Application of Systems Approach in the Education sector
Leaders in the education sector can implement the systems approach to lead effectively and manage the institutions. The approach entails integrating all segments of the organization into one system that operates towards achieving a common goal. The different departments in the educational establishments can be likened to different systems in the approach. To manage the institutions effectively, the leaders need to organize the units in such a way they all work towards a shared goal. Although every section in the institution is responsible for a unique role, the result of the work should be directed towards a common goal. Integrating the systems approach in educational organization has a synergy effect (Carter, 2011). This implies that the effort of the whole system or institution is greater than the individual effort of the sub-systems, in this case, departments. After establishing the goals that every department is set to meet, the leaders should ensure that the department members understand the value of their effort to the success of the institution. The adoption of the systems approach in the education sector is crucial to being successful in the ever-changing modern system of education. Education is among the most useful tools in promoting a country’s economic growth and sustainability thus the educational organizations need to be competent so as to provide the best education. This paper proposes a way that the leaders in education institutions can apply the systems theory in managing the schools.
Systems theory in education institutions
The theory considers an organization as a whole system that functions effectively by combining efforts of all its sub-systems. The interaction between the systems is important as it determines the extent to which the ultimate goals are achieved. The approach considers two types of systems, the open, and the closed systems, which are defined by their interaction with the outside world. The closed systems do not have any association with the environment outside the particular organizations. The open systems, on the other hand, operate with the systems within the organization, but they also interact with parties outside the organizations (Wiek, Withycombe & Redman, 2011). Every system is comprised of concepts that determine its efficiency depending on how they are coordinated. They include the tangible resources such as facilities, which are also referred to as elements.
The other concept that one must consider when applying the theory is interconnections, or the relationships between the different players in the organization. Rationale is the other concept, also known as the purpose of the organization. The last concept is feedback that helps to improve the current situation of the organization. The education sector applies the open system because the systems cannot function without depending on the other systems and the parties outside the institutions. The management has to deal with various parties such as the law enforcement authorities who are external to the system. Using the systems approach entails planning a program that should be implemented in the institution in an organized manner considering all the concepts of the theory. The following is a proposal that the educational institutions can use to develop a systems approach to the institutions.
Systems approach in educational planning program
The first phase of the program will be identifying the participants or the parties involved in the program. For an education, institution to function effectively it must include all the departments. The participants in the program will be the student leaders, head of departments and the persons in charge of the non-teaching staff including the librarian and the school’s accountant. The connection between the different groups of the target population will be identified so as to develop systems that direct their duties towards a common goal (Kerzner, 2013). There are certain factors about the target population that will be considered before developing the plan so as to ensure that it is efficient. These factors include the values, beliefs, learning methods, abilities, and skills. Understanding the factors will help in the development of an efficient approach of contacting the different groups. The program will use a collaborative approach to developing the systems approach plan so as to include the input of all the players.
The participants will come up with the mission statement of the program that defines the purpose of adopting the systems approach in the institution. The most suitable mission statement will be one that covers all the academic and non-academic activities, but it will need to be specific to avoid a situation where its wide scope leads to loss of focus. To ensure that the mission statement is appropriately defined, the participants will be required to combine the organization goals with the programs mission so as to come up with a comprehensive statement. The participants should ensure that the mission statement provides a sense of direction as well as motivation to work. Need assessments is the other area that the participants will focus on so as to develop solutions (Enders, 2004). Assessment of needs in the institution is a critical phase in the planning because an error in the assessment may lead to adoption of the wrong course of action. The assessment of needs will help provide the relevant information required in enhancing the adoption of systems approach. The assessment will also help in determining the sections that are efficient and find a solution for the inefficient ones. Identification of gaps at this phase will help in making the institution more efficient through implementation of the most suitable solutions. The assessment will also identify the other personnel needed to implement the program together with the leaders. It will also identify the physical and financial resources required to effectively implement the systems approach.
Upon completion of the mission statement, the goals and standards that will guide the implementation of systems approach. Defining the goals will enhance the effectiveness of the systems approach since they act as a guide to the activities involved. The participants will also be in a position to know the expected results once they implement the goals. The team will formulate goals based on the mission statement and the needs assessment to ensure that all the persons involved work towards a common goal. The definition of standards will help in laying out the acceptable limits in the implementation of the systems approach. The standards will act as a guide to the team towards the expected outcome (Ferlie, Musselin & Andresani, 2008). Goals are a bit broad and this may lead to loss of focus during the implementation phase. This creates the need to develop objectives that will guide the team better in implementing the systems approach at a given time.
Unlike goals whose outcome may be evaluated after a long time, objectives are short-term. The fact that the objectives are measurable makes it possible to tell if the process of implementation is efficient. The rapid growth in technology today may lead to drastic changes in the management of education sector within a short period thus, long-term plans may not be appropriate. The objectives will help the team to identify the changes that may be observed in the target population. This helps in formulating the most suitable strategies to deal with the changes in case they occur. An example of objectives that the team may identify includes learning objectives that entail different aspects of learning such as cognitive domain.
With the objectives in place, the team will need to develop intervention strategies that will help the implementation of the systems approach. The strategies will include teaching methods that can be adopted by the educators to enhance the academic performance of the student. The behavioral change may be needed, for both the teachers and students so as to make learning easier. Interventional strategies will not be limited to the academic work, but they will include environmental and health education (Boland & Fowler, 2000). Teachers form an important part of the institution, and they will be required to play a part in the systems approach by implementing different learning styles to accommodate the diverse nature of student population. There will also be alternative interventional strategies that the team will implement if the ones applied first to fail. After implementing the interventional strategies, the team will carry out an evaluation guided by the goals and objectives to identify the extent to which the approach is practical.
One of the primary significance of the assessment is the identification of alternative strategies at an early stage to avoid acting when it is already late (Lewis & Sugai, 2009). The implementation of the systems approach in the education sector is likely to be faced with some challenges thus it is crucial for the team to be prepared to handle the limitations. There might be interferences that hinder the learning process, and they threaten the success of the whole program. Although some constraints will be within the institution’s management, there are others that the organization will have no control such as a change in some education policies.
For the systems planning to be effective, it has to be introduced in a well-organized manner. The first step towards the successful introduction of the systems approach in an organization is informing the parties involved about the need to change. The leaders cannot be able to transform the management system without the help of every member involved. In an education setting, the persons managing the institutions need to hold meetings with the head of departments, student leaders, and the persons in charge of other non-academic activities. These are the individuals who determine if the implementation of the plan will be a success or fail. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the team understands the importance of changing the management systems. The team helps to introduce system by influencing the other team members making the implementation effective. Implementing the proposal will require identification of the necessary resources. The proposal suggests that the team should carry out an assessment to identify the existing challenge in the institution. The exercise requires the collection of data on the factors hindering the effectiveness of the systems approach. Data gathering and analysis requires individuals who have knowledge of research methods including presentation and interpretation of data. For the program to be effective, the school must provide the necessary financial resources. The individuals may need to be trained on research methods thus the need for money.
In conclusion, the implementation of the plan requires an evaluation of the so as to determine the progress. Evaluation will also help in the formulation of new ideas on how to implement the systems approach. The persons responsible for implementing the proposal will be required to note any challenges and successes that the project faces so as to determine the best course of action. To determine the effectiveness of the implementation, the team will compare the achieved targets with the set goals and objectives. The effectiveness of the proposal will be determined by the extent to which it helps achieve the set goals. The systems approach will prove efficient in the education sector because it will enhance coordination of different activities towards achieving success in the learning institutions. It is the duty of the management to provide the necessary resources to see the implementation of the approach. Using the approach in the education sector is helpful in improving the academic and non-academic excellence of the students. Effective planning of the approach is critical so as to identify the goals of the institution and the needs that require changes. Adoption of the strategy entails s the participation of all the involved parties thus the management should ensure that the persons involved understand the need for change.
References
Boland, T., & Fowler, A. (2000). A systems perspective of performance management in public sector organizations. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13(5), 417-446.
Carter, I. (2011). Human behavior in the social environment: A social systems approach (Vol. 1). Aldine Transaction.
Enders, J. (2004). Higher education, internationalization, and the nation-state: Recent developments and challenges to governance theory. Higher education, 47(3), 361- 382.
Ferlie, E., Musselin, C., & Andresani, G. (2008). The steering of higher education systems: A public management perspective. Higher education,56(3), 325-348.
Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Lewis, T. J., & Sugai, G. (2009). Effective behavior support: A systems approach to proactive school wide management. Focus on Exceptional Children, 31(6), 1.
Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. L. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: a reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability science, 6(2), 203-218.
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