Staff Development Program Group Meetings and Leadership Conference

Ariel C. Manuel
Reporter

Staff development refers to the process whereby employees of an organization enhance their knowledge and skills in directions that are advantageous to their role in the organization.
 O’Leary (1997) argued that staff development activity has to be outcome and process oriented.
 Collett and Davidson (1997) suggested that a significant component of staff development is to facilitate change on a personal, professional and institutional level.
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Webb (1996) highlighted the need for human understanding and recognition that the feelings, emotions, humanity and ‘being’ of the people involved play an important part in staff development. This ‘being’ of the people was reinforced by Thornton and
McEntee (1998) who viewed staff development as self development guided by critical questions and practiced within frameworks that can lead to meeting the needs of all persons involved in the process.

Supervision can be viewed as a process of managing functions intended to promote the achievement of institutional goals and to enhance the personal and professional capabilities of staff.
 Supervision interprets the institutional mission and focuses human and fiscal resources on the promotion of individual and organizational competence.
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Functions of Supervision - Supervision is not always easy. A supervisor is often called upon to make decisions based upon the knowledge and skills which have been acquired through the years of professional involvement. A supervisor must serve many functions. Among these are:
Articulating and achieving the unit's missions and needs
Monitoring and managing the unit
Fostering individual development
Developing teamwork capabilities and group resources Coordinating work activities

Staff development can be viewed as the activities and programs (formal or informal and on or off campus) that help staff members learn about responsibilities.
 Develop required skills and competencies necessary to accomplish institutional and divisional goals and purposes, and
 Grow personally and professionally to prepare themselves for advancement in the institution or beyond the campus.
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In-service education is an institutional activity provided for one reason only: to improve the quality and productivity of the institution. The way an in-service program is carried out may foster the growth and development of the employees and give the individual employee a sense of self-direction, achievement, and even self-actualization.
A shared problem-solving process of working for the improvement of an educational program.  In-service

education is needed to meet the needs of a changing society and to take into account the ever developing educational insights in the country.
 The new insights into the learning and teaching processes and the rapid changes in educational practices make imperative a continuous growth inservice or re-education of a large number of our educational personnel.

1. Progress in the art of teaching is the real goal of in-service education.
2. The work of the teacher in the classroom and in the related activities of the school and the community should be the most important single course of problems which form the basis of inservice education.
3. The desire to grow professionally should come from within.

4. The major motivating factor for in-service growth should be the desire to meet fully one’s responsibility as a teacher.
5. The desire for professional improvement must be based on the spirit of service.
6. The in-service education must utilize democratic principles.

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principal who promotes growth among his teachers recognizes first the need of his own professional growth and accept the responsibility for self improvement.
 He should be able to recognize and identify school problems.
 He plans and work cooperatively with his teachers.  The

supervisor is responsible for active participation in leadership at the level he serves.
 He is responsible for discovering and developing leadership among teachers and for coordinating the work of the entire school personnel in the improvement of instruction.
 The supervisor is responsible for making the program of the supervisory unit a functional part of an in-service education program for teachers. Six Kinds of Duties with Reference to In-Service Education
1. He plans with individuals and groups to develop policies and programs in various academic fields.
2. He makes decisions, coordinates the work of others, and gives directions.
3. Through conferences and consultations, he seeks to improve the quality of instruction.

4. He participates directly in the formulation of objectives, selection of school experiences, preparation of teaching guides, and in the selection of instructional aids.
5. He gives and arranges for classroom demonstrations of teaching methods, use of aids, and other direct help to classroom teachers. 6. Through systematic surveys, experiments, and studies, he explores current conditions and recommends changes in practice.

 Demonstration

Teaching
 Teachers’ or Faculty Meeting
 Individual or Group Conference
 Intervisitation
 Bulletins
 Summer Classes
 Workshops

The chief purpose of this administrative and supervisory device is to show observers how to do it, “to present sound and approved methods or procedures, techniques, and devices”.
 Demonstration by competent supervisors or teachers is a means of showing how certain method actually works.
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1. Determining

the specific needs or weaknesses of the teachers to be met by demonstration. 2. Selecting and preparing the demonstrator to present competently the desired demonstration. 3. Preparing and guiding the observers for the demonstration. 4. Follow up the demonstration.

A faculty meeting held regularly is the most common device used in the country by school administrators, supervisors and superintendent to increase the efficiency of teachers and to acquaint the staff with school routine.
 Others utilize the teachers’ meeting for discussion of professional matters of current importance to the school.
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1. Discussions

of administrative policies, bulletins, circulars, and other professional problems within the school.
2. Discussions of problems pertaining to professional growth or in-service training.
3. Critical discussion of failing students.
4. Announcements and explanations of administrative and supervisory organization and regulations 5. Reports of the outstanding achievements of individual school or district.

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Social Meeting- a recreational affair which serves to develop mutual understanding and friendliness among the teaching force.
Administrative Meeting- matters pertaining to school organization, routine matters, public relation and pupil accounting are presented and discussed.
Supervisory Meeting- only supervisory matters pertaining to the teaching and learning situation are discussed in this meeting The purposes of the conference will be determined by the problems in teaching and in supervision.
 The method of talking things over is one of the useful methods in leadership.
 Suggestions, reactions, and criticisms arising from classroom observation are good sources of discussion for conference.
 In most cases a certain degree of privacy is essential. 

Individual or group conference calls for democratic leadership.
 The aim of a conference is not to tell but to discuss; therefore it should not be hurried.
 Knowledge, technique, tact, sympathy – all of these are brought into action.
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The conference should be well planned to inspire, to instruct, and to develop the critical self-analysis of classroom problems.
2. The conference should be definite, businesslike and yet friendly to a high degree.
3. The conference should not be put under time pressure. 4. The conference should inspire the teachers with renewed interest and enthusiasm.
5. Results of the conference should be summarized. 1.

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This supervisory device gives teachers time to visit and observe schools or classes other than their own.
It serves to emphasize that there are number of good ways to use similar subject-matter.
The visiting teacher in not, however, expected to adopt the teaching he observes but to gather suggestions for ways of working, and to adopt them to his abilities, and to the needs and conditions of the learning situations with which he works.

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Bulletins are used to communicate with the teachers without calling a meeting.

TWO TYPES OF BULLETINS
1. Administrative – provide instructions to teachers regarding routine matters of the school, appraisal of school work, and school organization. 2. Supervisory – used to raise teaching standards and level of achievement.

The greatest impetus to insure the improvement of teachers through summer studies is provided by the Bureau of Public and Private Schools.
 These help to broaden the professional outlook of teachers during summer.
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Basically refers to a group of people working together on their own which may be either occupational or academic in character.
It is concerned with the needs and problems of the participants. The materials and ideas developed in workshops are useful in school situations.

Thank You!