Quality Education To Students example essay topic

OVERVIEW OF Barataria Secondary Comprehensive School (BSCS) vs. A public secondary comprehensive school. vs. Managed by the Ministry of Education. vs. Enrollment - 1500 students vs. Staff: Teaching - 100 teachers. Administrative: Principal, Vice-Principal, 7 Deans, 7 HODs, 1 Bursar Auxiliary Staff: 23 persons (Clerical Staff - 8; Lab Assistants & Workshop attendants -15 vs. No of Departments - 7 (Business Studies, Maths & Science, Languages, History, Mechanical, Electrical, Drafting, Building Craft. vs. No. of Classrooms - 45 vs. Types of Programmes: Ordinary & Advanced Levels vs. No. of Subject Clusters -15 Group A - General Studies, Accounts, Science, Typewriting, General Electricity Group B - Music, Visual Arts, Food & Nutrition, Woodwork, Mechanical Craft, Technical Drawing. Group B - Dressmaking, Tailoring, Metalwork, Building Craft, Beauty Culture. Insert Org str STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND KEY ISSUES DIAGNOSIS: List of Competing Problems: Process Problems: Structural and Systemic - Ministry of Education. The absence of a strategic focus, pro-active modus operandi, inefficient and ineffective processes. -BSCS - lack of an official management structure. - lack of clinical supervision of staff - lack of professional development opportunities - Recruitment and Selection - No training in pedagogy is required.

This results in poor classroom instruction. Curriculum that is not learner-centered nor tailored to the needs of a changing society. Lack of programmes to facilitate the teaching / learning process. (Orientation, extra and co-curricula) Lack of involvement and coordination between the key stakeholders. Data Collection Culture of lethargy Financial: Lack of adequate funding for purchase of resources and other supplies not to mention a descent infrastructure (leaky roofs). Inadequate compensation packages for teachers Symptomatic problems: .

Demotivated teachers. Overworked teachers. Absenteeism and Unpunctuality. Crowed classrooms. Poor academic performance. Delinquent Behaviour Mission Statement of BSCS: "To provide quality education to students of varying abilities, to enhance personal development, to prepare them for the world of work, further education, good citizenship and to enable them to adapt to the needs of a changing environment".

How can this mission be accomplished? The following statement holds true: "It is virtually impossible for any organization to successfully accomplish its mission without the effective management of operations". Some of the key operations management (OM) areas applicable to my organization are as follows. Service Design - As a school its incumbent to design and deliver educational programs with outstanding quality and inherent customer value... Process Design - The 3 Ms of men, materials and machines must be in the right place at the right time... Layout - This can be applied to the actual allocation of groups to specific classrooms.

For example: Would you place a Form 6 class adjacent to a Form 1 Class? How can I layout my classroom for effective delivery? Would a circular / semi-circular format be more appropriate than the traditional linear style? Scheduling - What criteria am I going to use to allocate staff members to classes? Am I going to assign the new teachers to the most difficult classes?

Can I design the time- table to facilitate team teaching? Quality is a feature that should permeate all aspects of the school operations. As such, the management of operations is just as important to this service oriented, not-for-profit organizations as it is for a manufacturing, profit-based firm. One thing is for certain, the school and for that matter the education system as a whole is plagued with numerous problems.

Its definitely is difficult to decide where to start, however it is critical that all stakeholders be involved so that there is 'buy in' of the paradigm shift. However as an educational institution, one cannot sit back and wait for change to occur, one has to make that change a reality, thus as a school we have to look within and devise solutions to existing problems. Of course, that does not discount the fact that we have to lobby the Ministry, so that they can also start thinking 'out of the box'. Key Processes to be Improved: Curriculum Development Problems SS Too long a time frame before curriculum updated. SS Little input from people involved in the process - subject teachers. SS Produces an output that can be irrelevant to the environment in which it operates SS Inadequate numbers involved in the process at any time due to time and space constraints SS Little or no input from bodies particularly corporate bodies that are external to the school system.

Recommendations SS Liaise with Curriculum Officers at the Learning Resource Center at Co uva in order to adapt the subjects to the changing market needs. SS Source input data from all the key stakeholders. Curriculum Delivery Problems O Lack of synergies between various schools and even between teachers within the same school in order for there to be excellence in delivery. New teachers are left on their own to either 'sink or swim'. Staff Development Objectives: To ensure that all member are professionally competent in order to deliver a quality programmes to students.

Programmes to be implemented: O Induction programmes for new staff members O Mentoring programmes so that new entrants into the profession can benefit from the expertise of existing successful teachers. O Institute a Team Based approach for delivery of the content of the syllabus. According to Professor Miller: 'The teaching profession is highly individualistic vs. team-based'. Teachers within a department need to get together and share ideas and strategies on the most creative ways to impart the information to the students. For example would a project approach be more appropriate for specific topics?

I am forced to quote from another excellent article by Professor Miller: 'Use a variety of pedagogical tools to maximize the involvement of the class in the learning process. The use of role plays, videos, group projects, presentations, research exercises, class discussions, real-life cases, on-the-job assignments, and term papers will greatly enhance a students ability not only to manifest their intellect, but also to better function in society. ' Teachers need to remember a simple credo that I try my utmost best to apply "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance". For example research indicates that in Japan a teacher does not teach for more than three hours per day. The remaining time is spent preparing for the lessons. This is indeed critical in order to avoid unprepared teacher entering the classroom, resulting in 'breaking down' instead of 'building up' of the students.

Teacher needs to be masters of the subject area in which they are tutoring. This is a big issue, especially since in many instances, this is not the case. This results in the delivery of a lesson that lacks depth, far less for it even being interesting or creative for the students. O Networking: This collaborative approach can be extended to include schools within a particular district. For example, in the GCE Advance Level Business Studies subject which I teach, there are 7 key areas - Business and the Environment, People in Organizations, Marketing, Production, Finance, Accounts and Information for Decision-Making, as you will well appreciate its extremely difficult for an individual teacher to design approximately 400 quality lesson plans to cover the entire syllabus. Hence, if there is division of labour and specialization - simple concepts promugulated by Adam Smith some 400 years ago, I'm sure everyone would benefit, most of all the students.

Teachers really need to work smarter, not harder. O Introduction of new technologies - equipment, labs, workshops. Over the past few years several Caribbean countries have been undertaking education reform exercises geared at preparing their citizens for the 21st century and competition in the global workplace. The main characteristics of the process include curriculum reform, changes to the teaching methodology and assessment processes, with technology serving as a catalyst for change. In an article entitled: 'The impact of technology on the Teaching-Learning process in the Caribbean: Experiences from Barbados and Jamaica', the writer believes that there should be a focus on Integrated Learning Systems- i.e. the use of computer aided instruction and the use of technology in the development of cognitive and higher-level skills by students and the associated strategies to promote a more constructivist (child-centered) vs. instruction ist (teacher-centered) approach to education. Technology certainly has a tremendous capacity to change the entire culture of a school and hence the modus operandi of teaching and learning.

In line with the 'work smarter not harder' philosophy, indeed the use of multi-media projectors, will definitely enrich teacher delivery and reduce the planning workload. At present, teachers are required to prepare daily notes of lessons, barring annual syllabus reviews, these same plans can be easily adjusted electronically to suit the particular class, instead of having to manually re-write more or less the same information over and over. This will go a long way in reducing or even preventing teacher burnout. Additionally, information's systems can provide an efficient system of receiving, storing and disseminating information. School Organization The effectiveness and efficiency of the entire organization can be improved via: vs. Decentralized administration vs. Functional Committees e.g. Public Relations vs. Pastoral structure (Deans, Students) vs. Communication network (including the Ministry of Education) vs. Personnel integration vs. Parental input vs. Community / Support groups (establish meaningful linkages) vs. Explore options for the cafeteria vs. Past student alumnae Funding How can we become self-sufficient? Sources of funding: 1.

Government Funding 2. Internal Funding SS Cafeteria SS Committee funding SS Sell our services: e.g. Craft area, Agricultural Science, Beauty Culture, Home Economics, Music and Culture (entertainment) SS One major fund raising activity per term, with PTA (Parent Teachers Association) involvement SS Contributions by students SS Payment for all breakage of equipment Physical Plant How can we improve and maintain the physical infrastructure and the environment? SS Liaise with MTS (Maintenance, Training and Security Co. of Trinidad & Tobago) SS Student involvement in house-keeping SS Improvement of overall security - burglar proof, lights, locks SS Improvement of drainage, SS Institute an Anti-Litter campaign SS Beautification of the premises SS Greater role for Deans and Prefects Total Quality Management in the Education process According to Heizer and Render Total Quality Management (TQM) refers to "the management of an entire organization so that it excels in all aspects of products and services that are important to the customer". TQM has implications for all of the key areas in the production of an educational service. The Jur an Institute in 1996 published ten clear trends for quality management over the next ten years. These are as follow: 1.

Expansion of quality management concepts, methods and tools to all industries and all company functions. 2. Quality improvements at a revolutionary pace. (Continuous Improvements) 3. Partnering - forming relationships with all stakeholders, even with competitors. 4.

Education and training for all members of the team - management, professionals, workforce, suppliers and customers. 5. Self-directing work teams (Employee Empowerment) 6. Information systems for quality 7. Process management and process engineering 8. Customer focus 9.

Benchmarking 10. Strategic Quality Management Heizer and Render adds to this list Just-in-Time (JIT), Taguchi concepts and TQM tools With respect to Education and Training according to Peter Senge 'The ability to learn faster than your competitors is the only sustainable competitive advantage. ' As an educator, we need to recognize that the skills of the workforce are going to be the key competitive weapon in the 21st century. Brainpower will create new technologies, but skilled labour will be the arms and legs that allow one to employ the new product and process technologies in order to be a low cost producer.

The investment in education and training is high, but the rewards are great. This necessary investment in our people may have been best expressed by George Guilder: 'The central event of the 20th century is the overthrow of matter. In technology, economics, and the politics of nations, wealth in the form of physical resources is steadily declining in value and significance. Today, the ascendant nations and corporations are masters not of land and material resources, but of ideas and technologies. Wealth comes not to the rulers of land but to the emancipation of mind. ' Quality Leadership Applying quality leadership principles throughout the operations is also of extreme importance.

Process improvement can only occur via a proactive rather than a reactive approach to management. The following guidelines are should be quite helpful: RESULTS Mgt vs. PROCESS Mgt. Motivate the individual Remove barriers. Who is wrong?

What is wrong. Allocate responsibility Study process to improve. Focus on the bottom line Focus on process improvement. Individual achievement Group achievement.

Give crisp marching orders Establish well defined processes. Do your job How can I help you to do your job. Decisions driven by opinions Decisions driven by data. React (short-term) Prevent (long-term). Crisis management Pro-active management Additionally, Deming offered the following advice on leadership.

A leader has theory - that is, he has knowledge and a willingness to learn... A leader feels compelled to accomplish the transformation - that is, he has vision... A leader is practical: he has a plan, step-by-step, and can explain it in practical terms... A leader must convince and change enough people in power to make it happen. Clearly, the pursuit of quality is a journey and not a destination. Quality is excellence continuously reinventing itself.

There is the need to manage change constantly. It is said that at AT&T quality is almost a religion. They believe that you must serve your customer, value and respect people, set measurable and actionable goals, find change before it finds you, and take risks and learn from failure. The role of leadership must be valued, we need to recognize and celebrate success. It's important for us to do what's right, always make timely decisions and prepare ourselves to make peace with the fact that our work is never truly over. As Winston Churchill once said, 'Success is never final'.

Some Strategies For Achieving Total Quality in Education: . Planning - The plan and the approach must address all the parts of the whole organization... Develop an Internal Approach, based on simplicity, flexibility and organizational ownership... Follow the principles of: Delighting the customer, in this case the student, the parent and society...

Remember quality is an enabler, not a substitute for a product or service strategy. The key issue is: Total Organizational Change. More specific strategies include: - Providing visible leadership: This is the single most important factor. It has to be first. It is different from management. All levels of leadership must be addressed.

In the final analysis -leadership is a predictor of success. How can this be done? vs. Build a Vision vs. Set Goals vs. Communicate vs. Coach others vs. Set an Example vs. Assign responsibility and assess results - Focus on student results and Behaviour: Results - What is the minimum level of performance? For example - Passes in five CXC subjects, or two Advanced Levels and General Paper. Are these being met? How do you know? Behaviour - Is their student indiscipline?

What are the root causes? The following issues in terms of student development should also be considered - Remedial programmes, streamlining, Re-examination of the Prefect and Block system, Open day programmes etc. - Train all teachers - Mastery of content and pedagogy. Lawrence Cre min referred to it as 'infinitely skilled teacher- requires teachers who understand their subject matter and know how to connect it to the different experiences and understandings that children bring with them. It requires teachers who understand how people learn, and how differently people learn. It requires teacher who can perform the creative act of integrating that understanding into curriculum that is engaging and powerful, that deals with central concept and that develops high levels of skills.

- Recognize teachers' participation and successes and reward them both financially and non-financially. Employ seasoned teachers as Master Teachers, so that veteran teachers can benefit from their wealth of experience, instead of having to learn by doing. Mentorship, coaching and collaboration are some tools which can be utilized for improved teacher and hence student performance. Peer recognition is said to be one of the best strategies.

Additionally, small, unit recognition is better than big affair for a selected few. - Define and improve processes: Some key areas to be covered here include- O Teacher Planning and Preparation i.e. Scheme of Work and teaching plans. Lessons Plans should reflect - Objectives, Content of Topics, Teaching / Learning Strategy, Individual Student needs and Lesson evaluation. O Instructional Skills i.e. 1. Practical teaching / Implementation of plans. This includes - Organization of instruction, Use of resources, Questioning techniques, Lesson summary and closure.

2. Monitoring and Assessment in terms of student participation, feedback and adjustment to lessons based on feedback. O Classroom management and control including time management, classroom atmosphere, classroom discipline, sensitivity to students as persons. O Administrative Duties such as maintenance of student record and the provision of information on students' progress.

O Professional interactions and relationships such as the sharing of knowledge / experiences with colleagues, the ability to accept constructive criticism and support of colleagues / school. O Professionalism in terms of interest in professional advancement / lifelong learning, contributions to professional workshops / papers/ seminars. O Co-curricula activities must be supported by all teachers for them to really get off the ground. - Communication: This starts with Listening. It should be with both internal and external stakeholders. It is indeed a tough task that requires a lot of patience and wit so that the intended message gets across in the manner intended.

- Measure results: Collect data and assess performance. For each specific goal there should be a corresponding performance measure. - Conclusion According to Mrs. Hazel Manning, the Minister of Education: "education is the way and the light to a better today and all the best possible tomorrow's". In this rapidly changing global environment the educational enhancement of our population is a must.

In order for the government of Trinidad & Tobago to achieve its Vision 20: 20, there needs to be quantum change. This quality secondary education involves: . Having well planned, carefully developed systems with realistic time frames... Provision of a wide range of subjects and activities to cater for the many skills, talents and interests of students... The provision of suitably qualified well trained and well paid teachers, administrators and support staff...

Properly constructed, safe, secure and well ventilated schools... A wide range of facilities, such as libraries, laboratories, workshops, music, and art rooms and suitable equipment to aid student learning... Small, manageable classes that cater for individual needs... Increased and adequate funding to ensure that all education goals are achieved. Indeed, the problems at the individual schools are not isolated and relate directly to the administrative structure by which it is guided. As the old saying goes 'it takes two hands to clap', hence all stakeholders need to put aside their differences and attempt to devise a workable plan so that the flowers of our nation and the future generation can benefit.

Bibliography

Article - The Quantum Revolution in Economics and Technology Heizer and Render, Principles of Operations Management 5th ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2003.
Miller Harvey, Internet Article: 'Improving the Educational Performance of St. Lucian Learners' Miller Harvey, Internet Article - 'Improving our Education System Through Total Quality' Internet Article - web Trinidad & Tobago Bureau of Standards - National Quality Forum '96 - In Pursuit of Global Markets Trinidad Express, Friday 8th March 2002 - Address to the Nation.