The Environment and Operation of Secondary School Units in the North Aegean Region

Abstract

In order for educational organizations, or otherwise educational units, to accomplish their purpose, effective management is a prerequisite. The ultimate goal of this research is to examine the environment and operation of the school unit. More specifically it examines the problems of the school unit, the effectiveness of communication, the prevailing climate, the abilities of the principal and the existence of an evaluation method. The method adopted for the study is the classified cluster sampling method. In this context, 312 questionnaires were sent to all 104 secondary schools of the North Aegean (Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Limnos, Fourni, Oinousses, Psara, Agios Efstratios). Out of the 312, 148 were returned completed. This means a 47.44% response rate. As regards the way the school unit operates, research has shown that it does not lack cooperation among school unit members, effective leadership, adequate guidance and encouragement from teachers, or effective communication. Specifically, on the question of communication, respondents' answers show that communication between school unit members and parents as well as between the school unit and the local community is to a moderate or to small extent effective. Regarding the issue of leadership, respondents' answers indicate that almost half of the teachers believe that the principal in the school unit they serve has the necessary skills and abilities to meet the requirements of this position. Another feature of the operation of the school units involved in the survey is the lack of school evaluation.At this point it is worth pointing out that the results of the research show that the problems faced by the majority of the school units involved in the survey are, according to the respondents' answers, due to the ineffective organization of the educational system itself and consequently of the school units as well, namely the bureaucratic and centralized model, which does not provide flexibility for school units and teaching staff to take initiatives in order to enhance the educational process. 37Referring to the quality of education, Mr. Fasoulis (2001, 188) argues that quality "means the ability of the educational staff to provide effective education" and "besides that "quality" of management is also required, i.e. guidance, motivation, exploitation of resources, educational improvement; concluding that the chain reaches the top leadership of education through the requirement for quality or effective management". This again means that the educational staff should be characterized by quality management, i.e. guidance, training and motivation, through the quality and effective management of the educational unit. According to Mr. Fasouli (2001), two are the elements that we distinguish for the educational unit efficiency: teachers and leadership of the school unit. The tools that are used are culture, goals, organizational structure, environment, and primary procedure. As regards the factors that contribute to school effectiveness, the above analysis has show...