School Head as The Cultivator of Change
Gretchen C. Puyot
The beginning of change in schools frequently start with the status quote from a particular complaint or disappointment. Yet it is important to turn immediate interest and unhappiness into an appeal for improvement. It is often not a popular act to raise issues that point out organizational deficiencies or dysfunctions, as it sometimes threatens the confusion of established norms. It is particularly valid when others find the company in question to be doing well. Calling for change requires the school head’s courage and commitment to overcome the pressure of organizational conformity.
School heads have a key role to play in fostering organizational improvements. You recognize that it is an important factor in school life, given the confusion and distress that organizational change entails. Good administrators are embracing improvement, instead of resisting it. They work by words and action to strengthen the awareness and embrace of change by the organization, and the willingness to identify and build on opportunities for improvement. They cultivate organizational environments that encourage and promote the ideation of change.
Common acts school heads take as the cultivators of improvement include: •Educate your school stakeholders on the value of change and on stability •Make improvement proposal in a regular part of the managerial job
•Keep frequent reports of the success of the school
•Formalize the cycle of shifting concept
•Encourage and celebrate participation in the ideation process of change •Support those who want to ask concerns and suggest reforms
•Reward those whose proposals for reform contribute to effective organization’s changes
•Show a poor tolerance for those who prevent us from increasing concerns and propose improvements
•Play the role of historians and storytellers of transformation, ensuring that the organization's contribution is recognized
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The author is Teacher III at San Leon Primary School, Moncada North
District