Educational management (PDE 5111)
Bureaucratic
principle is one of the principles of educational management which can be
referred as the orderly arrangement of manpower, money, and materials and using
them effectively to achieve institutional goals and objectives. These
principles were propounded by a German Sociologist , Max Weber (1946).
Characteristics
of bureaucratic principles include:
-Stipulated Rules and Regulation
-Division of Labour
-Hierarchy of authority
-Impersonality in Official matters
-Employment and promotion of staff based on technical knowledge
-Emphasis on Written Documents
Relating the above characteristics to school management;
STIPULATED RULES AND REGULATIONS:
Rules and regulations are very important in school management
because it will cover the rights and duties of staff and curb human excesses.
In schools, rules and regulation should cover curricular and co-curricular
activities to guide the limit of activity of everyone, teachers, students, and
school community as a whole. Early resumption of duty cannot be overemphasized.
It is a good reflection of level of discipline and commitment to work. It also
serves to inculcate this fundamental quality in the pupils and as such making
them better persons in the near future. There should be minimum decorum or
moderation in dressing amongst teachers and students. Furthermore, the school
should charge and empower the members of the ‘Parents-Teachers Association
(P.T.A)’ to ensuring these. Lack of stipulated rules and regulations will lead
to disorganisation, indiscipline and inability to achieve set goals and
objectives of the school.
DIVISION OF LABOUR:
Contribution of every cadre of individual is necessary in
ensuring proper running of the school. Even the pupils have a greater role to
play. This becomes apparent has Max Weber believes in job allocation according
to expertise. In school system, the school administrator should ensure that
both academic and non academic staff is assigned curricular and co curricular
activities according to their specialization and interest to enhance
performance and achieve meaningful output in the school programmes. Every one
shoul
HIERARCH OF AUTHORITY:
Weber bureaucracy contends that the school system should have
hierarchical arrangement. The seniority pattern would make the staff know the
person they are directly responsible to, the person to report to or seek
permission from. In a bureaucratic organisation, command and request areas are
supposed to follow hierarchical pattern of upward movement for request and
downward movement for command but this is not strictly applicable in school
system because of the schools. For example a principal can send a memo directly
to the teacher without necessary passing through the vice principal or the Head
of department, on the other hand, a teacher can pass his request straight to
the principal without necessarily passing it through his head of department. In
school administration, hierarchy of authority help to maintain orderliness and
discipline.
IMPERSONALITY IN OFFICIAL MATTERS:
The bureaucratic principle demands that an official should
avoid personal interest, sentiments or biases in the way he relates with
organizational members and others in official matters. There should be
separation of the property belonging to the organization from personal
property. In school management, this principle often brings about dilemma and
crises if not properly handled. For example in a school where the members of
the staff decides to improve the moral standard of the school by expelling any
pupil who misbehaves, what will happen if the only child of the principal
misbehaves?
Employment and Promotion of staff based on Technical
knowledge:
In school management, employment and promotion of staff
should be based on their qualification and competence. This is to enhance
quality of education in schools and properly achieve set goals and objectives
at appropriate time. There should be considerations of the influence of
politics in the appointment and promotion of staff in school.
EMPHASIS ON WRITTEN DOCUMENT:
Proper documentation is of high necessity in the school
system. The school administrator should be responsible for keeping essential
records like the log book, cash book, etcetera, because such records reflect
the history, traditions and financial position of the school, and they are for
future use. He/she should also take proper account of teacher’s records of
services to prevent lacking important information especially those that are for
future use.