Educational Leadership & Management (B.ed 1.5 3)

Course Description 

Schools are experiencing a paradigm shift in conceptions and operations related to school management. Systems thinking have become the major paradigm for school improvement efforts. Traditional analytical thinking focuses on isolating smaller and smaller parts of a system for study. Systems thinking, on the other hand, focus on interactions between the different components of a system and aims to consider the system as a whole rather than as separate components within a whole. Thus, in a school system each part or individual is a necessary component for the system’s optimal function. The main goal of this course is to develop the capacity of Student Teachers to understand school as a system and to view school management through a systems approach. This will enable them to identify and examine their role in the school system and its significance in improving the learning outcomes of students. The course will also help Student Teachers to unearth, examine, and consider alternatives to the norms that shape status quo teaching if they are to become innovative and thoughtful professionals.

Course Outcomes

Unit 1: School System, Management and Leadership

Week 1 to 3 

(a) Organization, administration, management, supervision and leadership

• The functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling) and teachers’ related role 
• The levels of management
• The teacher as leader: As an instructional leader (strategic planning, vision, and mission) As an agent of change or a transformational leader 

• Human relationships: The base for educational leadership

(b) Systems thinking

• Conceptualize the concept of a ‘good school’
• Analysis Student Teachers’ roles in the existing practices at various levels of the school structure 
• Conceptualize school as a system (input, output, and process)
• School as an organizational system
• School as a social and open system

Unit 2: Management vs. Leadership

Week 4 to 6

• Introduction to management and leadership
• Dynamics of management and leadership
• Leadership vs. management
• Difference between group, team and organization
• Importance of school leadership

• Defining school leadership responsibilities
• Fundamental skills for effective leadership
• Tools and techniques to improve Leadership skills
• Distributing leadership within school
• Leadership beyond school walls

Unit 3: Types of Leadership

Week 7 & 8

• Participative Leadership
• Situational Leadership
• Contingency-Based Leadership
• Transformational Leadership
• Collaborative leadership
• Transitional leadership
• Visionary leadership

Unit 4: Core management skills for teachers

Week 9 & 10

(a)  Communication skills

• Communication process
• Directions of communication
• Barriers to communication
• Overcoming barriers to communication

(b) Interpersonal skills

• Managing conflict with the school community
• Techniques for developing alternatives
• The leader as a problem solver

Unit 5: The school as a learning organization and teamwork in the workplace

Week 11 to 13

(a) Conceptualizing the school as a learning organization

• The establishment and smooth running of school councils
• Shared leadership
• Shared decision-making: Empowering teachers

(b) Managing cooperation within the school

• The relationship of the school with society
• Teamwork
• Considering schools as organizations and communities
• Leading purposeful change in schools: People, power, and culture

(c) Leadership and Team Building

·         Team building process

·         Essential building blocks for teams

·         The POPCI fundamentals for effective teams- Purpose, Organization, Process, Culture & Influence

Unit 6: School plant management

Weeks 14 to 16

School plant management

• Building size, shape, design, construction, and maintenance
• Managing the school library, laboratories, and the playground
• The school environment (common principles)
• Scheduling and managing day-to-day activities, considering the available resources

• Planning and managing co-curricular activities

(c) School record management (concepts and principles)

• General records (about school, staff, and students)
• Financial Accounts records
• Educational records
• Equipment records
• Correspondence records

Textbooks and references

·         Owens, Robert G. (2004). Organizational behavior in education. Boston, MA; Pearson Publishing Company.

·         Collins, Jim (2001). Good to great: why some companies make the lead . . . and others don’t. New York, NY: Harper Publishers Company. 

·         Fullan, Michael ((2003). The moral imperative of school leadership. Thousand Oaks, Calif: A Sage Publication Company.

·         Razik, T. A., & Swanson, A. D. (2010). Fundamental concepts of educational leadership and management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, pp. 54–73.

·         Hoy, W. K., & Miskel, C. G. (2008). Educational administration: Theory, research, and practice. Boston: McGraw-Hill, pp. 8–34.

·         Sidhu, K. S. (2005). School organization and administration. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, pp. 1–25.

·         Northhouse, G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and practice. New Delhi: Sage Publications, pp. 175–186.

·         Razik, T. A., & Swanson, A. D. (2010). Fundamental concepts of educational leadership and management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, pp. 103–126.

·         Lunenburg, F. C., & Ornstein, A. C. (2007). Educational administration: Concepts and practices. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, pp. 176–196.

·         Sidhu, K. S. (2005). School organization and administration. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, pp. 271–286.

·         Hoy, W. K., & Miskel, C. G. (2008). Educational administration: Theory, research, and practice. Boston: McGraw-Hill, pp. 33–36, 356–371.

·         Shami, P. A., & Waqar, A. (2007). School management and supervision. Islamabad: Academy of Educational Planning and Management, pp. 3–5.

·         Busher, H. (2006). Understanding educational leadership: People, power and politics. New York: Open University Press, pp. 1–11, 148–162.

·         Sidhu, K. S. (2005). School organization and administration. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, pp. 53–61.