The Strategies for Improving Management and Staff Relationship

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING MANAGEMENT AND STAFF RELATIONSHIP IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

This chapter is a general review of “Strategies for improving Management staff and relationship in tertiary institution”. Studies carried out in this area of study has been very minimal. The research could only find people’s opinion on the topic and the effort of the researcher is to bring forward those views and contributions that will support the study.

Relationship Between Teaching and Learning in Tertiary Institution.

 “Despite the evidence of a synergistic relationship between teaching and learning, we make no recommendation about this: it would be wrong to allow teaching issues to influence the allocation of funds for learning. (HEFCE, 2000, para175, p.26)

“on the link between teaching and learning, Mrs. Hodge [then minister for higher education] said both she and the education secretary, Charles Clark, “ still needs to be convinced!’’ A good teacher needs good scholarship but I cannot say an inextricable link with being engaged in cutting edge in learning and being good at kitchen’’ (Macheod, 2003)

‘‘I think it will be fair to state that there was a selection of evidence to support a conclusion. I fear we got into a position in which the intelligence was not been used to inform and shape policy, but to shape policy that was already settled’’ (Robin Cook,2003 giving evidence on UK policy concerning IRAQ the foreign affairs select committee).

More than a century age, Cardinal Newman described the purpose of the university as: ‘‘the diffusion and extension of knowledge rather than the advancement. If its object were scientific and philosophical I do not see why a university should have students…….’’ (Newman, 1976, preface, quoted by brown, 1998).

In both teaching, learning and staff management relationship ‘‘universities should treat learning always as consisting of not yet wholly of solve problems and hence always in a research mode (Von Humboid, 1970 quoted by Elton 2005, pp. 110). although discussion of the relationship between teaching and learning often referred back to the ideas of Cardinal Newman and Von Humboid in the 19th century(Brown, 1998, Elton, 2005). This research is written in the context of government worldwide intervening in higher education in the 21th century to ensure higher quality result and seeing the need to concentrate that research in particular institution.

The developments throw into question the interconnection between staff relationship and learning

Student and Academic Staff Experience in Teaching and Learning Relationship

 This is grammatically reviewed in the contrast between two major UK government projections of higher education policy in 1963 and in 2003. This Robbins report of 1963 saw the teaching learning nexus as what distinguish higher education from other forms of education.

‘‘The element of partnership between and taught in a common pursuit of knowledge and understanding, present to some extent in all education should becomes the dominant element as the pupil mature and as the intellectual level of work done wise. It is truth that only minority of undergraduate have the ability and the wish to pursue the studies at a postgraduate level; but the present of work at this level gives intellectual and spiritual vitality to work at all level in institution where it pursued. ‘‘(Committee on Higher education, 1963 para555.)

Forty years later, and creating a funding and policy framework do some 40-50% of an age government 2003 white paper on the future of higher education.

How Reward Systems Report or Hinder Staff in Bringing Teaching and Learning Together

 ‘‘At present the university title is reserved for institution that have the power to award both taught degree and learning degree requires that institution demonstrate its strength  in teaching. This situation is all odds with our believe that institution should play to diverse strength, and that excellent teaching is, in itself core mission for a university. It is clear that god scholarship in the sense of remaining of the latest learning and thinking within a subject, it is essential for teaching but no that its necessary to be active in cutting edge, learning to excellent teaching. This is borne out by number of studies undertaken over the last ten year in the mid 90s looked at 58 student which Continued Ratings of both teaching and learning, and found no relationship between the two” (DFEC, 2003, emphasis added) while have been many studies of teaching-learning relations at the individual level, there is far less studies at the level of institution or departments within institutions. Such research is often quantitative give the issue it seeks to understand. Care has to be taken in seeing this research as providing solid evidence for action, for much of it is of necessity focused on particular institutions in particular rational systems. However, such research does give us some clear directions for action.

How Teaching and Learning Conceived and Related in Institutional Policies  

          In UK, recently, policy-oriented research by Gibbs and Jin consulting (2000) indicates a failure of institutional strategies to link teaching and learning under a cordially relationship of management staff effectively or at least to do this in a purposeful and explicit manner.

As part of a system-wide review of national research policies, J.M. consulting (2001), through document studies and site visit, analyzed institutional policies in place to monitor or develop the linkage was quoted on the introduction. They also found that;

‘‘There were some attempts to manage teaching and learning workloads in departments, partly to allow more time for learning. Some strategies may be having the unintended consequences of driving learning and teaching apart of some staff’’ (JM consulting, 2000, p.11)

Gibbs (2001), in a related study HEFCE analyzed the impact of national finding requirement inducement for institutional teaching strategies. He concluded that:

‘‘The teaching learning nexus was addressed only to a limited extent. It was very rare for institutions to make any mention of their research strategies in their teaching and learning strategy, and the potential conflict or synergies between teaching and learning were generally not addressed. Mechanism though which this nexus might be exploited are not yet articulated… strengthening the nexus is at present an aspiration rather than a plan. (Gibbs, 2001, p.17).

However the Gibbs and JM consulting studies were undertaken in the context of the UK system, which separately funds and assesses teaching and learning so one should not be surprised that inside institutions this separation is mirrored in polices.  In Newzealand, all institutions in 2000-2001 were audited by the national academic audit unit for how institutions linked teaching and learning and for the effects of this link (Woodhouse, 1998, 2001). In that context, hattie and marsh analyzed the reality behind the institutional mission of one Newzealand institution.

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