responsibility for administration and leaving responsibility for teaching and learning to the teachers.     

广东省中学校长中英合作培训项目价值的思考

广东省中学校长中英合作培训项目具有两方面的价值：一方面是对参训校长具有冲击效应,国外异质教育文化的碰撞使中国校长产生强烈的思想冲击与震撼,并引起他们时国内教育深刻的比较和反思。这是出国培训的特殊价值,国内培训无法代替。因此,选送优秀校长出国培训,是快速培养具有一定的国际教育视野、现代教育意识和多元化教育思维的中小学校长的有效途径。另一方面,出国培训对国内培训也产生了冲击,参训校长高度肯定的中英合作培训项目,其中有多方面时国内培训具有普遍的借鉴意义,包括科学合理的课程设计安排、有效提升领导力的理论培训和研究取向的深度体验学习模式。     

关于高校辅导员、班主任工作的思考

中共中央国务院《关于进一步加强和改进大学生思想政治教育的意见》提出:“辅导员、班主任是大学生思想政治教育的骨干力量。”在新的形势下高校辅导员、班主任应该树立以人为本的思想,热爱学生,关心学生;应具有坚定正确的政治方向和良好的科学文化素质;在工作方法上,抓早抓实,形成良好的学风,班风;重视心理健康教育,培养学生健康人格。     

Change and continuity in the work of primary headteachers in England

This chapter draws upon recent research into what a sample of interviewed primary school headteachers had to say about their role and work in the 1990s. Two common themes — the intensification of the work and their roles as school developers — are identified from their testimonies. In turn, three emerging issues are discussed: management and leadership, school improvement, and effective headteachers. These findings have in the last two years been shared with many other headteachers and their responses to these ideas have prompted some second level analysis and reflection which is the focus of the latter part of the chapter. While there are some changes in the work of headteachers, certain role orthodoxies continue. The most enduring characteristic is the pre-eminence of the headteacher. Yet this is the very feature which accounts for them feeling so pressured and strained and it may be the time when this most central of continuities needs to change.     

When Promotion Ladders Seem to End: the career concerns of secondary headteachers

This paper considers the career concerns experienced by some comprehensive school headteachers when promotion ladders in teaching in schools apparently come to an end. Using career history data from 20 headteachers, 10 men and 10 women, the age and gender differences in the experience of career concern are illustrated. The concept of career in sociological analysis is examined and the linking of actions and structures in the formation of career patterns is demonstrated. It is then argued that, in a time of rapid educational change, new positions will be created and the rules defining who gets particular positions might be altered. In this way, the career expectations of, and new career structures for, headteachers could be developed.     

Special school headship in times of change: impossible challenges or golden opportunities?

This article is based on empirical research undertaken by John Baker, headteacher of the largest day special school for pupils with a range of learning difficulties in Essex, as part of his EdD studies at the Institute of Education, University of London. Its focus is on the perceived challenges and opportunities which headteachers of special schools for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) are facing and on the strategies they are using to manage these challenges and opportunities. A group of nine head teachers from one local authority in the southern half of England formed the sample for this study. The methodology employed postal/email questionnaires with follow‐up semi‐structured interviews with a subgroup of four headteachers. The main challenges identified by the special school headteachers were constant change, relentless school improvement, funding concerns, bureaucracy and maintaining a balance between work and private life. Perceived opportunities included partnership links with other schools and outreach services to mainstream schools; other initiatives such as specialist school status and Building Schools for the Future were also identified. John Baker suggests strategies to help headteachers meet these challenges and ensure that opportunities become realities.     

Managing Interschool Networks: across the primary/secondary divide

This paper examines how schools in one area of the East Midlands have developed interschool collaboration not to undermine central‐government policy but to make possible the successful implementation of the local management of schools. The study is based on structured interviews carried out with secondary headteachers and headteachers of some of the primary schools which feed pupils into these secondary schools. The time and effort expended by schools on these networks is assessed, and their advantages and disadvantages, as perceived by the headteachers, are summarised. The paper concludes with some suggestions for developing the management of these networks.     

AGE AND HEADTEACHERS’ ROLE CONCEPTIONS

The relationship between age and role conceptions was examined in a national sample of infant, junior and secondary school headteachers drawn from schools throughout England and Wales. American studies of the school principalship have shown authoritarianism, closed‐mindedness, and lack of educational innovation to be characteristic of the beliefs and behaviour of older rather than younger school principals. The present study failed to support American findings. Older headteachers were found to exhibit less authoritarianism than younger headteachers; nor were older heads more traditional in outlook than younger colleagues or any less concerned with supervising the work of their teaching staffs.     

Headteacher critique and resistance: a challenge for policy,and for leadership/management scholars

Educational leadership/management scholars have undertaken work which documents the difficulties particular headteachers face when implementing policy. Some have suggested that headteachers mediate policy, ensuring the best possible outcomes for their schools, but there is also critique of this argument and a counter‐suggestion that heads ought to resist the imposts of conservative, marketised policies which produce and reproduce educational inequities. In this article I consider this position, and argue that if the field is to take up the question of resistance then it will need to extend its theoretical resources, interrogate and test out the limits of the proposition through empirical example, consider instances where resistance appears to occur, and move beyond a focus on individual headteachers to take seriously their collective professional organisations. In making this argument, I generate some suggestions for future research.     

Learning from ‘Outsiders’ as Experts

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on how best the appraisal of headteachers can be effected. It presents an analysis of the findings of a study which compared self‐appraisals of their managerial peformance by a sample of primary headteachers (n=36), with appraisals of these headteachers by their teaching staff. Respondents completed the 100‐item Management Performance Profile (MPP) Questionnaire and the resulting profiles of the headteachers'performance in 10 managerial categories, were compared. In addition, data were generated on headteachers' perceptions of their personal and professional identity, using a semi‐structured interview schedule. The findings are that there is a high level of concordance between perceptions by headteachers and teachers of the managerial priorities of the primary headteacher. However, two groups of schools are identified, in which there are significant differences between evaluations of the headteachers' managerial performance. Interview data is used to illuminate the analysis and discussion of these differences. The conclusion is that staff participation in headteacher performance review has much to offer and that the MPP questionnaire is a tool of value in this respect.     

Ugandan secondary school headteachers’ efficacy: What kind of training for whom?

With increasing pressures from growing demand and for higher quality on secondary schools, headteachers play a crucial role in creating successful school environments. Within Uganda, and across many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, headteachers are not adequately prepared for their roles, and few professional development opportunities exist to provide them with the skills they need. This article reports on a study that assessed headteachers’ efficacy in the areas of leadership, management, instructional supervision, and community relations. One of the policy arguments for educators’ professional development is to create a coherent, cost-effective, and scaleable training program, which often results in a “one-size-fits-all” training. However, the findings from this study suggest the need for designing training to target gaps in specific skill domains and to give attention to the differing roles and responsibilities of head and deputy headteachers, the school size and resources, gender, and the location of the population that the school serves. In effect, training should be contextualized and targeted.     

Self‐management Strategies for Headteachers

The first article in this series dealt with personnel management for headteachers and other school managers. This paper considers an equally important matter: self‐management. Based on interviews and observations of a range of effective executives, a number of strategies are presented as guides for tackling school management in a manner that is more effective, better informed and more balanced. Suggestions are provided for apportioning limited time, examining school problems and opportunities, pursuing administrative development and benefiting from failures. The paper identifies and advocates reliance on sources of advice and support that are frequently overlooked. Attention is also given to balancing managerial and personal demands.     

论西北艺术文物考察团对无名艺术史研究的方法启示

西北艺术文物考察团在抗战时期开展对西北各地的无名艺术文物的踏查,在现代中国艺术史研究的转型期,对无名艺术史提供了早期的方法论启示。考察团秉持以艺术审美与文物考证相结合的研究方法,提升了无名艺术史在现代史学研究中的地位、确立了艺术本体研究在无名艺术史研究中的话语体系、建立了无名艺术史与传统经典艺术史的理论与方法关联。     

The ‘Reality’ of School Organization

Five headteachers formed a group for the purpose of school evaluation. The approach used involved inter‐visiting and the sharing of the evaluation of each other's schools. The headteachers decided to evaluate the systems operating in their schools, evaluating each other in turn having involved the deputy in collecting staff views. All schools made changes as a result of the evaluations. The need for commitment by LEA or DES to such school evaluation was considered to be important.