Problem Analysis in the School

Elena P. Bartolo

The series of challenges in an individual or an organization's existence that come almost at regular intervals offer fullness and sense and dimension to living. Such difficulties are often referred to as problems or questions, and more generally, issues. An issue is a need, an area of growth, a shortcoming, or a nagging frustration about something. It refers to a division of the distance, or difference between what is and what should be, between what requirements are currently being obtained, and the existing management standard of an organization like the school.

School administrators earn their spurs by coping with issues that trigger destructive effort in school operations. And they choose between three possible lines of action: face the problem squarely, run away from the problem or claim there is no problem.

Once a problem occurs, an effort is made to find a solution. A problem left unattended either become more critical or gives rise to other similar issues. Despite long and varied administration experiences, many school heads fail in seeking suitable/effective solutions to the issue. This is because what the solution tackles is not the actual problem but rather the signs thereof. Hence, it appears that its detection is the real crux in dealing with an issue.

Identifying a problem starts with gathering data and sifting them to separate the relevant from the irrelevant information. This is often referred to as specification for the issue. Accordingly, having defined relevant details, the school head may determine the parameters for the problem which help to determine gaps/deviations. It is likely that one relatively simple problem (actually, the main problem consists of several smaller related problems that need attention.

When a certain condition creates many problems, it is important to decide which problems should be dealt with first, either because of their primary significance or because of their solution, the other subsidiary problems would be immediately remedied. The process of primacy-based arrangement of problems includes priority setting.

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The author is ESP-II at Balayang High School