Policy and Planning for Educators

To begin any planning for service organisations, which schools can be considered part
of, we must first examine what kind of business we are in.

What kind of citizen should we now be educating?

What kind of education is necessary to produce this citizen?'

How can we improve the Education system in order to provide this education?

What legal, constitutional and political framework are we operating within?

 

Decentralisation with power transferred to school boards or governing councils and management by the "Head" teacher presents opportunity for positive change and improved educational outcomes if the responsibility is genuinly accepted and participation by local authorities authentic.  In many cases Boards do not function in an authentic manner due to the systemic barriers between the school and the community'

 

What kind of business are we in?

The education of a child is a shared responsibility. It starts at home with the parents. If the parents are involved and interested in educational growth and the learning process then the child is off to a good start. The next input of importance is the school itself. Its human and physical resources.  The teacher must have appropriate education and training and must set a good example, be creative and have some vision of the purpose of education and participate in the development of the school.

 

All schools need to have processes in place to involve their community in determining, the framework within which the schools vision, mission and values are propogated. It should be a vision shared by the community in which the school operates. The process itself will help the school overcome barriers that may currently exist between the school and the community. The mission should be supported by the school goals or aims. Only when this has been determined can one develop appropriate policies and other plans to ensure the schools goals can be achieved.

 

As you can see answers are not discussed here, because each educational environment operates under its own set of constraints and cultural background and needs to provide the forum for its participants to examine the vision, mission and values that will drive the effective education of children.