Job Analysis

Unit 4

Introduction
The Headteacher, as a leader, needs to understand what headship entails. Understanding what constitutes the job of a Headteacher should enable you to discharge your duties and responsibilities more effectively and efficiently A clear perception of your duties should provide you with a framework for self‑appraisal. It should make it easier for you to delegate duties. The purpose of this unit is to explain the concepts of job analysis, job description and person specification in order to enable you to appreciate better the complex­ities of your role in school improvement.

Individual study time: 4 hours


Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit you should be able to:

¨ distinguish between job analysis, job description and person specification
¨ indicate the range and nature of the factors that affect your job operation
¨ identify aspects of your job description
¨ describe the attributes of an effective Headteacher.

Job analysis
A job analysis involves dividing a job into its component parts. It consists of two elements: the job description, which covers the tasks to be done, and the person specification, which tells us about the sort of person who is most likely to be able to do the job.

Job description
A job description indicates the tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken. It is also essential for the appraisal of staff performance. Therefore, each member of your staff should be aware of his or her job description. As Headteacher, you should be aware not only of your own job description but also of the job descriptions of your staff.

Drawing up a job description for a Headteacher can be a difficult task. There is an argument that Headteachers should not carry out routine tasks related to the administration of their schools. Their role, as the lead professional, is to ensure quality learning and teaching in a disciplined atmosphere and to challenge the staff to achieve this. However, this concept is probably impractical in the majority of Guyanese schools at present due to shortage of staff and various resource issues. However, we should not stray from the principle role of the Headteacher and this must be strongly reflected in his / her job description – that is the promotion of a quality learning institution in a closely controlled environment of work, study and play at appropriate times.

As a school Headteacher you will also appreciate that each school situation demands that particular tasks be performed. Your own perceptions of the job of a Headteacher will determine how you decide each task should be undertaken and the importance you give to it.

If you were to list all of the things that you do as Headteacher of a school, it would run into hundreds of items. This would be the process which is referred to as 'job analysis', that is, the identification of the compo­nent parts of your job. The process of job analysis should help to provide you with a checklist of tasks which you need to perform.

The following breakdown of the role of the Headteacher, which is intended to be indicative rather than prescriptive, will help you to consider some of the issues.

¨ ensuring that the mission, objectives and targets for the school are set and achieved.
¨ promoting a learning community
¨ managing curriculum design, implementation and evaluation
¨ mobilising and managing resources
¨ setting up an effective organizational structure within the school
¨ deploying staff
¨ supervising staff
¨ supervising pupils
¨ organising in‑school staff development programmes
¨ promoting and maintaining good discipline
¨ ensuring the maintenance of the school plant
¨ ensuring clear communications within the school between yourself, and the staff, and the pupils
¨ maintaining good public relations with parents, and the Ministry of Education
¨ keeping full and up‑to‑date records and information about the school

The main elements of a job description should be:

¨ a title ‑ this follows the nationally agreed system
¨ the job description should be divided into two main parts – role and responsibility. The former refers to the requirement of the Headteacher to set the tone for the school as well as creating its vision and ethos. The latter is a statement of the main tasks ‑ it is necessary to separate them out before placing them in logical groups
¨ an indication of the person or group to whom the individual is account­able ‑ for a school Headteacher this is likely to be the District Education Officer and / or the Board of Governors
¨ an indication of the authority the individual has over other staff
¨ an indication of the nature of such relationships should be included, as we are stressing how the school Headteacher (and the staff) should relate to other people involved with the school,

One of the problems with creating your own list, based on the realities of your normal day, is that it is probably quite long. Questions which arise from an analysis like this include:

¨ Am I doing what I should be doing?
¨ Am I trying to do too many things?
¨ Might some of these tasks be as well done by other teachers?
¨ Is there a balance in the tasks I do, between, for example, dealing with:
o short‑term, crisis matters, for example, an absent teacher; medium‑term matters, for example, the timetable for next term; and long‑term matters, for example, a review of practices and setting of targets
o resource issues, such as repairs and books, and people issues, such as communicating with staff
o personnel matters, such as the payment of staff, and matters such as organising the exams
o dealing with pupils, and teachers, and parents?

When you have identified your overall role and your responsibilities, the latter need to be placed in clear categories and should not be presented as an undifferentiated mass.

Below is an example of a Job Description for a Headteacher. Notice that it is divided into sections for Role and Responsibility.

Role of Headteacher
¨ To help and maintain, through his / her commitment, the ethos of the school so that staff and pupils may actively develop fully in personal, professional and educational terms.
¨ To be a member of the Senior Leadership Team, initiating procedures and policies and carrying out those agreed by the S.L.T.
¨ To take a prominent role in the day to day running of the school.
¨ To monitor the work of the staff and pupils of the school in all aspects of their work.
¨ To evaluate the work of the staff and pupils of the school and, in the light of this evaluation, take a leading role in the school’s future development.
¨ To ensure the maintenance of good order and discipline amongst pupils at all times.
¨ To promote good relationships with parents, governors, the local community and Regional Department of Education
¨ To promote the aims and objectives of the school.

Specific Responsibilities

¨ Creating an environment which is conducive to effective learning and which meets the physical, emotional and educational needs of pupils.
¨ Maintaining a partnership between the school, parents and governors and ensuring that the school is a meaningful aspect of the local community.
¨ Defining the educational goals of the school and setting these out in the development plan in consultation with the staff, parents and the Regional Department of Education so that it meets the national statutory requirements..
¨ Developing a curriculum which meets the requirements of the latest Education Act and successive Education Acts and which responds to the needs of all pupils.
¨ Reviewing the curriculum so that the quality of pupil learning can be improved and educational disadvantages minimised.
¨ Ensuring that an effective system for assessing and recording the progress of each child exists in accordance with statutory national responsibilities and local policies and ensuring that the aims related to each child’s learning are achieved.
¨ Ensuring a supportive system of pastoral care for all pupils which contributes to their effective learning, and developing coherent recording and reporting procedures.
¨ Developing a coherent and accountable management, administrative and organisational structure within the school which ensures that the curricular and learning needs of pupils are met.
¨ Establishing an effective professional development programme for teachers which includes whole staff development and school focused training in line with M.O.E. policies
¨ Monitoring and evaluating all aspects of the work of the school in collaboration with staff, governors and the Regional Department of Education.
¨ Working in close collaboration with the M.O.E. and Regional Education Department and with officers and inspectors on relevant matters.
¨ Establishing an effective communications system within the school, with parents, governors and the community and with the Regional Education Department.

Assessing the Quality of Learning and Teaching
This aspect of the role of the Headteacher is so important that it deserves a separate section on its own. The prime function of a school is to enable its students to learn. This can often be forgotten with the mass of administrative tasks and day to day managerial issues that have to be dealt with. However, despite all of this it is still the school’s prime function.

A Headteacher, along with senior staff who will have duties delegated to them, needs to promote continuously quality learning and teaching at every level. This not only involves, coaching, nurturing and training but also monitoring and evaluating that quality of learning.

This is all of little use unless it is accompanied by a process of staff development which will ensure quality at every level. If you like, this is inspection and self evaluation at the level of the school and the departments within it but done in a supportive, encouraging and helpful way. It needs to be a non-threatening environment where professional discussion can take place without being overcome by personal considerations.

In assessing your teachers’ skills, you and your senior staff would need to:

¨ observe their lessons on a regular basis
¨ provide feedback
¨ discuss the lesson plans with the teachers
¨ study the teacher's schemes of work
¨ discuss the strengths and weakness of each lesson observed with the teacher
¨ write up a report to identify further development and set appropriate targets.

In making this analysis of just one task you may clearly see that there are many elements. The same is true for all the other tasks in which you might be involved, such as organising exams, ensuring staff are paid, or reviewing practices and setting targets. Thus when the job description of a Headteacher is written, or you write job descriptions for members of your staff, then account must be taken of these elements, to ensure that the person will not be over‑ (or under‑) loaded.

Person specification
A person specification refers to the type of individual you want in terms of their qualities, qualifications, background and experience. If these attributes are to be assessed accurately, a comprehensive job description which outlines the role and responsibilities of the post must be prepared first of all.

Activity 4.3
Consider your own job as school Headteacher. Write a list of the qualities you would include in a person specification for your own post using the following headings: background; abilities and skills; motivation and interest; attitudes.

Comments
Below are examples of the type of item that might be found in a person specification

· professional and academic qualifications required
· a diplomatic and skilful negotiator
· an enthusiastic and energetic person whose approach to work is businesslike
· a resourceful individual full of initiative
· a successful teacher
· a good personnel manager who can handle sensitive issues and also motivate pupils, teachers and parents to give of their best at all times.

Below is an example of a Person Specification for a Deputy Headteacher

1. Qualifications
¨ Qualified Teacher (Essential)
¨ First Degree (Desirable)
¨ Recent and relevant In Service training

2. Experience
¨ Relevant teaching experience and a proven record of high quality teaching
¨ Currently employed in a senior leadership post in a secondary school
¨ Ability to handle a range of management tasks
¨ A proven record of managing staff
¨ A proven record of meeting the needs of the professional development of staff
¨ Ability to demonstrate the ability to lead initiatives leading to success which can be measured
¨ Ability meet the needs of a school with a high proportion of SEN provision.
¨ A proven record of excellent classroom management

3. Skills
¨ Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the requirements needed to carry out the main responsibilities
¨ Demonstrate a thorough understanding of whole school issues
¨ Demonstrate an understanding of the needs of children of all abilities
¨ Demonstrate an understanding of monitoring progress
¨ Demonstrate an understanding of school development planning
¨ Demonstrate an understanding of budgetary control
¨ Demonstrate an understanding of the issues in promoting schools
¨ The ability to lead and be part of a team

4. Personal qualities
¨ Good communication skills for a variety of audiences, both verbally and written.
¨ High expectations of staff and pupils
¨ Expectation of high standards of pupil behaviour
¨ The ability to be able to work well under pressure and to respond quickly and appropriately to situations which may arise in a school
¨ Confident, positive and a sense of direction
¨ Approachable by all members of the school community
¨ A real commitment to raising the achievement of all pupils
¨ A desire to consult
¨ Ability to motivate staff and pupils

Activity 4.4
Using the guidelines from this unit, revise the job description for either your
Deputy Headteacher, Senior Teachers, Heads of Departments or Level Heads.

If a job description does not exist, write one.

Comments
You should share the results of this activity with other school Headteachers, and with your local DEO or line‑manager, to see how they can help.

Summary
After going through this unit, you should now be able to explain and distin­guish between the concepts of:

¨ job analysis (breaking a job into its compo­nents);
¨ job description (what the job entails);
¨ person specification (the qualities of the person you require for the job).

In this unit we have emphasised the job analysis of the Headteacher, but you must be able to prepare analyses for every member of your staff. You also need to be sure that all members of your staff are aware of their job descriptions.

A job description is essential if later on you are to carry out an appraisal of the work of any member of staff or the performance of a staff member falls short of expectations and capability procedures need to be initiated.

In considering all of these issues, you should refer to the Ministry of Education Desk Manual for School Administrators.