Human and Public Relations

Introduction
As someone responsible for a large number of people you will almost certainly agree that it is important for
you to understand something about the behaviour of the people in your school organisation. The human factor
in schools may cause problems and failure, or may lead to success, depending on the behaviour of the
teachers, pupils, parents and all the other members of the school community. Apart from the nature and
availability of the material and financial resources that are provided, the success of a school will also depend
on:
the level of training of the teachers
the relations between the teachers and the head
the relations between the teachers themselves
the relations between the pupils and the teachers
the relations between the school and the surrounding community.
In this unit you will study the relations between people and how this affects their work. From this you should
understand how these relations affect the nature and quality of management in our educational institutions.
Individual study time: 3 hours
Learning outcomes
After working through this unit you should be able to:
understand the importance of good human relations and communications in providing a suitable working
environment for the teachers, pupils and non-teaching staff
improve the motivation of the teachers and the pupils so as to ensure the success of the school
establish and maintain good working relations with the educational authorities
gain the support of the community in which the school is situated.
What are human relations?
We all belong to human society. In everyday life we live and work with people: they may be our family
members or neighbours or friends or other relatives, or they may be people we work with in our places of
employment. Whoever they are, we recognise their presence and relate to them through various means of
commmunication.
We may say that human relations is being together with other people and interacting with them.
Human relations in a working place
As a head of a school your work will involve the following:
planning the activities of the school
organising the resources to be used, which includes getting the equipment and materials required; assigning
work to each member of staff, agreeing how it should be done and when it should be done and ensuring that
the work is done
maintaining high standards of education in your school.
Activity 4.1
(You may wish to explore the following questions by yourself, or, perhaps with some friends or colleagues
informally in a group.)
(1) Would the work listed above be for you alone as the head, or would other people also be involved?
(2) In what ways would other people be involved in each of these aspects of your work? What has this to do
with human relations?
(3) Why is an understanding of human relations important to the head of any institution?
20 minutes
Comments
In every working place each person must be given his or her duties. The school head organises the
programme for the school. He or she carries out supervision necessary to ensure that the programme is
followed. Each teacher prepares a scheme of work, lesson plans and assessment records for their class. In
addition some of the teachers may be in charge of out of class activities. At the end of each school term
progress reports are prepared for the pupils. If the head does not produce the school timetable in good time,
teaching may be delayed at the beginning of the term. The syllabuses may not be covered sufficiently. If the
teachers do not prepare their schemes and lesson plans, the pupils may not be taught properly. When this
happens the head will be blamed. If the subject teacher delays in preparing assessments for his or her subject,
the class teacher will be late in preparing the report cards for the end of term. Then, the pupils may not be
given their reports to take home.
In the working place therefore, we need to recognise that what others do affects our own work and our work
affects what they do. This is because all the different tasks in an organisation are inter-related, and all the
individuals in the organisation have a working relationship. Ensuring that everyone works in an agreed
fashion is essential if all the staff are to work together harmoniously and effectively.
What do we know about the techniques of forming human relations? You will know that when two people
meet and establish either friendly or working relations, three stages are involved:
Exploration phase
This involves seeking clues and information for forming opinions and impressions about each other. In
schools, this phase should be planned, detailed and extensive. Learn about yourself and the people you work
with.
Consolidation phase
First impressions can be deceptive due to misleading information. Repeated behaviour patterns help in
gauging levels of frankness, openness, truthfulness, reliability, credibility and integrity of a person. You may
find it helpful to keep records on the behaviour of pupils and staff to help you understand them.
Preservation phase
This is the stage of mutual understanding based on trust and acceptance of each other's good and bad points,
weaknesses and strengths.
Human relations and motivation
Staff motivation
Activity 4.2
The list in Fig 7 includes a number of items which might be factors which effect the quality of performance
of the teachers in a school.
Read through the list, and then place the ten items in rank order, that is, rank the most important factor 1, the
second 2, and so on. The factor which you consider as least important will have a rank of 10.
20 minutes
Fig 7 Factors affecting quality of teacher performance
The performance of teachers in a school will be improved if:
they are given an increase in salary
they have a feeling of job security
they are supplied with all the basic resources required to teach
the head regularly consults with them
their work is appreciated
the school is a good one
there are opportunities for promotion and personal development
they are paid on time
disciplining is tactful
they receive sympathetic help with problems
Comments
The way you have ranked these questions is likely to depend, to a large extent, upon the culture and the
context within which you live and work. Experts on management have observed that people in their place of
work like to:
feel that their work is regarded as important - they do not like to be idle
be praised for what they have done, but not to be blamed - they fear to admit mistakes in public
know what their supervisors think about their work - they feel encouraged when their own knowledge of the
subject is appreciated
be consulted when there are changes to be made in their organisation
have a leader who is able to listen and to welcome suggestions; sympathise with personal problems and
gives advice; show justice in dealing with problems concerning relations between staff; give respect to all
workers, whether in low or high positions in the organisation; say `Thank you' when good work is done and
also to admit mistakes
feel secure in their job - nobody wants to work in a place where they feel they are not wanted, or where they
are threatened with dismissal
feel that they are appreciated by their fellow workers.
Whether these factors are the ones which motivate your teachers in your school in your country would be
very interesting to find out. What is important is that you realise the range and diversity of things which
motivate people. Even a small thing like greeting your staff and pupils in a way which is generally accepted
may make a difference.
Case Study
What is your comment on the following case? Consider:
(1) Should the teacher be disciplined for being absent without permission?
(2) What effect might this have on the motivation of the other staff who have children?
(3) What actions would you take in this situation to maitain the motivation of your teachers?
20 minutes
The Absentee Teacher
Mrs Masiga, a teacher, has come to Mr Lawal, the school head to ask for permission to be away for three
days. Her maid has left suddenly and she has nobody at home to look after her three month old baby. She
wants to go to look for another maid. The school is already short of teachers. Mr Lawal tells Mrs Masiga that
looking for a maid does not concern the school. She should make other arrangements to get one without
affecting her work. He reminds her that the District Education Officer may visit the school any time during
that week. He does not want any class to be found without a teacher. He refuses to give her permission. But
the following morning Mrs Masiga does not come to work.
Comments
A difficult case, and there is unlikely to be a right answer, but you will probably have noted that this example
is an illustration of poor human relations and you may have suggested the need for improved communications
and focused on the importance of working together and shared responsibilities.
Pupil motivation
Like their teachers, the pupils in a school also need to be motivated. Pause for a moment and think what steps
might be taken to help motivate pupils.
Pupils are unlikely to be motivated unless:
they are assured of care and protection in the school
their problems are treated with understanding and justice
the teachers show patience and are sincere in guiding them
their efforts in class and in other school activities are appreciated by the teachers and the head
their parents have a chance to see what they are doing in school.
We could add other items to this list, but the important point to recognise is that it includes a wide range of
factors. An understanding of the nature of motivation suggests that for learning to take place, pupils' basic
needs - physiological, safety, love and belonging - must be met, as well as their needs for self-esteem and
self-fulfilment. School heads and teachers can try to ensure that external and situational factors both in and
outside the classroom will stimulate their pupils to learn.
Human relations and communications
We will now examine the relationship between communication and human relations. Communication in an
organisation is like the nervous system in the human body. If anything interferes with a nerve line it is no
longer possible to co-ordinate the work of the affected part with the rest of the body. Similarly, if anything
interferes with the communication links between individuals in an organisation their work will be badly
affected. Decisions will not be taken at the right time. Work will not be done as required. It may not even be
done at all if the instructions are not communicated. Or, it may be done incorrectly, if the instructions are
poorly communicated or received. Good communication is both about sending and receiving information.
Good relations between sender and receiver will help ensure effective communication. Let us explore this
relationship further.
Activity 4.3
(1) Prepare a list of the different ways in which you, as a school head, communicate with your teachers and
pupils.
(2) What affects the way you communicate with individual teachers and groups of teachers? How might this
be improved?
(3) Have you noticed that at times certain members of your staff do not seem to be talking to one another?
How does this affect your work as a head? What can you do to help in solving this problem?
20 minutes
Comments
You are likely to have listed a wide range of patterns and methods of communication from meetings and
loudspeaker systems through to personal one-to-one discussions. It may well be that some of these could be
improved. You may need to check whether communications are actually getting through and consider
changing your communication strategy if problems exist with current practice. We will be looking at
communication and the communication process in further depth in Unit 6. In this context, it is worth noting
that many things can interfere with communication between individuals in a working place. One of these is
the attitude that some people may hold against other work mates. If people we are working with know that we
hold negative attitudes towards them, they will not communicate freely with us. They may even withhold
certain information that is very important for carrying out a task ; perhaps, for some reason, they want us to
fail. It is important therefore that heads never hold a negative attitude towards their staff; or if they do, that
they do not reveal it! Instead he or she should create a working environment in which all the staff are free to
consult one another. Good communications and good human relations go hand-in-hand. This is also the case
with regard to the relationship between the school and the external environment.
The head as a public relations officer
A public relations officer is the spokesperson for an organisation. He or she provides information to the
public on what the organisation is doing and also listens to comments by members of the public about the
organisation. If these comments suggest that some improvements are needed, then action should be taken to
bring about the required changes.
A school is part of the community in which it is situated. The members of the community in general, and the
parents in particular, have an interest in the school because it provides education for their children. It is clear
that the school head has an important role to play as a public relations officer to ensure that good relations are
established between the school and the community, and with the education authorities. There are several
ways of doing this.
1 The head should be ready to meet parents and other members of the public who come to the school to
obtain information about education.
2 The head and his or her staff should be able to organise functions and ceremonies to which parents are
invited. Such functions might include, for example:
Parent-Teacher Association meetings
Open Days in the school
Speech and Prize Giving Days
Sports Days.
3 The head and staff should be encouraged to participate in some community development activities within
the neighbourhood of the school.
4 Good working relations with the authorities in the Ministry will help ensure that any problems the school
head encounters may be listened to with greater sympathy and that any assistance requested will be readily
forthcoming. This in turn will help with community relations.
Activity 4.4
(1) Can you suggest other ways in which the school head can help improve relations with the community?
(2) Taking your school as an example, list down any community activities in which pupils could usefully
participate, noting potential benefits for pupils, the school and the community at large.
(3) What factors tend to give a school a bad image in its local community?
20 minutes
Comments
You will probably have been able to suggest a number of other methods for improving relations with the
community. Better communications are a popular option, and schools in some countries even produce
newsletters for wider dissemination of school ideas and information. Contributions by pupils can add a
further level of interest. A point perhaps worth noting is that although the head is responsible for external
relations, there is of course much that can be undertaken by delegating specific tasks to members of staff.
Summary
This unit has looked at human relations in schools, drawing attention to motivational aspects and the
significance of good communications. Attention has also been focused on the role of the head, staff and
pupils in fostering good community relations. We will touch on these various processes in subsequent units
and modules, but we now consider the process of delegation, which is an important means by which staff can
be motivated and, if used correctly, human relations improved.