THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM/SCHOOL AS MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The simplest way to fully comprehend each activity, responsibility, outcome and the entire education process is to view it as a productive/ manufacturing company. The processes and activities within a productive company can be summarized into INPUT AND OUTPUT.
INPUT refers to human resources(labourers, supervisors, managers etc) and material resources (raw material, power, plant and machinery), while the OUTPUT refers to finished goods. Juxtaposing the processes and activities with the educational/school system, INPUT refers to, teachers and learning situation and the OUTPUT refers to an educated individual that can fit into the society.
For a manufacturing company to get its desired OUTPUT, it has to put in the required INPUT, hence the need for quality control, standards, employee motivation and maintenance of plant and machinery. If one of the components of the manufacturing company is sloppy or not working to full capacity the desired OUTPUT cannot be achieved and a drop in expected revenue.
Education is a process of being initiated into knowledge and understanding which in turn regulates the recipients’ attitudes, emotions, want and actions. The recipient has to be more than just ‘knowledgeable’, the knowledge has to alter his view of the world, that is, the interpersonal world, the world of social, economic and political institutions. While these knowledge and understanding have to be worthwhile, the process of acquisition must also be ethically defensible. And these processes include all organizational modes in which these processes are promoted. They include the formal, non-formal, informal and casual modes.
Education is a most powerful instrument for social progress. It is the greatest power yet known to man for his own improvement. According to Brembeck (1966), education can heal or kill, bind up or tear apart, lift or deprave. Broadly defined, it is the aggregate of all the processes by means of which a person develops abilities, skills and other forces of behaviour of positive (and sometimes of negative) value in the society in which he lives (Fafunwa, 1982). For us, education is seen as a tool used for the integration of the individual into the society so that he can achieve self-realization, develop national consciousness, promote unity and strive for social, economic, political, scientific, cultural and technological progress (Afe, 1995).
Teaching has existed for ages so that sometimes it is difficult to trace precisely its origin. It is one of the oldest of human activities or occupations. As an activity, it consists of a body of “actions intended to induce learning, through the “conscious and deliberate efforts” by a matured or experienced person to impart knowledge, information, skills, attitudes, beliefs, etc to an immature or less experienced person (Afe, 1998).
“The Teacher” in the educational process refers to the person who instructs to provide the teaching-learning process. He assumes various capacities as educator, instructor, tutor, lecturer, counsellor, professor and so on. He is the mainstay or prime mover of the educational system. According to Aghenta (1991), as an input operator into the educational system, the teacher plays a big role in the conversion of raw materials (particularly students) into finished products i.e. graduates.
Within the school system if the teachers and learning situation are not well organised, or the teachers are not putting enough energy or better still if the teachers display wrong attitudes, the desired outcome of the school system will not be achieved, which is an educated individual.
IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL OUTPUT BY IMPROVING TEACHER ATTITUDE
WHAT IS ATTITUDE?
Attitude is important to understand human behavior. To define what exactly an attitude is, many attempts have been made in literature. Generally it is defined as a complex mental state involving beliefs. Anastasi (1957) defines attitude as a tendency to react in a certain way towards a designed class of stimuli. People’s attitudes towards their profession have an effect on their performance. It is also valid for teaching profession. The quality of education is directly related to the quality of instruction. Teacher is instrumental for better instruction. He is required to have a higher professionalism because of rapidly changing circumstances. He is expected to use the best practices and strategies to meet the challenging demand of his career, which involves imparting knowledge and developing essential skills in the students. A good teacher is expected to be committed to his work and have the ability to take the initiative (Sparks, 1979). Teacher is expected to not only to master the subject and various methods of teaching but also to show that he is capable of selecting the various study materials according to the teaching goals and varied group of pupils. He also possesses the potentials to create a learning environment for the students (Vermunt and Verschaffel, 2000).
Gupta (1996) describes that the task of teachers is central to education. Teachers must transmit to new generation the cultural heritage of society - the knowledge, skills, customs, and attitudes acquired over the years. They must also try to develop in their students the ability to adjust to a rapidly changing world. The effective teacher is capable of creating a desire to learn (Conant, 1993). Teaching is a complex and demanding profession. To sustain their energy and enthusiasm for teaching, teachers need to maintain personal commitment to the job (Day, 2000).
Smith (1990) has claimed that teacher’s personality in the attitudinal sense is a significant factor in teacher’s behaviour and it has great impact on student’s achievement. The teachers must know the art of communication, understanding others and ability to learn from the experiences. They should be able to facilitate learning effectively (Reddy, 1992). Bhatia and Bhatia (1988) describe that the teacher is a servant of the society entrusted with the task of modifying and developing the behavior of the young child for maintaining and improving social patterns. The teacher can render this service to society only if he, above all, is a humanist - a human being in the true sense of the world. He is a person of high ideals and engaging personality. Wright (1987) describes that the primary function of teachers is to motivate the learners who are not motivated and to nurture those who are already well motivated to the task of learning. A teacher is required to have a higher level of professionalism because of rapidly changing circumstances. The importance of teachers’ professional development is being too much emphasized today. Hayon (1989) says that the teachers who posses professional and interpersonal skills are more effective in their classrooms in terms of students behaviour, attitude and achievement. Every individual has a variety of attitudes, which might be positive or negative and can vary according to their favourability and un–favourability for various attitudinal objects. Luthans (1993) says that professional attitude serves in many valuable ways and knowing these attitudes can also serve a lot.
Attitude of teachers largely depends upon their personal characteristics and disposition, both seems to be highly interlinked. The teaching profession requires certain dominant behaviors which show teacher’s intellect, desire to excel, extended professionalism and teaching as a life concern. This is a profession, which exalts service above the personal gains (Goodings et.al., 1995). Teaching involves human nurturance, connectedness, warmth and love (Hargreaves, 1994) and the teacher’s beliefs about his role in caring for the students plays a crucial part in developing the personality of the students (Kelchtermans and Ballet, 2002). Attitude of teachers have also been determined to be influenced by gender (Dodeen, et al., 2003). They found that female teachers have more positive attitude towards teaching profession as compared to male teachers. Flores (2001) explored from the newly graduated teachers that what affects their attitude towards teaching profession. They indicated that social and political control existing over teachers and the profession, in addition to the economic problem. She also reported that the workplace also plays a crucial role in shaping teachers’ attitudes towards teaching, especially behavior of principal, and the nature of the communication with in the school. Teaching is perceived as a difficult job among people. Many reasons can be named for this perception. It can be said that teachers face several difficulties when they start teaching. They start to feel deprived, alone and isolated in the society. It may cause a negative attitude towards the teaching profession. Attitudes of teachers play a crucial role in the teaching profession. Negative attitude of a teacher may have a negative impact on one’s teaching. Smith (1993) has summarized the relationship between teachers’ attitude and teaching as:
TEACHERS’ ATTITUDE TEACHING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND
TOWARDS PROFESSION ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Teachers are expected to be positive role models for their students, both inside and outside the classroom. Rose (2005) has examined the role of educators as role models in formal and informal education, and stressed that role models can expose groups to specific attitudes, lifestyles and outlooks. Children often see teachers as important role models on par with parents (Rose, 2005). According to Carr (2000), teachers, regardless of subject area, have a moral role to play in education. It is the teachers’ duty to be socially acceptable by keeping themselves morally upright, refraining from gambling, abhorring drunkenness and other excesses, and avoiding immoral relations.
Referring to Sava (2001), teachers’ actions could actually have some lasting negative effects on students. Unfortunately, on top of that, Kearney, Plax, Hays and Iveys (1991) reported that researchers often tend to overlook teachers as a potential source of problems in the classroom. Compared to the large body of literature that focuses on positive teacher communication behaviours, fewer studies have been done on negative teacher communication behaviours (Wanzer& McCroskey, 1998).
STRATEGIES FOR A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Everyone’s life – home, school, work, and social – is full of ups and downs. It is normal to feel positive at some times and negative at others. How can you stay positive at work? First, understand what makes up your work attitudes. Then develop ways to help you maintain a positive work attitude.
WORK ATTITUDES
Your work attitudes has three components: attitude toward self, attitude toward work and attitude toward the workplace.
ATTITUDE TOWARDS SELF
The way you feel about yourself has a major effect on how you feel about work. Attitude toward self is called self-esteem. When your self esteem is high, you feel good about yourself. You are self confident; you know you can handle any task that comes your way. Your level of self-esteem affects how you deal with people and situations. When your self-esteem is high you can see other people as equals and co-workers, not threats. It is easier to sympathize with others or be understanding.
When your self-esteem is low, you tend to see people as threats. You might not be able to sympathize with others or be understanding.
ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK
A person’s attitude towards work is often called his or her work ethic. People with a good work ethic feel that work is important. They want to get their work done on time and at a high quality. They don’t expect work to always be easy. They get satisfaction from doing a good job, and they feel that the work is rewarding. People with a good work ethic are willing to pitch in when problems arise and are willing to put in extra hours when asked.
ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE WORKPLACE
Attitude towards the workplace means how you feel about the school or organisation you work for. A positive attitude means that you respect the organisation and the people who work there. You respect the school and you are proud to tell people about your work.
No job is perfect and every job has its ups and downs. It is never easy to be positive all the time. The following are strategies to maintain a positive attitude.
1. EXAMINE YOUR ATTITUDE REGULARLY
Think about your day at work. Think about your relationship with your co-workers, head teacher, and proprietor. Is your attitude positive or negative? Constructive or destructive?
If your attitude is negative, try to determine why. Ask yourself these questions:
· Am I unsuited for my job?
· Are personal problems interfering with my work performance?
· Do I dislike my co-workers or head-teacher?
· How can I change destructive attitudes to constructive ones?
· Do I need more training to perform my task effectively?
Most likely, you will discover one or two areas where you need to adjust your attitude. Ask yourself this questions:
· How would my head-teacher describe me?
· How would my co-worker rate my human relations skills?
2. BALANCE WORK WITH YOUR PERSONAL LIFE
All work and no play is not healthy, and all play and no work is not good either. Only you can decide how to allocate your time and energy. Figure out a balance that works for you. Decide your priorities. When you know your priorities, it is easier to make the decisions that are right for you.
When you are at home, focus on your family and friends. Leave work problems at work. Similarly, when at work, put home problems on a back burner. Focus on your work. If you do not feel stressed about your priorities, it is easier to maintain a positive attitude towards work.
3. FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE
If one aspect of your job gets you down, don’t let it overshadow the positive aspects. Focus on the positive in your work and in your relationships on the job. Remember you can have good working relationships with everyone, even with those who differ from you in many ways. Focus on the values and goals you share, such as building a productive school or department.
4. TURN UNEXPECTED CHANGES INTO OPPORTUNITY
Human beings are creatures of habit. It is the rare person who likes surprises. We are comfortable with the familiar- friends, co-workers, head-teacher, routines, and foods. However, change is an inevitable part of life. If you stay on a job long enough, some unforeseen changes are sure to happen. Head-teacher and co-workers come and go. Your duties change.
Your first reaction to changes at work may be negative. You might not like a new boss or a new assignment. However, you can learn to accept change and remain positive. Focus on what you can learn. Be honest if something is bothering you and talk to your head-teacher or head of department about it. Every new situation can be a learning experience if you are open to learning. What you might learn is how to adapt to something you don’t like. Adopt the attitude that every change presents a new opportunity to grow.
5. EDUCATE YOURSELF
It is tough to be positive if you are having trouble doing your job. Education is the key to being confident about your abilities. You can take courses to keep up with your field. You can read articles and new books by experts in the field. Education is necessary for advancement in any career, even if that is not the case, education is never wasted. Be a lifelong learner. The more you learn, the more confident you become.
6. MAINTAIN YOUR INTEREST
In the first months on a job, you are learning new things. The excitement and challenge keeps you interested and your attitude is positive. As time goes on, you might begin to feel bored. You might feel that you are not being challenged or that work is not much fun as you expected. If this happens, look for ways to regain the interest you once felt. Analyze your duties. Look for areas where you can take more initiative. Come up with new ideas for doing routine tasks.
7. MAINTAIN A SENSE OF HUMOUR
Humour can help your outlook on almost anything. Taking yourself and others too seriously will not solve problems. It may cause you to dwell on mistakes or focus on the negative side of situations that cannot be changed. Having a sense of humour does not mean joking or clowning around. Having a sense of humour means developing the ability to see lighter side of situations. People with a good sense of humour can say just the right thing to make everyone laugh and break the tension. Find someone with a good sense of humour and learn by observation.
8. TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR HEALTH
Poor health habits can affect your job performance and your attitude. The negative effects of poor health habits might not happen immediately, but over time, such habits can reduce your productivity on the job. A steady diet of junk food will sap your energy. Staying up too late every night will affect your ability to be alert the next day. A lack of exercise may result in a build up of tensions and lack of energy. Abuse of alcohol and drug will impair your ability to perform.
9. DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Your attitude and your appearance are related. If you look good, you are more likely to feel good about yourself. Everyone has favourite outfit that can improve a mood instantly. Choose clothes that make you feel good about yourself. Your appearance also affects others’ opinion of you and their reactions to you. Be aware of the dress code for the job. Pay attention to person
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