Educational

Management
The Nature and Theories

March 4, 2023
 Learning Team 1

Arciga, Harsen C. Avila, Jenny Rose D. Bermil, Anneth M.

Digno, Anna Marie J.

Camacho, Rochelle G. Cayrel, Jhonnalyn J. De Mesa, Jean Y.

JENNY ROSE D. AVILA
1st Discussant

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 INTRODUCTION

Educational management, as the name implies, operates in

educational organizations or institutions. The origin of
development of educational management as a field of study
began in the United States in the early part of the twentieth
century. Development in the United Kingdom came as late as
the 1960s. Educational management as a field of study and
practice was derived from management principles first applied
to industry and commerce, mainly in the United States. 4
Theory development largely involved the application of
industrial models to educational settings. As the subject became
established as an academic field in its own right, its theorists
and practitioners began to develop alternative models based on
their observation of, and experience in, schools and colleges.
By the 21st century, the main theories had either been
developed in the educational context or had been adapted from
industrial models to meet the specific requirements of schools
and colleges.
5
Educational management has progressed from being a new
field dependent upon ideas developed in other settings to
becoming an established field with its own theories and
research. It has become a popular field of study and practice
globally.

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NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL
MANAGEMENT

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 NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL
MANAGEMENT

Educational management refers to the administration of the

education system in which a group combines human and
material resources to supervise, plan, strategize, and
implement structures to execute an education system.

Education is the equipping of knowledge, skills, values,

beliefs, habits, and attitudes with learning experiences.
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The education system is an ecosystem of professionals in
educational institutions, such as government ministries,
teachers’ unions, statutory boards, agencies, and schools. For
making our idea of education management further clear we
may borrow the words of some education thinkers.

“School management, as a body of educational doctrine,

comprises a number of principles and precepts relating
primarily to the technique of classroom procedure and derived
largely from the practice of successful teachers.” Paul Monore
9
The education system is an ecosystem of professionals in
educational institutions, such as government ministries,
teachers’ unions, statutory boards, agencies, and schools. For
making our idea of education management further clear we
may borrow the words of some education thinkers.

“School management, as a body of educational doctrine,

comprises a number of principles and precepts relating
primarily to the technique of classroom procedure and derived
largely from the practice of successful teachers.” Paul Monore
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According to G. Terrypage and J.B. Thomas “Theory and
practice of the organization and administration of existing
educational establishments and systems.”

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JHONNALYN J. CAYREL
2nd Discussant

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1. Educational Management is Universal Process

Educational Management is a universal process. It is

related to each and every country, society, organization
etc. The need of management can arise in every field of
Commercial, War, Religion, Human Relations, etc.

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2. Educational Management is an art

According to Koontz, management has been accepted as an art

as in management things are done through others. Therefore, in
management, not only one has to learn the principles of
management but also the manager has the qualities of
sympathy, patience, good manners, experience, behavioral
skills etc.
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3. Educational Management is a social science

Educational Management is a social science because it also

collects data by using methods of observation, experimentation,
explanation, etc. Like Political science, Economics, Sociology,
etc.

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4. Educational Management is a profession:

Educational Management can also be regarded as a profession.

Because in each and every profession, to manage the activities
effectively, he should have some particular qualities like
preparation, behavioral skill, patience, etc.

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5. Educational Management is a multidisciplinary subject

Management is also a multidisciplinary subject. Because the

principles, concepts and skills which are involved in
management are also related to Economics, Mathematics,
Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, etc.

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6. Educational Management is a dynamic process

Educational Management can be considered a continuous or

dynamic process because the principles of management are
changeable as change in time. Every field i.e industry,
education, etc are changing from time to time in respect of new
policy, new action. So the process of management is dynamic.

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7. Educational Management is Goal-Oriented

Each and every function of management is Goal-Oriented.

Effective management is guided by specific objectives.
Educational Management is a process of planning, organizing,
directing, and providing instruction to achieve any goals. The
chief objective of management is to achieve predetermined
goals. So according to Sherlekar and Sherlekar, “Anything
without management is nothing
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8. Educational Management is a Group Activity

Educational Management is a group activity as it involves a

group of individuals to achieve common goals. It helps the
members of the organization to know the aims & objectives of
the organization and also directs them to achieve those goals.

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9. Educational Management is a social process

It is a social process as it gives more importance to social

benefits and responsibilities.

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ROCHELLE G. CAMACHO
3rd Discussant

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THEORIES OF
EDUCATIONAL
MANAGEMENT

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 Education is the main change agent in developing and
developed societies. As a result, the management of educational
organizations is regarded as one of the most important
management perspectives. Basically, educational management is
a discipline with respect to the management of educational
organizations and since this field of study has been developed on
the premises of other resolutely established disciplines, there is
not a unique statement to set out this subject of study. Although
the process of determining organizational goals is fundamental to
educational management, linking between goals and aims of
education and actions of educational management may be 24

considered as vital.
 The other issue of importance is the closely interlocked
relationship between educational management and educational
leadership and a true combination of them to reach educational
excellence. This aims to review the models of educational
management and their links with the leadership styles based on
the discussions as well as the typology of educational
management and leadership models provided in the 4th edition
of the book “Theories of Educational Management &
Leadership” (Bush, 2011).
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Theories and models of educational management have been
categorized by different scholars. Cuthbert (1984) classified
educational management theories into five groups: analytic-
rational, pragmatic-rational, political, phenomenological, and
interactionist models.

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Additionally, Bush (2011, p.34-35) based on four elements
including the level of agreement about objectives, the concept of
structure, the level of environmental influences, and the most
appropriate strategies within the educational organizations has
categorized the models of educational management into six
clusters which are formal, collegial, political, subjective,
ambiguity and cultural models and finally has linked these six
models with nine different leadership styles in the context of
educational organizations.
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ANALYTIC-RATIONAL

An analytical thinker is a person driven by curiosity to get to

the bottom of things and solve a problem or find an answer.
Analytical thinkers don't assume anything about the problem at
hand; instead, they begin by questioning everything about the
issue.

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 Rational-analytical approach assumes that the decision
maker is a 'unique actor who behaves intelligently and
rationally'. He is fully aware of all available feasible
alternatives and considers all the alternatives as well as the
consequences and chooses the alternative that secures the
maximum gain.

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PRAGMATIC-RATIONAL

A person who is pragmatic is concerned more with

matters of fact than with what could or should be. A
pragmatic person's realm is results and consequences.

A rational person is someone who is sensible and is able to

make decisions based on intelligent thinking rather than
on emotion.
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POLITICAL

- interested in the way power is achieved and used in a

country or society (through government, policy-making, etc) a
politically-minded person.

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PHENOMONOLOGICAL

- an approach to personality theory that places questions of

individuals' current experiences of themselves and their
world at the center of analyses of personality functioning
and change.

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INTERACTIONIST

The interactionist/social theory proposes that language exists

for the purpose of communication and can only be learned
in the context of interaction with adults and other children.
It stresses the importance of the environment and culture in
which the language is being learned

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HARSEN C. ARCIGA
4th Discussant

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Formal Model of Educational Management

Structural, systems, bureaucratic, rational and hierarchical

models constitute the formal models of educational
management (Bush, 2011, p.40-42). These models assume that
the structure of the organizations is hierarchical and predefined
objectives are pursued based on a rational method. The
authority and power of heads is the product of their formal
positions and also these managers are responsible and
accountable to sponsoring bodies for the operation and
execution of agreed policies in their institutions. 35
Formal Model of Educational Management

Formal models of educational management are linked with the

managerial leadership style (Bush, 2011, p.60). This style of
leadership has some assumptions such as concentration on
execution of actions, tasks and activities 3 proficiently as a
means of facilitation of other organizational members
activities, high degree of rationality in the behavior of
organizational members and allocation of authority and
influence to formal positions based on the status of the
positions within the organizational chart (Leithwood, Jantzi &
36

Steinbach 1999, p.14).

Formal Model of Educational Management

Moreover, managerial leadership, unlike most of the leadership

styles, does not encompass vision as a core concept since it is
concentrated on successfully management of existing activities
rather than dreaming a better future for the educational
organization (Bush, 2011, p.61).

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Collegial Model of Educational Management

The second models of educational management are collegial

model. Major assumptions of these models are policy
determination and formulation, decision-making based on a
process of discussions, agreements and consensus and sharing
the power among some or all of the members of the
organization who are considered to have a common perception
of the organizational objectives (Bush, 2011, p. 72). Collegial
models are linked with three leadership styles which are
transformational leadership, participative leadership and 38

distributed leadership (Bush, 2011, p.84-91).

Collegial Model of Educational Management

The core assumptions of transformational leadership are

concentration on commitments and competences of
organizational members and the fact that the higher level of
personal commitments to organizational objectives as well as
greater capacities for goal attainment would contribute to the
productivity of the organization (Leithwood et al., 1999, p. 9).

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Collegial Model of Educational Management

Participative leadership which sometimes is described as

shared, collaborative or collegial leadership is the second
approach pertinent to collegial models of educational
management. It has been defined as the opportunities for the
organizational members to be engaged in the decision making
process within the organization (Hoyle & Wallace, 2005,
p.124) and this engagement is a vital action needs to be taken
(Leithwood et al.,1999, p.12).
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Collegial Model of Educational Management

Distributed Leadership is a leadership approach in which

collaborative working is undertaken between individuals who
trust and respect each other’s contribution and happens most
effectively when people at all levels engage in action,
accepting leadership in their particular areas of expertise, and
finally requires resources that support and enable collaborative
environments.
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ANNA MARIE J. DIGNO
5th Discussant

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Political Model of Educational Management

The third model of educational management is the political

model (Bush, 2011, p.99) which assumes that educational
policies and decisions in the institutions stem from a
complicated process of bargaining and negotiation over the
goals of subunits and specific policy objectives are pursued by
interest groups through formation of alliances. Also, conflict is
a natural phenomenon based on this model, and power accrues
to coalitions with higher levels of dominance instead of being
the preserve of the formal leader in the organization 43
Political Model of Educational Management

Transactional leadership is deemed as the most relevant

leadership style to the political model of educational
management (Bush, 2011, p.119). According to Miller and
Miller (2001), transactional leadership is a process of
exchange and Judge and Piccolo (2004, p.755) suggested that
transactional leaders concentrate on the appropriate exchange
process of resources.
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Political Model of Educational Management

They identified three dimensions of transactional leadership

contingent reward, which is a degree to which a constructive
exchange process is built between the leader and the followers;
active mode of management by exception, which implies
monitoring members by the leader, problems prediction, and
taking corrective actions; and finally passive mode of
management by exception which implies the behavior of
passive leaders in facing problems. These passive leaders wait
until some problems caused by the behavior of members 45

happen and then take any required actions.

Subjective Model of Educational Management

This model mainly stresses the aims and perceptions of

individual members in the organization rather than subgroups,
units, or the whole organization, and thus the concept of
organizational objectives is rejected based on this perspective.
Hence, organizations are depicted as complicated entities
reflecting interpretations and understandings of their members
derived from their backgrounds, beliefs, values, and
experiences and are formed based on the interaction of
perceptions of these organizational members rather than 46

something unchanging, stable, or preset.

Subjective Model of Educational Management

With respect to related leadership styles to subjective model of

educational management, it may be noted that postmodern and
emotional leadership are aligned with subjective model (Bush,
2011, pp.138-140). Postmodern approach as a relatively recent
model of leadership have been studied by some scholars.

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Subjective Model of Educational Management

Keough and Tobin (2001, p.2) identified several characteristics

of postmodernism including multiplicity of realities, language
incapability to reflect reality, stress in multiple meanings and
appreciation of situations at local level with specific attention
to diversity. Additionally, Bush (2011, p.139) argued that few
evidences are postulated by postmodern leadership in terms of
how leaders are anticipated to take action.
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Subjective Model of Educational Management

Emotional leadership as the second leadership style associated

with subjective model is concerned with emotions and
feelings. Emotion implies individual motivation and meaning
of events rather than a fixed and stable concept or fact and
appreciation of emotions of leadership is central to high
performance and long term sustainability in headship
(Crawford, 2009).
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JEAN Y. DE MESA
6th Discussant

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Ambiguity Model of Educational Management

Bush (2011, pp.147-154) presented the ambiguity model as the

fifth educational management model in his classification
which stresses in turbulence, confusion, instability and
complexity of organizational life, loose coupling within the
groups, uncertainty and unpredictability, sensitivity to the
signals emanated from the external environment, emphasis on
decentralization, lack of clarity of organizational objectives
and low level of appreciation of processes due to the
problematic technology utilized within the organization and 51

fluid participation of members in the decision-making process.

Ambiguity Model of Educational Management

Based on an empirical study by Cohen and March (1986) in

the context of higher education institutions in the US, it was
suggested that ambiguity is the main feature of universities,
and the garbage can as the most popular perspectives of
ambiguity was developed which rejected the rational process
of decision making introduced in formal models. Based on this
concept, the decision-making process and choice opportunities
within it is considered as a fundamental ambiguous activity
similar to a garbage can into which different types of problems
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and solutions are dumped.

Ambiguity Model of Educational Management

These scholars argued that on the premise of the garbage can,

the decisions would be made based on the four fairly
independent streams and interaction between them which are
problems, solutions, participants in the process of decision
making and the choice opportunities.

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Ambiguity Model of Educational Management

While the participation of leaders in policy making process or

forsaking direct involvement in that process are regarded as
two leadership strategies to deal with ambiguous situations
(Bush, 2011, p.164), the most appropriate leadership style
aligned to ambiguity model of educational management would
be the contingency model of leadership. This leadership style
primarily stresses the advantages of adapting leadership styles
to the specific situations by assessing the situations as well as
reacting appropriately to them rather than applying one style to
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diverse situations.
Cultural Model of Educational Management

The sixth model of educational management is cultural model

(Bush, 2011, p.170). Based on this model, some concepts such
as ideas, beliefs, norms, values, attitudes, symbols, rituals,
traditions and ideologies are considered as central to
organizations and the members behave and assess the behavior
of other members based on them. Moreover, it focuses on how
understanding and viewpoints of members are integrated into
common organizational meanings.
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Cultural Model of Educational Management

The most relevant leadership style to be aligned with cultural

models of educational management is moral leadership which
stresses in the values, beliefs and ethics of leaders in the
organization (Bush, 2011, p.184). Some other terms has also
been used by scholars to define moral or values-based
leadership including ethical leadership (Starratt, 2004; Begley,
2007), authentic leadership (Begley, 2007), spiritual leadership
(Woods, 2007), and poetic leadership (Deal, 2005).
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ANNETH M. BERMIL
7th Last Discussant

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CONCLUSION

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It is obvious that the environment of educational institutions is
completely opaque and turmoil and there has been always a
need for adaptation to the environment as well as reorientation
in policy making in this sector. In fact, charting change and
transformation programs is a must for educational institutions
to be successful and survive.

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Based on this, although the typology provided by Bush
(2011, p.36) has been a great contribution to the field of
educational management, however change-oriented
leadership style, which is pertinent in turbulent
environments (Ekvall and Arvonen, 1991; Yukl, 1999), has
not been linked with any educational models.

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This style of leadership concerns about identification of
threats and opportunities through monitoring the
environment, proposing new strategies as well as building
new visions, innovative thinking encouragement and risk
taking for advancement of change initiatives within the
organization (Yukl, Gordon & Taber, 2002).

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It may be argued that transformational leadership implies
charting transformations in organizations. However, based on
the comparison made by Yukl (2004) between
transformational, charismatic and change-oriented leadership,
the latter leadership style has some specific features that do not
exist in transformational and charismatic leadership and thus,
change-oriented leadership is conceptualized as a more
comprehensive leadership style in a turbulent environment.
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It must be noted that change-oriented leadership is based on
the belief that human society keeps on evolving continuously,
therefore learning lessons of the past and anticipating what is
going to happen in the future become the necessary beginning
point. Trend analysis seems to be the first step. Change
oriented leadership seeks to improve the entire education
system of a country or a school organization that has been
afflicted with hindrances, conflicts, and turmoil that have
prevented it from progressing forward and becoming better. 63
Any model or theory on leadership becomes irrelevant if it
does not bring improvement. Change for the better is difficult
to do. Resistance to change by individuals in an organization,
or divisions in a bureaucratic system, is a common
phenomenon, because change causes revamping of habits,
values, and ways of doing things. Individuals first want to
know what they can get from a change. Other than that,
change requires resources, retraining, management, and
commitment. 64
It is proposed here that change-oriented leadership must
involve the following steps:
 Trend analysis
 Organizational development thinking, i.e. diagnosis of
problems and necessary changes to be made
 Values to be acquired
 Outcomes and benefits to be attained
 Plan and strategies for change
 Resources for change 65
REFERENCES

Ghasemy, Majid & Hussin, Sufean. (2014). Theories of Educational Management and Leadership: A Review.
(PDF) Theories of Educational Management and Leadership: A Review (researchgate.net)

https://eprints.um.edu.my/13542/1/MDP-71.pdf
NatureScopeandObjectivesofEducationManagement.pdf

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