Effective School Management

Figure 8.2
Learning styles – general descriptions © Honey and Mumford

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MANAGING YOURSELF
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helps you to enlarge your repertoire and thus to take better advantage of
different sorts of learning opportunity; also, that competence develops as
you follow every stage of the learning cycle.
The learning styles questionnaire is an example of a self-perception tool
that we recommend for getting to know yourself better; accurate self-
perception is a key management competence and vital to self-development.
Peter Honey has developed forty of these, which are generic to all learners
and managers. Other do-it-yourself tools will be found in Pedler’s books (see
further reading). We also recommend the Myers–Briggs test as particularly
suitable for teachers, but this requires a psychologist to administer, as do the
16PF, OPQ and Firo B, which are also used.
MANAGING OUR ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR
In the preceding chapters we have seen that ‘natural’ reactions to situations
are not always the best. We can, in fact, easily become ‘hooked’ into behavioural
patterns which are counterproductive, such as developing intergroup conflict
in order to cover up our own feelings of insecurity or threat. We may be unduly
ready to perceive an attack and respond defensively when suggestions are
offered.
We have already looked at models, checklists and guidelines which may
help us to check on our behaviour in one-to-one or group situations, and to
adopt constructive approaches. Other helpful models exist, and we would
recommend, as a perceptive insight into behaviour (though not to be taken
too seriously), insight into behaviour, the theories of transactional analysis
(Berne, 1968), which start from the premiss that behavioural patterns can be
classified as those of the Parent, the Adult or the Child with classic attitudes
of
(1) Parent – telling, guiding, asserting, dominating, criticizing;
(2) Adult – reasoning, listening, suggesting;
(3) Child – feeling, creating/destroying, accepting/resisting, enquiring.
It is surprising how often we can catch ourselves, especially as teachers,
treating our colleagues or social contacts as ‘children’ by adopting
‘know-all’ or ‘patronizing’ attitudes. How often are we instantly recognized
as teachers?
In a book of this scope it is impossible to do justice to this or other helpful
theories. However, one of us (Morris) has found the following adaptation of
another of the transactional analysis concepts particularly useful in helping
managers to understand and control their own behaviour (Harris, 1995). It is
a useful model in dealing with conflict, since it enables us to recognize the
psychological realities that may underlie the reactions of ourselves and/or
others.

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EFFECTIVE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT