Human factors in education

H F Ortelka :
In education today there are multiple personalities and qualities of effective leaders. Due to these personality types many times there are communication problems that occur. These personality types or human relationship factors are presented in many forms and can range from a positive attitude to a negative one. When in the workplace one must understand the factors that teachers have and factors that the administration has. Teachers need to have productivity, loyalty, and reliability in order to gain support, resources and opportunity from the administration (Bergeron, T. 1987). How teachers demonstrate these strengths is directly related to how they relate in the work place. Because of the need for educational reform in today’s schools, there is a demand “for a broader conception of school leadership, one that shifts from a single person, role-oriented view to a view of leadership as an organizational property shared among administrators, teachers, and perhaps others” (Smylie & Hart as cited in Murphy, 2005). This paper will examine 9 different human factors that can lead to a breakdown or a support of communication. These factors are: dependability, integrity, works well with others, fair, hardworking, positive attitude, appearance, acceptance of others, and socialization. We will also examine how these relation ship factors affect the Douglas County School District in Colorado. We will also review an educational meeting and how these factors played a roll in the meeting process.
Dependability is represented in the work place as being consistently at work and on time, follows instructions, responds to teachers’ ideas and groups’ suggestions for direction and solicits feedback to improve performance. When an employee or employer shows these abilities it can have a positive impact in the work place. Likewise if these qualities are not met then it can lead to distrust. In order to have the ability of dependability the employee needs to be able to understand the teachers’ and the students’ and be open to suggestions Integrity may be one of the most valuable aspects in the work place. The employee that has this ability prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently and develops realistic action plans.
They can demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness and monitors own work to ensure quality. The employee is honest and informs all members of the team with the same information. They are able to maintain confidentiality, remain open to others’ ideas and exhibits willingness to try new things. The knowledge they need to posses these skills is what is important to tell the team members and how to balance work and play.
Employees need to be able to work well with others. If there is always tension in the workplace then it will affect work production. In order to work well with others one needs to speak clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations, demonstrates group presentation skills and conducts meetings effectively. They adapt to changes in the work environment, manage competing demands and are able to deal with frequent change, delays or unexpected events.
Fairness is another area of interest. Fairness is not necessarily making things evenly distributed, but reflects more on the ability to give each team what that teammate needs. A teacher who shows fairness treats teachers equally, assesses and handles students fairly. In order to be fair and professional the teacher needs to know the standards, policies and procedures at the state, local and national level.
Employers are looking for hardworking employees and employees look for hard working employers. In a school setting it is especially important to teachers that the administration expects no less of them then they themselves would do. When teachers and administrators are hard workers they consistently give their energy, efforts, thoughts, and expertise to help the school be successful.
The human factor that has the highest impact is ones attitude. A positive attitude can motivate and make the work place a great place to be. The teacher who has a positive attitude has the ability to see the positive side of a situation and work towards an anticipated outcome. When the teacher uses negativity to manipulate or complain, many times the lowers the productivity of those around them.
Although many schools don’t want to admit it appearance is a definite factor in developing a relationship in the school. Appearance starts as a simple reaction to another person, a first impression. Making sure you are clean and well groomed has a large impact on a school setting. After the first impression comes the professional impression. If a teacher wants to be treated as a professional then their appearance should be professional as well.
The eighth human factor that affects schools is the acceptance of others. In today’s schools teachers and administrators deal with different personality types and cultures. Whether in a meeting, discussion or collaboration teachers must have a general respect and acceptance of the other educators. When acceptance and respect leave a school then the atmosphere in the school becomes very tense and unable to provide the basic need of safety and security.
Lastly socialization plays a large roll in the atmosphere of a school. Educators need to be able to socialize with one another to create a sense of comradely within the school. When teachers feel at ease to discuss their goals and personal life then that feeling of friendship carries over to providing support to one another in the school.
These factors all play a vital role in the school system and have an effect in the Douglas County school district. In the Douglas county school district all employees are required to dress and act professionally which fits into the human factor of appearance. Douglas county also self professes itself as a school district that not only is professional but is also a family. It is that family feeling that takes into account the other eight factors previously mentioned.
Teachers need to have the basic feeling of safety and security in order to create a safe and secure classroom for their students. By being surrounded by professionals that have integrity, dependability, fairness, and a positive attitude and are hardworking, they can maximize their potential to have a great classroom atmosphere.
During two recent board meetings hot topic items were discussed that demonstrated the importance of knowing how human relation issues affect the outcome of a decision. On May 5th, 2009 the Douglas county school board had its monthly meeting and on the agenda was the issues of decreased transportation to rural areas. This was a very controversial subject due to the heightened feelings of budget cuts threw out the district. A recent bond issue did not pass in the November election limiting the amount of money that Douglas County has. The failure of the bond issue caused havoc in the district with cut backs, lay offs, and putting the district into millions of dollars of dept. To combat some of the expenses Douglas County re-routed their bus routes, cut many routes off and stated charging the rental of buses to go from 3 dollars per student to 9 dollars per student. The issue brought forth many parents that were located in the southern sections of the county. These areas are mainly rural and have a difficult time getting their children to school. At the meeting there were several parents and they were given the opportunity to speak on the behalf of their area. It was interesting to see how the parents interacted with the board. The first parent was Cindy Applegate. She was dressed very professionally and introduced herself with the title of professor. By telling the board she was a professor it gave the board a deeper respect just based on appearance. The board was very professional and listened to Ms. Applegate and her concerns. The next parent to was Cindy Parker. Cindy did not have a title and although she was dressed nicely it wasn’t a professional outfit. The board was less receptive to Cindy and her concerns. Cindy’s attitude was not as positive and left a negative feeling in the room. The next speaker was a local principal and the bard changed the direction of the meeting by thanking the principal for his years working within the school district and said they would address the transportation issue later. The feeling in the room was one of general let down and distrust. The parents no longer felt that their voices were heard and understood that the discussion was over. It shows that with the human factors of trust taken away the parents realized that they would not get the answers or results they anticipated from the meeting. This is a very good example of when the positive attributes of human relations start a meeting in a positive direction until those attributes start to take on negative feelings and the meeting followed the negative reactions.
At another meeting taking place on March third there three parents present that all had different agendas for the board to hear. The first parent talked about the need for better aquatics in the school district. Se was very passionate about her belief in the increased need to maintain and improve the counties swimming pools. She presented herself in a way that was very warm and excepting. The board explained the finance troubles the district is under and promised to re-visit the issue. The second parent was concerned with security and parking at the local high schools. This was a very emotional topic since Colorado was coming up on the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings. The board explained that every precaution is taken into account when dealing with student safety and those specific instances would be looked into. The final parent to speak commented on educational policies. Although the board was direct and professional it was defiantly felt that they were in charge.
I do not think the parents at this meeting felt as if they had any voice in their concerns. When dealing with human factors it is vital that participants feel a balance between their actions and those of the leadership. I am not sure the balance was gained hear. When there is a misbalance it productivity decreases and the issues did not get resolved.
The job force is indicated with different cultures, personalities, and beliefs. Education is not immune to these variations. How then with all the differences do we find a way to work for a greater goal? The answer is discovering what factors with allow the school to have positive growth and which factors will have a negative impact.
 Teachers need to have a basic feeling of safety and security and this comes from a balance in what the employer gives and what the employee contributes. By addressing simple human relationship factors such as acceptance, socialization, integrity and dependability the school can build a strong foundation on which students can grow.