Management of effective teams of teachers in secondary schools

M.Ed.(Education Management)The ushering in of a new education system in South Africa comes with its own challenges to educational authorities. The role that school principals should play will still be significant as they are an important link between the school and outside authorities. Despite this important part they play, principals should always involve their staff, students, and parents in educational matters. Drawing in various stakeholders in the school will ensure that there is widespread responsibility. The platform suitable for stakeholders' participation appears to be the creation of teams. Teams have been identified as a suitable forum for the application ofTotal Quality Management in schools This approach, of looking at the interests of students first, should be coupled with ensuring that societal values, norms, mores, and . ethics are takencare of in schools. The essential function of a school leader is to present to students and teachers their ownpersonal vision of where the school and society should be going. Participation in school matters by teachers, students and parents alike necessitates that mutual respect be prevalent in such an environment. Thecollaboration of teachers, students and parents will foster teams which will provide greater power, both with regard to ideas and the ability to act on them. This study hashighlighted the following: I. The team is the major, and sometimes, the only source of emotional support for colleagues in schools. 2. Effective teams co-ordinate the interaction of members of staff so that they arc able to deal with information from many different directions and sources. 3. Teams generate greater ideas and considerable benefit IS derived when all members stimulate each other's professional growth. The establishment and building of teams should also encourage professional -,development of the teachers, which is also a vital element in teaching and learning. Delegation of essential management decisions to teams should be a common practice by the principal. This will ensure that interested parties in school matters will be kept informed of new developments. It will also draw in the participation of stakeholders, which create a pooling of ideas. Changing realities in the South African education system should not catch education authorities, principals, teachers. students and parents unawares. They need to keep abreast of developments through an imperative communication network. Teachers. students and parents should be empowered so that they not only play a vital role in education but a meaningful one as well