By Majlinda Koleta

The principal is the driving force of the entire educational institution that he leads. A principal must be a good manager but, above all, be a fair, balanced person and a good listener to guarantee a calm, motivating, encouraging environment with the staff he leads and the school students. Often, the reputation of a school depends on its principal. A school is successful, has good students, has order and discipline if its principal manages to manage many aspects related to the functioning of the school, but above all in the process of open and respectful communication with teachers, students, parents, other interest groups, etc. He is the one who keeps the teaching staff together, giving them the freedom to say what they think. A principal should never create divisions among staff and should not allow groups or conflicts to be created between teachers. The greater the transparency, and the presentation of all problems in meetings, in the presence of all staff, the easier the management and resolution of issues. Of course, the opinion of every teacher should be encouraged here, not just that of a certain group in each meeting.

The principal should be balanced and impartial and establish justice to create a peaceful climate in the school. Imagine if the principal took sides; what would happen to the teaching staff? Dissatisfaction would be created, backbiting would be encouraged, and staff members would hesitate to express a problem to those whom the principal takes sides, and they would not believe that the principal would provide solutions to their problems. After this, a chain of problems is created that disrupts the entire motivating atmosphere of the staff to work, encourages conflicts, and completely harms the educational work with students. If teachers are frustrated without addressing their problems, imagine how they will be with students. So it may happen that they take all their frustration out in the classroom, affecting the lesson and consequently what is the key mission of teachers, in educating students. A good director must evaluate and promote staff for their good work, and thus set high standards that should be followed by others. Only in this way will teachers be motivated to develop, improve, and provide innovative ideas in the teaching process. But here too, he must be fair. If he starts an evaluation and motivation process, he must do this for other teachers who achieve those standards. No member of staff should be treated with disdain or their efforts should not be noticed. The whole question that is often raised is: What kind of leadership does a good leader need? Authoritarian or gentle? Commanding or motivating? Dominant or communicative? In Albania, the role of the authoritarian is often preferred, the role of a leader who must be strong, to give orders, otherwise he cannot keep the situation under control. But in a school, the leader should not be authoritarian with his colleagues. This is because the education and educational level is almost the same, and despite the fact that the leader may have some more qualifications. Therefore, it is good that they consider each other colleagues and discuss everything in the function of work, without showing signs of supremacy in this communication. Communication should be based on the language of understanding, mutual respect and above all on trust in each other. There are cases when many leaders behave harshly or in the role of the one who says ‘I know that’, often giving unreasonable orders and without discussing them with the teachers. There are also cases when certain teachers feel persecuted or even bullied by the leader. Many relationships also depend on the character of the teachers themselves. There are sensitive teachers who are easily hurt when they receive an order from the principal or a reprimand, but there are also teachers who think they know more than the principal professionally and thus conflict. Perhaps it is the principal’s duty to understand the typology and psychology of the staff, their characters, and find a way to communicate with them, especially when making a remark or asking for better performance.

The way the director should reprimand a member of the teaching staff should be based on facts, based on the regulations, focusing only on the violation that has been made to the work, and in no way should it become personal. The director must keep this fine line in mind very well, so as not to cross the line. The director must, from the beginning, ensure that each teacher receives the appropriate teaching load according to the rules, to provide them with fair classes according to their profile or a close profile, based on the norm. By dividing responsibilities well from the beginning of his duty, he shows impartiality, fairness with the staff. And the rules, schedules, calendars must be displayed and be transparent to all staff. Regarding rewards, or motivations, or training opportunities, the director must also be very transparent and direct. All possibilities should be discussed at staff meetings and many decisions can be made with the understanding of all staff. Likewise, for the assignment of new responsibilities, the opinion of the collective, that is, the teaching staff, should be taken into account for the candidacies they consider. The director enables the continuous professional development of the pedagogical staff in order to improve the implementation of the curriculum, of teachers and of successful students. Therefore, he ensures that all staff receive the necessary training, enabling the replacement of their classes, the necessary alternations. In addition, he must ensure that all training received, teachers have the opportunity to implement it and demand from them an increase in quality and performance. He must also be transparent about school funds, school projects and any other opportunities that the school has in relations with third parties. By being as open and accountable as possible, he also creates increased trust in the staff, who are consequently increasingly motivated to educate students. He must also create the possibility of voting for the best and most voted candidacies by his colleagues. Likewise, in relation to student problems, the principal has the responsibility to resolve them correctly, while also creating a very good relationship with the parent community. Although this is the primary duty of the supervising teachers, the principal must address complex situations, invite parents of problematic students, facilitate confrontations, and discuss additional student problems in meetings with the parent board. The principal must also seek the assistance of the local police inspector, in case of problems with specific students, and after the confrontations with parents or teachers have been exhausted in the case of teacher-student conflict. The principal must never insult the teacher in the eyes of the students or lower his reputation, even if the teacher may be at fault. This is because if the teacher’s reputation in the eyes of the students falls, that teacher and perhaps the entire staff will have difficulty managing the students of that school in the future. Any solution to a situation or problem is initially made in dialogue between the principal and the teacher, and if he is guilty, to warn him and find ways to overcome the situation as gently as possible, without at any time lowering the reputation of the teaching staff in front of the students. He can then address this issue with the parents, and in other instances, as appropriate, by taking the necessary measures to isolate the negative phenomena instigated by certain students in the school, but by separately addressing the relevant warning to the teacher, (according to the regulations) in case there has been a violation. The principal, on the other hand, must also listen to parents who come to complain about a certain phenomenon that even the teaching staff is not aware of. There are many incidents, they can be cases of bullying, or cases of drug consumption, alcohol, sexual abuse that students confess to their parents. These cases should be addressed as a priority by the principal, who should put into motion all the mechanisms at his disposal, from the psychologist, identifying the culprits, taking disciplinary measures to working to eliminate or prevent similar situations in the future. The principal should be very careful to maintain the confidentiality of these cases, when requested by parents, as they can ultimately damage the future of these children, if their name is mentioned in the school. And the same attitude should be required of the pedagogical staff. This is how they gain the trust of the parent community to address other topics of concern to the school.

On the other hand, he should also ask teachers for information about problematic students, about excluded and bullied children, cases of obvious harassment of girls at school, etc. Teachers are more in contact with students and despite being there to teach, they should not be spared many problems that occur, which can completely undermine not only the learning process but also the future of these children. The director must also have the psychological skills to understand when a staff member is unmotivated, silent, worried. Invite him to talk, as there may be family circumstances, for which perhaps the staff member seeks understanding, days off to cope, etc. A problem that is encountered in relation to directors is the pressure they put on to achieve a series of objectives. So the director, in order to achieve the objectives or responsibilities that he has taken on towards his managers, increases the pressure on the teaching staff to achieve in a short time some objectives that are impossible. In these cases, he must communicate clearly, seek the understanding of the teachers that those objectives must be achieved, and help in achieving them himself if necessary. And if most teachers think that the deadlines are too tight to achieve them, then he must leave more time for quality work and communicate this to his superiors. So the teaching staff should not be stressed beyond the loads they can bear.

The principal must try to ensure that all teaching staff do not lack normal conditions to develop the teaching process. This comes when the classrooms are cold, when the toilets are not in order, when the school has no water, when there are no teaching aids, cabinets, etc., all these issues must be listed and addressed on the principal’s desk and he must gradually take measures in other organizations, or cooperate with businesses, or with projects to enable these conditions to improve. In such conditions, everyone will complain, and this directly affects the dissatisfaction and the demotivation of teachers and students to develop a quality lesson. Creating optimal conditions motivates teachers to become more creative in a perfect environment and give their best. And this is mainly the duty of the school principal. New ideas coming from the staff should not be ignored. Even if an idea is not part of the principal’s objectives for that school year, if it is good, it should be welcomed and integrated, of course, by asking other teachers to address the benefits of this idea. Every school can freely be more innovative and have special teaching and cultural projects that are in the best interest of students’ education and the teachers’ motivation. The principal must communicate all new initiatives and initiatives with third parties, first with higher education institutions, the parent community, or the student senate. No decision should be arbitrary. All the assessments he receives from conversations with these communities must be taken into account and adapted in the continuation of his work. Inclusion, putting every idea or decision into discussion, and getting the necessary opinions make the school management process more manageable, efficient, and successful.

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Majlinda Koleta is a physics teacher at Pjeter Budi School, Tirana.  Completed the School of Directors in 2020