cisa schools

Queinnise Miller & William Allan Kritsonis, PhD 

 

Introduction

Unprecedented change is taking place in schools all over the world. Schools are increasingly being managed like businesses. Without effective strategic planning principals will be involved in crisis management (Van der Linde, 2001).  As schools engage in strategic planning, professional learning communities should be heavily depended on to help districts move from infancy to maturity in their quality of instructional and overall educational success.  By using the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2003) as a guide for professional learning communities this will increase the success of professional learning communities and their impact on strategic planning. 

 Purpose of the Article

The purpose of this article is to explore professional learning communities while taking a look at how they impact school improvement and their place in strategic planning in education.  This article will address how the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2003) is implemented in the core of professional learning communities.  By utilizing the six realms in professional learning communities, leaders and teachers will be able to achieve the highest excellence possible in educational achievement.

  Professional Learning Communities

 Professional Learning Communities (PLC) has over the last few years been almost a house hold name among educators of all levels.  In fact, the term has been used so ubiquitously that it is in danger of losing all meaning (DuFour, 2004).  Each word of the phrase “professional learning community” has been chosen purposefully. 

Dufour and Eaker state:

 A “professional” is someone with expertise in a specialized field………. “Learning” suggests ongoing action and perpetual curiosity….. In a professional learning community, educators create an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, personal growth as they work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone (as cited in Thomas, Gregg, &  Niska, 2004).

   Most all professional learning communities follow the same protocol.  Within each community the teacher as well as leaders is encouraged to pursue personal and professional development, integrating it as part of their regular job responsibilities.  For example, the Alief ISD implements PLC time into the school week by creating a weekly early release day for students and utilizing that extra hour for mandated sessions for teachers to be in their specified professional learning community. Within professional learning communities, leaders have incorporated professional development by asking teachers to discuss and share differing classroom applications.

   From those interactions, teachers are enhancing their professional knowledge in a more informal approach to professional development.  True professional learning communities follow different protocols to evoke dialogue between team members.  In some professional development settings, teachers are asked to read books or educational articles as a catalyst to encourage reflection, inquiry, and sharing. Individual and team judgment is valued more than rules, policies, forms, and procedures. Most importantly, everyone is encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and development and this is considered to be a norm of the school’s culture (Thompson, 2004).  

 These concepts of professional leaning communities may sound simple to implement, this is not always the case.   Implementing professional learning communities is  challenging.   For  starters,  they  require a  deep  cultural  change  within  the  school  ( Honawar, 2008). 

   How Professional Learning Communities Impact School Improvement

There are cascades of strategies, theories, district initiatives, and many other ideas to improve student learning.  Teacher collaboration is hailed as one of the most effective ways to improve student learning (Honawar, 2008).  This can be debatable like most issues.  According to Thomas, Gregg, and Niska (2004), many K-12 school are working to become  professional learning communities in the hope that student learning will improve when adults commit themselves to talking collaboratively about teaching and learning and then take action that will improve student learning and achievement.  Other leaders in the field such as Mike Schmoker (2004) believe that “…the most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is building the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning community” (pg. 424). 

For former superintendent Richard DuFour (2004) in Educational Leadership, attributes the successes and record gains in his near Chicago school district to goal oriented collaborative teams.  DuFour believed that collaborative teams were the engine behind each schools improvement efforts.   Mike Schmoker said:

 In the nearby but less advantaged Chicago Public Schools, those with strong professional learning communities were four times more likely to be improving academically than schools with weaker professional communities.  We can no longer afford to be innocent of the fact that “collaboration” improves performance. (pg. 431)

 Such simple effort, teachers teaching one another the practice of teaching, leads to what has to be one of the most salient lists of benefits in educational literature:

 Higher-quality solutions to instructional problems,

Increased confidence among faculty, Increased ability to support one another’s strengths and to accommodate  weaknesses,

 More systematic assistance to beginning teachers, and

The ability to examine an expanded pool of ideas, methods, and materials (pg. 430).

 We believe that an unknown author said it best, “I cannot improve my craft in isolation from others.”

 The Role Professional Learning Communities Have in Strategic Planning

 For some people, the term strategic planning brings to mind a disciplined and thoughtful process that links the values, mission, and goals of a school system with a set of coherent strategies and tasks designed to achieve those goals (Reeves, 2007). According to Weindling (1997) strategic planning “is a means for establishing and maintaining a sense of direction when the future has become more and more difficult to predict” (as sited in Van der Linde, 2001, pg. 536). 

Professional learning communities embodies this process and allows for a triangulation of planning, goal setting, and result evaluation.  Communication is the element that makes strategic planning such a success.  Through professional leaning communities, this element of communication is evident as teachers begin to talk and create communities that focus on the specific needs of a campus, department, or classroom. 

Implementing “Symbolics” in Professional Learning Communities

The first realm of meaning is symbolics. “These meanings are contained in arbitrary symbolic structures, with socially accepted rules of formation and transformation, created as instruments for the expression and communication of any meaning whatsoever (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 11).

Professional Learning Communities use communication as the backbone in which its purpose is fulfilled.  Within professional learning communities this first realm is evident with the “ordinary language” that is required for effective communication to take place.  In all professional learning communities, there is a discourse employed in the everyday speech and writing of education.  Without the knowledge of this language and the knowledge of its meaning, educators within these communities cannot make progress in their journey to student improvement.  “A person knows a language only if he understands its meanings” (Kritsonis, 2003, p.109).  Gamble (2008) postulates that teachers must learn the vocabulary and apply the concepts of a PLC.  They must talk the talk and walk the walk in lesson preparation and lesson presentations. Teachers must model the dynamics by stating clearly the objectives to the students, and make frequent use of formative assessments, using graphic organizers whenever possible. The use of graphic organizers is the implementation of symbols, which according to Kritsonis comprise another of the outer faces of language.  These symbols are spoken sounds or written marks that convey the meaning to be communicated (Kritsonis, 2007). 

The realm of symbolics expresses that different languages reflect multiple ways of organizing experiences.  This is implemented in professional learning communities,  by the collaboration  effort between  teachers as they share experiences

              The Implementation of “Empirics” in Professional Learning Communities

 The second realm empirics, includes the sciences of the physical world, of living things, and of man. These sciences provide factual descriptions, generalizations, and theoretical formulations and explanations that are based upon observation and experimentation in the world of matter, life, mind, and society. (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 12)

 As educators collect and analyze data from students to produce better results they are functioning in the empirical realm. 

The educators involved in professional learning communities essentially become scientific researcher for what is effective and what is not effective in the instructional setting.  By becoming researchers their scientific inquiry is aimed at bringing some order and intelligibility out of what appears to be a miscellaneous and unrelated profusion of phenomena (Kritsonis, 2007). Gamble (2004) suggest that schools develop a professional library by researching the great “movers” in the field (i.e., Dufour, Hord, Martin-Kniep, Sergiovanni, and others). Acquire materials by these authors and get them into circulation. 

As teachers gather data, it is important for them to remember that principles, generalizations, and laws are not directly inferred from data of observation and observations do not test the truth or falsity of hypotheses, but rather their scope and limitations.  By being aware of these limitations identified by observation, educators are able to put in place future interventions for those students affected by those limitations. 

The Implementation of “Esthetics” in Professional Learning Communities

“The third realm, esthetics, contains the various arts, such as music, the visual arts, the arts of movement, and literature” (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 12).  Esthetics looks at not only knowledge in a mathematical and empirical manner, but explores understanding that may be used for the arts and other non-empirical fields.  Often students cannot be calculated in a scientific manner.  Kritsonis continues,

 There are beauties that occur in the learning of all students that can only be understood in the wholeness of the student both empirically and non-empirically.  Each individual student is like a fragile art piece.  Each work of art contains its own meaning and speaks for itself. (2007, p.279)

  By understanding the whole student and the varieties present in each student, professional learning communities can have a more holistic view and dialogue on what is working for different pieces of beautiful artwork. 

It is important for educators to consistently take into consideration the differences and beauty that every student processes.  Professional learning communities are a good platform for this to occur being that they are able to share experiences and assess students from differing paradigms. 

The Implementation of “Synnoetics” in Professional Learning Communities

The fourth realm is synnoetics.  Synnoetics refers to meanings in which a person has direct insight into other beings (or oneself) as concrete wholes existing in relation (Kritsonis, 2007).  Engagement is a crucial part in having an effective professional learning community.  It is the engagement between team members within the professional learning community as well as the engagement between the teacher and the student that drives the collaboration effort that in turn promotes student achievement.  Kritsonis (2007) says that synnoetics meaning requires engagement and that there is no such thing as absolutely solitary existence. The very concept of isolation has significance only against a background of other from whom one is separated (Kritsonis, 2007).  People may differ about how to ensure “quality,” but most would agree that quality teachers know how to craft engaging and effective learning experiences, despite constant changes in student populations. They need to be knowledgeable and they need to know how to use their knowledge. Ongoing  professional learning  simply must  be integral to their work (Wood, 2007).  Educators are charged with not only educating students academically, yet also, helping them gain self knowledge and guide them in how to use both their academic knowledge as well as their self knowledge.  One goal of professional learning communities is to help teachers also gain knowledge of teaching practices as well as a personal knowledge about who they are and the roles they play as educators in a school.  While professional developments are great avenues for this task, most time smaller professional learning communities can be more effective.  Kritsonis (2007) posits that personal knowledge is not always developed though formal instruction. 

The Implementation of “Ethics” in Professional Learning Communities

Ethics, according to Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, is that which “includes moral meanings that express obligation rather than fact, perceptual form, or awareness of relation” (Kritsonis, 2007, pg. 13). Morality, according to Kritsonis, is simply that “which reflects inter-subjective understanding.  Morality has to do with personal conduct that is based on free, responsible, deliberate decision” (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 13).  As educators ethics and morality should be the ordinary language and the business of everyone.  Each day parents entrust us with the lives and futures of their children.  Any act or decision made for our students from the smallest of them such as school materials used to the biggest such as assessment choices should be the most moral and ethical one.  Gamble (2008) suggest that one should become an instructional leader in your school by advocating, in theory and practice, one of the “best practices” models called a professional learning community. 

 According to Kritsonis, ethical considerations enter into every department of ordinary life.  Therefore, education cannot and will not escape the responsibility of ethics, or right actions, against students.  By forming professional learning communities, teachers should ensure and hold each other accountable for ethical behavior toward students.  The improvement of conduct depends upon the habit, in making each decision, of bringing into consciousness a range of different possibilities from among which a selection can be made (Kritsonis, 2007).  This is the essence of what a professional learning community should do. 

 The Implementation of “Synoptics” in Professional Learning Communities

Synoptics refers “to meanings that are comprehensively integrative” (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 13).  Synoptics covers the realms of “history, philosophy, and religion” (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 13).  Professional learning communities implement this realm of meaning with its integrative characteristics of guiding, teaching, and learning as educators. 

In  professional learning  communities, educators must  also look at the history of what has been successful in obtaining student achievement for all students.  By looking at the past, educators are able to better chart their path to the future.  Along with looking at the past, professional learning communities should frequently  reference the vision the school is attempting to bring to realization.  At the very least, faith refers to an ideal and a hope for maximum completeness, depth, and integrity of vision (Kritsonis, 2008). 

The synoptic view addresses the entire range of all that is encompassed in the expressible education experiences.  Fidelity must be given to a data-driven curriculum, to clear and specific objectives, and to a mindset of deep purpose for meaningful planning and collaboration.  The focus must be to move students, as well  as faculty, into truly becoming lifelong learners (Gamble, 2007).

 Concluding Remarks

             In conclusion strategic planning is imperative for school leaders to obtain gains in student achievement.  Doug Reeves (2007) stated: 

School leaders should embrace the importance of strategy by developing  plans that are  focused and brief  and that  provide consistent monitoring and evaluation. Most important, the teachers and leaders who implement strategic plans should begin the process with the confidence that their professional practices truly influence student achievement. (pg. 87)

             This process can and will be enhanced through quality professional learning communities where teachers and leaders can begin effective and action oriented dialogue about student achievement and what works and what is not working in classrooms all across the nation.  The continued implementation of the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning by Dr. William Allan Kritsonis will produce more coherent results when seeking holistic achievement of students. 

  

REFERENCES

 Bonstingl, J. (2009, January). Strategic planning during tough times. Leadership, 38(3), 8-10. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

DuFour, R. (2004, May). What Is a Professional Learning Community? Educational Leadership, 61(6), 6. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from MAS Ultra – School Edition database.

Gamble, J. (2008, March). Professional learning communities. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 24(7), 17-17. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Honawar, V. (2008, April 2). Working smarter by working together. Education Week, 27(31), 25-27. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Kritsonis, W. (2007). Ways of knowing through the realms of meaning. Houston, TX:

            National FORUM Journals.

Nebgen, M. (1991, April). The key to success in strategic planning is communication. Educational Leadership, 48(7), 26. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from Middle Search Plus database.

Reeves, D. (2007, December). Making strategic planning work. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 86. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from Middle Search Plus database.

Schmoker, M. (2004, February 1). Tipping point: From feckless reform to substantive instructional improvement. Phi Delta Kappan, 85(6), 424. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ700581) Retrieved July 7, 2009, from ERIC database.

Thompson, S., Gregg, L., & Niska, J. (2004, November). Professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning. Research in Middle Level

            Education Online, 28(1), 35-54. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Van der Linde, D. (2001, Spring2001). Strategic quality planning for teachers in the new millennium. Education, 121(3), 535. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Wood, D. (2007, September). Professional learning communities: Teachers, knowledge, and knowing. Theory Into Practice, 46(4), 281-290. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from doi:10.1080/00405840701593865

 Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Professor and Mentor

 

 

 

www.nationalforum.com

National FORUM Journals Worldwide Website

 

 

Oral History: A Viable Methodology for 21st Century

Educational Administration Research: National Impact

 

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ABSTRACT

 

This article identifies three 21st Century realities that are redefining research in educational administration:  1) the increasing need for relevancy and authenticity in addressing community and school problem solving contexts; 2) the need for a research method that permits the kind of in depth interviewing of knowledgeable individuals with minimal Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight; and 3) a methodology that can be facilitated by emerging technologies. Oral history has been employed in many disciplines but has seldom been used in educational administration. It offers some promise and the authors suggest possible uses and interpretations of one proposed oral history project and one completed oral history project.

______________________________________________________________________________

Purpose of the Article

 

            The purpose of this article is to examine oral history interviewing and historical research as a viable research method within the broad family of research methodologies in educational administration and educational leadership. The evolution of research methodology in educational administration has been influenced by changing paradigms, changing needs, increasing institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight, and changing technology. Educational administration research differs from other academic disciplines in that it involves the opportunity to find new and innovative uses for research findings for problem solving and decision making in school settings.

 

 

Research in Educational Administration Undergoing Transformation

 

            Educational administration research has undergone great transformation during the past century. Business management principles drawn from industry dominated the first half of the 20th Century of educational administration thought.  During the 1950’s and 1960’s various social science methods and concepts shaped a new generation of educational administration thought and research methodology (Campbell, Fleming, Newell & Bennion, 1987; Murphy, 2003, Fall). By the late 1980’s business and social science methodologies were supplemented though not replaced by qualitative methods drawn from anthropology.  Action research fills yet another educational administration research niche. It places less emphasis on formal theoretical constructs while focusing on authentic, campus-based data gathering, and problem-solving. This continuing growth in acceptance of research methodologies from other disciplines was described by Campbell, et al:

 

Educational administration is an applied field rather than an academic discipline. It does not draw upon a single body of literature nor use a single set of scholarly tools…an applied field must maintain a vital concern not only with the extension of knowledge but also with the improvement of practice…Similarly…an applied field must be concerned with problems in their totality – drawing on the methods of many disciplines. (1987, p. 3)

 

            Not all influences on educational administration research in the 21st Century have been methodological.  A national increase in Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight has greatly influenced educational administration research (Herrington & Kritsonis, 2006).  There remains great variance among universities regarding the extent to which educational research is subject to IRB oversight. Some universities exempt educational studies from IRB oversight completely, especially those studies that were intended to examine quality improvement in educational institutions or action research used for classroom instruction. Some universities were requiring complete reviews of every aspect of research regardless of methodology or intended uses of the data. Navigating the maze of IRB restrictions at some institutions has led to avoidance of some research methodologies or populations and in some cases resulted in diminished research activity altogether (Herrington & Kritsonis, 2006).

            Technology has made most forms of research far more convenient and achievable. For example more user-friendly Windows or UNIX based statistical software programs such as Stat-Pac, (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and SAS have replaced hand-calculations, data punchcard readers, and mainframe versions of the statistical software. Qualitative researchers have access to coding software such as HyperRESEARCH 2.6, NVIVO 7, computer-assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (QAQDAS 07) to assist with high volume qualitative data coding capabilities. Audio and video recording equipment, imaging equipment, and related software continue to be developed for oral history recording, however, analog recordings continue to be preferred by most oral history professionals.

            The challenge for educational researchers in the 21st Century is to select a methodology that can provide a relevant context for examining education issues within specific contexts that are reliably and accurately preserved. The methodology must also yield a study that is achievable within a reasonable time frame, is affordable, and must satisfy ethical requirements or minimize the need for IRB scrutiny.

 

A  Methodology-in-Waiting

 

Charlton (1985) defined oral history as “the recording and preserving of planned interviews with selected persons able to narrate recollected memory and thereby aid the reconstruction of the past” (p.2). Baum (1978) defined oral history as:

 

1.      a tape recorded interview, or interviews, in  question-and-answer format,

2.      conducted by an interview who has some, and preferably the more the better, knowledge of the subject to be discussed,

3.      with a knowledgeable interview, someone who knows whereof he or she speaks from personal participation or observation (sometimes we allow a second-hand account),

4.       subjects’ of historical [or community] interest…

5.      accessible, eventually, in tapes and/or transcripts to a broad spectrum of researchers. (pp. 389-390)

 

            The value of oral history for educational researchers and practitioners is found in the background that can be provided by credible participants who are able to enrich understandings of the immediate problem-solving context or who can draw parallels with other contexts. Sometimes dramatic events or significant phenomena require giving voice to otherwise silent observers or constituencies that know the true nature of  the problem of interest, but who have never been consulted by historians or decision makers. For example, ethnographic shifts in recent years have created major cultural divides in communities and schools that challenge long held assumptions of teachers and administrators regarding their client student populations.

An example is found in formerly rural/now suburban high school campus that in 1995-2004 comparison revealed the following demographic changes in students and teachers. In 1995 only 17 percent of the students of this inner city campus were Hispanic, 15 percent were African American, 65 percent of students were Anglo. The teacher demographic representations were similar. Ten years later 67 percent of the students were Hispanic, 17 percent were African American, but only 16 of the students were Anglo. The teacher demographics remained relatively unchanged over the same 10 years.

            Conversations with parents, teachers, and administrators reveals that the unexpected demographic gaps that occurred during the preceding ten year period had resulted in an increase of racial tensions wherein teachers/student and teacher/parent conflicts occuring. The achievement of Hispanic students continued a downward spiral, attendance and dropouts were increasing, and disciplinary alternative educational placements were soaring.  These realities placed the district in jeopardy of losing its standing based on statewide criteria and NCLB standards.  This was a phenomenon that could be documented through oral history interviews and the results made available as a case for other districts. In this case a number of interventions might be possible in the short run but a comprehensive and effectively planned longer term plan informed by carefully conducted oral histories would provide some valuable context and community history of the community that can provide answers to working with all parties affected by the problem.

            Another example is the fact that during the 1960’s and 1970’s the educational and experiential cornerstones for the first generation of Mexican-American college and university presidents and chancellors in the state of Texas and the nation were being established within an educational and cultural environment of South Texas that was hostile to the aspirations and future advancement of Latinos (Herrington, 1993, August). What can be learned about the education and mentoring experiences of these highly successful individuals would be invaluable to educators and other minority individuals making career and education decisions.

These two very real scenarios though unrelated have some connectedness. There are lessons that the teachers and administrators at the high school undergoing dramatic demographic shifts (study proposed but not yet conducted) could learn from the South Texas study of successful Hispanic students who grew up in communities that 30 and 40 years earlier resembled their current demographic and cultural realities. Communities that are just beginning to face the realities of permanently altered demographic landscapes can learn a great deal from their South Texas predecessors, precisely because those experiences have been previously recorded and transcribed for future reference (Herrington, 1993, August). The thoughts and feelings of these successful Hispanic individuals regarding their experiences, parents, teachers, and mentors (many of whom were Anglo as well as Hispanic) are eloquently recorded and transcribed for posterity. Their stories reveal personal strategies and significant persons who once extended a helping hand.

            In both of these cases, oral history methodology presents perhaps the only way to preserve otherwise unobtainable information. Concerning oral history Hoffman (1974) wrote:

 

Its most important advantage…is that it makes possible the preservation of life experience of persons who do not have the …leisure to write their memoirs…Interviews with people who have been foot soldiers in various important movements of social change but have heretofore been unrecorded may now be preserved and hence their impact assessed. (p. 26)

 

 

The Role of History in Educational Reform

 

            Scholars have identified several uses for history in educational research. History can be instrumental in effecting social reform, predicting future trends, or in influencing practice through the training of educators (Borg & Gall, 1983). Comparing the work of historian to that of psychotherapist Borg, et al noted that history has a particularly liberating function for educators:

 

To Freud, neurosis is the failure to escape the past, the burden on one’s history. What is repressed  returns distorted and is eternally reenacted. The psychotherapist’s task is to help the patient reconstruct the past. In this respect the historian’s goal resembles that of the therapist – to liberate us from the burden of the past by helping us to understand it. (p. 802)

 

            It is our common understanding of history and the ability to learn from our shared past that distinguishes humans from all other creatures. Wector (1957, August) wrote:

           

Chimpanzee with a stack of empty boxes and a banana hanging out of reach soon learns by his own experience. But man alone learns from the experience of others. History makes this possible. In the broadest sense, all that we know is history. More strictly, it is the road map of the past. (p. 24)

 

History is our collective memory. The ability to utilize history and extract useful generalizations and theories is uniquely human. Without a record of the past we are left to navigate life’s course without the aid of those who have gone before us.

 In a cogent essay published posthumously, Kennedy (1964, February) provided several reasons for examining the historical record. He noted:

 

There is little that is more important…without [history]…[one] stands uncertain and defenseless before the world, knowing neither where he has come from nor where he is going. With such knowledge, he is no longer alone but draws a strength far greater than his own from the cumulative experience of the past and the cumulative vision of the future. (p.3)

 

 

Ethical Oversight of Oral History

And Technological Considerations

 

Historical research and particularly oral history interviewing provides context and clear precedents that can be explored and considered for educational policy as well as practice. Educational researchers and IRB board members might wince at the notion of preserving recorded interviews. Such practice seems to contradict ethical provisions safeguarding anonymity of research subjects.  This is where the difference between oral history interviewing and other methodologies is important. Unlike any other discipline or methodology, oral history interviewing requires the spoken words of a specifically named individual connected in time and place by means of recording data on audio tapes, video tapes, images, documents, and transcripts preserved so as to be accessible for historical verification (Dunaway, D.K. & Baum, 1984).

To address this ethics concern, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) and the Oral History Society (OHS) in October 2003 successfully petitioned the U.S. Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, for a special ruling on oral history research interviewing. They were especially concerned with oral history projects that do not involve the type of research defined by HHS regulations. It was determined that some oral history projects may not fall under the “Common Rule” (45 CFR, part 46) that define research as “a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.”  According to the Organization of Oral Historians (2003, November):

 

This type of research involves standard questionnaires with large samples of individuals who remain anonymous, not the open-ended interviews with identifiable individuals who give their interviews with ‘informed consent’ that characterizes oral history. Only those oral history projects that conform to the regulatory definition of research will now need to submit their research protocols for IRB review. (p. 17)

 

An advantage of the oral history interview, therefore, if the study is carefully designed, is that IRB oversight has become far less restrictive than for other methodologies.

 

 

Concluding Remarks

 

In conclusion, oral history methodology is technology-intensive. Emerging 21st Century technologies as well as existing technologies continue to simplify and broaden the capabilities of the oral historian, both for gathering information and presenting information in a variety of formats. Digitizing voice, image, video, and text materials have greatly reduced the processing and production time for producing and presenting oral history findings.

Finally, oral history interviewing, more than ever before, has enormous potential for giving voice to silent but important players within the arenas of social change – including community and school. In order make any further changes in our school systems educational leaders and researchers have got to find ways to hear these previously unheard voices. Well designed studies that seek out these voices of individuals who have given informed consent can provide historically and contextually rich information specific to time and place with minimal IRB oversight. Finally, technology is rapidly expanding the repertoire of formats for archiving and presenting very useful and usable knowledge to drive school improvement.

 

References

 

Baum, W.K. (1978). The expanding role of the librarian in oral history. Library Lectures,

6, 33-43. In Dunaway, D.K. & Baum, W.K. (Eds.), Oral history: An interdisciplinary anthology  pp. 387-406). Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History and the Oral History Association.

Borg, W.R. & Gall, M.D. (1983). Educational research (4th ed.). New York: Longman.

Campbell, R.F., Fleming, T., Newell, L.J. & Bennion, J.W. (1987). A history of thought

            and practice in educational administration. New York: Teachers College Press.

Charlton, T.C. (1985). Oral history for Texans (2nd ed.). Austin, Texas: Texas Historical

Commission.

Dunaway, D.K. & Baum (1984). Oral history: An interdisciplinary anthology. Nashville,

TN: American Association for State and Local History and the Oral History Assocociation.

Herrington, D. E. (1993). Barriers, influences, and leadership challenges of selected

Mexican-American upper level administrators in South Texas public higher education, 1970 to 1990. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M Universi

Herrington, D.E.  & Kritsonis, W.  (2006). A national perspective for improving the

working relationship between educational researchers and Institutional Review Board members. National Forum for Educational Research Journal, 19(3), 1-5.

Organization of American Historians (2003, November). Oral history excluded from IRB

review. OAH Newsletter, 31(3), 17.

Wector, Dixon (1957, August). History and how to write it. American Heritage, 8(5), 24-       27, 87.

Introduction
The Senate is the highest academic institution of the University with the Vice-Chancellor of the President. Its authority covers all academic matters although some, such as appointments, are shared with the Council. It is the Senate that formal authority can under the Charter of the University and the condition of academic policy. It makes sense for them to make decisions has to create certain committees. Council is the governing body of the University and is the formal employer of all university employees. He is responsible for overall control and Superintendent of politics, finance and property of the university. The staff of the University under the direction of the Vice-Chancellor to implement the policy advice. In this regard, the Vice-Chancellor, may be regarded as “CEO.” He is Chancellor of the responsibility for the services of academic and administrative support from the University will be supported.
The use of committees has been in law / laws establishing the Nigerian universities like the University of Ibadan Act of 1962, which says: “Who or persons that are established by law, without prejudice to the general public, the power to appoint committees formed were anchored members of this body and is subject to the provisions of paragraph (7) of section four of this Act authorizes the committee established by it to exercise on their behalf, that functions to be determined. “In the management of higher education institutions, commissions play an important role in decision-making. This is because the democratic institutions, universities, decisions on governance reflect the opinions of a sample of employees, when those decisions are to accept. This explains why many institutions in the country, many committees of management in achieving useful and relevant choices, good management and growth of the university can contribute to facilitate the system Education established.
Ede (2000), describes the university as an international community in the daily operations of the search for knowledge and truth busy. Ogunmodede (1981), states that the authority comes from the governance of Nigerian universities from an external source – the visitor is still president in case of a state university and the Governor in case of a university state. After Daudu (1986), the management of this complex organization requires the participation by the commission system because of the bureaucracy, collegial and political models are applicable.
Nwachukwu (1988), a committee describes as an instrument for achieving coordination and exchange of information between different departments and sectors of an organization. He also notes that decisions to assist the Committee in promoting better coordination in an organization. Ikenwe (1998), 1971 on the work of Foxworthy (), writes that the main subject, the introduction of the committees on corporate governance is now largely out of concern about the democratization of decision making in these institutions and the recognition of the necessity of making decisions, such as universities are becoming more complex. This explains why many institutions in the country a number of committees, the administration in achieving useful and relevant choices, good management and growth of the university can contribute to facilitate the education system in place.
Given the importance of the committee system of university administration, it is therefore necessary to consider the impact on the efficient and effective management of higher education in Benue State in Nigeria.

Explanation />
There were frequent cries from some members of the academic community that the committee system are not necessarily the best method for the effective management of a university system. They argue that the disadvantages of the committee system in the management of the University of weighing the benefits appear. various segments of the employees have their complaints and severally, other violent and led to the failure of peaceful resolutions to express. These crises cancel efficient management of universities. It is therefore necessary to study this problem

The objective of the study
The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an impact on the management committees of the University of Benue State in Nigeria. Specifically, the study with the degree of employee participation in various committees and their confidence in these committees and their importance in the administration of the university system.

Research Questions
The following questions were answered by the study: –
(I), the commission system to improve decision making in universities?
(Ii), the committee system has led to greater participation by employees of the university community?
(Iii) decisions are taken by committees instill greater confidence in the university community?
(Iv) are effective advisory committees of vice-chancellor?
(V) Do committee recommendations influence the opinion of the University Council and Senate for the proper management of institutions?

Assumptions
The following assumptions were made: –
(I) The committee system is not significantly lead to the participation of a large number of employees in the university administration.
(Ii) The committee system will not improve significantly the decision making process in university administration.
(Iii) The committee system is not significantly instill greater confidence in the university.
(Iv) the committee system has no significant influence on university management.

Methodology
The study population was conducted by staff of two universities in Benue State in Nigeria. The stratified random sampling technique was adopted for this study was due to the large population. The population has been divided into five sub-groups or strata. This helped to facilitate data collection and analysis. In fact, the study sample consisting of 203 senior staff, 109 members bringing the total to 312 samples drawn from the study. The study used a structured questionnaire to the 312 respondents. The Point has adopted four-point Likert rating scale ranging from 4, 3, 2 and 1, was used to analyze responses to questionnaires.

Method />
The standard deviation and t-tests were used to validate the results and draw conclusions. An average of 2 50 was used as a cutoff point of decision for each element of the device. Any questions, with an average of 50 seconds and higher was considered appropriate and therefore increases the level of respondents about the use of committees in the university administration. Any questions, with an average of 50 seconds and higher was considered appropriate and therefore increases the level of respondents about the use of committees in the university administration. Any questions, with an average of less than 2 50 was deemed insufficient. The four assumptions for this study were tested at 0. 05 Level of significance by Student t test for each. When the calculated value is greater than the value of the T-table 0 05 level of significance was not accepted zero. On the other hand, if the calculated value is less than the value of the T-table 0 05 level of significance was accepted the null hypothesis. After the suspension of the answers to these statistical methods and analysis, three of the four null hypotheses were not accepted while the fourth was adopted.

A hypothesis
The committee system will not significantly affect the participation of a large number of employees in the university administration.
Assumptions
N1 5
X1 15th
25
35 S1 fourth
N2 6
99 X2 fifth
S2 80 seconds
DF 6 />
t value CAL February 1985
Table
February 1945 Table value
Decision

Not accepted.

The result of the first hypothesis, as stated above, clearly shows that the system encourages the participation of a large number of employees. Tahir (1991), agrees with this conclusion, as he explains that leadership styles must be the effective involvement of staff and influence students in making decisions, they can develop and secure. Gwary (1993) also argued that full participation in a process where each member of a decision making body has equal power to determine the outcome of the decision. This means that the use of the system of participatory governance in the university system be overemphasized. It must be the full participation of people who are effectively and efficiently so as to support the growth of the committee system of the university administration. It is worth mentioning that while the employee is to participate in decision making that affect their working lives, for the effective management of vital importance.

Two hypotheses
The committee system will not improve significantly the process of decision />
Assumptions
N1 8
X1 24th
62
82 S1 sixth
N2 7
14th
90 X2
S2 6th
20
/>
Cal-tValue2. 674
TableValue2. 15
DecisionDo not accept.
In the table above, since the calculated t value exceeds the value of the table, we must not accept the hypothesis. This finding shows that the committee system is an indispensable tool for improved decision making in the management of higher education. This result is consistent with Jeje (1983) that the committees, the group to uncover the decision on a subject so as to protect the University or the Executive Director of errors arising from the decision of individual states.

Three hypotheses
The committee system is not significantly inspire confidence in the university system.
Assumptions
N1 9
X1 27th
87
62 S1 seventh
N2 7
15th 28 X2
6th S2 44
/>
Cal-third TValue 279

TableValue2. 15
DecisionDo not accept

This finding shows that trust, if the committee, there are decisions implemented faithfully. All senior staff believe that the committees, but rather the views of staff would be ignored if they conflict with those of the university administration. Mehendiratta (1984) in his study of university administration in India and the United States said it would be desirable for the university system itself to the device a suitable mechanism for student complaints , teachers, colleagues and subordinates, and administrators of these machines handle must be designed so that all concerned would have confidence in the impartiality and independence.

/>
The committee system is no significant influence on university management.
Assumptions
N1 8
X1 24th
38
75 S1 sixth
N2 8
16th 38 X2
7th S2 41
/>

Cal-t

Table
DecisionAccept.

The conclusion shows that the committee system does not affect the management of universities. Because the respondents agreed that the review committee is not effective as Vice-Chancellor and the committee’s recommendations will not affect evaluations of the University Council and Senate. What these results show that although the University believes that the community committees are essential tools for the governance of universities, they are not convinced that the university administration actually implement the recommendations of committees. It also shows that there is a lack of trust between the university and the university administration. He will wonder why an employee who is deemed worthy of promotion in the field of appointment and the library committee promotions funded by the Review Council and Promotions Committee will be refused. Explanation is also needed, why a student who is convicted of a fault-finding committee looks for misconduct, but if the same matter, the Senate’s rustic university / faculty, as a student who is expelled . One wonders why these committees are in these cases, where decisions are taken together they look not implemented. Suffice it to say that because of interest expressed in these administrative areas, decisions are taken by these committees on board. These measures against the objective of establishing these committees and also breed mistrust in the system. Sifuna (1991), indicates that the trend for the vice-chancellor to have to dominate all aspects of the decision today in the creation of Vice-Chancellor “administration” and their powers are too broad and constant erosion the Senate has been perfected. Views or decisions of committees will be ignored if they conflict with those of the administration. He also noted that although the universities to teach democracy and are very vocal about the need for popular participation in decision-making structures within universities and key decision making bodies, the most anti-democratic.
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Conclusions and recommendations
Universities around the world are based for the propagation, dissemination and application of knowledge. The university system is composed of people with the spirit of inquiry and critical function of teaching, research and public service, dealing with the spiritual life and therefore the need for a democratic system and thus placing Establishment of the Commission’s governance system. The study shows that staff is not the BSU and UAM as confident as they like to be in the committee system. It is the result of non-implementation of recommendations on governance of the University Committee. There is the need for the university administration effectively and efficiently implement the Committee’s recommendations to improve employee confidence in the system. Administration of the University must continue to find a way to create the conditions for trust to exist within the university as a community is much to gain from a trusted environment.
Tierney (1999) in his paper on university governance and trust believes that if individuals are far too many decisions they need to create the conditions for trust to be there. According to Sehnsucht (2002), the success of institutions to navigate the currents of higher education is the dependence of the efficiency of governance structures and decision processes. Yet the formulation of policy and decision processes are given as an object of empirical research currently only moderate attention.
It is therefore the need for researchers to further explore how best to regulate institutions of higher education to achieve their goals without suspicion. Universities need to develop a style of management and appropriate practices. Delegation and communication channels must be followed. Employees should actively participate in making decisions when they are respected and taken into effective decisions regarding monitoring. Participation will increase them to. Committee recommendations should be accepted and implemented immediately to strengthen confidence in the system. It should be required to include introductory courses and training courses or seminars to the Committee staff, particularly young people, so that the system is all about the committee that most of them do not know how the committee system.

References

Daudu P. (1986) Committee against centralized management than Institution: A choice between participation and effectiveness, unpublished paper

Denga, DI and Ali A. (1998) An introduction to research methods and statistics in education and social sciences (3rd ed) Calabar, Nigeria, Rapid Educational Publishers

Ede. SA (2000) Educational Administration and Management, Jos, Nigeria, Spectrum Books: Publishing Ichedum Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria, Ltd.

Gwary TH (1993) strategies for participatory management of higher education: A case study of the Federal College of Education, Yola. Education Today, 6 (3).

Ikenwe E. (1988) The use of committees in state schools in Bendel. An unpublished thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Jeje. A. (1983) The management of the faculties of the University of Ife, a line of unpublished report on the ground for the MPA degree, University of Ife.

Longing TC (2002) corporate governance: A Call for Collaborative Decision Making in American universities. Boston, MA Anker Publishing Co.

Nwachukwu. CC (1988) theory and practice of management, Onitsha, Africana-Feb. Publishers Limited.

Ogunmodede A. (1981) The community management system of the University of Ibadan. Unpublished doctoral thesis M.Ed., University of Ibadan.

Mehendiraratta P. R (1984) Administration of the University of India and the United States, New Delhi, Oxford and IBH Co

Sifuna DN (1997) The governance of public universities in Kenya, Nairobi, Lyceum Ed Consultants.

Tahir G. (1991) of higher education management in Nigeria, change and pressure for change: unpublished paper.

Tierney WG (1999) Creating high performance colleges and universities, Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications Inc.

INTRODUCTION:

Some European scientists have doubts about the authenticity of traditional African education. They say that before the arrival of Europeans in Africa, there was no education in Africa, culture, which is the fundamental principle of African traditional education often portrayed as primitive and unable to give a framework concrete theories and philosophy, can be reasonable instructions teaching practice.

It is a calculated gesture

by modern education, which threatens to trigger a virtual disappearance of indigenous education Africa. This threat is considered a great extent, especially when our own youth convinced no value in African culture and education. A 1970 study survey in Kenya and Tanzania high school students showed that only a small percentage of the value of education and culture of Africa combined. Make sure you do not see any necessity for preserving traditions and customs. (Prewitt, K, 1977).

These results suggest that there are many short-sighted people on the characteristics and impact of education in traditional African civilization modern. We can not be regarded as a reliable means for tangible progress and development in Africa and other continents. No wonder all the technological and medical Africa raises many international debates and the final version, if it is not patented by the West.

in the voice of Gabriel Kingsley Osei, a distinguished professor of the history of this state must change. The dark age who have banned education in Africa and the civilization in ignorance and superstition will now receive more light on the authenticity of traditional African education. It should be lit enough for people to recognize indigenous education in Africa as one of the most effective means possible to solve African problems. (Osei, 1968).

It is the intention of the document focuses on the characteristics of traditional African education which makes it a true system of education and you show how the world civilization and the training has been a determined and its potential contribution to the development of Africa and the rest of the world. logical representation and revelations in this document is to convince the reader of the need for him, the renewal and adaptation of all that is valid for the 21 century, our education to promote indigenous African. The following questions are addressed in this document.

What is the significance of traditional African education?
What are the objectives of the African traditional education have been?
What are the main features of traditional African education have been?
What was the content of African traditional education?
What methods have been used in African traditional education?
Who are the major players in the African traditional education and how it was organized?
philosophies are the most important direction of traditional African education?
What are the implications of African traditional education to modern education and civilization?

meaning of African Traditional Education:

What is the significance of traditional African education?

education refers to traditional African ways of teaching and learning in Africa, physics on indigenous knowledge by Africans long periods in their different reaction, agricultural, environmental, the political and socio-cultural based accumulated. Indigenous knowledge is a combination of different cultural experiences are often obtained from various African cultures and transmitted as valuable information from generation to generation. (J. S Shiundu, Omulando, S. J 1992; Fasokun, J. et al, 2005).

The objectives of the African traditional

What

the objectives of the African traditional education have been?

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The overall objective of education on traditional African socio-cultural and economic context of each community was divided control. Harsh natural environment introduced to the survival of its most important goal of education. have learned each skill, knowledge and attitude was either for the protection, purchase of food and shelter. (Sifuna, 1994, Datta, 1984).

Other objectives are:

§ In the control unit and a consensus among members of society.

§ perpetuation of the cultural heritage of ethnic groups and ethnic boundaries to stay away.

§ instill feelings of dominance of the group and community life.

§ To prepare young people for adult roles and status.

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