Issues Involved In Administering Educational Assessment In the era of evolution and throughout the development of the importance of the educational administration it relate to consequences which has been identified with the help of scientists and practitioners as both a science and an art. As an art, it is believed that administration is communicated by perceptions, sensibilities and intuitions. The administrator as a performer tries to produce new realities and to determine others as he or she enacts the surrounding environment. As a science, the administration is intended by a perceptive of schedules, structure, power and systems (Qureshi, 2005). As a science the administrator analyzes and collects information, infers causality, assesses relationships, and tests and generates hypotheses. Trying to lead without the help of the art is normally sterile; difficult to guide without science is normally ineffective. Good administrators are probably both scientists and artists are able to incorporate the two ways of believing and of processing data. The art of instructive supervision is as new as the modern school (Dutton & Snedden, 2007). Classical organizational thinking, also expected administrative management theory, started out with scientific analysis of efficiency and work, and afterwards dealt with principles and concepts of administrative theory, such as authority, hierarchical structure, rationality and procedures. Some considers on higher education institutions analyzed differences and similarities between educational institutions and other types of organizations. Some accomplished that universities and colleges were hard to administrate because they are dissimilar from other organizational systems. For instance, according to Gist, (2006) stated that higher education institutions are guided as prepared anarchy; According to Strike, Haller, & Soltis (2005) pointed out that such educational areas are droopily attached organizations because they present quantitative and qualitative disparities in processes, structure, and goals. This diversified structure of institutions was an administrative fact worthy of circumstance.
Stoke, for example, summarized that “considerate the conflicts between introductions is a significant key to successful administration”. Diverse academicians, convinced that colleges and universities are very different from other organizations, claimed that organization tools and techniques applied in ordinary corporations are not appropriate for universities and colleges (Gist 2006). Others determined that any transfer of management techniques and procedures taken from translated and industry to supervision in higher education would be infeasible because many of these procedures, typically, inhibited creativity and initiative.
The Special Education Administrator
The term "administrator of special education for exceptional children" is used to designate the school official directly in charge of the special education program. Regardless of the title, the job entails organizing the special education program, equipping the structures with adequate classrooms, employing specially trained classroom teachers, ensuring the proper placement of pupils who are not able to attend regular classes because of various handicaps, ensuring that a special academic instruction based on individual differences such as speech correction and any prescribed therapy speech, hearing, occupational, and physical therapist, etc. (Strike, Haller, & Soltis, 2005).
Most of the studies gathered determine who administers the special education programs (both in the public and private sector), what their functions are in regard to both administration and special education teachers, how much time they devote to the program, and whether they are administrators or supervisors.
Stoops and Rafferty, (2008) did a research on what constructs a good school-based interviewed and teachers, parents, support staff, and students from a quantity of school communities in North Carolina. The results of the study indicate that there are distinctiveness frequent across school levels and community demographics such are: the principal should be available and build “a community of caring” where students experience at home, there is an air of connection, sense of teamwork, a family atmosphere, and frequent celebrations so work becomes fun for everyone. Gist, (2006) further explained that the administrator must treat the teachers, cafeteria staffs, custodians, and office staff as professionals; give the staff a "big picture" understanding of the students’ needs and let them know that they are valued for the work they are doing for the children.
Dutton and Snedden, (2007)adds that they develop leaders and do not micro-manage; they work diligently to assure that their teachers are furnished to be leadership in the classroom; and they "distribute" leaders as they serve as important mentors to assistant teacher and administrative leaders to realize the vision of the school.
Special education administrators play an important role in the education of disabled students. They are responsible for overseeing programs and services for students with learning, physical, behavioral or linguistic disorders (Lindsay, 2005). Additional job duties in the field range from ensuring adherence to federal, state and local special education regulations to helping teachers provide the unique services special education students need.
Administration Theories
Theories which related to organizational development, administration, and the behavioral disciplines have supplied qualitative knowledge and patterns, including originative problem-solving, force-field analysis, team building, brainstorming, nominal group technique, goal-setting, management by objectives, theory “x” and “y,” correspond lists, analyzes of democratic management, empowerment, job evaluation, and management information system (MIS) (Strayer and Engelhardt, 2008). On the other hand, statistics, management science, and quantitative conditions have also provided quantitative methodologies, including network analysis (program evaluation review technique, critical path method), forecasting (path analysis, regression, and time series), cost-benefit analysis, optimization (assignment, linear programming, and transportation), significance testing, simulation, sensitivity analysis, total quality management and benchmarking.
Educational administrators are being mostly challenged by dilapidated resources. Strategies and prescriptions for production with fiscal crises in elevated edification are many, ranging from downsizing to reformation, from intellectual program evaluation to strategic planning, from promotion to total quality management, and from system explanation to prospectus discontinuation and consolidation (Stoops and Rafferty, 2008). An increasing number of educational and administrative problems confronting universities and colleges have become involved and so complex, with so many achievable solutions, that it is very complicated, or approximately impracticable, to choose instinctively the best solutions within an organizational network.
Behavioral individuals have indicated that decision-makers confronted with composite problems cannot find, and possibly should not seek, the best potential solutions.
To help administrators increase their awareness and sensitivity with issues that affect their interaction in the school, Strike, Haller, & Soltis, (2005) conducted a survey with students with special needs, their teachers, and their parents in the school district. The study concluded that administrators who would like to become more competent with curriculum delivery issues must participate fully in the planning processes of the IEP and IFSP because by engaging in this process it signals its importance and administrators gain a more complete understanding of the curricular issues that face parents such as: tasks that are too difficult for the child; homework assignments that are too long and that require prerequisite skills; implementation strategies that work and should be continued; teachers who are either unwilling or unable to make accommodations for students with special needs (Dutton and Snedden, 2007).
The major barrier seems to be lack of systematic and sustained programs for professional development in special education tailored to the needs of the special education administrator or principal. Therefore, educational leaders must be knowledgeable of the special education placement continuum to ensure that students receive instruction in the environment that will maximize their academic and social skills. In order to eliminate increasing challenges and to maximize quality of services provided to children with disabilities, it is vital to prepare school leaders and administrators with sound knowledge based in special education (Kenneth and Jonas, 2005). Course work in the foundations of special education and legal aspects of special education along with advocacy for children with special needs ought to become a core area in school leadership preparation.
Administrative function
Communication is very crucial in the effective administration of special education programs based on the study conducted by Strike, Haller, & Soltis, (2005). (Dutton and Snedden, 2007) study was intended to explore faster means of communicating and providing immediate alerts for any condition that sanction school administrators in treatment complicated events and assuring parents that the school has good protection management. The author experienced the K12 Alerts, an inventive emergency messaging software service created by T. Gregory Bender that offers email, text-to-cell-phone, and telephone voice alert messaging solutions for schools to communicate significant alert communication to staff and parents in a substance of minutes; real-time tragedy messages comprise school closings, weather alerts, bomb alerts, virus alerts, bomb alerts, etc (Gist, 2006). The study concluded that the K12 Alerts not only serves those with special needs but was also very useful for typical children in regular public schools.
Several administrative issues which relate to education is very complicated the issues related to teacher and student understanding and environmental factors some time make a large vacuum between teacher and the administrator of the institutions. It is very clear that teachers have a great responsibility to build the nations if the teacher will not manage and develop the practical prospective in the education it would be not possible to create a outstanding nation in the world (Strike, Haller, & Soltis, 2005). After the parents, it the teachers grate responsibility to develop positive and creative approach in the students which would be helpful for them. It is the accountability of the administrators to employ and make possible the effective instructors to students and it is also the responsibility of the students to prove their skills and knowledge in the creative works.
The main objective of most schools is to facilitate their students to attain their social and academic possible. Schools help produce social standards and have an important dependability in educating against prejudice and ignorance. Once educations realize the very serious effects prejudice and violence related to sexuality then the obligation of schools is clear. Schools must act to remove anti-homosexual injustices and prejudices, and support social acceptance for all of their students (Dutton and Snedden, 2007).
Schools should have an obligation to assure that their social environments and learning are not dangerous to few students based on their real or supposed homosexual orientations. Students who have experienced inequity and taunting have a legal and moral right to anticipate independence from such annoyance, and teachers would have a moral and legal responsibility to guarantee such inequity is rapidly addressed.
According to the study conducted by Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon (2003); there are three primary areas of supervisory characteristics identified as essential features to success: (1) effective communication, (2) strong interpersonal skills, and (3) effective managerial and technical skills for evaluation of programs and particular teaching personnel. The objective of the research was to analysis the first two areas of supervisory focus: enhancing “human” relationships with the staff using effective communication strategies and managing special education programs using a survey on the interpersonal skills of special education administrators with the staff in the school district (Strike, Haller, & Soltis, 2005). The findings indicated that the scope of supervisory models ranged from: an attempt to control the whole school specifically teachers’ instructional behaviors, to a more collegial relationship whereby supervisors shared leadership with teachers and other personnel.
Supporting the Teaching Staff
The goal for the administrator is to find ways to change the environment and the methods that teachers might use within classrooms, instead of making a preemptive decision. Other supports to special education teachers can include common planning with general educators, additional time during the school day for paperwork, reduction of school-wide duties (e.g., cafeteria duty), and careful control of caseloads (Gist, 2006). Likewise, special education administrators must have a great reservoir of energy for participating in school activities, working with teachers, reading educational research to evaluate techniques which will permit their instructor to make a distinction in their classrooms, production with student regulation, and communicate with parents and others in the community.
The Teaching Personnel
Regular and SPED Teachers daily encounter students with varying needs in their classroom. Regular students and those with exceptionality have their respective strengths and weaknesses to which the teachers must be sensitive to address. This is especially true in an inclusive setting, thus, regular and SPED Teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and attitude are essential for the achievement of inclusion (Strike, Haller, & Soltis, 2005). Teachers generally favor inclusion, but their willingness to implement inclusive practices depends on the availability of supports and resources, as well as the attitudes of school personnel.
Stoops and Rafferty, (2008) conducted a phenomenological study of the experiences of special education teachers who choose to change careers by randomly interviewing respondents in the Newfoundland, Canada. The research showed that job satisfaction of special education teachers is defined by a number of factors: administrative and colleague support, workload, training, student discipline problems, excessive paperwork, and stress; it also demonstrated that while but while these factors are not unique to the area of special education there are certain aspects of the responsibilities and roles of exceptional learning teachers that affect job satisfaction that are unique and indicating a more global concern in the field of education in the school system (Gist, 2006). The paper also outlined that the primary causes of job dissatisfaction for special education teachers lies not in the instructional duties but in the non-instructional duties of special education teachers.
Problems encountered, Stress and coping mechanisms of SPED Teachers. The following studies discuss particular problems encountered that ultimately caused stress to special education teachers and talks about the coping mechanisms employed in their working environment and/or as a result of their performance in their jobs (Dutton and Snedden, 2007). The local studies did not only identify particular problem areas but they also investigated the correlation of the problems with coping behaviors and also looked into the different effects between the teachers from other countries, regular and special schools, as well as those in the public and private schools.
In another study done by Strike, Haller, & Soltis, (2005) to identify and compare the problems encountered by 32 public and 35 private SPED school teachers in the Manila and Quezon City area who are teaching communication to non-verbal children with autism; a descriptive-comparative method of research was used. To achieve the objectives of the study, a researcher-devised questionnaire (duly validated by SPED experts and education professors) was administered comprised of three parts which contained items that provided their profile, the problems encountered and strategies utilized in teaching communication to CWA.
The findings indicated that SPED teachers in both the public and private schools found it difficult to handle non-verbal CWA basically because they have attention and behavior problems; however, the study found no significant difference between the problems encountered by the SPED teachers from both schools (Gist, 2006). It showed that the strategies utilized by all the respondents had a significant difference; particularly, there was a negligible correlation between the problems encountered by public and private school SPED teachers and the teaching strategies they employed; thus, the study suggests that training for teachers must be given to enrich their knowledge and competencies in handling such type of children.
It is significant that any building and district studying more comprehensive exercises take the time requirement to plan successfully. Attention to special education staff and students alone is only half an approach. Planning should necessitate all stakeholders in exploring, discoursing and analyzing the entire educational program. Real inclusion necessitates restructuring of a school 's whole requires and program invariable estimation of results and practices.
More inclusive research must be done as addition gets more widespread. Constant expression is necessity if people constantly expect to be able to create clear conclusions about which particular plans will help children to become happy, contributing society and it citizens.
References
American Association for Health, Physical Education (2004) Current administrative problems: athletics, health education, physical education, recreation. Publisher. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation. 61-64
Chapman, J.D. (2006) School-based decision-making and management. Publisher. Taylor & sFrancis. 214-217.
Dutton, S.T., Snedden, D. (2007) The administration of public education in the United Kingdom. Publisher. Macmillan. 171-178.
Greisen, M.J. (2007) Elementary school administrative problems dealing with bilingual education. Publisher. Central Washington University. 167-169.
Gist, A.S. (2006) The administration of an elementary school. Publisher. C. Scribner 's Sons. 119-121.
Lindsay, E.E. (2005) Problems in school administration: with emphasis on fiscal and personnel phases. Publisher. The Macmillan company. 134-138.
Pruthi, R.K. (2005) Public Administration Problems And Perspectives. Publisher. Discovery Publishing House. 116-118.
Qureshi, H. (2005) Modern School Education. Publisher. Anmol Publications. 164-168.
Roemer, J. (2008) Problems in high school administration. Publisher. Mimeographed and printed by Edwards brothers. 223-227.
Stoops, E., Rafferty, M.L. (2008) Practices and trends in school administration. Publisher. Ginn. 217-219.
Strayer, G.D., Engelhardt, N.L. (2008) Problems in educational administration. Publisher. Teachers College, Columbia University. 261-267.
Strike, K.A., Haller, E.J., Soltis, J.F. (2005) The ethics of school administration. Professional Ethics. Publisher. Teachers College Press. 88-91.
References: American Association for Health, Physical Education (2004) Current administrative problems: athletics, health education, physical education, recreation. Publisher. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation. 61-64 Chapman, J.D Dutton, S.T., Snedden, D. (2007) The administration of public education in the United Kingdom. Publisher. Macmillan. 171-178. Greisen, M.J. (2007) Elementary school administrative problems dealing with bilingual education. Publisher. Central Washington University. 167-169. Gist, A.S. (2006) The administration of an elementary school. Publisher. C. Scribner 's Sons. 119-121. Lindsay, E.E. (2005) Problems in school administration: with emphasis on fiscal and personnel phases. Publisher. The Macmillan company. 134-138. Pruthi, R.K. (2005) Public Administration Problems And Perspectives. Publisher. Discovery Publishing House. 116-118. Qureshi, H. (2005) Modern School Education. Publisher. Anmol Publications. 164-168. Roemer, J. (2008) Problems in high school administration. Publisher. Mimeographed and printed by Edwards brothers. 223-227. Stoops, E., Rafferty, M.L. (2008) Practices and trends in school administration. Publisher. Ginn. 217-219. Strayer, G.D., Engelhardt, N.L. (2008) Problems in educational administration. Publisher. Teachers College, Columbia University. 261-267. Strike, K.A., Haller, E.J., Soltis, J.F. (2005) The ethics of school administration. Professional Ethics. Publisher. Teachers College Press. 88-91.
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