Is Managing Teachers Different?

1. Is Managing Teachers Different? Maureen McGarvey IH London

2. What is management? • the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. [wikipedia] • controlling or directing people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established. [teamtechnology.com]

3. -the process of getting activities completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people [Univ. of Toronto] -the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. [John Reh]

4. Pyramid structure

5. Centralised structure

6. Decentralised structure

7. Matrix

8. Fronted Organigram

9. Mintzberg first diagram

10. Professional bureaucracy

11. “ the professional bureaucracy relies for co-ordination on the standardisation of skills and its associated design parameter, training and indoctrination. It hires duly trained and indoctrinated specialists - professionals - for the operating core, and then gives them considerable control over their own work.”

12. The professional works independently of their colleagues, but closely with the clients they serve. Decision as to how they teach is generally left to their professional judgement (within constraints). Liaison with colleagues is informed by the common understanding the professionals have by virtue of their shared training and experience.

13. Your Top Five… Please see the list on your handout.

14. Organised, logical thinking 57% • Ability to separate personal feelings form professional decisions 47% • Knowledge of the profession 42% • Ability to deal with diverse personalities 38% • Flexibility/Ability to think and act under pressure 33% • Listening skills/Ability to give honest feedback tactfully/ knowledge of pedagogy 28%

15. Many teachers thought that managers were lacking in listening skills and the ability to deal with people A number also felt that managers lacked understanding of financial matters, administrative systems and organisational skills A few mentioned the need to remember what it was like to be a teacher

16. 64% of those asked thought that the DELTA or equivalent was not sufficient qualification to be a manager • Many teachers felt that some kind of management training course (especially personnel management) plus the Cambridge ESOL /Trinity Diploma in teaching would be the best set of qualifications for educational managers

17. To sum up… Teaching most closely resembles professional bureaucracy. Managers are expected not only to manage but to perform (at a higher standard than their teachers). Educational managers are good educationalists but not necessarily trained in management skills. Educational managers have to cover many roles often covered by specialists.

18. So……Is managing teachers different?

19. “All a manager needs is honesty and a natural enthusiasm for the job” [ Bill Shankley]

20. “All I need is someone to talk to, and a little of that human touch” [Bruce Springsteen]