James, Raymond John; (1993) Middle management training - does it make a difference back in the workplace? Masters thesis (M.Phil), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The work that gave rise to this study began as a review of the Essex Pastoral Care course which resulted in the development of a generic, modularised, Team Leader management training programme suitable for heads of department and pastoral team leaders in Essex schools. It was the residential module of the programme that formed the focus of this study. The work began before the enactment of the Education Reform Act of 1988 and therefore prior to the main thrust of the movement towards School Development Planning, performance indicators and managerial competencies in the education field. The author contends that effective management is essential for a school to be effective, and that management training is a vital ingredient in the development of that effective management. This raised two questions which gave rise to this study. The first question is, how good was the residential programme and was it thought to be useful by the course participants? This question relates to the quality and variety of the delivery, content and organisation of the course. Such a question has often been addressed in course evaluations, however apart from a subjective view by the participants of their intention to change their management practices, little evidence has been collected as to whether any changes occur when participants return to their place of work. The second question which is fundamental in this context is, does the programme bring about a change in the functioning of middle managers in their work place and are the participants better managers as a result of this training experience? There are a number of issues that arise directly from the second question:- - How, for example, can one determine whether there is a change in the manager's functioning and what are the sources of evidence for this? - Can any changes observed be related to attendance on this programme or are they the product of natural development resulting from the occupation of the new post? - Are observed changes related to the internal processes and activities in the context of the school climate or ethos? - Management skills can be learned, but is the straight acquisition of skills enough to bring about an improvement in management competency or are there things managers need to acquire through training that are equally important? In this study a complimentarity method was used comprising of a quantitative questionnaire, piloted and trailed, which mainly addressed the question of quality of the programme, and qualitative, triangulated interviews which addressed the second question, does the programme make a difference to the functioning of the manager back in school? This thesis can be divided into four sections. The first, deals with the origins of the research and the connection between school effectiveness and management competency (Chapters 1 and 2). The methodology devised for use in this study and the context of the change in the funding arrangements for in-service training for school teachers are covered in Chapters 3, A and 5 (section 2). The third section (Chapter 6) covers the trialing and a critique of both the questionnaire and the interviews, and Chapters 7 and 8 (the fourth section) are concerned with the analysis of the results and the conclusions drawn.

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