Analysis and development of kindergarten team management (case study)

Work of a kindergarten or school headmaster can be defined as school management, comprising both administrative and pedagogical management. An individual in the role of a headmaster has difficulties in performing numerous position-related tasks with the same desired quality, so it would be sensible to develop teamwork in the field of kindergarten management as well. Team management in kindergartens is a current issue, which needs to be explored in depth. In the school year 2011/12 we formed a management team in the researched kindergarten from the already established college of headmistress, and tried to develop team management by introducing the elements of teamwork. Given that the process of promoting and developing teamwork is based on the parallel promoting of the reflexivity of team members, we wanted to use the systematic introduction of changes in the management team to develop the responsibility of the management team members for their own active role in promoting team development. In this master thesis we have professionally theoretically defined different dimensions of teamwork, such as team roles, different styles of management; we have highlighted the importance of interpersonal relationships and understanding them for the effective management of an educational organization. Based on the theoretical analysis of the professional literature, we have presented the characteristics of team management in kindergartens in this master thesis. The presented analysis of the management model before the systematic development of team management and after it is based on action research. As part of the analysis results, the opportunities have also been identified for further development of team management in the specific kindergarten. We have analysed the employees’ perception of the existing management model (headmistress, members of the management team, professional and technical workers) and tried to propose suggestions for improvements on the basis of this analysis. The basic research question of this master thesis has been: which elements of team management are present in the current management model, what should be changed and what changes should be used to improve team management in the kindergarten? Based on the current situation we have been introducing the changes using the method of action research by action steps (elements of teamwork) and developing the existing management of the kindergarten in the direction of team management. The development of the management team has been monitored throughout the process of action research