Communication in Schools By Amel Lusta management in ELT

Subject coordinator :Prof. Dr. Fatos Silman

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What is communication?

the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.

The Directions of CommunicationFour directions in which communication can travel are: • Downward Communication flows from one level of a group or

organization to a lower level • Upward flows to a higher level in the group or organization. It

starts from the people at the lowest level of an organization and reaches the top.

• lateral or horizontal communication this kind of communication takes place between departments or people on the same level in an organizational structure.

• Outward flows between employees inside the organization and a variety of stakeholders outside the organization.

The communication processThe ‘Typical Communication Model’ developed by Clampitt (2005)

demonstrates a number of key elements in the communication process.

Oral Communication

Oral communication describes any type of inter-action that makes use of spoken words. The types of oral communication commonly used within an organization include staff meetings, personal discussions, presentations, telephone discourse, and informal conversation.

The direction of the message.

Communication Skills

listening skills- Effective communication is heavily dependent on effective listening.- Developing effective listening skills involves two specific steps: dealing with barriers that prevent you listening (e.g; jumping to conclusions; hearing what we want to hear, tuning out a point of view that differs from our own, Cultural issues, e.g. listening to the differences in pronunciation of a different accent, rather than the content of the message ) and developing and using listening behaviours( e.g; ask appropriate questions e.g. ask the other for their views or suggestions to broaden your understanding of their position, take notes )- Active listening skills include using attending skills (e.g. maintaining an open posture, comfortable eye contact); delaying evaluation (of what you have heard until you fully understand it); maintaining attention (respond through your own facial expressions or body gestures such as a nod or a smile without interrupting the other person’s flow); giving feedback; asking appropriate questions .

Some Forms of Non-verbal Communication

- Facial Expressions and Eye Gaze: Facial expressionsprovide a rich source of non-verbal information, particularly in conveying emotion. Sometimes emotions can be communicated clearly, for example, a student’s confused expression can indicate the need to continue with an explanation, smiling and nodding may demonstrate that listeners have understood. Eye contact of the listener needs to be at a comfortable level – a constant or fixed eye gaze can be unnerving. In addition, the rules for what amounts to appropriate or comfortable eye contact varies from culture to culture.

- Posture and Gestures: The way you sit or stand canconvey your attitude or feelings about what you are doing or thinking. Therefore, a slumped posture can

indicate despondency or boredom; a relaxed posture may suggest a person is calm and unnerved; a shifting posture might be associated with uneasiness or discomfort.- Voice: The term paralinguistic refers to features such as speech rate, articulation, pauses emphasis andvolume as well as non-verbal vocalisations such as ‘ahhh’ or sighing. A great deal of information can becommunicated this way. Record your own voice so you can hear the tone and quality. Speak slowly and calmly.

Body Language

Personal Space & Distance: We all have an area of space around us that we consider as ours and tend to

feel uncomfortable when this space is breached. The extent to which people will keep out of or encroach upon our personal space, depends on a multitude of factors including culture, personality, age, gender , status and dominance (Hargie et al, 2004).

Quiz ‘I've been asking my daughter Rhiannan what she did atschool today. There are times when Rhiannan can be asuncommunicative as any child: this was one of them!"What did you do in school today, Rhiannan?""Nothing much.""I'm sure you did. Did you do any painting then?""Yes.""Great, you love painting. What did you paint?""Lots of trees. We went out on an expedition in the morningand we found out about different types of tree. There aresome that drop their leaves in the autumn and others thatdon't. All my trees kept their leaves.""That sounds like fun: where did you go on your outing?""Expedition, Dad! We went to “Coombe Abbey”. We ate ourpacked lunches there and played in the adventureplayground afterwards."

Questioning Techniques- Open questions tend to encourage people to talk,

open up and expand. A closed question asks for specific information or a yes/no response.

(Adapted from Venn, 2004).

The grapevine

To hear something through the grapevine is to learn of something informally and unofficially by means of gossip and rumor. It is fast but reflects that something must be wrong with the other forms of communication that are being used.

Meeting A meeting needs to be thought through beforehand.

What kind of questions should be asked as initial stimulus to this

process?

Why have a meeting?Who should attend?

What needs to be prepared ?What needs to be done as a follow- up?Valid reasons for holding meeting might be:Decision – makingCommunication Negotiation Ideas generation Team building Consultation

Meeting Purposes

Purpose:- To gather and communicate information.- To share ideas, views and opinions.- To meet governance and legal requirements.- Encourage participation of individuals.- To solve problems and make decisions

Objectives of meeting

- Well planned- Meet objectives- Run on time- People have the opportunity to raise issues of

concern- Good attendance- Culture of respect and cooperation

Plan the meeting

- Ensure Appropriate Participation at the MeetingDetermine who needs to be present for the meeting to be successfulAppoint a secretary- Distribute and Review Pre-work Prior to the

Meeting Don’t make the meeting a group read-in. Ask for review of minutes or necessary documents prior to the meeting day.

- Start and end your meetings on time

Make sure there is a time-limit for each agenda itemLet the group know when time is almost upKeep the group on task, avoid tangentsDon’t forget coffee and tea at the appropriate points

- Check meeting environment

Ensure:a bright room with adequate lightinga comfortable heating level;a good seating arrangement; andthe early opening of the room. OR

- Develop an Agenda Send notice of date/time/location of the meeting

and intended durationAsk staff to submit agenda item ideas prior to meeting dateTry to keep the outline of the agenda consistent for each meeting Consider the easy items at the beginning of the meeting

Chairperson

If things are too controversial or discussion is obviously not getting anywhere. What do you do?

Minutes

The chosen secretary will have kept accurate notes of the meeting which will be typed up and distributed as soon as possible to all staffrooms .

Purpose

Minutes must contain

Written Communication

• Written communication involves any type of message that makes use of the written word.

• It takes on a variety of forms

Memos and Letters The memo is a short form of letter usually used to communicate with the employees of the same organization for internal communication (an upward communication process ). Notes from Principal must be filed thereafter so need a coded reference.

Newsletters

a newsletters is written once a term by the Principal to all member of staff or by the director of studies to all academic staff as a useful way of making everybody feel they are in touch.

Noticeboard - a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for

example, to advertise items wanted or for sale, announce events, or provide information.

- Benefits Keeps everybody informed.Staff, Students and parents receive up-to-date information.Improves school cooperation between management and Others ( staff- students)- Allowing students to post announcements on a public forum

increases trust (e.g; notices of parties, articles for sale etc)

Good practices for organisation of notice boards

- Keep the notice board as neat and tidy as possible - Remove outdated pieces of information as frequently as possible.- Label the notice board by topic and in multiple languages.- Everybody can find the information s/he needs quickly and easily .

- Place the notice board in a position where people can easily see it.- Consider making individuals (or teams) responsible for keeping the notice board clean, tidy and up-to-date.- Designate a section to be open for students and union announcements.

Booklets and manuals

- The booklets are important for new students and staff.

- Consider also the way practices are codified so that everybody knows the procedures involved.

- By administrative handbook can be kept all the up-to-date, relevant instructions on how to deal with such matters as repairs, registration, leave, sickness, salary scale.

Suggestion books and questionnaires

both these can be effective ways of ensuring that managers learn what is working successfully and what changes need to be made.

How to design a questionnaires

Main Types of the Questionnaires

Questionnaires

unstructured Questionnaires

Structured Questionnaires

Structured Questionnaires

Asks precise questions, often with multiple- choice or yes/No responses required, e.g;

Unstructured Questionnaires

New Technology

- Computerize the education : online courses, apps, Learning management systems, student information systems, and other software are used to distribute assignments, manage schedules and communications, and track student progress.

Welfare - This area where there is a need to communicate

most efficiently with staff and students and where considerable distress and indeed danger can be caused if communication breaks down.

- Each Principal will need to be aware of Health and Safety regulations of the country and ensure that school complies with these at all times.

Fire - Most schools display notices in classrooms giving

instructions to do in the event of fire but few ensure that these are uniformly introduced to students at the beginning of each term.

- A possible checklist for a Principal might be:

Security Incidents

- It be helpful to consider the following points:

Medical and First Aid - It essential that at least one person in a school at any

time is trained in first aid , that a first aid box is ready available and that in the event of a serious accident someone is available to take the injured person to hospital.

- A full report of accident must be made to the Principal who needs to set up an investigation to discover how and why the accident happened.

- A list of prompt questions about an accident

- An example of report form

Safety Checks

- A regular monthly check of the school premises should be operated.

Counseling

a process which enables problems to be identified and clarified and to facilitate the exploration of potential solutions or ways in which the problem can be managed more effectively by drawing on the individual's inner resources ( Megranahan,1989)

Students talk to their teachers about their study problems Teachers communicate with each other not only about academic matters but about personal problems and senior academic staff need to suggest and receive suggestion on methods and books

The main points in the counseling conversation ( interview)

Conflict management

Complaints

- Complaints might emerge from many quarters: students, staff, parents, and even members of

the public. They could be about students, staff, you, the board, your school policies, or school events. Some you might be ready for, others will come out of the blue and surprise you.

Is a complaint a

OR ?

- Complaints are gift packages waiting to be opened because they:Are given freelyAre not solicited by the recipient organizationAre unexpected, they come as a surprise (usually)Hold the key to happiness for the recipient organization If they are well handledA complaint gives you: Free direct communication from the customers ( students, parents, staff) about service failures, system , materials etc. without the added cost of conducting a survey

- To deal with conflicts a series of steps should be taken

- Step 1: interview as soon as possibleBe aware of problemTake them seriously and listen carefully to discover what the real grievance is Probe problem areas Discuss the grievance or conflictMake notes Do not rush into a hasty decision -Step 2:considerTalk to all others concernedIdentify constraints

Check records Check facts Is it a case for disciplinary action?Step 3: return to interview Discuss points considered Agree possible solutions togetherWrite these down with agreed deadline Communicate result of interview to all directly concerned in the conflict .

Formal Grievance Procedures

Large school have documented and published procedures that will enable individual members of staff to have discussions first with line managers and then, if that fails, with the Principal possibly with a union representative in attendance. the Principle that is normally applied in grievance procedures is that there should be the possibility of an appeal up the line of management.

Staff Associations

a group of employees that provides support and advice for people working within the same organization, especially in any official discussions with management relating to their responsibilities, salary , etc.

A associations can grow naturally out of small working parties or committees set up to consider conditions

In the school. Such committees, usually composed of equal numbers of managers and staff, can provide a valuable testing ground for the future development not only of formal associations but also for procedures that might be adopted subsequently in the more formal context of management meeting with union representatives.

Composition of associations

• An Association can write its own rules, if it so wishes, but the rules have to comply with the civil laws of country.

• Communicate with the individuals who have not join the association.

• Most schools have two separate associations, one for academic another for non-academic staff but a joint association is better to avoid rivalry over salaries.

Meeting with Association• Before the meeting consider the following :

- the group that meets should be representative with some power - equally composed of managers and staff ( Principal as chairperson )- six to ten people is the ideal number for this kind of committee - have regular meetings ( date and time )- Agenda agreed and distributed- Agenda circulated to managers- Each side has a pre-meeting if necessary- Minutes agreed at the end of the meeting where possible - Information passed by phone or in person - Minutes distributed

NegotiatingNegotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties intended to

reach a beneficial outcome. This beneficial outcome can be for all of the parties involved, or just for one or some of them.

Analysing and planning

Pre- negotiation

• Attention to detailed

Opening phase- information getting and gathering

Effective Negotiation techniques- Collect and send Information in negotiationsOne of the most popular causes for losing ground in a negotiation is lack of information.- Back your words by documents to win a negotiation: When you use

documents during negotiations to support your arguments its as if you are saying"I'm not telling you My opinion, I'm giving you straight facts".

- The Machine gun technique in negotiations : This technique was called the machine gun technique because its based on using many different unrelated arguments together in a fast manner so that the other person loses hope in replying to them all. When you use the Machine gun technique in negotiations your chance of shaking the confidence of the person you are negotiating with becomes much higher

- Flexibility and negotiations: if for some reason you found a strong resistance during a negotiation then don’t waste your effort by insisting on the same point but instead move to another one. If the other person you are negotiating with was well informed about one point or if his belief system contradicts with this point then convincing him might be a hard task.

- replying back with another question: in case you were asked a question that you don’t want to answer you can reply back with another question to distract him

- focusing on the other person’s need: One big mistake many people do in negotiations is thinking that all people think the same way while forgetting that each person has different needs. For example if your major need was the need for safety while a friend of yours cared more about luxury then trying to convince him to buy a Volvo because its safe will not be as effective as trying to show him that Volvo could be a luxurious care too. Focus on the person's needs, belief system and values and not yours in order to win a negotiation

Dealing with industrial action • Occasionally conflicts are not resolved through

negotiation and industrial action of some kind may result. There is no magic rules for handling these situations but the following considerations may repay attention.

- Staff and managers must be kept informed of what is happening- have a single spokesperson to deal with all outside media- the manager should make the rules clear but treat each

situation on its own merits- -Mass meeting

Communication in the classrooms - According to Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke and Curran,(2004) students are more likely to succeed if they feel connected to school and a positive, respectful relationship with teachers helps create such an environment.- Weinstein, et. al., (2003) suggest teachers set the tone by greeting students at the door with a smile and a welcoming comment; expressing admiration for a student’s bilingual ability and commenting enthusiastically about the number of different languages represented in class and beginning each day with a morning meeting where students greet one another by name and discuss upcoming lessons.

Marzano el at (2003) wrote that “substantially anything you do to show interest in students as individuals has a positive impact on their learning” and makes several suggestions, including: greeting students outside of school, such as at extracurricular events or at stores; singling out a few students each day in the lunchroom and talking to them; being aware of and commenting on important events in students’ lives, such as participation in sports, drama, or other extracurricular activities.

- Rodriguez (2005) describes his experience as a math teacher in an alternate, urban high school where many of the students brought with them a history of bad experiences with teachers. One way he promoted good relationships was to respect the perspectives of his students. At the end of each class he asked students to critique his teaching in their math journals by providing a guiding question, such as “How did I do as a teacher today?”

Mortimer & Scott (2002) propose communicative approach. it provides the perspective of ‘how’ teachers show their teaching purpose when dealing with the chosen content . They identify four classes ofcommunicative approach. These four classes of communicative approach describe teachers’ skills in conducting discourse in the classroom and show how they interact with their students in the variousstages of the class:

The interactive/dialogic class indicates the interval of the class when teacher and students explore ideas, formulate questions, and work different points of view. This class of communicative

approach shows the teacher’s important skill in exploring students’ ideas, encouraging all to express themselves openly. Apart from communication skills, this requires planning skills to address the creation of problems or challenging situations related to the content to be developed in order to engage students both intellectually and emotionally. The non-interactive/dialogic class shows when teachers, in the course of their explanation, consider several viewpoints that their students have already repeatedly made explicit, highlighting similarities and differences. This class of communicative approach reflects the teacher’s skill in giving form to the meanings introduced based on discussion that has already taken place.

The interactive/authoritative class reflects the teacher’s action in guiding students toward a specific objective by means of a sequence of questions and answers. This type of communication

reflects a quite common skill in traditional teaching whendevelopment of the content plays an outstanding role in the classroom. The non-interactive/authoritative class shows the teacher’s action, presenting a specific point of view. This communicative approach demands that teachers have the ability to express their ideas very clearly.

Quiz

1. The importance of good c----------------------n--------------- within organizations ( such as school).- C------------- n---------- play key role in creating organizational c---------------- Organization c--------------------- has effects on c---------------------

2. How leaders influence the culture of schools?- They c----------------- core values in what they say and do.- School leaders from every level are key to creating school

culture . Principals c----------- core values in their school buildings. Teachers reinforce values in their words and behavior

3. Stories and myths of heroes are transmitted by means of the c------------------- n--------------- - Gossips are very important in building and maintaining

heroes. Gossips carry the trivial day-to-day activities of the organization through the c----------- n---------

References Primary source: White, R.V. Martin, M. Stimson, M. Hodge, R. (1989). Management in English Language Teaching. Cambridge press. - Clampitt, P. G. (2005) Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness. Sage. CA.- Dixon, T. O’HaraMM. ( 2006). Communication Skills. North Umbria university press - Frederick C. Lunenburg, Allan C. Ornstein. ( 2008). Educational Administration: Concepts and Practices:

Concepts and Practices. Thomson books.- Hargie, O., Dickson, D., Tourish, D. (2004) Communication Skills for Effective Management. Palgrave Macmillan.

Hampshire.- Marzano, R, Marzano, J, and Pickering, D. (2003).Classroom management that works. Researchbased strategies

for every teacher, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development , Alexandria, VA.- Mortimer, E. F. e Scott, P. H. (2002) Discursive activity on the social plane of high school science classrooms: a

tool for analysing and planning teaching interactions. Artigo apresentado no Annual Meeting da AERA, New Orleans, USA

- - Rodriguez, L. (2005). Yo, Mister! An alternative high school offers lessons on respect. Educational Leadership, 62 (7) 78-80.

- Weinstein C., Tomlinson-Clarke S., & Curran M. (2004). Toward a Conception of Culturally Responsive Classroom Management. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(1), 25-38.- Weinstein, C., Curran, M., and Tomlinson-Clarke, S. (2003). Culturally Responsive Classroom Management:

Awareness into Action. Theory into Practice, 42(4), 269-276. - Van Kleef, G. A.; De Dreu, C. K. W.; Manstead, A. S. R. (2004). "The interpersonal effects of anger and happiness

in negotiations" (PDF). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 86: 57–76.

Thank you