Institutional climate and
group dynamics
Institutional climate
Institutional climate refers to
factors that contribute to the tone and attitudes staff and students and other
stake-holders in the institution. Positive institution climate is associated
with well managed classrooms and common areas, high and clearly stated
expectations concerning individual responsibility, feeling, safe at
institutions, and teachers and staff that consistently acknowledge all students
and fairly address their behaviour.
Institutional environments vary greatly. Whereas some institutions
feel friendly, inviting and supportive, others feel exclusionary, unwelcoming,
and even unsafe. The feelings and attitudes that are elicited by and
institution’s environment are referred to as institutional climate. Although it
is difficult to provide a concise definition for institutional climate, most
researchers agree that it is a multidimensional construct that includes
physical, social, and academic dimensions.
The physical dimension includes.
Appearance of the institution
(Infrastructure and its classrooms)
Institutions size and ratio of
students to teachers in the classroom
Order and organization of
classrooms in the institution.
Availability of resources.
Safety and comfort.
The social dimension includes.
Ø Quality of interpersonal relationships between and among students,
teachers, and staff
Ø Equitable and fair treatment of students by teachers and staff.
Ø Degree of competition and social comparison between students.
Ø Degree to which students, teachers, and staff contribute to
decision-making at the institution.
The academic dimension
includes
Þ
Quality of instruction.
Þ
Teacher expectations for
student achievement.
Þ
Monitoring student progress and
promptly reporting results to students and parents.
Impact and influence of
institutional climate in the teaching learning process
Welcoming and conducive physical environment
ü School building contains a limited number of students.
ü Classrooms are orderly.
ü Classrooms and grounds are clean and well-maintained.
ü Noise level is low.
ü Areas for instruction and activities are appropriate for those uses.
ü Classrooms are visible and inviting.
ü Staff members have sufficient textbooks and supplies.
Healthy and hearty social environment encourage
ü Interaction is encouraged. Teachers and students actively
communicate. Teachers are collegial. Student groupings are diverse. Parents and
teachers are partners in the educational process.
ü Decisions are made on-site, with the participation of teachers.
ü Staff is open to students suggestions; students have opportunities
to participate in decision making.
ü Staff and students are trained to prevent and resolve conflicts.
Affective and positive environment.
v Interaction of teachers and staff with all students is caring,
responsive, supportive, and respectful.
v Students trust teachers and staff.
v Morale is high among teachers and staff.
v Staff and students are friendly.
v The school is open to diversity and welcoming to all cultures.
v Teachers, staff and students are respected and valued.
v Teachers, staff and students feel that they are contributing to the
success of the school.
v There is a sense of community. The school is respected and valued by
teachers, staff, students and families.
v Parents perceive the school as warm, inviting and helpful.
Motivating academic environment
Ø There is an emphasis on academics, but all types of intelligence and
competence are respected and supported. Teaching methods respect the different
ways children learn.
Ø Expectations are high for all students. All are encouraged to
succeed.
Ø Progress is monitored regularly.
Ø Results of assessments are promptly communicated to students and
parents.
Ø Results of assessments are used to evaluate and redesign teaching
procedures and content.
Ø Achievements and performance rewarded and praised.
Ø Teachers are confident and knowledgeable.
Approaches to improve the institutional climate
Promoting a
safe orderly environment
v Maintain buildings in good physical condition.
v Reward students for appropriate behaviour.
v Enforce consequences for inappropriate behaviour.
v Use contracts with students to reinforce behavioural expectations.
v Post behavioural policies on bulletin boards, periodically announce
them over the public address system.
v Initiate anti-bullying, conflict resolution and peer mediation programs.
v Engage students, staff and parents in planning school safety
activities.
v Increase number and accessibility of counselors, social workers, and
mentors.
v Create anonymous tip lines or suggestion boxes for reporting
potentially dangerous situations or providing ideas to improve school climate.
v Provide more in-school options to “blow off steam”
v Develop strategies to ensure safety during lunch periods and between
classes; provide more structured activities during lunch hour.
v Provide accommodation or time-out rooms throughout the day.
Facilitating
interaction and relationships
Ø Build smaller middle and high schools.
Ø Use smaller teacher-student ratios.
Ø Use team teaching.
Ø Provide for small group activities.
Ø Provide multiple and varied opportunities to participate in
extracurricular activities.
Promoting a
positive affective environment
ü Use summer school rather than retention in grade for failing
students.
ü Promote co-operation rather than competition; avoid winners and
losers.
ü Assure that every student has an active connection to at least one
adult in the school.
ü Provide professional development on such issues as cultural and
class differences, emotional needs of other children, parental environment, and
bullying and harassement.
Factors that influence
institutional climate
v Order and discipline
v Achievement motivation.
v Quality and number of students.
v Student interpersonal relationships.
v Quality of interactions between teachers and students; among staff.
v Students’ and teachers’ perception of their school environment, or
the school’s personality
v Environmental factors (such as the physical buildings and
classrooms, and materials used for instruction)
v Academic performance.
v Feelings of safeness and school size.
v Feelings of trust and respect for students and teachers.
v Parent involvement.
Role of principal in
providing positive institutional climate
Ø Supportive behaviour.
Ø Avoids the assignment of meaningless routines and burdensome duties
to teachers.
Ø Allows flexibility and freedom to act independently.
Ø Gives teachers respect and support in both personal and professional
tasks.
Ø Listens and is open to teacher suggestions.
Ø Gives genuine and frequent praise.
Ø Allows teachers freedom to perform without close scrutiny.
Ø Provides facilitating leadership behaviour devoid of bureaucratic
red tape.
Role of teachers in providing
positive institutional climate.
ü
Collegial behaviour.
ü
Teachers help and support each
other.
ü
Teachers respect the
professional competence of their colleagues.
ü
Teachers accomplish their work
with vim, vigour and pleasure.
ü
Teachers have a high level of
team spirit.
ü
Teachers are highly committed
to the work of the institution
ü
Teachers are engaged in
creative efforts, innovation, and change.
ü
Teachers assume a
responsibility for their own personal and professional development.
ü
Understanding student’s need.
ü
Arranging separate class for
children belonging to different mental ages and levels.
ü
Arousing the aptitude of
students in the subject.
ü
Teacher should be a bridge
between students and society.
ü
Teacher should overcome fear
related to discipline and control in the classroom.
How can institutional climate
are improved
Educators and parents have multiple
options to enhance school climate and students’ overall educational experience.
The following is a list of possible interventions to improve school climate.
v Increased parent and community involvement.
v Implementation of character education or the promotion of
fundamental moral values in children.
v Use of violence-prevention and conflict-resolution-curricula.
v Peer mediation.
v Prevention of acts of bullying.
v Teachers and principals students fairly, equally and with respect.
v Provide a safe environment for staff and students.
v Personalization through adopt-a-kid programs, honouring
most-improved students, and block scheduling.
Group Dynamics
Meaning
Group dynamics means the change of
behaviour through interaction in the group.
How to improve group
relationship in the class?
Good group relationship plays an
important role in social learning. The teacher must improve and create
conducive emotional climate and cohesion in the class as a group employing
techniques developed by research workers in the field. The following methods
can be used to improve the classroom climate:
Teacher behaviour
Teacher is a model for the students.
His behaviour should be impartial, his handling of problems should be
psychological. He should provide help to individual students who need it. He
should not tame ‘pets’ or ‘favourites’ because sometimes these so called
‘privileged ones’ become the cause of conflicts among the students of the class
and the teacher. The whole climate of the classroom as a social group is
charged with emotions.
Discussion
To improve the classroom emotional
climate, free discussions should be occasionally arranged for the group. The
suggestions should be invited from students to improve upon the existing
conditions.
Effective communication
Sometimes lack of proper
communication causes disruption in the class. The teacher should help students
to understand each other in formal and informal meeting. They must be
encouraged to meet each other and the teacher freely. If any misunderstanding
is created, it should be immediately clarified. The classroom communication
should be a two-way process. Students should not remain passive listeners in
the class.
Cohesiveness
Teacher should encourage the
feelings of cohesiveness among the members of the class through effective
communication. Through it is a difficult task for the teacher as there are
students of various communities and religious in a class, he should try to
create cohesiveness through his expertise.
Counseling
Recent findings in group dynamics
emphasize the role of counseling to disturbed pupils in the class. Besides
seeking the help from an expert counselor, teacher too can use group counseling
to improve the emotional climate of the class.
Teacher’s role in group
dynamics
Þ
Active observer
Þ
Cooperate with students and
seek their participation in solving problems.
Þ
Have a positive and healthy attitude.
Þ
Active participation than
supervision.
Þ
Facilitator.
Reference:
·
Rao, N.P., Education and Human
Resource Management, New Delhi, APH Publishing Corporation.
·
Chandrasekaran, P. Educational
Planning and Management, New Delhi, Sterling Publishers Private Limited.
·
Sharma R..A , school
management. Meerut
0 comments:
Post a Comment