The following assignments should be completed by the due dates as indicated above and given to your Master Trainer for marking. Please read all the related advice in this booklet before attempting them.
Each assignment should be clearly labeled with your name, region, school and Master Trainer. The pages should be numbered and attached together. Please ensure that handwriting is legible and the presentation is good to facilitate easier marking. Although extra marks will not be awarded, typed or word processed assignments would clearly be an advantage in this area.
The total marks for each Assignment is 30. Individual marks for each section are indicated.
MODULE 1
ASSIGNMENT 1(a) List FOUR Styles of Leadership and describe any TWO of them.
(4 x 1 mark + 2 x2 marks = 8 marks)
(b) Ms Jones, Headteacher of St Peter’s Primary School, believes in delegation of duties. At a staff meeting, she assigns duties to each member of staff without prior discussion. Miss John objected to the duty assigned to her by the Headteacher. The Deputy suggested that each member of staff be given an opportunity to select duties they can competently perform.
State the leadership styles used by the two Senior Leaders and give the advantages and disadvantages of each.
(2 x 1 mark + 2 x 4 marks = 10 marks)
(c) Discuss the relative importance and implications of any THREE steps taken by a Headteacher when delegating responsibilities / duties.
(3 x 4 marks = 12 marks)
MODULE 1
ASSIGNMENT 2(a) What is the difference between “School Aims” and “School Mission”? (2 marks)
(b) List THREE strategies a headteacher should follow in order to establish a mission statement in his / her school? (3 x 2 marks = 6 marks)
(c) A newly built secondary school is established in Mahaica to accommodate 1000 children. The children will be drawn from the tops of primary schools in the neighbouring communities.
As Headteacher of that school, prepare a draft mission statement to present to the staff for their consideration. Write brief notes on each section to explain why you have included the different aspects of the statement. (7 marks)
(d) Being the Headteacher of the above school, say how you would approach the community and in what way it could assist towards the school realizing its mission. (7 marks)
(e) Do you think a school will be significantly better because it has a Mission Statement? (8 marks)
MODULE 2
ASSIGNMENT 1(a) Delegation of duties is one of the key factors for the efficient leadership and management of a school. Discuss whether there is a need for delegation of responsibilities. (8 marks)
(b) A parent has told you that her15 year old daughter is expecting a baby and one of the teachers is suspected of being the father. She is afraid of the repercussions for her and her daughter if there is a scandal but, nevertheless, she is very angry. How would you go about making a decision about the action that should be taken and ensure that everyone’s wishes were taken into account? 7 marks)
(c) Communication could be considered to be the heartbeat of any school. The head of a Georgetown secondary school has a clear vision and well thought-out objectives. In spite of this, his school is under-performing. What approach could he use to better communicate his strategies for school improvement to his staff?
(8 marks)
(d) Discuss whether you think “change” is always necessary for school improvement. Give your reasons. (7 marks)
MODULE 2
ASSIGNMENT 2(a) The Guyana Ministry of Education has five specific overall responsibilities. Write brief notes about your understanding of each one of them.
(5 x 2 marks = 10 marks)
(b) Explain your understanding of the different roles embodied in the Political, Administrative and Professional Heads of the Ministry of Education. Give examples of two tasks that might be carried out by each one.
(4 marks + 3 x 2 marks = 10 marks)
(c) Define the roles of each of the following groups and describe how the harmonious work of each enables the school to function effectively:
i. Classroom teachers (3 marks)
ii. Middle Managers (3 marks)
iii. Senior leaders (4 marks)
MODULE 3
ASSIGNMENT 1(a) What is your understanding of the purpose of regular staff development?
(3 marks)
(b) Describe how you would go about:-
i. Identifying staff development needs in your own school
ii. Meeting those needs
iii. Evaluating the success of the programme you have implemented
(3 x 4 marks = 12 marks)
(c) Write notes for a staff meeting on how you intend to implement a schedule to ensure an effective staff appraisal system within the school which appears to have lessened in effect over the last few years. (8 marks)
(d) As a leader in your school you will have been exposed to the staff appraisal system. Evaluate its effectiveness in raising standards and, in particular comment on its objectivity. (7 marks)
MODULE 3
ASSIGNMENT 2(a) Skytop Community High School is in need of a permanent Mathematics teacher to teach Forms 1, 2 and 3 and also the few students who reach C.S.E.C level. Describe the selection process as used in Guyana. (6 marks)
(b) How would this differ if the post were in a school with a Board of Governors?
(6 marks)
(c) Discuss the relative merits of appointing a Headteacher of a Grade A School by using an interview process as opposed to appointment based solely on academic qualifications, years of service and appraisals. (6 marks)
(d) Once appointed, one of the major roles of the Headteacher will be to monitor and evaluate staff performance. How would you propose to do this in your own school and how would you ensure that staff remain motivated despite having their work scrutinized? (2 x 5 marks)
MODULE 4
ASSIGNMENT 1(a) Define, in your own words, giving as full an explanation as possible, the following terms:-`
i. Curriculum (3 marks)
ii. Resources (3 marks)
(b) Explain how you would procure, organise and ensure the effective use of resources in your school to support the curriculum? (3 x 3 marks = 9 marks)
(c) “An effective timetable can boost the performance of your school”. Evaluate this statement, giving at least FOUR reasons to support your answer.
(4 x 2 marks = 8 marks)
(d) How would you convince your teachers who already believe it is the role of the Ministry and the Region to provide teaching aids, that it would be in their interests to create their own using low cost and scrap materials. Write a page for a staff newsletter on this issue. (7 marks)
MODULE 4
ASSIGNMENT 2(a) Describe in your own words what you understand by the term Special Educational Needs as it relates to your own school. (5 marks)
(b) As Headteacher, how would you go about advising your staff how they should distinguish between children with “learning disabilities” and those with “learning difficulties”? (7 marks)
(c) You discover that a significant number of children in the middle age range in your school are unable to keep up with their peers because of their lack of reading skills. This appears to have been caused by the frequent absence and teaching skills of their teacher in the previous year. Would you consider these children to have Special Needs? What advice would you give to their present teacher(s) to remedy the situation? (4 marks + 6 marks = 10 marks)
(d) One of the principle roles of the Headteacher in the management of Special Educational Needs is to create a vision for SEN for its short term and long term development. How will you go about creating that vision? (8 marks)
Regional Master Trainers 2008 – 2010 Batch
Every effort has been made to obtain the latest contact details for the Master Trainers. However, at the time of going to press, we were unable to contact some of them. Please accept our apologies for any incorrect information.
Your Master Trainer will tell you which numbers you may use. Please use only these numbers. If you have internet access, some of them may be prepared to share their email address with you. Please ask. However, do not send assignments by email. These must be in hard copy.
The Education Management Certificate Programme