School Management: Meaning, Concept, and features

 School Management

School management refers to the administration, organization, and coordination of activities within an educational institution. It encompasses various tasks such as strategic planning, resource allocation, curriculum development, staff recruitment and supervision, student discipline, facilities, maintenance, budgeting, and overall decision-making to ensure the efficient operation and effectiveness of the school.

Effective School Management aims to create a conducive environment for teaching and learning while meeting the educational needs and goals of students, teachers, parents, and the community.

School management means running the school along the desired educational policies. It takes into account all aspects of the school (policies, material and human resources, programmes, activities, equipment, etc.) and integrates them into a fruitful whole. In simple words it means managing the affairs of a school.

Concept of School Management

The school management system is a large database system and can be used for managing any school’s day to day business. It is the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the activities of an institution utilizing human and material resources so as to effectively and efficiently accomplish the function of teaching, extension work and research for the purpose of achieving the aims and goals of school.

The concept of school management encompasses the principles, strategies, and practices involved in effectively running and educational institution. It involves the coordination of various elements such as human resources, financial resources, curriculum development, infrastructure, and community relations to ensure smooth Functioning  of the school and the achievement of its educational goals.

At its core, School Management involves: 

Leadership: Providing visionary leadership to set the direction and goals for the school, inspiring and motivating staff, students, and stakeholders towards achieving excellence in education.

Planning: Developing short-term and long-term plans for curriculum implementation, resource allocation, staff development, and infrastructure improvements to meet the needs of students and achieve educational objectives.

Organisation: Establishing efficient organisational structures and systems for the allocation of responsibilities, communication channels, decision-making processes, and workflow management to ensure smooth operations.

Coordination: Coordinating the efforts of teachers, administrative staff, students, parents, and the community to create a collaborative learning environment conducive to academic success and holistic development.

Administration: Managing administrative tasks such as enrolment, scheduling, attendance tracking, assessment, grading, and record-keeping to maintain accurate and up-to-date information for decision-making and reporting purposes.

Human Resource Management: Recruiting, training, supervising, and evaluating teachers and staff to ensure high standards of teaching, professional development, and job satisfaction.

Financial Management: Developing and managing budgets, securing funding, allocating resources efficiently, and maintaining financial accountability to support the school's educational programs and operational needs.

Evaluation and Improvement: Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of educational programs, instructional practices, and administrative processes through regular assessments, feedback mechanisms, and data analysis to identify areas for improvement and implement appropriate changes.

Definition of School management

There is no single accepted definition of educational management as its development has drawn heavily on several disciplines like economics, sociology and political science. But some specialists in this area have propounded their views in the form of giving their definitions on educational management which are given below:

Paul Monroe (1913) - “School management, as a body of educational doctrine, comprises a number of principles and precepts relating primarily to the technique of classroom procedure and derived largely from the practice of successful teachers”.

Shelly Umana - “Management is a method of operation and good management should result in an orderly integration of education and society”.

 Features of School Management: 

1.     Objective Based: It means to attain the objectives of education and schooling.

2.  Quality of Education: Good school management is concerned with the quality of education being given in schools.

3.   The best use of resources: In order to promote efficient functioning of the school, it makes the best possible use of the material resources.

4.   Joint Enterprise: It involves the joint enterprise all the personnel connected with the school – Teacher, supervisors, pupils, parents etc.

5.   Professional growth: It brings out the best in the teacher and supervisors and takes steps to promote their professional growth.

6.    Continuous process: It is a continuous process. It always concerned with improvement and development of the institution.

Input–Output Model: It works on the input-output model. It takes into account the efforts made and the outcomes achieved.