Managers of the iLead educational leadership project, a public-private partnership designed to improve the general delivery of education and the management of schools, have indicated that the project’s year-end report shows improvements in key target areas.
Jamaica National (JN) Foundation launched its First Responders Programme at Cardiff Hotel in Runaway Bay, St Ann.
The inability of some principals to properly manage human resources (HR) in their schools is being highlighted as one of the many reasons for the poor performance of students in these institutions.
Many experts have been urging principals to treat their schools as if they were actual corporate businesses in order to improve efficiency and performance, but despite the clear benefits to be derived from this, facilitators of the JN Foundation’s iLead educational programme say most schools leaders lack the necessary skill sets that are important to manage people.
“Schools don’t have a human resources department or unit, and most of the school leaders have to manage HR issues without the skills to deal with people problems,” said Gillian Chambers, human resource professional and leadership consultant to the iLead programme.
According to Chambers, some school leaders have developed the skills on the job but more needs to be done.
It was against that background that the management team of the iLead programme, being conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, recently trained principals and school leaders from participating schools in Portland, St Mary, and St Thomas, to manage the human resource issues within their schools.
“School leaders must coach, mentor and motivate their teachers effectively; treat with issues of trust, as well as manage conflict,” said Chambers, who has been holding a series of training sessions for principals, vice-principals and heads of departments from the newest participating schools in the iLead programme.
These schools are the Martin Primary and Retreat Primary and Junior High schools in St Mary; Windsor Castle All-Age and Happy Grove High in Portland; as well as the St Thomas Technical High Schools.
The other schools under the programme are Port Maria Primary, Horace Clarke High and Brimmer Vale High schools in St Mary; Buff Bay Primary in Portland and Robert Lightbourne in St Thomas.
During the sessions, principals and heads of departments highlighted problems they encounter on the job, agreeing that it was sometimes difficult to effectively coach staff and identify what motivates them.
TRAINING INTERVENTION
“I have had issues with teachers who have not been performing as well as they can, but I recognise there is also the need to improve my coaching techniques,” admitted Claudette Brimm-Layne as she expressed appreciation for the training intervention.
Responding to the issues raised, Chambers argued that the school leaders need to be intrinsically motivated.
“And, from there, they can create the environment for others to feel motivated and inspired.”
Chambers noted that good management skills are important to identify what motivates people, noting that given all the matters school leaders must manage, it would be difficult for them to identify what motivates each staff member.
“You can’t decide by yourself. Create a committee,” she advised. “Take a member of the ancillary staff, a teacher from each department, and so on. Then let them sit together and identify what motivates each person; and use that as your guide,” said Chambers.
The leadership consultant further argued that it is important for leaders to gauge expectations; and to plan for them so that staff members don’t develop ill feelings about the rewards process, which could result in conflict, she added.
Esther Tyson, iLead’s school improvement coach, agreed and added that when rewards systems are established, school leaders need to be perceptive and ensure that the system is fair.
“Separate the professional you from the personal; and be consistent across the board when you apply rules and standards,” she advised, referencing her experience as principal at the Ardenne High School in the Corporate Area.
According to Tyson, being fair, transparent and consistent in applying rules and standards was also an important way to build trust.
She said school leaders to document issues and not leave them “up in the air.”
Tyson also encouraged the school leaders to involve a third party where necessary and to be very transparent in their actions.
“There are some people you should never talk to alone. Lay all the cards on the table, so that it’s very clear to the parties involved where you stand. There should never be any ambiguity where you are concerned,” said Tyson.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20160214/help-some-school-leaders-lack-basic-hr-skills
In its constant bid to contribute to the preservation of local culture and history, the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Foundation has committed to execute a four-year project, which will creatively illustrate the foundation and historical development of parishes in Jamaica.
Earl Jarrett, chairman of the JN Foundation, announced the launch of the Parish Histories of Jamaica Project at the recent commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Morant Bay Rebellion, hosted by The University of the West Indies.
He said the initiative was a legacy project, which will have a long-standing effect on Jamaicans at home and overseas.
“The sponsorship of these parish publications is another avenue through which we can preserve our rich heritage and guarantee that future generations, locally and overseas, can access information about significant events, as well as persons who worked hard to build this country we call home,” said Jarrett.
Pilot Programme
He explained that the project was the completion of a successful pilot programme undertaken several years ago, which resulted in the documentation of the history of Westmoreland. And the response to that initial work was tremendous. It has served as the basis for JN to revisit the project on a much larger scale, and to include all the other parishes.
“We recognised the importance of doing this history several years ago; and, therefore, we embarked on a pilot project to document the history of Westmoreland, which is the home of the Westmoreland Building Society, the pioneering organisation, which evolved as Jamaica National Building Society,” the general manager stated.
“And the response to the publication of the History of Westmoreland was overwhelming. therefore, we have decided to continue the project to document the history of the other 13 parishes,” he affirmed.
With St Thomas being the first parish targeted for the project, Jarrett recognised the significance of that parish to the history of Jamaica, and by extension, Jamaica National.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20151117/jnbs-foundation-revisits-history
A study has found that microcredit loans make people ‘richer and fatter’ in Jamaica.
Consequently, it can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to the researchers from the University of West Indies, Mona, and Florida State University, Tallahassee, in the United States.
The study titled Richer but fatter: The unintended consequences of microcredit financing on household health and expenditure in Jamaica was published last year in Tropical Medicine and International Health, a European journal.
It utilised a sample from the database of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), which operates a microcredit arm. The actual study was conducted between December 2007 and September 2008, but it becomes increasingly important with the growth of the micro-loans industry.
“The results demonstrate that microcredit financing is positively associated with wealth acquisition but worsened CVD risk status,” stated the researchers, who include Georgiana Gordon-Strachan, Colette Cunningham-Myrie, Kristin Fox, Claremont Kirton, Raphael Fraser, Georgia McLeod, and Terrence Forrester.
The method included matching 726 households of microcredit loan beneficiaries with 726 controls, or non-beneficiaries, by age, sex, and community. Then, the researchers administered a questionnaire to collect data on health and household expenditure. The weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure measurements were taken for an adult and one child (aged six-16 years) from each household.
Beneficiaries were those who received disbursements under the microfinance scheme for at least two years at the time of the study. The beneficiaries could qualify to borrow between $30,000 and $500,000, stated the study, which the researchers indicated was funded by the JNBS Foundation.
OVERWEIGHT BENEFICIARIES
The findings showed that more male and female beneficiaries were overweight, or obese, but more important, that 17.2 per cent of males (versus 7.1 per cent in the control) and 68.5 per cent of females (versus 63.3 per cent in the female control) exhibited substantially increased risk for CVD. In fact, children of beneficiaries displayed higher mean body mass index for their age than their control peers.
“We support the economic and other developmental benefits of microcredit financing but recommend that health promotion should be incorporated in such schemes to mitigate against a possible increase in CVD risk among beneficiaries. A number of initiatives report success in coupling microcredit with other innovative ideas inclusive of health promotion and education programmes … and money management,” said the researchers.
It is important to note that the beneficiaries’ average annual per capita household expenditure totalled $160,574 while controls (non-beneficiaries) spent $108,578.
The researchers’ review of the published literature revealed a dearth of evidence on the comparative differences in CVD risk between beneficiaries and controls of microcredit finance schemes.
Other authors, they said, have focused on comparing changes in equity and access to health services and other health indicators among communities exposed to microcredit.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20160113/microcredit-leads-richer-fatter-jamaicans
