The School as an Agent of Social Change

Schools play an important role in the development of individuals and societies. Schools are vital sources of
knowledge and innovations, they are contributors to economic development, they are agents of social and cultural
development, and they are warehouses of information. Schools also develop the manpower needs of the society
developing the necessary skills, values, and knowledge needed in everyday life particularly in the industry.
Furthermore, schools are national and regional symbols serving as repository of the people’s history and culture. In a
nutshell, a school is a dynamic social organization that develops every learner for various social roles. It is influenced
by a system anchored on a philosophy, mission, and vision.

 School as an organization – it has its system of governance influenced by a fixed structure or bureaucracy.
In basic education, the department of education determines the bureaucratic structure of schools from
national, regional, division, district, and local school level. At the national level, the DepEd Secretary acts as
the head of the whole bureaucracy supported by Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries. The central
office is composed of 4 bureaus namely (a) Bureau of Curriculum Development, (b) Bureau of Learning
Delivery, (c) Bureau of Learning resources, and (d) Bureau of Educational Assessment. The regional offices
are headed by Regional Directors supported by different education supervisors. The Division Offices are
headed by the Superintendent and also supported by educational supervisors. The District offices are headed
by the District Supervisor and supported by educational supervisors. Lastly, the school level, the principal
serves as the chief administrative and academic officer of the school. Master teachers and classroom teachers
support the principal in accomplishing various tasks.

 School as learning organization – its main function is to help learners to learn and develop knowledge,
skills, and values essential for every individual. Its main function is to implement the curriculum prescribed
by the department of Education. Guided by the different principles and theories of teaching and learning.
Students in school with the help of teachers develop much knowledge and skills.

 School as community – it is composed of teachers, administrators, students, and staff and other stakeholders
united in one purpose and guided by common values and culture. As a community, the school is guided by the
following essential elements.

a) Vision- a sense of direction of what the school hopes to accomplish for itself, for the people, and for
the society.
b) Values- provides framework for organizational culture and behavior of the entire school.
c) Leadership-Provides administrative and management support for the day-today activities and
functions of the school
d) Culture-pertains to shared values and behaviors of students, teachers, staff and administration.
 School as a Social Organization

School are important organizations that prepare young children of their future roles as productive citizens in the
country. The way schools fulfil this function has a strong effect on the quality of education they provide. There are
several theories that try to explain the nature of the school organizations. The systems theory is best to explain the
nature of school organization. Under the systems theory, it is best to examine some of the characteristics of schools
including structure, culture, climate, leadership, decision-making, and the relationships among personnel (Bozkus,
2014).

 Structure: As social systems, schools’ structures have characteristics of rational, natural and open systems.
They have hierarchies of authority, goals, and role expectations similar to bureaucratic organizations. Individual
needs affect employee behavior, organizational goals are not firm, informal organizations derive from
interactions among individuals, and schools (Bozkus, 2014).

A school is structured in a seamless bureaucracy that includes positions and offices based on the type of
programs and services offered by the school. The size or population of the school also determines the structure
of the school not only that the school is an integral part of the bigger education system from district, division,
region, and national level. The line of authorities and responsibilities are clearly defined.

This bureaucratic structure of the school has receive much criticism from the public especially among the
teachers and local school administrators. There was a clamor for empowering teachers and principals in making
classroom-based and school-based decisions. There is a need to strengthen their positions in soliciting public
support for their schools. They need to develop innovative programs that are truly relevant and responsive to the
context of the school. School principals need more freedom to make decisions concerning their schools, and
teachers need to be empowered to make instructional innovations and decisions concerning their classes and
students.

 Culture and Climate: School culture is preserved and transferred to new member by the socialization process
(Kowalski, 2010). New teachers learn shared values, believes, and norms when they interact and build
relationships with their colleagues. The school culture is influenced by the philosophy and core values of the
school. It is also continuously shaped by the culture of every individual members of the school. Private school
especially sectarian schools are famous for their ability to sustain their institutional norms and culture especially
among students.

Norms are influential in shaping students’ character and values system. Often times, the norms or school culture
create a sense of place among students. School has become not only a place for learning but also a home for
them. Much of who they are as a person including their views on various issues are influenced by the hidden
curriculum they got from the school. The institutional culture is the thread that binds all teachers, students, staff
and alumni. It is their identity as a school.

Climate on the other hand represents an organization’s distinguishing characteristics, feelings, and behavior that
can be presented with a framework which consists of four elements: (1) physical frame is the physical factors of
a school like equipment, classrooms; (2) social frame is the social factor; (3) environment mostly related to
social behavior of individuals within a school; and (4) structural frame represents factors such as hierarchy,
authority, role, and symbolic frame is the parts of culture like believes, norms, values (Kowalski, 2010).

 Leadership and Decision Making: In social systems of schools an important aspect of leadership is the quality
and systematic effects of functions and behaviors of principals as leaders (Bozkus, 2014). The Governance of
Basic Education Act provided a way to enhance the system of leadership and decision making process in the
school. Currently, principals are now the local executives in their schools. They help to develop the vision and
plans for improving the school and for helping students improve their scholastic performance. Annually, the
schools are mandated to submit their annual school improvement plan (SIP), which serves as the basis for their
budget and for evaluating their performance. Likewise, the teachers are now empowered to develop innovations
that will improve students’ achievement and performance.

 Relationships: Social organizations like schools are stemmed from international among people both within and
outside of the organization. Relationships within school building and with the community are essential elements
of socialization and have a significant impact on many vital processes (Bozkus, 2014).
 Social Change and its Effect in the Education System

Social Change is a broad term and every society develops and evolves in a unique way as influenced by various social
factors and events. Change is always happening in every aspect of the society and it is inevitable. The physical
features of the society are always changing as a result of economic developments. Human relationships and
interactions and culture also have changed as a result of various social forces and events. Many can observe that with
the influence of technology and advancements in science, we expect more change to happen in the coming years. The
future remains unpredictable due to these social change forces.

In general, sociologist define social change as changes in the human interactions and relationships that transform
cultural and social transformation. These changes occur over time and often have profound and long-term effects
for the society. The Financial Institutions 2025 Risk Index identified six megatrends that continues to shape and
influences our society.

 Digitalization and technological advances – Technological advancement is impacting the finance

industry as new challengers are emerging and growing customer expectations drives significant IT
infrastructure investment.

 Demographic and behavioral changes – The changing demographics, geographical, and behavioral
profile of customers are forcing financial institutions to deal with divergent customer expectations, and new
customer bases and workforces.

 Global talent and skills race – Talent capable of navigating a rapidly evolving financial landscape will be
required to respond to increasing regulatory pressures, a changing approach to risk management and the
emergence of new markets.

 Regulatory changes and complexity – Regulatory pressures arising from the financial crisis have
increased the cost of capital, prompted large-scale divestment, reshaped attitudes towards risk, and redrawn
the boundary between retail and wholesale banking.

 Changes in investment, capital sources and returns – Non-bank financial institutions, fintech
companies, and new investors are bringing fresh capital into the sector while banks meet capital
requirements, manage stress tests, and spend on compliance upgrades.

These social changes, among others, demands that all educational institutions at any level must not only
respond to these changes but they must also evolve and be changed.

1. New ways of teaching and learning must be developed and introduced

2. Instruction must focus on the holistic development of every learners
3. Technology must be utilized to improve access to quality education
4. Curriculum must be progressive and innovative
5. Alternative learning system must be harnessed
6. New literacies and skills must be developed
7. Teachers must be equipped with high level of technological, pedagogical, content knowledge (TPCK)
8. Classrooms must be equipped with technology
9. New subjects and courses must be developed to respond to the needs of the society.
10. Old disciplines must evolve to embrace new research and developments in the field.
11.Critical thinking, creativity, and innovation must be developed among students.
12. Industry-school partnerships must be developed.

Social Changes and challenges Brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution

The concept of Fourth Industrial Revolution, according to Davis (2016) builds on the Digital Revolution with cyber-
physical system providing new mechanism and allowing technology to be embedded within societies and even the
human body. It is marked by emerging technology breakthroughs in a number of fields including robotics, artificial
intelligent, nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, internet of things, 3D printing and autonomous
vehicles (Bernard et al. 2016).
Schwab (2016) describes how the 4th Industrial Revolution is fundamentally different from the previous three
industrial revolution. Accordingly, these new and emerging technologies have great potential to continue to connect
billions more people to the wed, drastically improve the efficiency of business and organizations, and help regenerate
the natural environment through better asset management. We are facing a world transformed by technology, in which
the Internet, cloud computing, and social media create different opportunities and challenges in all social institutions
and particularly for the global education systems. Bernard (2016) posits that 4th Industrial Revolution provides various
opportunities to improve human communication and conflict resolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution brought significant social transformations that created a new world economy
characterized by:

a) Wider Employment Opportunities

b) Demand for Quality, Competitive and Flexible Workers
c) Globalization
d) Millennial Workforce
e) Mobility
f) Technological Advancement
g) New Behaviors

The 4th Industrial Revolution calls for the educational system to develop graduates who are equipped with
knowledge and new skills and prepared for responding to the various social challenges that may come. In order to
produce qualified graduates, the curriculum needs a new orientation. The old literacies (reading, writing and math),
have to be strengthened as well as by adding the new and emerging literacies, to produce qualified human who can
thrive in digital era.

Education should adjust itself to different social challenges and demands. There are three literation that needs to be
developed to prepare graduates for this 4th Industrial Revolution:

1. Data Literation – the ability to read, to analyze, and to use information in the digital world.

2. Technology Literation – The ability to understand mechanical (system) work, to use the application of
technology like (Coding, Artificial Intelligence, & Engineering Principles).

3. Human Literation – Humanities, Communication, and Design. This calls for development of leadership
skills, social competence, collaboration and teamwork, professionalism, and new sets of values to be
developed among students.

The school or the education system cannot isolate itself from the demands and needs of the changing society. Schools
and the education system should be at the forefront of these changes. People should see schools as innovation hubs to
solve human and social issues. Schools should ignite peoples’ imagination to be more creative and innovative in
creating a desired future for all the people.

With the changes and challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution, schools need to revisit their academic programs and
focus on what are essentials skills that need to be learned for human beings to become productive and enjoy the
fullness of life. The World Economic Forum in 2016 identified examples of these skills:

 Complex Problem Solving  Emotional Quotient

 Innovative Skills  Decision Making
 Critical thinking  Entrepreneurship
 Creativity  Cognitive Fluency
 People management
 Collaboration
 Social Change and its Effect in the Education System Change Forces

Sergiovanni (2000, pp. 154-155) identified six forces affecting changes in schools: bureaucratic, personal, market,
professional, cultural, and democratic. Each of these forces is influential in implementing changes in schools:

 Bureaucratic forces are rules, mandates, and other requirements intended to provide direct
supervision, standardized work process, or standardized outcomes that are used to prescribed
change.
 Personal Forces are personalities, leadership styles, and interpersonal skills of change agents
that could push for changes to happen in school.
 Market forces are competition, incentives, and individual choice that are used to motivate
change.
 Professional forces are standards of expertise, codes of conduct, collegiality, felt obligations, and
other professional norms intended to build professional norms intended to build professional
community to compel change.
 Cultural forces are shared values, goals, and ideas about pedagogy, relationships, and
politics intended to build covenantal community that is used to compel change.
 Democratic forces are democratic social contacts and shared commitments to the common
good intended to build a community that is used to compel change.

Due to these change forces, schools need to build internal commitment to change and positive social transformation.
Internal commitment is an essential contributor to school effectiveness. Internal commitment means all faculty,
administrators, and staff experience a high degree of ownership and a feeling of responsibility on the changes that they
wish to happen. Teachers, students, and staff must see their roles and responsibilities in the changes that will happen.
Cooperation, collaboration, and open communication is essential. Responding to the different change forces requires
empowerment of every member of the school community. It also requires ethical and moral leadership from school
managers and administrators. Furthermore, all the members of the school must possess innovative behaviors and
creativity.

Characteristics of a Good School as an Agent of Social Change

To effectively serve as an agent of social change, schools need to evolve and be a model of a good social institution.
Reviewing the current literatures on the characteristics of a good school makes us conclude that good schools are
generally described as being learner-centered. Good schools make an effort to serve all types of students by providing
a good physical and socio-emotional environment for all students. They provide instructional support system to help
students to learn effectively and to develop curricular program to further enrich the knowledge and skills of the
students. They respect the ethnic and linguistic differences among students.

Based on the study of MacBeath, Boyd, Rand and Bell (1995), there are six indicators or an effective school that were
also affirmed by Sergiovanni (2000):

Table 1: Indicators of a Good School from Six Composite Perspectives

Pupil
• Pupils are nice to each other
• Everyone is treated fairly
• There is a friendly atmosphere
• Teachers control the classes but not too strict
• Teachers help you with things you are not good at
 Teacher
• Communication is good among all members
• Staff development is good
• The environment is good to work in
• Pupils are happy and well-motivated
• All pupils are helped to achieve what they are capable of
Parent
• There is a welcoming friendly atmosphere
• Staff are caring and communicate well with pupils
• Discipline is good
• Extra time is spent with children who learn less quickly
• Relationships are good between teachers and parents
Management
• Pupils are safe
• All members of the school community work toward clear objectives
• A high quality of information is given to parents and visitors
• Rules are applied evenly and fairly
• All pupils are helped to achieve what they are capable of
Support Staff
• Resources are good and up to date
• Classrooms are clean, warm, and comfortable
• Support staff are given credit for their competence and contribution
• The environment is friendly and welcoming
• Staff development involves all staff
Board Member, Trustee
• Excellent reputation with the local community
• Strong leadership from senior management
• A happy and welcoming environment
• Pupils being helped to reach their individual potential
• A safe place for pupils

As an agent of social change, a school must set an example of a good social institution. Schools need to model a
dynamic social organization characterized by the following:

 The school climate must be professional and friendly to all;

 There must be a positive relationships among students, faculty, staff, administrators, and
stakeholders;
 The classroom atmosphere must be mentally and emotionally engaging for learning;
 There is enough and adequate support for learning;
 The teachers and other staff received support for professional and personal growth;
 The school must be efficient in managing its resources;
 There must be an efficient communication system among teachers, students, administrators, staff,
parents, and other stakeholders;
 The school has a system to recognize good works and other achievements;
 There must be a strong school and home relationship; and
 All members of the school community must be treated with respect.

The school as an agent of positive social change and transformation must elicit support and cooperation from all its
constituents and stakeholders. The embers of the school community believe and support its vision and mission. It
encourages collaboration rather than competition. It disassociates itself from unhealthy academic politics and
practices that destroy unity and good relationship among the faculty and staff.

Schools are guided by a clear vision and a passion to pursue a noble mission. Schools everywhere are not only centers
of learning and knowledge production. They are the guardians of people' freedom and democratic life. They are shrines
of noble ideas and ethical principles. They are the minds and conscience of the people in the field of education.

Responding to the Needs of the Country and Local Communities

In the Philippines, the genesis of community schools during the American period planted the seed for development of
good school-community partnership and the development of a functional literate citizenry. Community schools were
expected to contribute to the economic and cultural development of the people and the communities where they served.
They are shrines of knowledge and wisdom when there are only few basic education schools in the country. They are
concrete reflection of the state's commitment to ensure equity and access to quality education. Many of these
community schools have evolved into community colleges and they became the pioneer unit of the many state colleges
and universities in the country now.

Trade and agricultural schools are also good models of how a school can influence positive social changes. These
schools aim to contribute to the economic development of the people and the community. Over the years, these
schools have produced professionals and scientist who are helpful in the development of agriculture and food
production in the country. For example, we have the world-renowned University of the Philippines Los Banos, which
is famous in the field of research and in developing a lot of scientists in the field of agriculture, forestry, and other
professional field in the Philippines and the Asia- Pacific region. Some outstanding agriculture schools are Central
Luzon State University, Central Mindanao University, Mariano Marcos State University, Eastern Visayas State
University, and many others agricultural universities.

The University of the Philippines, Manila also made an outstanding contribution in developing local doctors who are
serving in local communities in the country. Its satellite campuses in Leyte, Davao, and Aurora are excellent models
on how schools can help serve the people.

Silliman University, a private protestant school established during the time of the American in Dumaguete City is a
good example of how a school can influence the transformation of the society. Silliman did not only produce
outstanding leaders and professionals in various disciplines and fields in the country. It has immensely influenced the
economic and cultural development of Dumaguete City and the whole island of Negros, Currently, Silliman has a
strong research in marine science that focuses on the conservation of our country’s marine resources.

Other schools have done noble contributions to nation building. The following are just a few examples:

a) The UP Baguio research on the indigenous people’s culture in the Cordillera region.
b) Ateneo de Manila University is also known for its contributions in helping the poor people in
various parts of the country and it has collaborations with other agencies and institutions, like
Gawad Kalinga, in its mission to end poverty and serve the poor.
c) Miriam College partnership in developing children’s literacy in poor communities.
d) St. Scholastica’s College program for empowering women and in promoting gender equity.
e) The UP College of Law, Law Center for providing free legal assistance to poor people.
f) The Central Visayas Institute of Technology for developing science literacy by building a
good science and mathematics program in a small town of Jagna in the province of Bohol.
g) Mindanao State University for advancing the education of Muslims and other indigenous
groups in Mindanao.
h) Mary Johnston College of Nursing for serving the health needs of poor families in Tondo,
Manila.
i) TESDA Schools all over the country, are helping to develop the vocational and technical
skills of millions of students.
 Social Change and its Effect in the Education System
Responding to the Needs of a Culturally Diverse Global Community

We are witness to the fact that various countries in the world are becoming more and more interconnected due to the
growing influence of politics, technology, economic cooperation, educational collaborations, and tourism activities.
Shim (2011) pointed out that from a global perspective, people now live in the world wherein entanglement is an
inherent condition of human existence; constant border crossing among cultural and language boundaries using
technology becomes inevitable. As a result, people live in countries, which are becoming more ethnically, racially,
culturally, and linguistically diverse every year (Shim, 2011). Thus, the growing case of immigration in various
countries also has made the society multicultural.

In the study of Ball (2000), the enormous complexities of today’s world require a new vision for schooling that
responds to the needs of the global and multicultural society in which we live. There is a need to prepare students who
possess high level of knowledge and skills that include high level of cultural literacy. To be culturally literate according
to Hirsch (1987) is to possess the basic information extending over the major domains of human activity from arts,
sports, and science, needed to thrive in the modern world.

Certain provisions in the school curriculum should allow students to immerse to different cultures. The thrust of the
school curriculum should be focused on the development of learners who appreciate various cultures and ideas among
different countries (Pawilen et al., 2009).

Schools have great roles in addressing issues and demand of cultural diversity. Our classrooms too are becoming more
complex and diverse (Shim, 2011). Teachers therefore play a significant role in helping the students to become
cosmopolitan members of the society. It is therefore essential to study the preparation of teachers who will accomplish
this task. Merryfield (2000) also noted that despite the increasing demands for teachers to teach equity, diversity, and
global interconnectedness, colleges of education are not producing teachers who are internationally adept. Brodin
(2010) also observed that the need for educating all citizens and providing them will information about other cultures
and countries has become imperative.

In the same note, Tilghman (2007) emphasized that instilling a global perspective among students; exposing them to
the histories, languages, religious traditions, and cultures of countries other than their own; and building academic
bridges between schools and colleges and their respective faculties around the world is today a scholarly imperative,
rather than a luxury. It suffices to say that internationalization of education, which is a global concern among
educators and governments, is the key in addressing various needs, challenges and problems posed by cultural
diversity.

Diokno (2010) observed that internationalization has opened the door for many countries to improve their educational
systems, especially in higher education. Specifically, internationalization in education ranges from various activities
such as faculty and student exchange programs, development of offshore campuses or satellite campuses,
establishment of joint research projects and university linkage, among others. Part of these programs and projects
mentioned is the development and promotion of cultural understanding and respect to diversity.

Roles of Administrators, Teachers, and students in Promoting Schools as Agents of Social

Changes and Transformation

Leadership and collaboration are essential elements to ensuring success in all education endeavors. The kind of
leadership that school administrators provides could inspire teachers, staffs, and other school personnel to pursue
important education goals, Which could be translated in the successful achievements of students in their studies.
When we speak of leadership, we mean effective leadership that pushes more innovations in a creative organization
environment. And when we talk of collaboration, it should be meaningful and constructive that allows creativity,
critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. Thus it is important to understand what drives effective
leadership and meaningful collaboration in schools.

What do effective leadership do? Fullan (2001) identified several strategies that leaders in schools could do to
effective in complex times:
 1) Educational leaders must be guided by moral purpose. Moral purpose is about making positive
difference in the lives of students and striving to improve the quality of working relationship in the
schools.

2) It is essential for leaders to understand the change process. Any form of change in school or in the
whole education system is not easy. All stakeholders must understand the change that is going to
happen and be guided in the process. It is essential to understand that opposition, discontentment,
discouragement, negative feedbacks, is natural when undergoing some changes. An effective leader
is a coach, a mentor, and a teacher in the change process.

3) It is essential to build relationships. If relationship are improved, things will surely get better. Thus
leaders must be consummate relationship builder within the school with teachers, staff, and
students, and between the school and with all stakeholders. Effective leaders constantly foster
purposeful interaction and communication.

4) Leaders must commit to knowledge creation and sharing. School leaders should commit themselves
constantly in generating and increasing knowledge inside and outside the school organization. They
also share vital information to all teachers, staff and stakeholders.

5) Effective leaders seek coherence in everything they do. This is difficult considering the issues,
problems, and demands that schools and the total education system are facing. However, ensuring
coherence is important by constantly following logic and rationale thinking in making decisions,
being guided by the school values and philosophy, and being scientific and systematic in
conducting business in school.

There are other strategies that administrators, teachers, and other personnel can do to ensure success of the school.

1. Strong principal leadership – the principal plays a vital role in the school. The principal ensures that
all educational goals, targets, and plans set by the school and by the Department of Education
should be implemented effectively.

2. Setting high expectations for students’ achievement – the business of the school is to ensure that all
students should be successful in their students; ensuring that all curriculum competencies should be
mastered by the students and this is measured by the assessment of their learning performance.

3. Empowerment and providing positive support to teachers – teachers need to be empowered in

making decisions for their classes and in the subjects they teach. Trust and support for teachers
are important morale boasters that drive teachers to do more innovations in their classes.

4. Creating a clear vision and mission – any administrator should help the school community to create
a clear vision and a great sense of mission. This sets the foundation of good leadership – a vision and
mission that is shared by all members of the school community.

5. Monitoring students’ progress and teachers’ performance – effective school leaders regularly monitor
students’ progress and evaluate teachers’ performance. This means providing instructional leadership is
important.

6. Establishing a positive school climate – ensuring transparency, integrity, and honesty in all school
transactions, establishing clear standards to follow, could do this exercising fairness and supporting
professional growth of teachers and staffs.
 7. Establishing linkages and collaboration with parents, community, and all stakeholders – there is
an old African proverb that says “it takes a village to educate a child” which simply means that
ensuring support and participation of all stakeholders in every school activities and encouraging
parents to have active role in the education of their children are essential.

School as an Agent of Change

The school is considered as one of the major institutions that constitutes society. It is a place where people of
different ages learn and acquire education and training in different grade or year levels. It can be in basic
education school (preschool, elementary, junior and senior high school), technical- vocational institution, or
higher education institution (college and universities). Just like any other organization, the school is
established and organized to pursue a collective goal and meet specific objectives. There are many ways to
look at school as an organization. In this chapter you will learn and understand the different functions of a
school, its structure, and its role in the society. Lastly, the discussion of organizational theories, leadership,
and management theories, in basic education reforms including the organizational structure of the
Department of Education.

Organizational Theories
The establishment of an organization became popular and has significantly influences the
human activities in all parts of the world. It is evident in the way how the current government and
private organizations are structures including the system on how people will function to achieve a
specific goal.

According to Kashyap (n.d.) ever since the dawn of the civilization, people have always formed
organizations to combine effort for accomplishment of their common goal. Some examples are the
Emperors of China who used to construct irrigation system, the First Pope who created a universal church to
serve as religion, and the Egyptians who constructed the great pyramids. In simple words, Kashyap (n.d.)
defines it as a group of persons formed to seek certain goals.

The definition of the term organization differs according to approaches and characteristics defined
by different theorist. According to an article “Organization Theory,” (n.d.), “organization is basically
defined as an assembly of people working together to achieve common objectives through division of
labor.” McNamara (n.d.) also defined organization as group of people intentionally organized to accomplish
an overall, common goal or set foals which have major subsystems that functions with other subsystems in
order to achieve the overall goal of the organization.”

In an educational organization setting, a school is established with a clear vision, mission goals, and
objectives (VMGOs). School’s CMGO is a declaration of the school’s objectives which serves as a guide
for planning and decision-making.

There are several theories that explain the structure of organization and these are classified as
classical or modern organizational theories which deal with formal organizational concepts. Among
these are Taylor’s scientific management approach, Weber’s bureaucratic approach, and Fayol’s
administrative approach.

According to Lagaard (2006), Frederick Winslow Taylor was the primary contributor of Scientific
Management which originated in the beginning of the 20th century which was later adopted by industrial
companies. “Scientific Management was based on idea of systematization where attempts were made to
enhance efficiency of procedures to be best via scientific analyses and experiments.” (Lagaard, 2006,
p.14).
 “Taylor’s work is based on the concept of planning of work to achieve efficiency, standardization,
specialization, and simplification that promotes mutual trust between the management and workers in order
to increase productivity” (Organizational Theory, n.d.) Taylor’s work also proposed four principles of
scientific management articulated below:
1. Science, not rule of thumb- develop a science of each element of man’s work, which replaces the old
rule-of-thumb.
2. Scientific selection of the worker – scientifically select and then train, teach, and develop the
workman, whereas in the past he chose his own work and trained himself the best he could.
3. Management and labor cooperation rather than conflict – heartily cooperate with the men so as to
ensure all of the work being done is in accordance with the principles of science which has been
developed.
4. Scientific training of the worker – workers should be trained by experts using scientific method.

The following concepts suggested by Taylor in order to increase the level of trust (Organization
Theories, n.d.):

• The advantaged of productivity improvement should go to workers;

• Physical stress and anxiety should be eliminated ss much as possible;
• Capabilities of worker should be developed through training; and
• The traditional ‘boss’ concept should be eliminated

During the same time when Taylor developed the theory of Scientific Management, Henri Fayol also
developed another approach called the Administrative Theory. According to Laagard (2006), contrary to
Taylor’s scientific approach which is categorized as bottom up approach, Fayol’s administrative principles is
in the form of the management’s hierarchical pyramid structure which is considered as top down approach
and its focus is on administrative process rather than technical processes.

Van (2009) emphasized that Fayol laid the first foundation for modern scientific management in the
early 1990 which serve as guidelines for decision-making and management actions. Van (209) further
articulated that this management concept which is known as the 14 principles of management is considered
as the underlying factors for successful management:

1. Division of Work – tasks are divided among employees according to their field of expertise or
field of specialization
2. Authority and Responsibility – the management has the authority to give orders to subordinated that
comes with corresponding responsibility.
3. Discipline – is about the core values anchored on the vision and mission of an organization to
form of good conduct which essential to the successful operation of the organization.
4. Unity of Command – all orders received must come from one manager only otherwise it will
cause confusion to employees.
5. Unity of Direction – this ensures that all actions are properly coordinated and requires employees to
perform and carry out activities as one team leading to the same objectives using one plan.
6. Subordinate of Individual Interest – is about prioritization of organization’s interest over personal
interest which applies to all members of the organization.
7. Remuneration – is about rewards and compensations to efforts that have been made which could
be in a form of monetary or non-monetary that keeps employees motivated and productive.
8. The Degree of Centralization – this implies the concentration of decision-making authority at the top
management.
9. Scalar Chain - is about the hierarchical structure that is always present at any type of organization.
There should be a clear line of in the area of authority from the top management down to the lowest. Level.
10. Order- this pertains to the order and safety of employees in order to function properly at work.
11. Equity – this implies equal treatment among members of the organization.
12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel – this is about the proper deployment and management of personnel
by providing employees the opportunity to be considered for tenured position based on their performance.
13. Initiative – this allows employees to express ideas that will help benefit the company.
14. Esprits de Corps – this promotes unity among employees, develops morale in the workplace,
and created atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding.

Another contributor to modern organizational theories is Max Weber. He is a German sociologist known for
bureaucratic theory of management and is considered as the father of sociology. “Weber believed that the
most efficient way to set up as an organization is through bureaucracy which is way better that the
traditional structure. Bureaucracy is an organization structure that is characterized by many rules,
standardized process, procedures and requirements, number of desks, meticulous division of labor and
responsibility, clear hierarchies and professional, almost impersonal interaction between employees”
(Mulder, 2017).

Mulder (2017) and Lagaard (2006) highlighted the three types of power that can be found in an
organization based on Weber’s Bureaucratic model and these are the following:

 Traditional authority – based on historically created legitimacy where authority is hereditary

and based on dependent subordinates:

 Legal, rule-oriented authority – the bureaucratic type of authority, based on normative rules for
career, hierarchy etc.; and

 Charismatic authority – the personal authority, based on a type of ‘seduction’ and hence, the
devotion of supporters.

Mulder (2017) also articulated the following elements that support Fayol’s bureaucratic
management:
 All regular activities within a bureaucracy can be regarded as official duties;
 Management has the authority to impose rules; and
 Rules can be easily respected on the basis of established methods.

In addition, Mulder (2017) explained that “Bureaucracy, according to Weber, is the basis for the
systematic formation of any organization and is designed to ensure efficiency and economic
effectiveness which is an ‘ideal model for management and administration in order to bring an
organization’s power structure into focus. Relative to this, Weber lays down the basic and impersonal
relationship. “The following are the salient features of Max Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory highlighted
by Mulder (2017):

1) Task specialization – sometimes called the division of labor wherein individual tasks are
divided into separate jobs which allows to manage tasks easily. In a school setting, each
department has different functions and each member has different field of expertise. Teachers
for example are usually assigned with teaching loads based on their area of expertise while
other functions that are administrative in nature are assigned to non-teaching academic
personnel.

2) Hierarchical of authority – Managers are organized into hierarchical layers, where each layer
of management is responsible for its staff and overall performance. In bureaucratic
organizational structure has the greatest power to control the lower level while the bottom
layers are always subject to supervision and control of the higher levels.

3) Formal selection – All employees are selected on the basis of technical skills and
competencies, which have been acquired through training, education, and experience and are
 paid accordingly. In the Department of Education, formal selection process is being followed
using an established set of standards and requirement are applied. Education and training
backgrounds are the primary requirement in school setting when applying for a position
including performance evaluation based on existing standards is also required for promotion
and remuneration.

4) Rules and requirements – Formal rules and requirements are required to ensure uniformity, so
that employees know exactly what is expected of them. In a bureaucratic form of organization
like the educational institutions, the operation is governed by specific policies, standards, and
guideline which can be in a form of a memo or an order. It serves as a guide for the members
of the organization to follow.

5) Impersonal – Regulations and clear requirements create distant and impersonal relationships
between employees, with the additional advantage of preventing nepotism or involvement
from outsiders or politics. Decisions must be based on rational factors rather than personal
factors.

6) Career orientation – Employees of a bureaucratic organization are selected on the basis of their
expertise. This helps in the deployment of the right people in the right positions and thereby
optimally utilizing human capital. Professional growth and career development is encouraged
to support employees to perform become experts in their own field and significantly improve
their performance.