Assignment No.

Q1: Elaborate meaning and importance of

school organization; discuss also
elements of school organization and its
fundamental principles in detail?
Sol:
It is the process whereby educational goals and objectives are
achieved using people and other resources efficiently and
effectively.
Definition and Meaning
An organization is defined as the necessary combination of
human efforts, material equipments brought together in a
systematic and effective correlation to accomplish the desired
results.
School organization comes under the broader umbrella of
school management. The school management deals with the
overall policy framing and ensuring the smooth functioning of
the school, while the school organization is about the actual
organization of resources, events, personnel of a school. In a
school, we find the distribution of work. Different people are
assigned duties and made responsible for the same. They are
also given due powers to discharge their duties effectively. The
co-ordination between different personnel is also ensured to
organize the activities of the school properly. There is also a
clearly laid down organizational structure which exists in the
school and which also
help in effective organization of the school activities.
Thus school organization means

Organization of different types of activities of a school

Organization of Material resources of a school

Organization of a school personnel

Organization of Ideas and Principles into school system

which includes building relationships, creating conducive
climate for work at the school etc.
Importance
Importance of school organization is very vast. It includes;
efficiency of the institution, securing benefits of the school
through practical measures, clarification of the functions of the
school, coordination of the educational programs, sound
educational planning, good direction, efficient and systematic
execution. It provides close collaboration and sense of sharing
responsibilities, organized purpose and dynamic approach. Any
organization plays a vital role in the life of human being. School
organization plays different functions like; brings efficiency,
guide students to receive right direction from the right
teachers, enables the students to get profit from their learning,
bring coordination of the student-teacher-parents-society. It
provides well defined policies and programs, favorable teaching
learning situation, growth and development of human beings,
make use of appropriate materials, effective development of
human qualities, execution of the programs, arrangement of
the activities, efforts for attainment of the objectives etc.
Elements of School Improvement
Essential Element 1: Philosophy and Mission
A philosophy and mission that reflect the intellectual and
developmental needs and characteristics of young adolescents
(youth 10-14 years of age).
Every young adolescent deserves a school that values
academic achievement and personal development and provides
a supportive environment..
The middle-level educational program has a purpose beyond
linking the elementary grades and the high school. Its basic

aims are to educate and nurture. It has a culture of collective

and shared responsibility. To be successful, it must attend to
both the intellectual development and the personal needs of
young adolescents. The philosophy and mission of a standardsfocused middle-level school or program must reflect a set of
shared beliefs.

The school and staff within the school must commit to:
Developing the whole child, intellectually and
academically, personally and socially, physically,
emotionally, and ethically.
Working together to ensure that all students achieve at
high levels and, with appropriate guidance and structure,
develop independence and responsibility.
Accepting - individually and collectively - responsibility for
the educational and personal development of each and
every student.
Ensuring for each student a safe, inviting, trusting, and
mutually-respectful learning environment that offers both
physical and psychological safety.
Connecting each young adolescent in positive ways with
the school and with caring adults within the school.
Providing each student with a variety of learning
experiences that are academically challenging,
developmentally appropriate, and personally relevant in
order for each of them to make informed educational and
personal decisions.
Providing a successful transition from the elementary
grades to the middle grades to the high school grades and
from childhood to adolescence.
Establishing partnerships with the home and the
community.

Essential Element 2: Educational Program

An educational program that is comprehensive, challenging,
purposeful, integrated, relevant, and standards-based.
Every young adolescent needs a challenging, standards-based
course of study that is comprehensive, integrated, and relevant.
A standards-focused middle-level educational program:
Emphasizes not only intellectual development but also
personal, social, physical, and ethical development.
Is challenging, rigorous, and purposeful.
Is comprehensive and inclusive, embracing and
encompassing all of the State's 28 learning standards.
Reflects interdependence, emphasizes cross-program
connections, and promotes shared responsibility.
Is articulated vertically and horizontally, within and across
the various curricular areas, learning standards, and grade
levels.
Has a set of learning skills (e.g., how to study, how to
conduct research, how to read for understanding, how to
take notes, etc.) that are common across all grades and
subject areas and taught and reinforced in each grade and
subject area.
Emphasizes reading, writing, and mathematics (literacy
and numeracy) across the subject areas with expectations
for performance that are consistent across and within the
disciplines and commonly understood by teachers,
students, and parents.
Has performance expectations that are common across all
grades and subject areas (e.g., students must write in
complete sentences).
Is articulated with the elementary feeder schools and with
the secondary receiving schools, building on the

foundational knowledge and skills of the elementary

grades and, in doing so, preparing students for success in
high school.
Has up-to-date written curricula (that are based on and
aligned with the State's learning standards), instructional
support, and learning aids for all subject areas.
Includes diagnostic assessments (similar in design to the
State's assessments) that regularly and routinely monitor
the learning of each student relative to the State's
standards and community expectations.
Offers opportunities for the development of personal
responsibility and self direction.
Encourages students to pursue personal interests, engage
in school and community activities (e.g., sports, clubs,
etc.), explore potential futures and careers, develop useful
social, interpersonal, and life skills needed to live a full and
productive life, and nurture a "love of learning."
Provides targeted and timely academic intervention
services that are based upon a careful assessment of the
academic, social, and emotional needs of students at risk
of not meeting the States learning standards.
Engages and involves the family, local community, and the
world outside school in the education and personal
development of young adolescents.
Essential Element 3: Organization and Structure
An organization and structure that support both academic
excellence and personal development.
Young adolescents learn and develop best in a school that is
organized and structured to promote academic achievement
and personal development.
Standards-focused schools with middle-level grades are
organized to promote academic excellence and personal
development, to establish within staff and students a feeling of

belonging and a sense of personal identification with the school

and its purposes, and to help young adolescents make a
successful transition from the elementary grades to the high
school grades and from childhood to adolescence.
A standards-focused school that enrolls young adolescents
should:
Have teacher teams sharing responsibility for the
education and personal development of a common group
of students.
Have common planning time for those teachers and
teacher teams sharing responsibility for a common group
of students.
Have schedules with flexible time assignments within
blocks of time to encourage interdisciplinary programs and
the creative use of time.
Contain at least three of the four middle grades (the four
middle grades being grades 5, 6, 7, and 8).
Have comparatively small enrollments so that every
student is viewed as an individual and receives personal
attention. When the school population is large, have
"houses" or schools-within-schools to promote a sense of
family, to reduce the feeling of anonymity and isolation
among students, and to engender within staff, students,
and the community a feeling of belonging and personal
identification with the school and with its purposes.
Be structured to create close, sustained relationships
between students and teachers.
Ensure that all students, staff, parents, and families feel
secure, valued and respected as significant contributors to
the school community.
Provide, for those students needing additional help to
meet the State's standards, opportunities for additional
time, instruction, and personal support (e.g., after school,

before school, summer school, reduced class size,

tutoring, pupil personnel services, etc.).
Provide a variety of co-curricular and extra-curricular
activities.
Provide opportunities for students to participate in youth
service, community service and/or service learning
activities.
Encourage active parent involvement through a variety of
activities.
Establish ties with the school community that strengthen
connections between school/education and career
opportunities.
Promote and encourage appropriate participation of pupils
with disabilities in all curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities.
Have students with disabilities or other special needs, as
well as their programs and services, integrated throughout
the school building to ensure access to the same
instruction as their peers.
Provide support services such as guidance, counseling,
and health-related services to all students.
Integrate technology into the educational program so that
it supports student learni.ng in a purposeful way.
Provide a gradual transition from the more self-contained
classrooms of the elementary school to the more
departmentalized structure of the high school, providing
students with opportunities for increasingly independent
learning experiences and responsibilities within a safe and
structured environment.
Essential Element 4: Classroom Instruction

Classroom instruction appropriate to the needs and

characteristics of young adolescents provided by skilled and
knowledgeable teachers.
Every young adolescent requires skilled and caring teachers
who have a thorough understanding of their subject(s) and of
the students they teach.
Teachers in middle-level classrooms understand and appreciate
the emotional, intellectual, physical, psychological, and social
changes that are occurring within their students and recognize
the behaviors manifested by these changes. They use
instructional techniques and processes that capitalize on the
unique developmental characteristics and individual needs of
early adolescents.
Successful middle-level teachers in a standards-focused school:
Are caring and respectful in their interactions with
students and with other adults.
Provide instruction that is standards-based, challenging,
rigorous, and purposeful.
Know and understand the needs and developmental
characteristics of young adolescents.
Have a deep understanding of their subject matter, of
different approaches to student learning, and of diverse
teaching techniques.
Know and understand each of the State's 28 learning
standards and - when and where appropriate - reinforce
them routinely during regular classroom instruction.
Use a range of successful, research-based teaching
strategies that are developmentally and cognitively
appropriate, matching instruction to the students' varied
learning styles and different intelligences.
Involve students in their learning, encouraging them to
contribute to their learning experiences, to make choices,
to explore, to question, to experience, to learn, to grow, to

develop social, interpersonal and leadership skills in

addition to academic proficiency.
Vary activities to maintain student interest.
Use technology and other instructional resources
purposefully to support and enhance learning.
Focus instruction on thinking, reasoning, and problem
solving and, at the same time ensure that students
acquire necessary content and subject matter.
Use interdisciplinary approaches to help students integrate
their studies and meet learning standards.
Use flexible grouping based upon student needs and
interests to help each student achieve the learning
standards, with students changing groups often,
depending on individual needs and program purposes.
Use classroom assessments that reflect the State's
learning standards and are aligned with State
assessments.
Use classroom assessments that are instructionally useful
indicators of individual student growth and performance
not only to monitor each students progress in meeting the
States learning standards but also to plan instruction.
Use student data, both personal and achievement, to
make curricular and instructional decisions.
Use cooperative learning groups and peer-tutoring
opportunities to develop social and interpersonal skills in
addition to academic proficiency.
Consult with each other and with other school personnel.
Teachers with regular education assignments and those
assigned to programs for students with special needs work
closely together.
Maintain performance expectations that are consistent and
interrelated across and within subject areas.

 Inform and involve parents of middle-level students in

their children's education by helping them understand the
learning standards their children must meet, the
instructional program, their children's progress, and how
to help their children at home with schoolwork, school
decisions, and successful development through
adolescence.
Are themselves learners who are constantly engaged in
professional and intellectual growth activities.
Recognize that they must work together cooperatively and
collaboratively - rather than individually and in isolation to ensure that all their students achieve at high levels and
meet all the State's learning standards.

Essential Element 5: Educational Leadership

Strong educational leadership and a building administration
that encourage, facilitate, and sustain involvement,
participation, and partnerships.
Every young adolescent should be educated in schools that
have knowledgeable, effective, and caring leaders.
Standards-focused middle-level schools and programs need
purposeful leadership if they are to develop and prosper.
Those in positions of leadership must:
Know and understand the needs and developmental
characteristics of young adolescents.
Know and understand the essential elements of a
standards-focused, high performing middle-level school or
middle-level program.
Know and understand each of the 28 learning standards
and how they interrelate.
Know and understand the State's assessment system.

 Have an understanding of the subject matter in the middle

grades and its interconnections, of different approaches to
student learning, and of diverse teaching strategies.
Create, promote, and sustain a school culture of mutual
support and collective responsibility for the educational
and personal development of each and every young
adolescent.
Articulate and maintain high standards for classroom
instruction and student performance.
Have high expectations for students and staff.
Know a range of successful, research-based teaching
techniques that are developmentally and cognitively
appropriate, matching instruction to the students' varied
learning styles and different intelligences.
Involve staff and others in the operation of the school or
program, empowering and encouraging them to contribute
and to make decisions that benefit students.
Provide students with opportunities to assume significant
and meaningful leadership roles in the school.
Support and encourage teachers, individually and
collectively, to take risks, to explore, to question, to try
new instructional approaches, to continue as learners, and
to grow.
Promote and facilitate inter-school cooperation,
collaboration, and communication with feeder elementary
schools and receiving high schools.
Inform and involve parents of middle-level students in
their children's education by helping them understand the
needs and developmental characteristics of young
adolescents, the learning standards their children must
meet, the instructional program, their children' progress,
and how to help their children at home with schoolwork,

school decisions, and successful development through

adolescence.
Promote school/community partnerships and involve
members of the community in school activities and
initiatives, empowering and encouraging them to
contribute and make decisions that benefit students.
Essential Element 6: A Network of Academic and
Personal Support
A network of academic and personal support available for all
students.
Every young adolescent needs access to a system that supports
both academic achievement and personal development.
Middle-level students need academic and personal support as
they experience the changes associated with the transition
from childhood to adolescence and from elementary school to
high school.
Academic and personal support includes:
Adults and older youths to provide positive role models
and constant affirmation and recognition.
Respect and caring to engender a feeling of self-worth,
self-confidence, and personal efficacy.
Opportunities to examine, explore, discuss, and
understand the changes associated with early
adolescence.
Counseling and guidance services to assist students and
their families in making life, career, and educational
choices.
A system of two-way communication between the school
and the parents and families of its students.
A process for informing parents, families, and community
groups of the essential role they play in ensuring students

attend school and access available services, in expanding

and enhancing venues for significant learning, in
promoting youth development, and in supporting positive
school change.
A network of trained professionals, special programs, and
community resources available to assist those who have
extraordinary needs and require additional services to
cope with the changes of early adolescence and/or the
academic demands of middle-level education. Schools
need to collaborate and cooperate with other human
service agencies in the community.
An adult mentor in addition to a guidance counselor, either
formally through a teacher/student, advisor/advisee
program or informally through a school culture of caring in
which teachers or other adults assume responsibility for
individual students.

Essential Element 7: Professional Learning

Professional learning and staff development for all staff that are
ongoing, planned, purposeful, and collaboratively developed.
Every young adolescent deserves an educational setting that
values continuous improvement and ongoing professional
learning.
Teachers, administrators, and other school staff in a standardsfocused middle-level school or program need regular, planned
opportunities for professional and intellectual growth. Schools
with middle-level grades need to be professional learning
communities.
Teachers, administrators, and staff need to:
Know the needs and characteristics of students in the
middle grades and the instructional strategies and
techniques that work best for these students.

 Understand the philosophy and mission of the standardsdriven middle-level school.

Understand and implement the Regents Policy Statement
on Middle-Level Education and the Essential Elements of
Standards-Focused Middle-Level Schools and Programs.
Have high expectations for all students.
Be familiar with each of the State's 28 learning standards
and incorporate in their own classrooms and work spaces
educational experiences that help all students achieve all
the standards - including those that are outside their own
area of content expertise.
Know and understand their subject matter and course
curriculum thoroughly.
Know and understand the State's assessment system.
Know and understand how to use data to make curricular
and instructional decisions to improve students academic
performance and/or enhance personal development.
Collaborate and cooperate in planning and providing
professional learning opportunities.
Routinely and systematically monitor and evaluate student
learning to assess and improve instructional effectiveness.
Conclusion
The middle grades play a critical role in the educational
continuum. Schools with middle-level grades that are
standards-focused attend to the twin purposes of academic
preparation and individual self-development for all young
adolescents. They do this by:
Accepting collective responsibility for ensuring that all
students are successful and learning at high levels.
Creating small communities for learning and providing
comprehensive guidance and support services.

 Providing an academically excellent and developmentally

responsive educational experience for every student.
Establishing and maintaining a climate for learning that is
respectful, purposeful, physically and psychologically safe,
and personalized to ensure close, sustained relationships
between students and teachers.
Providing a comprehensive educational program that is
standards-based - reflecting the State's 28 learning
standards - challenging, integrative, and exploratory.
Using flexible organizational structures and creative use of
time.
Using a variety of research-based, instructional strategies
that are cognitively and developmentally appropriate and
that respect individual experiences, learning styles, and
learning needs.
Employing knowledgeable and qualified personnel who are
committed to the education of young adolescents.
Creating within the school a vibrant professional learning
community.
Fostering each student's personal development, health,
wellness, and safety.
Engaging families in the education of young adolescents.
Connecting schools with the larger community.
A high-performing, standards-focused middle-level school or
program that successfully addresses both the intellectual and
personal needs of young adolescents is profoundly different
from many middle-level schools today. To create schools that
are true standards-focused, middle-level schools will
necessitate systemic change that will not be easy to
accomplish. It will require leadership, persistence, additional
resources, time, and a strong will to succeed. The task is
challenging and daunting. However, it is necessary, and it can
be done.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS

1. Clear focus and high expectations for staff and students
are defining features of an effective
school. They motivate the entire school community and inspire
its members to strive constantly to
ensure the success of every student. Clear focus and high
expectations are the foundation on which
the schools culture of collaboration and inquiry rests.
2. A rigorous instructional program provides equitable
opportunities to learn and enables every
student to master challenging content, skills, and learning
strategies. The school community is
engaged in a dynamic process of assessment, reflection, and
innovation to inform curriculum
development and instructional strategies, meet student needs,
and address achievement gaps.
3. A personalized learning environment is characterized by
knowledge of each students learning style, social and family
conditions, strengths, aspirations, and needs. Each student
enjoys strong relationships with other students and a close,
continuous relationship with one or more adults in the school
community; at least one adult helps coordinate the support
needed by the student throughout the high school years to
prepare for higher education, employment, or other productive
postsecondary plans
4. Instructional leadership by the principal and other school
leaders is characterized by a school wide focus on student

achievement; support for improving and enhancing school

culture, teaching, and learning; and effective collaboration
among school leaders, teachers, parents, students, and
partners in the community. The principal and other school
leaders demonstrate and inspire an unwavering commitment to
fulfilling the vision of the school among all members of the
school community.
5. School-based professional development and a culture
of professional collaboration improve instruction and
student achievement and cultivate adult learning communities
within the school.
Effective professional learning communities feature continuous
reflection and assessment of student work and teacher
practice.
6. Meaningful assessment of student learning occurs
continuously and gives students a variety of opportunities to
demonstrate that they meet content and performance
standards and can apply their learning. Teachers use
assessments as diagnostic tools to identify student needs and
improve instruction. The school communicates and analyzes
assessment results to inform school improvement.
7. Partnerships with organizations strengthen the ability of
the school to serve the academic and developmental needs of
its students and to forge bonds with students families or
caregivers.
Effective partnerships help keep the school in touch with the
wider community and professional networks, enable it to

capitalize on opportunities and resources that support student

success, and increase its sustainability.
8. Parent and caregiver engagement is an ongoing process
that integrates families into the life of the school in a variety of
ways. The result is a partnership, driven by parent demand and
cultivated by the school community, in which parents and
caregivers have voice and power to shape all components of
the school. The school assumes that any person trusted by the
students family can be a partner for achieving youth success.
9. Student voice and participation ensure that students
have significant opportunities to collaborate with school staff,
exercise leadership, and make choices and decisions. Students
have clear areas of input and participation and are actively
involved in decisions regarding their classrooms, school,
campus, and community.
10. Integration of technology into teaching and learning
allows all students to access and analyze information,
communicate ideas, and express themselves creatively.
Teachers have adequate equipment and professional
development to enable them to implement technologyenhanced lessons.
Students learn to navigate diverse information sources,
including print, visual, and audio materials, through the explicit
teaching of information literacy skills.

Q2: What are the types of administration

discuss importance and role of educational
administration and also elaborate the
supervisory role of headmaster?
Sol:
Administration department is backbone of an organization. An
effective administrator is an asset to an organization. He or she
is the link between an organization's various departments and
ensures the smooth flow of information from one part to the
other. Thus without an effective administration, an organization
would not run professionally and smoothly.
An effective administrator should have the ability:

To understand general concepts of Administration

To enhance the office staffs ability to manage and

organize office effectively and professionally

File in the proper way and filing standard

Develop an appropriate office management strategy

Develop an appropriate assets management strategy

Able to develop administrative procedures

Able to plan and control administrative budget

The duty of an administrator depends on the company that the

administrator works for. The main job responsibility of an
administrator is to ensure the efficient performance of all
departments in an organization. They act as a connecting link
between the senior management and the employees. They
provide motivation to the work force and make them realize the
goals of the organization.
Office administration is one of the key elements associated with
a high level of workplace productivity and efficiency. It is very
difficult to run an organization without a good administration
faculty. It is administrator, who makes the rules & regulations
and applies these rules in an organization.
Sometimes, it is thought that the role of an administrator is not
important in the company and neglects their presence. But
without presence of an administrator an organization can never
work in a sound way. All the tasks & all the departments are
relates to the administration.
1.For the purpose of becoming an effective leader or
manager who is in charge of an educational institution needs
to be familiar with the theoretical concepts and best
practices relating to educational administration. In trying to
gain a good understanding of Educational Administration we
have to make certain assumptions that:
3. IMPORTANCE -cont Organizations are essential and it is
impossible to avoid the influence of different types of
organizations on human life Administrators can perform

useful

functions

within

organizations;

Knowledge

and

understanding of organizational behavior, both internal and

external

could

effectively;

enable

and

administrations

an

administrator

Educational
have

some

to

organizations
unique

act

more

and

their

characteristics

that

deserve distinctive treatment.

4. ADMINISTRATION & MANAGMENT :
In the present literature, these two terms are being used
to convey more or less the same meaning. In USA, Canada
and

Australia,

where

the

educational

administrative

systems are based mainly on the American models, the

term administration is more commonly used. In Britain
and systems mainly influenced by the British system, the
term management is preferred. In the context of business
and industry, the term management is commonly used.

5. Educational Administration :
It is the administration and/or management of institutions
designed

to

foster

teaching

and

learning

.These

institutions include public and private schools technical

education colleges Special education institutions public
and private universities
6. Educational Administration-cont :
educational
regional

resource-centers

directorates

school

Federal

district

/Provincial/

offices,
Divisional

Government Departments of Education, and all other

institutions

fostering

teaching

and

learning

The

management or administration of this broad range of

institutions

supports

the

notion

that

Educational

Administration is a field of practice

7. Educational

Administration-cont:

Similarly,

it

has

certain aspects common to other fields of management, such

as,

public

administration,

hospital

administration

and

business management
8. Educational

Administration-History

:Educational

Administration is not only a field of practice but is also a field

of study in the early part of the twentieth century that
Educational Administration emerged as a separate field of
study First, the courses in educational administration were
offered at the teachers College of the University of Columbia,
9. Educational

Administration-History

Educational

Administration is not only a field of practice but is also a field

of study in the early part of the twentieth century that
Educational Administration emerged as a separate field of
study First, the courses in educational administration were
offered at the teachers College of the University of Columbia,
10. Educational Administration-History Stanford, Chicago
and Harvard Universities and other institutions (1950) In
Australia

the

first

institution

to

commence

teaching

Educational Administration was the University of New

England
11. Educational Administration :So we can conclude that
there are certain unique aspects specific to Educational
Administration, as the aims and objectives as well as the
goals that are to be achieved are quite different from those
of business and industrial organizations
12. Educational

Administration-Discipline

Educational

Administration is an applied field and not a discipline like

chemistry or history As an applied field it has much in
common with other applied fields, such as, engineering and
medicine We know that engineering had to build on the
disciplines such as mathematics and physics
13. Educational Administration-Discipline medicine upon
anatomy and biology Similarly, Educational Administration
had to build upon basic disciplines such as psychology,
sociology, political science and economics we must be under
stood that the concepts of those disciplines cannot be
borrowed indiscriminately but have to be adapted and tested
in educational settings
14. Educational

Administration-Discipline

Educational

Administration is a field of study, mainly, for those who are

aspiring to be administrators or currently engaged as
teachers and lecturers in schools and colleges or universities
as well as for prospective teachers

15. Educational Administration-Discipline It is true that

the teachers are aware of such problems and issues as
decision-making, leadership and communication from the
perspective of the classroom teacher and not as an
administrator
16. Educational Administration-cont

: The task of

administration is to view these problems and issues from a

new perspective, that of an administrator who must see the
organization as a whole, and not just as a teacher/lecturer in
a classroom situation
17. Educational

Administration-cont

:The

task

of

administration is to view these problems and issues from a

new perspective, that of an administrator who must see the
organization as a whole, and not just as a teacher/lecturer in
a classroom situation
18. What is the Job of an Educational Administrator?
The basic purpose of educational administration is to
enhance teaching and learning administration serves an
instrumental or supportive role and not a primary role many
administrative activities do not deal directly with students,
the relationships of these activities to teaching and learning
are not always apparent

19. What is the Job of an Educational Administrator?

The basic purpose of educational administration is to
enhance teaching and learning administration serves an
instrumental or supportive role and not a primary role many
administrative activities do not deal directly with students,
the relationships of these activities to teaching and learning
are not always apparent
20. What is the Job of an Educational Administrator?
one considers the range of activities that a school principal is
involved in, she or he can be viewed as a generalist needing
and relying on the expertise of others Indeed the expertise
that principals need to acquire is to know how to fit the
pieces together
21. What is the Job of an Educational Administrator?
Because the total program of teaching and learning, whether
in the more formal arena of a classroom or in the school as a
whole, could be performed better when it is co-ordinated
effectively by the principal In short, principals must help
shape

safe

and

positive

environment

by

providing

adequate facilities and resources, so that teaching and

learning is fostered more effectively
22. Functions of an Educational Administrator There
are a number of distinctive functions that an administrator
should perform to enhance teaching and learning These are:
s/he should discern and influence the development of a

shared vision for the educational institution or organization

that she or he leads
23. Functions of an Educational Administrator-cont :
S/he should articulate a shared vision and involve others in
setting the goals and developing the strategies, for the
realization of the shared vision The goals may reside in the
culture of the community and of the school or the particular
organization and, if so, they should be identified and perhaps
made explicit
24. Functions of an Educational Administrator-cont The
administrator should stimulate and direct the development of
programs

to

achieve

the

goals

and

purposes

The

administrator should establish the structures and processes

to co-ordinate and organize the implementation of the
programs S/he should procure and allocate the resources
needed to support the organization and its programs
25. Functions of an Educational Administrator-cont :
S/he should represent the organization to groups in the local
and larger community and whenever a necessity arises
mediate between the groups This is perhaps one of the most
forthright and tough functions that an administrator is called
upon to perform
26. Functions of an Educational Administrator-cont :
S/he should

evaluate and monitor

the

efficiency

and

effectiveness of institutional operations Starratt (1996)

argues that the work of an educational administrator is

different

from

other

fields

of

administration

and

management, as it is shaped and directed by the core

business of teaching and learning
27. Functions of an Educational Administrator-cont He
been pointed out that educational administration has three
fundamental functions administering meaning administering
community administering excellence
28. Administering

meaning

Administrators

are

expected to ensure that the schools are able to provide

opportunities for the students to discover meaning in their
world the meaning of nature, of human affairs, and human
relationships enabling them to learn beyond memorizing
superficial knowledge for success at examinations
29. Administering

meaning

Administering

meaning

demands that learning in the schools is grounded upon

human concerns, is connected to the major cultural activities
of the society, and is attuned to the realities of everyday life
30. Administering

Community

Administering

community demands that the administrators endeavor to

transform the traditional separation of the individual from the
community

into

their

essential

union

Creating

more

opportunities for cooperative learning and teamwork towards

the creation of learning organizations could encourage this

31. Administering

Community

In

addition,

the

administrator introduces the concept of organic management

in administering community to mean management by
commitment rather than control
32. Administering Excellence Administering excellence
demands that the administrator promotes and encourages
high quality performance in schools not only in terms of
productivity, innovations or technical virtuosity but more so
in terms of the students character and molding him or her to
be a useful citizen and a member of the society
33. Administrator Role-other concept Another way to
view the functions of an organizational leader/manager,
whether it is in a department, school, college, university, and
an education authority or in an education system as a whole,
is

through

the

following

categories:

Integrating

the

organizational resources in the most efficient and effective

pursuit of its goals
34. Administrator Role-other concept Acting as the
agent of introducing and institutionalizing desirable changes
Maintaining, supplementing and developing its resources
35. The school represents perhaps the most important
institution in the child's life The Importance of the School
Administration to Student Achievement.

Supervisory role of headmaster

1. INTRODUCTION
Education is the most prominent indicator of the socioeconomic development. The education rate at both the primary
and secondary level is significant for the uplift of the every
segment of the society. In this regard, the institutions at the
secondary level have an important role in the academic
foundation of every child. Presently, these institutions are
facing multi-dimensional problems which are shortage of
classrooms, lack of adequate funds, dearth of the trained
teachers and above all, the competent supervision. This study
purposely chose to report on the work of the head teacher,
herein referred to as headmaster of the Secondary School
(Caroline & Agnes, 2013). The major purpose was to describe
the state of affairs as they exist based on the relationship
between the teachers and the headmaster.
The teachers in public sector secondary school, in most of the
developing countries, are working in challenging circumstances
in terms of lack of physical resources. In Pakistan, the situation
is not different. In most of the public secondary schools in
Pakistan, the teachers are confronted with lack of physical
resources which has contributed to a large extent in their
demotivation towards their work (Makinde, 1984). Recent
studies also point out that it is only the teachers' working
context which motivates or demotivates them. The research
also recommends for the exploration of factors within the
school context, which can contribute to teacher motivation.
Research assumes that when teachers' work context is
conducive for their motivation, then they are motivated
(Konchar, 1988). Literature considers that the head master can
create an environment in the school through his/her influential
role, which motivates teachers towards their work. The head
masters approach heartened teachers to work collaboratively
towards the achievement of their goals. He also involved
teachers in decision making and empowered them as
autonomous professionals. He developed friendly relationships
with the teachers and appreciated their efforts (Muli, 2005).
2. SUPERVISORY ROLE OF HEAD TEACHER
The headmaster is the overall in charge of the school. He/she

supervises the whole school program and bears the ultimate

responsibility for performance, proficiency and effectiveness of
all school programs and peer counseling program inclusive.
The headmasters supervision in the secondary school plays a
vital role through planning and developing the counseling
program based on the students' needs. The teacher through
counseling relationship assists each student to understand
oneself in relation to the social and psychological world in
which the student lives (Wango & Mungai, 2007). The student
therefore is able to accept oneself, develop personal decisionmaking competences and resolve personal problems. A
schools head is a planner and manager of educational
experiences of his/her students which will contribute to the
development of knowledge, skills, personal qualities, habits of
thoughts, decision-making and proper attitude towards
themselves and others as a preparation to adulthood
(Muthondu, 2007).
The head-teacher supervision acts as the peer coordinator by
providing counseling for peer group members and looking after
the welfare of the students involved in the scheme, not only the
important issue of their emotional welfare, but ensuring that,
time-wise, they can cope with their academic work. The headteacher supervision also organizes and provides appropriate
training to the new teachers and helps the group maintain a
flow of new volunteers (Mwalala, 2007). In addition, he/she
provides assistance with general administration especially when
it comes to raising money from the school bursar and providing
the group with an administrative budget for publicity and
badges among others. The teacher counseling acts as a
mediator within the group when problems arise and deals with
difficult issues within the group, for example, a member
breaching confidentiality (Lydiah & Nasongo, 2009).
The supervisory role of the headmaster as perceived by the
students in secondary schools is guided by the following
objectives: promoting personal development in helpers;
creating a positive influence on the emotional climate in the
school environment; providing a bridge between troubled peers
and friends: by listening rather than necessarily giving advice;
offering basic skills in supporting the other peers who might
need psychological support for example the bereaved,
alienated and drug users; enabling the individual to meet
personal needs in order to be more fully functional and take
control of his/her life in different settings; reducing the amount
of bullying in school by supporting those involved; acting as an

additional service to that provided by staff, that is

complementing rather than competing with it (Okutu, Chumba,
Shadrack & Kurgat, 2011).

2.1 Leadership and management

Without a headmaster, no institution can possibly function.
Leadership is an essential factor among all social animals from
the insects to man. The nature of leadership is largely
determined by the nature of the organization and that of
society. There are varied styles of leadership in the market such
as: coercive leadership which is commonly labeled as
dictatorship. In this style, those who are led have very little or
no say at all about the way things ought to be (Lydiah &
Nasongo, 2009). There are some head masters and class
teachers who still find it fashionable to use this approach in
dealing with their teachers and pupils rather than allowing room
for freedom of expression. The head master and or the staff
make all decisions without consulting the staff and or pupils.
Laissez-faire leadership is a French phrase that literally means
let people do what they want. Here the leader is just symbolic.
The democratic leadership derives its power from the governed.
The democratic leadership followers build up patterns of
response which yield results and give much satisfaction as well.
The head master functions are varied within an educational
setting. The key functional word that describes well the
headmaster is that of a manager and a leader in educational
dimensions. Earlier writers on management have struggled with
two related but distinct questions: what is management and
what managers actually do? Wango (2007) separates
managerial functions into four areas of planning, organizing,
motivating and controlling. Instructional leadership functions
involve all the beliefs, decisions, strategies and tactics that
head master use to generate instructional effectiveness in
classrooms. Managers focus on running a smooth ship, while
instructional leaders focus on learning and instruction.
Although the role of the principal as instructional leader is very
vital in developing an effective school, headmaster cannot be
effective instructional leaders if they are not good managers
(Okutu et al., 2011).
2.2 Administrative, management and leadership
delineation

In this study, the principal in trying to differentiate between

administration, management and leadership aspects ended up
saying that, the headmaster does all these work, they are interrelated. There is no boundary and therefore giving a distinction
is not possible due to over-lapping. However, management
tends to be reflected on equitable use of both personnel and
material resources to achieve optimal benefits. This forms what
is called the ideal roles that leadership is a characteristic that
emanates from the interpretation of the ideal roles and how one
feels it should be done as a person and this forms the actual
role of the headmaster. The principal said that due to the
dynamism in schools, a school head master must domesticate
the ideal roles and make them fit into the situation in their
schools (Judith & Richard, 2013).
2.3 Management dimension
One of the tasks that the headmaster is involved in terms of
management includes budgeting. As mentioned earlier,
accountability seems to be the agenda of many stakeholders in
the education sector. This seems to emanate from the aspect
of corruption that has pervaded every sector of the economy in
the country. The government has stipulated some policies
governing the finances of a school. These stringent measures
are good as the headmaster asserted, but he/she quick to say
that the introduction of free tuition in secondary schools had
complicated her budgeting; the reason is that the government
has been late in the disbursement of those funds (Lydiah &
Nasongo, 2009). When the funds were finally available, he/she
had the school budget made under
the following sub-headings each with a detailed cost; staff i.e.
teaching, non-teaching; tuition which include school equipment
and stores; local transport and travelling that include internal
traveling expenses, teachers seminars; electricity, water and
conservancy, which cover charges and maintenance of the said
items; contingencies concerns expenditure on the school office
like stationery, telephone and staff uniforms; repairs,
maintenance and improvement that cover minor repairs and
maintenance of buildings, equipment and furniture repair
(Okutu et al., 2011).
2.4 Accountability and transparency
Apart from the school bursar being expected to issue a receipt
immediately for any monies received and prepare payment
vouchers which the head counter checks before signing, the
headmaster directs the accountant to prepare a trial balance
and bank reconciliation books which helped her maintain a

watchful eye on the frivolities of expenditure and payments

(Muthondu, 2007). The headmaster talked of accountability
passionately in an equivalence of Socrates who was
accountable unto death for his teaching and the sophists who
were accountable to their students, for here lay their means of
livelihood. Today the headmaster is legally accountable to the
school boards and morally accountable to self, profession,
community and nation. As this principal talked good of being
accountable, the researchers sought to find her views on the
issue of performance contracting that the government is
serious on introducing in all sectors in the country (Caroline,
2013).
2.5 Educational dimension
One of the priorities of headmaster of the school is to monitor
the teaching learning process in their schools. Monitoring
involves actions envisaged by the head to ensure that things
are going according to the goals and objectives set at the
school and national levels at different points in time and also to
see to it that things are revolving according to plan and in line
with the targets set (Lydiah & Nasongo, 2009). The purpose of
monitoring is, as such, to increase efficiency and improve
effectiveness of the systems in place in school since heads are
input variables in a school. The headmaster spent most of her
time in dealing with managerial issues. Although the
educational dimensions of the school heads are being
emphasized, it is hardly practiced; hence, basically the
headmaster`s role is that of a manager. The literature reveals
that the elementary school headmasters spent 62.2% of their
time on managerial issues and 11% on instructional leadership
issues, even after undergoing training in in-service for the role
of instructional leader (Judith, 2013).
Figure 1.1 Theoretical Framework

3. DICUSSIONS
Schools can make a difference to students achievement and
head masters leadership is one of the factors which contribute
to success or failure. Other school factors that the

headmasters ought to address due to their influence on

students behavior and scholastic achievement include: amount
of teaching and degree of academic emphasis; the extent and
nature of ability groupings; teacher expectation; styles of
teaching and classroom management; size of the school;
patterns of discipline and characteristics of school climate
(Lydiah & Nasongo, 2009). Headmasters in effective schools
therefore involve themselves in improving instruction and
training and are responsible for day-to-day assignment of duties
and supervision of the teachers. Teachers are nominally
required to follow the directions given by the headmasters of
whom they are liable for disciplinary action (Okutu et al., 2011).
The foremost function of educational management is the
assurance that sound policies, goals and objectives are
formulated in a given school and that methods are determined
for the achievement of these objectives. The headmaster has
to ensure that policies and objectives of the school are clearly
stipulated and well known to the
school community, that is, the teachers, students, parents, staff
and other stakeholders (Judith & Richard, 2013). It is through
policies and objectives that the directions and destinations of
the schools activities can be patterned. The headmaster has a
responsibility to ensure that the long-term aims of the
education system are made feasible through the short-term
objectives of the school. This is achieved by formulating sound
school-based policies. These policies have to be in line with
the national policies on education as formulated by the ministry
of education (Caroline et al., 2013). More often than not, school
heads fail to be democratic in policy formulation and
implementation, a fact which builds up resentment and results
in unrest in schools, and in turn affects student achievement
negatively (Wekesa, 1993).

Q3: Critically examine the concept of

human relations and its importance in
educational scenario keeping in view
the relation between headmasterteacher, teacher-student and teacherparent?
Sol:
The term Human Relation is the combination of two words: Human
and Relation which means the relation among various
individuals on the surface of earth .It s the presence of humans that
make it possible for any organization to run effectively. It is important
that workers feel that they are the part of the organization and that
their presence and work is contributing to the well being of the
organization. If all the stake holders of the organization feel at ease
with each other and understand each other properly only then the
organization will run happily .From educational point of view in
school Human Relation mean screating conducive environment
for a team work of the head administrator, teacher, learner and the
parents, so that the institute can run smoothly and properly flourish.
Among all the factors that influence public none is as important as the
human element. Buildings, books and buses, policies, practices and
procedures, money, materials and methods all the many instruments,
mechanisms and devices of school organization are but means to the
end of happy, healthy and effective people. The school is a result of
the action of people; it functions through the cooperative efforts
of people, its raw products and its finished commodities are
people and the school business is people. The school administration
can easily achieve their objectives through close relations
among its members that are, teachers, students, parents and other
allied members. Principles of human relations consist of the following
steps.1.
Gaining Knowledge of the Self: Knowing oneself implies
proper assessment of ones own short comings, strong points,
emotional conflicts, frustration and if possible: ones
subconscious.2.

Seeing Oneself Through the

E
yes of Others: its good to judge yourself as others would do. It gives the
room for self improvement.3.
Self Realization: Self Realization is the top most objective of any human
being who is working to achieve any goal. If any organization helps its
workers through this goal then its workers
will be loyal and faithful.4.
Counseling Helpful: human beings need to keep up with the change
and under these circumstances counseling is very useful for the
workers of any organization. Counseling can also help students and
their parents in making the right choices for academics reasons and
their life.
5.
Knowing Values of Others: as an organization is a group of people to
achieve a common goal, there are many people involved, who can be
completely different from each others. Knowing what other people
think is helpful for creating healthy relationship among various
stakeholders of the school organization and making them feel
acceptable.
6.
Participating in Planning: IF any organization gives a chance to its
employees and other stakeholders to participate in making of thelong
term and short term policy of the organization they feel that they own
the organization and its success become important to them.
7.
Kindness: Kindness is a principle which many not be accepted
and practiced by an authoritarian administration, but researches show
that kindness always leads to happy results. Kindness can bring
a positive change in the attitude of a person; on the other
hand, punishment wrongly awarded may lose the individual for ever
.8.
E
valuation: Times are gone for the administrator to rely on his rational
considerations alone or mere impressions gathered through unreliable
sources. Social sciences can provide scientific methods to avoid waste
of time, money and energy and help the organization in making their
policies successful in modifying them, through a process of evaluations.

Relationship between the head master and

teachers
INTRODUCTION
The relationship between the Head master and teachers in the
school organization has always been the focus of much
discussion. The discussion has centered on how the actions and
behaviors of the Head master affect the work that teachers do
and ultimately the students they instruct. Teachers' willingness
to persist in their efforts to tech difficult student, to try different
strategies, even to participate in innovations has been related
to their sense of efficacy (Hoy & Woolfork, 1993). Ross (1995) in
his research on teachers' sense of efficacy demonstrated that
teachers who believe they are effective set more challenging
goals for themselves and their student, take responsibility for
student outcomes, and persist longer when faced with
obstacles in teaching students who are having difficulty.
Researchers has supported the position that teachers' efficacy
significantly relates to student achievement (Nemman & Rutter
& Smith, 1989) and teachers' receptivity to change. In this
work, Ross (1995) suggests that efforts to improve student
learning should include attention to teachers' sense of efficacy.
Leithwood (1992) provides support to the claim that principals
demonstrate strategies and behaviors that can increase
teachers' efficacy. In his studies, he described Heads' leadership
behaviors as having a direct affect on innovation and change as
well as teacher performance both in class and out of class.
Leithwood (1994) defined behaviors such as models behavior,
inspires group purpose, provides contingent reward, holds high
performance expectations, and provides support as being
important to teachers in the school organization. Blas and
Blas (1989) found that Heads who gave constant and
immediate feedback fostered among their teachers stronger
feeling of efficacy.

Teachers' effectiveness may also be correlated to background

variables such a gender, in-service training, years of
experience, and educational level. (Ross, 1995). Edwards
(1996) in her study indicated that females responded with
stronger sense of efficacy with regard to problems in the
classroom than males and that there is no correlation with
educational level. Bibson and Brown (1982) found that
experienced teachers (more than five years) have a strong
sense of efficacy than beginning teachers. Other studies fail to
substantiate the findings that years of experience relate to
efficacy. There is limiting and conflicting evidence that
background variables of gender, years of experience, in-service
training and educational level may have moderating effects on
teachers' efficacy. If teacher efficacy affects teacher
performance and student achievement, than it is worth looking
at what background variables affect teacher efficacy in order to
better understand what we can do in the school organization to
make teachers feel more able to do their work.
Statement of the problem
In Pakistan, at the time of independence, the education system
was largely comprised of private and local schools run by
district councils and municipal governments. At that time these
schools were much independent and much decisions of the
school matter were taken by the head and teachers of the
schools. It was a system in which the central and provincial
ministries of education played only a limited role in the
operation of schools (Ahmad and Mirza, 1975). This trend
continued till the year 1972. That year marked the
nationalization of all private schools with the implementation of
Martial law regulation 118 (Government of Punjab, 1982). Under
its provisions, the rights, properties and assets of private
colleges and schools were taken over by the central and
provincial governments without compensation to the owners.
The salary scale and conditions of employment for teacher
previously in private institutions were brought to par with those
in government schools.
This situation was a great dismal for the democratic and
decentralized school system in Pakistan. Not only Head
teachers but teachers also were affected in terms of decision
making and authority. The head masters and principals of the

schools came under the direct control of ministries of

education. Top level officers started to decide the matters
related to the admissions, curricula and teacher affairs instead
of teachers of the school or the head masters of the school.
Due to this centralized situation Head teachers also became
rigid and undemocratic which resulted ineffective teachers.
Research has supported that teacher is the main actor in the
education of a child, therefore he must be well equipped with
necessary tools of teaching e.g certification status, experience
and necessary teacher training (demographic characteristics),
moreover with these things he must be satisfy with his
profession, knowledge and skills (Hipp, 1995),
This study will examine how the leadership behaviors of Head
masters as perceived by teachers at the secondary school level
correlate with their efficacy in the Schools of Hyderabad
Division. Also, the extent to which this relationship is
moderated by the select teacher background variables of
gender, years of experience, and educational level will be
studied.

The importance of teacherstudent relationships

The teacher-student relationship is very important for
children and adolescents for improving their mental health.
Children spend around 5 to 7 hours a day with a teacher for
almost 10 months a year. All of us have gone through schooling,
and we have had a many number of favourite teachers. A
positive relationship between the student and the teacher is
difficult to set up, but can be originate for both individuals at
either end. Improving students relationships with teachers has

essential, constructive and long-lasting implications for

students academic and social development. Battistich, Schaps,
& Wilson, 2004; Birch & Ladd, 1997; Hamre & Pianta, 2001
have exposed Positive teacher-student relationships
evidenced by teachers reports of l ow conflict, a high degree of
intimacy and support, and little dependency have been
shown to support students adjustment to school, add to their
social skills, uphold academic performance, and foster students
resiliency in academic performance. Birch & Ladd, 1997; Klem
& Connell, 2004 have
stated that teachers who experience close relationships with
students reported that their students were less likely to avoid
school, appeared more self-directed, more supportive, and
more engaged in learning. The communication between the
student and the teacher serves a connection between the two
and which provides a better atmosphere for a classroom
environment. A teacher then needs to understand the value of
the students' senses of belonging which can be of greater value
to

overall

development

of

the

students

irrespective of the racial confrontations.

Need for student-teacher relationship:

in

all

aspects

The student-teacher relationship is very important for

children and adolescents for improving their mental health.
Children spend approximately 5 to 7 hours a day with a teacher
for almost 10 months a year. All of us have gone through
schooling and we have had a many number of favorite
teachers. A positive relationship between the student and the
teacher is difficult to establish. Improving students relationship
with

teachers

has

essential,

positive

and

long

lasting

implications for students academic and social development.

Battistich, Schaps, & Wilson, 2004; Birch & Ladd, 1997;

Hamre & Pianta, 2001 have exposed Positive teacher-student
relationships evidenced by teachers reports of low conflict, a
high degree of intimacy and support, and little dependency
have been show n to support students adjustment to school,
contribute to their social skills, uphold academic performance,
and foster students resiliency in academic performance. It is
the duty of a professional teacher to bring out the potentiality
of a student. Nobody is fool and it is also foolish to call a
student a fool. Sigmund Freud has told that if a dozen children
were entrusted to him, he would make one an engineer, one a
doctor, one a carpenter, one a rowdy, etc. From this we can
perceive that a students mental growth depends upon a
balanced feeding of constructive knowledge imparted by a
teacher. Here the relationship between the teacher and the
student is strengthened in a positive way.
Necessity for teachers involvement and interaction:
According to Birch & Ladd, 1997; Klem & Connell, 2004, it
is stated that teachers who experience close relationships with
students reported that their students were less likely to avoid

school, appeared more self-directed, more supportive, and

more engaged in learning. The communication between the
student and the teacher serves a connection between the two
and which provides a better atmosphere for

a classroom environment. A teacher then needs to understand

the value of the students' senses of belonging which can be of
greater value to overall development of the students in all
aspects irrespective of the racial confrontations.
By making a student like the school, he/she reaps
important social advantages such as building friendship,
gaining respect for peers and adults and learning social skills.
These side by side help the student get good academic records
and performance. The student-teacher relationship is made
strong by the teachers inspiring the students to interact
constructively in the classroom situations. The teacher should
behave in such a way that a student should love him/her with
respect.

As

(Montalvo,

Mansfield

&

Miller,

2007)

have

suggested, adults often assume that children like school due to

the opportunities it offers for peer interaction. Although
previous studies support that notion, research also indicates
that certain teacher traits serve as strong indicators of
students like or dislike for school. In addition, findings indicate
that students attain better grades in classes taught by their
teachers they like.
Combined responsibility:

Both a student and a teacher should be aware that a school is a

place to learn when they enter the school building every day.
Apart from

this, it is the job of the students as well as the teachers to make

sure that the relationship the two have is a good one. If a
student is constantly giving a teacher a rough time about
everything, the student cannot have a good relationship with
the teacher.
The student-teacher relationship is like a bridge that connects
knowledge, experience and efficiency of a teacher to bring out
the potentiality of a student with his/her aspirations. The
distance between the two should be the distance we cross the
bridge. Apart from the syllabus allotted to the students, the
teachers should give information about the critical society in
which they are living. For this, they should not be confined
themselves to the work of completing their allotted portions but
they are supposed to introduce the students to a wider
knowledge of the world in which they are living
Adaptability of changes:
We should understand that the world in which the teachers
lived is different from the world in which their students are
living. There is a vast and tremendous change in which our
present students are going to face as the world has shrunk in
many aspects. A student should not be constrained with
imposition of the past. They should be given freedom to think
whether the past or the present is desirable. The world is going
so fast and there is a necessity that we have to adopt the
changes that are

inevitable and reasonable. A good teacher by imparting all

these changes with mixing of classroom situations can create
the best students. The present students are going to meet a
more complicated world which is entirely different from the
world which the teachers of fifty to sixty years old have met.
For instance, a teacher who is running fifty years now has not
heard about ATM and cell phone s while they were young,
whereas the present students are quite acquainted with these.
In the very future one may ask, Where are you going? The
other may reply that he/she is going to moon. The present
teacher-student relationship is related to these changes. In this
world of computers and internet, the system of education and
curriculum should be framed to meet these needs and
problems. The student-teacher relationship is likely to be
different now from the past. We have travelled a long way from
the Gurukula system in India. India is a country consisting of
many states, religions, cultures and climates and even fashions.
System of education is different from state to state. This may
make the relationship between a student and a teacher
different. Precisingly saying, the student-teacher relationship
will be fruitful by taking into account the environment, social

problems, necessities of the people of the society and the

comparison of the social problems with others.

Aspiration for achievement:

Only a human being can achieve. There is no second
thought in it. The present world is a contribution of the
intellectuals, scientists, explorers and persons of excellence in
the world. The foremost thing is to create a child to achieve
excellence through the means of education. For that the
student-teacher relationship is considered to be a must to
create a better and prospective earth consisting of human
beings. To clear this point again, the author likes to say that
only a human being can achieve and not any other animal.
The crucial period in a human beings life is the adolescent
period. It may be constructive or destructive as per the
temperament of the particular human being. There may be
various causes for this. The student-teacher relationship plays a
very important role in establishing a constructive one. The
author once happened to see a statement in the garden of a
college she visited One should not waver his/her mind during
the period of achievement. Here stands the teacher as a great

person to regulate the feeling of an individual student to make

him/her aspire for achievement.
Most important elements in student-teacher
relationship:
The relationship between a student and a teacher, if it is
to be maximally productive, must be a sign of certain attitudes
and commitments of each to the other. The students must
reflect their teacher and hold them in the highest esteem,
because this is a necessary pre-requisite to accepting his
advice. The student must believe the teachers concern. The
student must believe that the teacher always has his/her best
interests in mind. If the student would sense some ulterior
motive, some self interest, or even carelessness in the
teachers instruction, he/she would not be able to surrender
whole heartedly to the teachers advice, and this would make
entire relationship meaningless. The student must commit
himself/herself

to

following

the

instruction

with

utmost

discipline because only then can the intended effect be

realized. Just as a doctor's orders must be followed precisely,
since failure to do so could cause more harm than good, so a
teacher's

"prescription"

must

be

obeyed

with

equal

conscientiousness.

teacher

also

has

three

levels

of

responsibility to his students in relation to giving advice.

Initially a teacher should fulfil the prerequisite of getting to
know his/her students individually to probe the innermost
depths of their hearts as well as examining the outer details of
their lives. Next, a teacher must express toward his students
and it is this affection that
dissolves the students natural tendency to resist being told
what to do. Ultimately, a teacher must take time to reflect upon
his students' progress, refining and adjusting his vision of how
best to influence them toward positive change.
Suggestions to make student-teacher relationship
successful:
1. Teachers and students must succeed together. For this, it
is necessary to build teacher-student interaction in the
classroom on the principles such as fairness, integrity,
honesty and respect that guide in everything they do.
2. The interaction must be two-way traffic, but teachers
must lead and must feel confident that they will be able to
succeed in establishing and maintaining a sound and
producing rapport with students.

3. The teachers must understand the students and find out

what they need. For example, an important part of the
teacher-student relationship is getting to know each
student in terms of their cultural background, intellectual
profile, learning strength and academic potential as well
as their interests outside of school and what they do for
fun.
4. One should remember that many students will need to
learn how to both give and receive respect.
5. Most of the teachers probably favour an assertive
discipline model, which is clear, consistent, and, when
conducted properly, promotes an effective middle path
between hostility at one end of the spectrum and passivity
of the other.
6. The student should be offered interesting activities.
Activities must be devised in such a way that enable the
students to engage with the learning, have some fun, and
develop a sense of belonging to a cohesive group. Success
is more likely if the students have some element of control
and choice over both what they do and how they do it.
7. The teacher should enjoy being in the company of their

students. They spend a lot of time with them each week

and if they make the effort to see time spent with students
a pleasant experience, the relationship with their class
stands a better chance of being successful. The teacher
should maintain certain professional distance as they are
their teachers and not their friends.
8. The teacher must be sure that both sides win and get
what they want, but not at the expense of the other.
9. There should be both verbal communication as well as
non-verbal communication. It is easy to assume that what
is very clear to a teacher as a teacher is also clear to
students.
Classroom

synergy

always

suffers

when

students

lack

motivation which in turn often leads to a breakdown in

classroom control.
The authors ideas and findings mentioned above are all for the
child-adolescent mental health. When we find a balanced
mental health in the students, we can achieve the desired
effect such as to make the children into useful citizens of a
particular country. Though there are ever so many resources
from which a nation gains economically, the real source is

young students. That is why we pay due concentration on the

mental health of particularly the school students. Here we are
badly need of a good student-teacher relationship.

Q4: Discuss the purpose of school

discipline, what will you suggest factors /
measures for a teacher to maintain
effective discipline in the class?

Sol: The word discipline has been derived from the Latin word
Disciple,Discipulus which means followers, and pupil. According to
dictionary, discipline means mental and moral training, bringing
under control. Westerns dictionary gives three basic meanings to the
word discipline:
1.
It states that it is training that correct mold or prefects.
2.
it states that it is control gained by enforcing obedience
3.
It states punishments. If we combine first and second meaning we
can say that discipline involves the conditioning or molding of behavior
by applying rewards or penalties. The third meaning is narrower in
context; it pertains only to the act of punishment of wrongdoers.
Discipline in the broad sense means orderliness the opposite of
confusion. It simply means working, cooperating and behaving in
normal and orderly way. By the above discussion we come to the
conclusion that school disciplines needed to maintain harmony in
the school, to assign tasks to the teachers and students, to be able
to do most work in short time, to be able to keep up with the changing

time. It is also necessary to maintain discipline in the schools because

it creates good impression on the society. The disciplined student and
worker of today will be disciplined leader, citizen or breadwinner of its
family tomorrow. The factors that affect the school discipline can be
divided in three groups:
1.
Internal Discipline
2.
E
external Discipline
3.
Social Discipline.
Internal discipline is not provided by any outsider it comes from within
the student and worker, like self control, self motivation, and
cooperation with others. If some worker or student lacks this kind of
discipline then the school or classroom discipline is disturbed.
E
external discipline is founded on the basis of fear and it is
imposed from the outside. This may include target deadlines,
attendance, punctuality, uniform or dress code, conduct etc. If
these factors are not imposed properly they can rapture the over
discipline of the school.
The social factors are outside the authority of the school, but they have
significant impact on the discipline of the school. The factors
that may affect school discipline are:1.
Reaching to school late: coming late to school for work or to study have
a great affect on school discipline and creates bad example
for others.2.
Talking in the class: this can be the result of any unheeded idea
or uninteresting lesson on part of the teacher.3.
Destroying school property: damaged school property portrays
a negative image of any school. Students should be punished for this
and some fines should be imposed on them, as far as possible.4.
Neglecting homework: children may not be doing their
homework properly or regularly. Teacher should realize that amount

of homework given should be minimal and if there is someone at

their homes to help them with the homework.

5.
Bullying the younger students: if this continues it can affect the overall
discipline of the school. Therefore disciplinary action should be
taken again the offender.
6.
Telling lies: students and workers are not being honest with the
administration.
7.
Unwanted Parent Involvement: all the parents like to keep up with the
progress of their child, but some parents meddle too much in the
affairs of school. This interference can harm school discipline to a great
extent; it should be controlled on part by the school administration.
8.
Overburdened Teachers/ workers: overburdened workers tend to get
bitter towards the administration and are unable to do
their work honestly. School administration should take care of the
workload of its workers and keep in mind the amount of work given to
the employees. These are some of the factors that affect the discipline
of any school. There is no hard and fast rule to determine these factors
because they vary from place to place, but administration should come
up with a strategy to cope with these.

Suggestions factors / measures for a teacher to

maintain effective discipline:

The main purpose of school is to provide students with an

educational foundation from which they can build successful

independent lives. However, disruptions in the classroom cause

roadblocks to students achievement.
Maintaining discipline in schools is essential for effective
curriculum delivery. The following are some best practices that
can help teachers to achieve this.
1. Increase Parental Involvement
Parents truly make a difference in student achievement and
behavior. Schools should institute a policy where teachers are
required to contact parents periodically through the year. Halfterm or end-of-term reports are often not enough. A parent
cannot help solve an issue if they do not know one exists. While
home calls take time, in the end they can help provide solutions
to very difficult classroom problem.
This is not to say that all parent involvement will be positive or
have a measurable effect on students behavior. Nevertheless,
this is an area which many successful schools claim make a
huge difference.
2. Create and Enforce a School wide Discipline Plan
Discipline plans are a way to provide students with a consistent
and fair plan of what will happen if they misbehave. While some
schools have a discipline plan on books, many do not have
disciplinary plans on conduct/behavior. Having it posted in
every classroom and in notice boards around the school
compound is a good way to start.
3. Practice Effective Follow Through
While posting the discipline plan is important so that all
students are informed of the consequences for misbehavior,
followings through on the discipline plan is the key to truly

fostering discipline in schools. In the classroom, if a teacher

does not follow through and deal with misbehavior, it will
increase. School-wide, if administrators do not follow the
discipline plan and support the teachers, it would easily lose
control of the situation.

4. Foster Discipline in Schools through Leadership

The principal and vice principal are of major importance in
fostering an academically focused school wide environment.
Their actions form a basis of the overall mood for the school. If
they are consistent in supporting teachers, implementing the
discipline plan, and following through on disciplinary actions,
then teachers will follow their lead. On the other hand, if they
are lax on discipline, this will become
apparent over time and misbehavior will increase.
5. Build a Reputation for Fairness
Hand in hand with effective leadership and school-wide
consistent follow through is the belief by students that teachers
and administrators are fair in their disciplinary actions. While
there are sometimes extenuating circumstances that require
administrator to make adjustments for individual students,
overall students who misbehave should be treated similarly.
Teachers must act fairly for all students if they expect to be
respected. If teachers do not treat all students equitably, they
will be labeled as unfair. Students will not be keen to follow
their rules.
6. Maintain High Expectations

From administrators to guidance counselors to teachers,

schools must institute high expectations for both achievement
and behavior. These expectations must include messages of
encouragement and means of support to help all children
succeed. According to Mclntyre (2005) Schools that foster high
esteem and promote social and scholastic success reduce the
likelihood of emotional and behavioral
disturbance.
Expect that students will behave, not that they will disrupt.
Teachers should reinforce this with the way they speak to their
students. Teachers should begin the day by telling students
their expectations. For example, a teacher might say, for the
duration of this class period, I expect you to raise your hands
and be recognized before you start speaking. I also expect you
to respect each others opinions and listen to what each person
has to say.
7. Deal with Disruptions with as Little Interruption as
Possible
When teachers have classroom disruptions, it is imperative that
they deal with them immediately and
with as little interruption of their class momentum as possible.
If students are talking amongst themselves and the teacher is
having a classroom discussion, ask one of them a question to
try to get them back on track. If the teacher has to stop the
flow of his/her lesson to deal with disruption, then he/she is
robbing students who want to learn of their precious in-class
time. Sometimes all it takes is for everyone to have a good

laugh to get things back on track in a classroom. Many times,

however,
teachers confuse good hum our with sarcasm. While hum our
can quickly diffuse a situation, sarcasm may harm a teachers
relationship with his/her students. Teachers should use their
best judgment but realize that what some people think as funny
others find to be offensive.
8. Avoid Confrontations in Front of Students
Whenever there is a confrontation in class there is a winner and
a loser. Obviously teachers need to keep order and discipline in
their class. However, it is much better to deal with disciplinary
issues privately than cause a student to lose face in front of
their friends. It is not a good idea to make an example out of a
disciplinary issue. Even though other students might get the
point, the teacher might have lost any chance of actually
teaching that student anything in that specific period in class.
9. Over plan
Free time is something teachers should avoid. By allowing
students time just to talk each day, teachers are setting a
precedent about how they view academics and their subjects.
To avoid this, teachers should over plan. Write additional
activities into their lesson plans just in case main lesson runs
short.
When teachers have too much to cover, they will never run out
of lessons and they will avoid free time. Teachers can also fill up
any left over time with mini-lessons.

10. Be Consistent
One of the worst things a teacher can do is not to enforce
his/her rules consistently. If one day a teacher ignores
misbehaviors and the next day he/she jumps on someone for
the smallest offence, students will quickly lose respect for the
teacher. Students have the right to expect teachers to be
basically the same every day. Moodiness is not allowed. Once a
teacher loses students respect, he/she will also lose their
attention and their desire to please him/her.
11. Make Rules Understandable
Teachers need to be selective in their class rules for instance no
one can follow 180 rules consistently. Rules need to be clearly
stated. Students should understand what is and what is not
acceptable. Furthermore, teachers should make sure that the
consequences for breaking rules are also clearly known
beforehand.
12. Keep an anecdotal record
Keep an anecdotal record of major issues that arise in your
class. This might be necessary if one is asked for a history of
classroom disruptions or other documentation.
13. Use hum our
Try to use hum our to diffuse situations before things get out of
hand. Teachers should Know their students. The following
example could be used with students for example, if a teacher
tells his students open their books to page 51 and three
students are busy talking, do not immediately yell at them.

Instead, smile, say their names, and ask them kindly if they
could please wait until later to finish their conversation because
you would really like to hear how it ends and they have to get
this class finished. This will probably get a few laughs but also
get the points across.
Start Fresh Everyday
Teachers should start teaching their class each day with the
expectation that students will behave. Dont assume for
instance, that because Adamu has disrupted your class every
day or for a week, he will disrupt it today. By doing this, one will
not be treating Adamu any differently and thereby setting him
up to disrupt again (like a self-fulfilling prophesy).
Attributes a teacher should possess to maintain good
discipline for effective curriculum delivery
A disciplined teacher is one who:
succeeds in getting children to learn in a meaningful,
enjoyable and businesslike manner. He creates a learning
environment that is stimulating and disciplined.
creates varied opportunities/learning experiences for
children to learn.
always aims at achieving his/her lessons behavioral
objectives.
encourages his children to ask questions and talk about their
experiences as they relate to the lesson.
holds the philosophy that all children can learn. He does all
he can to ensure that each child has sufficient opportunity to
learn something.

 is patient with all. He explains the same thing in different

ways and exposes children to several modes of learning. They
see, hear, touch etc.
uses class time wisely and efficiently. That is, children are
productively involved in learning activities most of the time.
ensures that learning time is maximized and disruption of
class time is reduced to the minimum.
ensures that a good percentage of the class time is spent
doing things that have academic value.
establishes and enforces routine for time wasting chores
such as, change of lesson, submission of assignment, class
work etc.
has a clear purpose or objective for every lesson. He gives
children explicit guidelines on how to perform each classroom
task. He is goal-oriented. He introduces activities that match
his objectives. He never digresses unreasonably from what he
has set out to achieve.
personalizes his teaching. He treats learners as individuals
and he is sensitive to their needs. He makes provision for
individual differences by adjusting the pace of his instruction in
such a way that the fast learners are not held back and slow
learners are carried along.
Always resourceful. Uses teaching aids to make lessons more
meaningful. He/she is willing to go the extra mile to improvise
as the need arises.

5. Discuss the following in detail

a)

Classification and its importance

b)

Basis of Classification

c)

Merits and demerits of classification

d)
Physical environment of the
classroom and its effects on learning
e)

Individual difference

a)

Classification and its importance

Sol:
The importance of classification is rooted in the facts below:
1.

It helps in the clear identification of species by scientists.

2.

It also helps in the general study, observation and the

organization of all concentrated conservation efforts to
preserve the different species that exist in our biodiversity.

3.

It is a very important way of differentiating and

recognizing different types of organisms, making important
scientific and biological predictions as regards organisms of
the same type, classifying how the different types of
organisms relate with one another and providing specific
names for each of the organisms.

Details
Though it appears quite counter-intuitive and strange, the
classification of organisms helps bring to mind some of
their most common characteristics. It would be almost
impossible to remember every detail about each organism

without first placing it in a category with other organisms that

share its features. For instance, supposing we classify an animal
as a cat, without further investigation, instantly, we know that it
is an animal with four legs, a pair of ears, a tail and whiskers,
according to their mode of classification.
Understanding the techniques and mechanisms employed in
the classification of animals can go a long way to help
predict the possible characteristics expected of a certain
animal, putting into consideration what is observed from
others in the same classification. Let us still use the cat as an
example-supposing you own a cat and you have noticed the
cat's impressive jumping abilities, and you know tigers are also
in the same classification with the cat, automatically, you will
expect that the tiger will equally have impressive jumping
abilities even when you know every little about the tiger. In
addition, scientists rely on classification to give proper
explanations as regards the relationships that exist between
different organisms. This is quite helpful when it comes to
reconstructing the evolutionary ancestors of any species.
Conclusively, the taxonomic nomenclature of each organism
helps provide a very unique name that makes the
description of the organism easier. This often becomes a
serious issue with the common names certain animals are
known with. A good example is the fish known as pickerel in
both Canada and the United States; however, one is edible
while the other is not. The reason being that though they share
a common name, they belong to very different species
scientifically. Scientific names provide us with clear information
and explanations on this issue than the common names of
these organisms.
It is important to classify organisms because of the following
five reasons:
1.

Identifying unknown species.

2.

Grouping new organisms with already existing ones.

3.

Assigning names to different organisms also known as

nomenclature.

4.

Provision of a reference for already identified organisms.

5.

As the universally accepted language for easy

communication.

Why is classification important? By assorting the similarities

and differences existing amongst the different species of
organisms we have through a comparative study, it is easy to
classify organisms into sets or groups.

It makes studying a wide variety of different organisms

easier.

It gives us an excellent picture of every aspect of life form

at a single glance.

It makes the interrelationship between different species

easily understood.

It provides a very strong base for the growth of other areas

of biological sciences and studies like biogeography.

All fields of applied biology such as public health,

agriculture, and environmental biology largely depend on the
classification of components of the ecosystem, pathogens,
disease vectors, and pests.

b)

Basis of Classification:

All classification schemes have a basis from which they are

organized. Some are more organized and systematic than
others. The basis used for classification depends on the purpose
of the classification. The bases for this scheme are the geologic
elements critical to finding similar traps.
Purpose
The main purpose of the proposed scheme is to help
explorationists find more oil or gas traps. A well-constructed
classification scheme for traps can serve other useful purposes:

It provides a means whereby traps can be organized and

cataloged in an orderly manner. Once properly organized,

the various trap types can be analyzed and compared to one

another to provide valuable information for the exploration
and development of similar features.

A good classification scheme provides standardized

terminology that can be used in communicating information
to others about oil and gas accumulations.

Considering other schemes

Several classification schemes were analyzed and, where
appropriate, were used as a basis for setting up the proposed
trap classification scheme. Of particular interest was the
biological classification scheme used to catalog and describe
plants and animals. First proposed by Aristotle and then
expanded and improved by Linnaeus, this system has stood the
test of time. Although competing schemes have been proposed
and modifications to the scheme are the basis of ongoing
debate, the scheme has provided a valuable method of
organizing and studying organisms.
Basis for biological classification
The basis for the biological classification scheme is similarity of
morphology (shape) and phylogeny (evolutionary history). [1] In
addition, the processes that led to these similarities are also
used in biological classification. For example, one of the major
differences between plants and animals is that animals are
mobile and can search for food, whereas plants are fixed or
rooted and rely on food to be brought to them.
Ranking classes of organisms
The biological classification scheme places organisms in seven
ranked levels, going from general to specific:
1. Kingdom
2. Phylum

3. Class
4. Order
5. Family
6. Genus
7. Species
The species represents one certain type of organism, which,
by definition, cannot interbreed with an organism of a
different species. The largest or most general grouping is at
the kingdom level, which Aristotle originally used to separate
plants (plant kingdom) and animals (animal kingdom).
Interestingly, Aristotle also identified a third kingdomthe
mineral kingdomin which hydrocarbon traps presumably
belong.
Similarities of classifying traps and organisms
The use of shape and evolutionary history in the biological
classification scheme provides a basis for the use of similar
attributes in a trap classification scheme. We propose to
utilize similarities in geometry, composition, and genesis as
the basis for classifying traps. These similarities are really
critical geological elements that can guide exploration.
Unfortunately, using a scheme identical to that used in
biology has limitations in trap classification, primarily
because our trap species are prolific interbreeds. Trying to
classify most traps would be like trying to classify an
organism that is a cross between an elephant and a bee with
an apple tree growing out of its head. The treephantbee
might be difficult to classify in the standard biological
classification. However, if a proper classification would
enable us to locate a herd of tree pant bees, and if honey
were oil, we might become rich indeed!

c)

Merits and demerits of classification:

The use of classification schemes offers one solution to

providing improved access to WWW resources. Web sites have
been created to act as a guide to other Web sites selected
according to some pre-specified criteria, e.g. they are judged to
be good quality resources or relevant to a particular subjectarea. Some of these sites typically consist of an alphabetical list
of subjects, and selected Web resources are listed below each
one.
Examples include Argus
Clearinghouse <URL:http://www.clearinghouse.net/> and
the WWW Virtual
Library<URL:http://www.w3.org/pub/DataSources/bySubject/Ov
erview2.html>. In this context, it can be understood why
classification schemes have begun to be used to give addedvalue subject access to Web sites. A site that organizes
knowledge with a classification scheme demonstrates several
advantages over sites which do not (cf. Suetonius 1983):
Browsing: classified subject lists are easily able to be
browsed in an online environment. Browsing is particularly
helpful for inexperienced users or for users not familiar
with a subject and its structure and terminology. In

addition, the structure of the classification scheme can be

displayed in different ways as a navigation aid. The
classification notation does not even need to be displayed
on the screen so an inexperienced user can have the
advantage of using a hierarchical scheme without the
distraction of the notation itself.
Broadening and narrowing searches: classification
schemes are hierarchical and therefore can be used to
broaden (i.e. for improved recall) or narrow a search when
required. Questions can be limited to individual parts of a
collection (filtering) and the number of false hits be
reduced (i.e. for improved precision).
Context: the use of a classification scheme gives context
to the search terms used. For example, the problem of
homonyms (words which have the same form and spelling
but a different meaning) can be partly overcome.
Potential to permit multilingual access to a collection:
since classification systems often use notations
independent from a specific language, indices in different
languages can offer multilingual access to the same
resources without any further changes to the collection. A
searcher could enter search terms in a given language and
those terms would then relate to the relevant parts of the
classification system (as a switching language) and be
used to retrieve resources in any given language on the
subject.
The partitioning and manipulation of a database: large
classified lists can be divided logically into smaller parts if
required.
The use of an agreed classification scheme could enable
improved browsing and subject searching across
databases.
An established classification system is not usually in
danger of obsolescence. The larger schemes are now
undergo continuous revision, although they are normally
also formally published in numbered editions. Some
classifications may have to be changed when a new

edition of a scheme is published, but it is unlikely that

every single resource will have to be re-classified.
They have the potential to be well-known: regular users of
libraries will be familiar with at least part of one or more of
the traditional library schemes. Members of a subject
community are likely to be familiar with their (subjectspecific) schemes as well. Use of an Internet service which
uses them will therefore have an advantage over one that
uses its own classification or none.
Many classification schemes are available in machinereadable form.
Classification schemes, however, can be sometimes subject to
criticism:
The division of logical collections of material: classification
schemes often split up collections of related material. This
can be partly overcome with good cross-references.
The illogical subdivision of classes: some popular schemes
do not always subdivide classes in a logical manner
(Buchanan 1979, pp. 32-34; Rowley 1987, pp. 188-189).
This can make them difficult to use for browsing purposes.
Assimilating new areas of interest: classification schemes,
since they are usually updated through formal processes
by organized bodies, often reveal difficulty in reacting to
new areas of study.

d) Physical environment of the classroom and its effects

on learning:
A large amount of a childs time is spent sitting in a school
classroom. This place is
where they will learn the various skills deemed necessary and
proper for them to achieve
success in the global society. The classroom is where they will
gain an understanding of their
place in the world and the gifts that they have to offer it. It is
where the student develops what they want their future to look
like, as well as knowledge of the skills needed to reach that
goal.
With the classroom being such an important place in the growth
of a child it is important to
understand the ways in which to affect this environment in
order to receive maximum
effectiveness in instruction. If schools really do play a large role
in teaching the next generation how to be successful members
of society then every precaution should be taken to make sure
that the learning environment is one that helps students thrive.
If not approached correctly, a classroom can be set up in a way
that stifles creativity or
does not promote a positive learning environment. There are
many things that can affect this environment. There are
physical elements such as wall art, arrangement of desks, or
resources.
Also, there are intangible elements such as the energy of the
classroom, the rules, or the
sounds within the room. Each of these can impact a students
focus and achievement in the
class. They can also affect a teachers attitude in the class.
Included in each of these elements of the classroom is the
emotional environment. The way in which a teacher organizes
their class, or how they control it, will yield positive or negative
consequences for their students. If a teacher is unmotivated or
negative there will be a direct impact on the students within the
classroom. Similarly, if a teacher is motivated and positive they
will likely have a beneficial impact on their students as well. It is
important for a teacher to understand this cause and effect in
order to understand how to organize their classroom to create a

better learning environment. In this paper, I will investigate

several classroom adaptations and argue that their strengths
outweigh their weaknesses.
The standard for many classrooms today is to have desks
aligned in rows within the
classroom. This system of arrangement seems to make
students lose focus and creates a higher number of disruptions
in the classroom.1 This structure does not encourage
interaction between students and focuses more on the student
as an individual completing their own work.
Humans are social creatures that want attention, and if they
arent going to be able to get it
from their classmates then they will commonly act out to get
attention from their teacher.
One of the first areas that make a noticeable impact on student
success is the physical
environment of the classroom. This can pertain to a variety of
details. It can be structure,
resources, color. All of these can play a role in determining
whether the classroom will be
conducive for learning. Each may not have a large effect
individually, however together they
can work to strengthen a students ability to learn.
When a student first steps into a room they will make a
judgment about the type of
class they are going to be taking. They will look to see how
desks are arranged. They will notice what is hanging on the
walls. The way in which a teacher sets up their class allows
them to communicate with their students non-verbally. By
adding various learning centers or activity centers the students
will know that this is a classroom that likes to do hands-on
experiments. It also conveys that they will not just sit and take
notes, but they will act out what ever subject they are learning.
The wall art will demonstrate to the student that the teacher
cares about their work enough to show it off. Students will also
gain an understanding of the social expectations of the teacher
in the classroom based on how the desks are organized. Each of
these tools can be used in any classroom regardless of the
content.2 If it is English, then the teacher could have a corner
of the room set up like a theatre where the students could act
out scenes from various plays that they are reading. There
could be an area of the room with comfortable chairs and a

small library where they could pick a book to silently read if

they have finished all of their work for the day. This could be
viewed as warm and inviting for a student who does not like to
read because now they see that English can involve moving
around. The small library will also allow them to choose what
they want to read, rather than them having to read what was
assigned.3
A social studies classroom could use the concept of creating a
separate learning center
in various ways throughout the curriculum. If the students were
learning about World War I the teacher could organize the desks
into trenches so when the students walked in they would pick a
side and learn how battles were fought with this new strategy.
The desks could be set in a continuous line where each student
had to work on only one problem of an assignment to show the
structure of an assembly line. 4
Science classrooms could set up areas to conduct various
experiments. Math classrooms
could have an activity center focused on real world applications
of the content they are learning for that unit. Music classrooms
could have a corner where they can listen to audio clips of great
musicians from the past. Every subject area can utilize the
concept of a center of learning that is separate from the main
structure of the class.5
Another strategy that can be utilized by teachers is how they
organize their desks and
resources. A student will notice this rather quickly into the year.
How a teacher uses this tool can set the tone for the rest of the
school year. 6 Many students know that if they are disruptive
they will get attention. Wanting attention does not have to be a
bad thing however. A teacher can organize their classroom
where students can interact with others and stay focused on
the content at the same time. If the student can meet their
individual desires while staying engaged in the curriculum then
there will less likely be disruptive behavior. One way to do this
is to organize desks into groups. This allows for students to do
individual work if they are required, or they can work with
partners on specific assignments. If they are creating larger
projects they can work as a whole table group to complete it,
each with their own specific task. 7
Another way to modify the seating arrangement is to organize
the desks in a circle

around the classroom. This will work better with smaller class
sizes, but can still be used
occasionally in others. This strategy works well with promoting
public speaking and classroom debate.8 It engages students
because they all become one member of the same group. They
are prone to listen more actively and make more eye contact
with the person who is speaking.9 It also allows the person
speaking to take more ownership of their ideas.10 In this model
the teacher has to make sure to create an environment where
students feel invited to share their views without fear of
judgment. In order to do this the teacher must make sure that
the students know the consequences of inappropriate behavior.
It is also a good teaching point on how to respect people who
have different opinions than their own. To help students
understand what is expected of them the teacher can clearly
state the order in which the discussion will run. By letting the
students know what is expected of them they will have clear
guidelines to be held accountable to. The teacher can also vary
the method of discussion to break routine for the students. One
day they can take turns speaking clockwise. Another day they
can call on people to speak next. There can even be days where
the teacher draws names from a bowl at random until everyone
has spoken.
Classroom organization can also play a very large role in
student discipline. When a
student walks into a classroom and sees that there is a large
mess on the teachers desk and
items scattered around the floor the student can get the idea
that the teacher doesnt pay a lot of attention to detail. With
this mindset, the student may begin to look at what other flaws
the teacher might have. If a teacher does not show that they
care about organization then a student will most likely develop
that attitude as well. 11
A teacher can use this knowledge to their advantage, however,
by structuring their
classroom in an organized fashion. They can post the rules on
the wall so that each student
knows exactly what is expected of them and the consequences
if they choose not follow them.
They can keep resources in a single location that is easily
accessible to the students. They can have specific files where
they turn in work or find missing assignments. These all will

promote organization among students because the students will

now have a model after which to structure things in their own
lives. Also, it will show the students that the teacher cares
about detail and will most likely catch the student trying to get
away with things that are against the rules.12
There is a balance to running an organized classroom. If there is
too much structure set
in place it can stifle creativity, and if there is not enough
structure it can lead to distractions and little focus. This is why
teachers can have a very difficult job. They must balance
freedom and spontaneity with rules and guidelines. To achieve
this, teachers can implement more engaging activities or
lessons into the already established classroom structure.
Students can create a map of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in
Social Studies class, but they are still expected to clean up their
markers and colored pencils once they are done. They can
create a sketch of Shakespeares Globe Theatre in their English
class, but they must make sure to put away all rulers and paper.
A teacher could even include the clean up into their
participation grade.13
Activities like this create an excellent opportunity for the
teacher to utilize another
classroom technique. When students work on projects rather
than worksheets it allows for the teacher to have a finished
product which they can hang in the classroom. Hanging
students work is a great opportunity to build rapport with the
students and creates a visually stimulating environment to look
at. When a student walks into a classroom with previous
students work hanging on the walls it conveys certain
information to them. First, it lets the student know that the
teacher does in fact look at the assignments. The student will
be able to assess the expectations for assignments based off of
what was acceptable for previous students. Second, the student
will see that the teacher cares about how the students do. The
teacher values the assignments enough to hang them on the
wall instead of throw them away or pass them back.
This encourages the student to value the assignment more as
well.14
Teachers must be cautious when using this strategy in the
classroom. There can be a
tendency to hang the best students work in the most
viewable location. This conveys

information to the students as well. If a student is particularly

gifted at drawing the assignment may have been a lot easier
for them. However, another student may have put in a lot more
effort, but did not have the same skills at drawing. They could
become discouraged if they see that their effort was not
recognized. This could make them not want to try as hard on
the next assignment because they dont feel that putting in
effort matters. One way to help overcome this obstacle is to
allow students to redo assignments until the teacher feels they
are acceptable to hang on the wall.
However, this strategy is another one where a teacher must
find the right balance for their specific classroom. Although it
important to make sure that the teacher is not choosing
favorites in the classroom, it is important to for a teacher to
realize the strengths and abilities of their students. Part of a
teachers role is to help students discover their talents and then
become motivated to use them. If a teacher notices that a
certain student is particularly gifted in art then it is the
teachers job to find the balance between showcasing that
students ability, while simultaneously not neglecting the work
of others. One way that a teacher can do this is to utilize the
students skill in creating lesson plans and visual elements to
pair alongside the lesson. Meanwhile, they can have a separate
board where they showcase each students work equally. This
way each student is receiving praise for their work, while the
student that is particularly gifted in that skill is able to use it for
the benefit of others.
To further help, teachers can preemptively crush any negative
thoughts similar to these
by having a discussion with the class before the project. Let the
students know that their work will be hung around the
classroom after completion. This will hopefully encourage them
to work harder knowing that their work will be viewed by other
students. The teacher can also discuss the manner in which
they will hang the finished products. This could be random,
drawing names, alphabetical, or any other variety of strategies.
Letting the students know this will prevent any mindset that the
teacher doesnt like them and didnt want their work to be
seen. Each time the class does a project where the results are
hung around the classroom the teacher can rearrange where
each students work is hung. Each of these strategies will need
to be tried in the classroom to discover which one is most

effective. Every classroom will have a new group of students

with new abilities and struggles. The teacher must determine
what is best for each group. What works during the first class
may be a complete failure in the next class. Trial and error will
help a teacher be able to create a better environment for their
students.
Developing rapport with students is essential in creating a good
classroom environment.
It can be difficult, though, to maintain authority if not handled
well. There are a few strategies that a teacher can use to
establish a good relationship with their students. The first one is
how the teacher dresses. It is understandable that a teacher
must maintain a level of professionalism in their attire. Teachers
should not dress in the exact same fashion as their students
either. However, if a teacher is always wearing a suit or dress
they can be perceived as unapproachable. This is where the
balance comes into play. A teacher should be dressed
professionally enough to establish authority, but relaxed
enough that a student isnt intimidated to ask them questions.
The teacher should convey that they are the rule maker, but
that they also genuinely care about the students problems or
questions. To do this teachers should dress modestly but
relaxed. They should cross fun with professionalism.15
Again, balance is difficult thing to find in this area. While it is
important to remain professional in the workplace there is
debate over infringing on a teachers personal liberties.
e)

Individual difference:

That people differ from each other is obvious. How and why
they differ is less clear and is the subject of the study of
Individual differences (IDs). Although to study individual
differences seems to be to study variance, how are people
different, it is also to study central tendency, how well can a
person be described in terms of an overall within-person
average. Indeed, perhaps the most important question of
individual differences is whether people are more similar to
themselves over time and across situations than they are to
others, and whether the variation within a single person across
time and situation is less than the variation between people. A

related question is that of similarity, for people differ in their

similarities to each other. Questions of whether particular
groups (e.g., groupings by sex, culture, age, or ethnicity) are
more similar within than between groups are also questions of
individual differences.
Personality psychology addresses the questions of shared
human nature, dimensions of individual differences and unique
patterns of individuals. Research in IDs ranges from analyses of
genetic codes to the study of sexual, social, ethnic, and cultural
differences and includes research on cognitive abilities,
interpersonal styles, and emotional reactivity. Methods range
from laboratory experiments to longitudinal field studies and
include data reduction techniques such as Factor Analysis and
Principal Components Analysis, as well as Structural Modeling
and Multi-Level Modeling procedures. Measurement issues of
most importance are those of reliability and stability of
Individual Differences.
Research in Individual Differences addresses three broad
questions: 1) developing an adequate descriptive taxonomy of
how people differ; 2) applying differences in one situation to
predict differences in other situations; and 3) testing theoretical
explanations of the structure and dynamics of individual
differences.
Taxonomies of individual differences
Taxonomic work has focused on categorizing the infinite ways in
which individuals differ in terms of a limited number of latent or
unobservable constructs. This is a multi-step, cyclical process of
intuition, observation, deduction, induction, and verification
that has gradually converged on a consensual descriptive
organization of broad classes of variables as well as on methods
for analyzing them. Most of the measurement and taxonomic
techniques used throughout the field have been developed in
response to the demand for selection for schooling, training,
and business applications.

Test Theory
Consider the case of differences in vocabulary in a particular
language (e.g., English). Although it is logically possible to
organize people in terms of the specific words they know in
English, the more than 2^(500,000) possible response patterns
that could be found by quizzing people on each of the more
than 500,000 words in English introduces more complexity
rather than less. Classical Test Theory (CTT) ignores individual
response patterns and estimates an individual's total
vocabulary size by measuring performance on small samples of
words. Words are seen as random replicates of each other and
thus individual differences in total vocabulary size are
estimated from observed differences on these smaller samples.
The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r)
compares the degree of covariance between these samples
with the variance within samples. As the number of words
sampled increases, the correlation of the individual differences
within each sample and with those in the total domain
increases accordingly.
Estimates of ability based upon Item Response Theory (IRT)
take into account parameters of the words themselves (i.e., the
difficulty and discriminability of each word) and estimate a
single ability parameter for each individual. Although CTT and
IRT estimates are highly correlated, CTT statistics are based on
decomposing the sources of variance within and between
individuals while IRT statistics focus on the precision of an
individual estimate without requiring differences between
individuals. CTT estimates of reliability of ability measures are
assessed across similar items (internal consistency), across
alternate forms, and across different forms of assessment as
well as over time (stability). Tests are reliable to the extent that
differences within individuals are small compared to those
between individuals when generalizing across items, forms, or
occasions. CTT reliability thus requires between subject
variability. IRT estimates, on the other hand, are concerned with
the precision of measurement for a particular person in terms of
a metric defined by item difficulty.

The test theory developed to account for sampling differences

within domains can be generalized to account for differences
between domains. Just as different samples of words will yield
somewhat different estimates of vocabulary, different cognitive
tasks (e.g., vocabulary and arithmetic performance) will yield
different estimates of performance. Using multivariate
procedures such as Principal Components Analysis or Factor
Analysis, it is possible to decompose the total variation into
between domain covariance, within domain covariance, and
within domain variance. One of the most replicable
observations in the study of individual differences is that almost
all tests thought to assess cognitive ability have a general
factor (g) that is shared with other tests of ability. That is,
although each test has specific variance associated with
content (e.g., linguistic, spatial), form of administration (e.g.,
auditory, visual), or operations involved (e.g., perceptual speed,
memory storage, memory retrieval, abstract reasoning), there
is general variance that is common to all tests of cognitive
ability.
Personality and Ability
Although to some the term personality refers to all aspects of a
person's individuality, typical usage divides the field into
studies of ability and personality. Tests of ability are viewed as
maximal performance measures. Ability is construed as the
best one can do on a particular measure in a limited time
(speed test) or with unlimited time (power test). Personality
measures are estimates of average performance and typically
include reports of preferences and estimates of what one
normally does and how one perceives oneself and is perceived
by others.
The same procedures used to clarify the structure of cognitive
abilities have been applied to the question of identifying the
domains of personality. Many of the early and current
personality inventories use self-descriptive questions (e.g., do
you like to go to lively parties; are you sometimes nervous) that
are rationally or theoretically relevant to some domain of

interest for a particular investigator. Although there is

substantial consistency across inventories developed this way,
some of this agreement could be due to conceptually
overlapping item pools. Other researchers have advocated a
lexical approach to the taxonomic problem, following the basic
assumption that words in the natural language describe all
important individual differences. This shifts the taxonomic
question from how are individuals similar and different from
each other to how are the words used to describe individuals
(e.g., lively, talkative, nervous, anxious) similar and different
from each other.
Dimensional analyses of tests developed based on lexical,
rational, or theoretical bases suggest that a limited number
(between three and seven) of higher order trait domains
adequately organize the thousands of words that describe
individual differences and the logically infinite way that these
words can be combined into self or peer report items. The
broadest domains are those of introversion-extraversion and
emotional stability-neuroticism, with the domains of
agreeableness, conscientiousness and intellectual openness or
culture close behind. These domains can be seen as asking the
questions that one wants to know about a stranger or a
potential mate: are they energetic and dominant (extraverted),
emotionally stable (low neurotic), trustworthy (conscientious),
loveable (agreeable), and interesting (intelligent and open).
Measures of ability and personality reflect observations
aggregated across time and occasion and require inferences
about stable latent traits thought to account for the variety of
observed behaviors. However there are other individual
differences that are readily apparent to outside observers and
require little or no inference about latent traits. The most
obvious of such variables include sex, age, height, and weight.
Differences that require some knowledge and inference are
differences in ethnicity and social economic status. These
obvious group differences are sometimes analyzed in terms of
the more subtle measures of personality and ability or of real

life outcomes (e.g., sex differences in neuroticism, mathematics

ability, or income).
Predictive Validity
Individual differences are important only to the extent that they
make a difference. Does knowing that people differ on a trait X
help in predicting the likelihood of their doing behavior Y? For
many important outcome variables the answer is a resounding
yes. In their review of 85 years of selection in personnel
psychology, Frank Schmidt and John Hunter (Psychological
Bulletin, 1998, 124, 262-274) show how differences in cognitive
ability predict differences in job performance with correlations
averaging about .50 for mid complexity jobs. These correlations
are moderated by job complexity and are much higher for
professional-managerial positions than they are for completely
unskilled jobs. In terms of applications to personnel psychology,
a superior manager (one standard deviation above the mean
ability for managers) produces almost 50% more than an
average manager. These relationships diminish as a function of
years of experience and degree of training. General mental
ability (g) also has substantial predictive powers in predicting
non-job related outcomes, such as likelihood of completing
college, risk for divorce and even risk for criminality.
The non-cognitive measures of individual differences also
predict important real life criteria. Extraversion is highly
correlated with total sales in dollars among salespeople.
Similarly, impulsivity can be used to predict traffic violations.
Conscientiousness, when added to g substantially increases the
predictability of job performance. Although the size of the
correlation is much lower, conscientiousness measured in
adolescence predicts premature mortality over the next fifty
years.
Sources of individual differences
The taxonomic and predictive studies of individual differences
are descriptive organizations of thoughts, feelings, and

behaviors that go together and how they relate to other

outcomes. But this categorization is descriptive rather than
causal and is analogous to grouping rocks in terms of density
and hardness rather than atomic or molecular structure. Causal
theories of individual differences are being developed but are in
a much earlier stage than are the descriptive taxonomies.
Descriptive taxonomies are used to organize the results of
studies that examine genetic bases of individual differences. By
applying structural modeling techniques to the variances and
covariances associated with various family constellations it is
possible to decompose phenotypic trait variance into separate
sources of genetic and environmental variance. The most
common family configurations that are used are comparisons of
identical (monozygotic) with fraternal (dizygotic) twins.
Additional designs include twins reared together or apart, and
biological versus adoptive parents, children and siblings.
Conclusions from behavioral genetics for most personality traits
tend to be similar: Across different designs, with different
samples from different countries, roughly 40-60% of the
phenotypic variance seems to be under genetic control with
only a very small part of the remaining environmental variance
associated with shared family environmental effects. Additional
results suggest that genetic sources of individual differences
remain important across the lifespan. However, this should not
be taken to mean that people do not change as they mature
but rather that the paths one takes through life are similar to
those taken by genetically similar individuals.
Genes do not code for thoughts, feelings or behavior but rather
code for proteins that regulate and modulate biological
systems. Although promising work has been done searching for
the biological bases of individual differences it is possible to
sketch out these bases only in the broadest of terms. Specific
neurotransmitters and brain structures can be associated with a
broad class of approach behaviors and positive affects while
other neurotransmitters and structures can be associated with
a similarly broad class of avoidance behaviors and negative
effects. Reports relating specific alleles to specific personality

traits emphasize that the broad personality traits are most

likely under polygenic influence and are moderated by
environmental experience.
Subtle differences in neurotransmitter availability and re-uptake
vary the sensitivity of individuals to cues about their
environment that predict future resource availability and
external rewards and punishments. It is the way these cues are
detected, attended to, stored, and integrated with previous
experiences that makes each individual unique. Current work
on the bases of individual differences is concerned with
understanding this delicate interplay of biological propensities
with environmental opportunities and constraints as they are
ultimately represented in an individual's information processing
system. With time we can expect to increase our taxonomic and
predictive power by using these causal bio-social theories of
individual differences.