How Are Educational Administrators Causing Reform in Education?

Educational Reforms are happening around you and the most affected persons today are the Educational Administrators, or simply put - your principals. Public schools were once managed by the government especially when it comes to finance. But when an educational reform ushered public schools to self-manage them, the weight and consequences of the decision fell on the backs and shoulders of principals all over the United States. This led to more stress-related health problems to principals as documented in one article when self-managing their own schools started. This is because the principals were stuck in between both worlds where they once had control only of teachers and staff, and other things related to managing their schools were taken by the government. But now everything depends on their effectiveness and leadership as principals. There were mixed reactions and most of them were on the lower end of the scale. Very few principals reported an increase in their schools' productivity. But nevertheless, they made the school more of what it once was despite all of their added responsibilities. How did they achieve it?

One thing that led to their success is the enforcement of a comprehensive Education and Educational Leadership system among staff and faculty. They not only give their teachers their daily schedules and responsibilities, they make sure that the teachers and staff attend to them. Managing the school is one of their primary concerns. They make comprehensive schedules, and breaks down their responsibilities into little ones throughout the week while not affecting the school productivity. They also make sure that their teachers not only teach their lessons, but teach them with proper attention to the student's learning. Measuring a student's learning capabilities does not fall on the principal's hands, but on each teacher through their daily educational activities. Thus principals influence and encourage their teachers to focus on each student's education and not just teach their lessons to produce a better individual mentally and physically. These successful new world principals pressure their teachers to be productive, but they do it with an ample amount of support through giving all of their needed materials, techniques, and promote enthusiasm daily.

There are a couple of factors that educational administrators should focus on to be this productive. Effective Education and Educational Leadership focuses on: teacher's knowledge, skills and disposition, promoting a professional community at school, program coherence and technical resources, and their own capabilities for leadership.

The teachers' knowledge, skills and disposition affects their students' performance. When a teacher enters the room with negative expectations, expect that the teacher will have negative ratings from her students as she will tend to act differently toward one or more students. Their skills and knowledge regarding their subject should also be top notch to teach their students in the best way possible. Notice in offices that everyone acts professionally toward each other and produces a higher than average efficiency. This should also be applied in schools so no one takes their work lightly. Set goals, measures to achieve them, award accomplishments, and give punishments to those needing it for improvement. This will enforce professionalism in your teachers and staff, and improve your school's performance. The curriculum should also be coherent and followed accordingly. Technical resources like books and other sources of information for teachers and students also contribute to proficiency in their teaching. Lastly and most importantly, educational administrators should have the capabilities to lead and manage a school. With proper information and measures regarding different issues, policies and what-not, you should be able to put it into use for better Education and Educational Leadership throughout the year. There are many publications for schools and online resources that tackle issues and topics about Education and Educational Leadership.

Major Moments In Educational Administration Reform

Organizations

  1. American Society for Ethics in Education
  2. Campaign for Real Education
  3. Citizenship Curriculum
  4. Critical Thinking Community
  5. Educational Malpractice Law in the USA
  6. Independent Voices for Better Education
  7. MiddleWeb:Exploring Middle School Reform
  8. Organization for Quality Educatio
  9. Overcoming Obstacles-
  10. Project 2061
  11. Research for Action
  12. The Truth About Math Standards and Information
  13. Thomas B. Fordham Foundation