10 Hmee5033 T6

Topic  A School-based
6 Management
Mechanism for
Development
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Explain the matrix of school process and congruence in process;
2. Discuss the application of the concept of layer management;
3. Describe the matrix of school technology and congruence in
technology; and
4. Recognise the matrices of school culture and congruence in culture.
 INTRODUCTION
In the last two topics, we talked about the concept of school based-management
and the self-management process at multiple levels. We also looked closely at the
conditions that schools have to meet to develop effective school-based tools, to
enable schools to develop dynamic structures for overall effectiveness.
In this topic, we will be discussing a concept introduced by Cheng (1996), called

layer management, and we will find out how this concept is used to create a
comprehensive management unit of the school-based mechanism. Besides this,
we will also see how a matrix of school technology and school culture can be
developed to help us understand the functioning and effectiveness of an internal
school process. We will also have the opportunity to discuss ChengÊs principle of
congruence to explain the effectiveness of an internal school process, and its role
in management and teaching and learning activities. The highlight of this topic is
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

104  TOPIC 6 A SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT MECHANISM FOR DEVELOPMENT
the development of an effective school-based management mechanism to be

implemented in schools.
Does all this sound exciting to you? Continue reading the rest of the topic to get a
good understanding of the proposed concepts and mechanisms for effective
school-based management.
ACTIVITY 6.1
Do you agree that students play a role in the school process? How
would you explain their role? Discuss with your coursemates.
6.1 THE MATRIX OF SCHOOL PROCESS

We talked about the school process in Topic 1 and Topic 2. Can you recall some
of the activities that make up the school process? Let us summarise the main
activities that take place in a school.
Management has been broadly termed as a process of working with and through
others to accomplish organisational goals efficiently (Sergiovanni, Burlingame,
Coombs et al, 1992). If we were to relate this definition to the school process, we
would be looking at the main activities in school ă management, teaching, and
learning (as depicted in Figure 6.1):
Figure 6.1: Main activities in school

TOPIC 6 A SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT MECHANISM FOR DEVELOPMENT  105
Based on the explanation above, Cheng (1996) concludes that principals,

administrators, teachers, and students are key players in the school process.
Principals and administrators set the direction for education, and provide a
more conducive environment and the necessary resources for the teaching and
learning process as well as for professional development of teachers. The
role of teachers is to identify appropriate teaching strategies, create learning
environments, and motivate students to learn and develop their potential.
StudentsÊ role is to learn and develop in accordance with the general aims of
education.
Organisational effectiveness of schools is the ultimate aim of the management

process. This is something we have been talking about in almost all the preceding
topics, so by now you should have a fair amount of knowledge of what constitutes
effectiveness in the internal process of organisations such as schools. Can you list
some of the indicators of effectiveness that we discussed in Topics 1ă3?
Perceptions of the education process have also changed over the years. For
instance, we now believe that:
(a) Education can be planned and implemented not only at the individual level
but also at the group or school levels;
(b) Emphasis is on the whole school approach, focusing on planned collective

efforts to achieve effectiveness in education;
(c) Education involves development of individuals as well as the development

of the group process;
(d) Education performance of individuals can be affected by classroom climate

and school culture;
(e) Since climate and culture can also be considered the overall outcome of the
school process, school effects can happen at the individual level, group or
classroom level, and the school level;
(f) The school process can also affect the behavioural, affective, and cognitive
domains of school personnel; and
(g) If the school process is a learning process, students, teachers, principals, or

administrators can all benefit from it at the individual, group, and school
levels.

6.2 CONGRUENCE IN PROCESS

Do you know what the word congruence means? If you were to look it up in any
dictionary, the definition would include words such as agreement, harmony, and
compatibility. What do these words mean to you and how would you associate
them with organisational effectiveness?
According to Fry and Smith (1987), „an organisationÊs ability to achieve its goals
is a function of the congruence between various organisational components. If
the components Âfit wellÊ, then the organisation functions effectively; if they Âfit
poorlyÊ, it will not.‰
This view is supported by Nadler and Tushman (1997), in which they stated that
„the different elements of the total system have to be aligned to achieve high
performance as a whole system. Therefore, the higher the congruence the higher
is the performance.‰
Based on the discussions on the concept of congruence presented above, we can

conclude that in an organisation, the different components rely on each other to
determine overall performance of the organisation. Within the school context, the
concept of congruence can be applied to the various internal processes that take
place in the school. Cheng (1996) explains this by stating: „The greater the
congruence in the school process, the higher is the internal school effectiveness.‰
ChengÊs (1996) matrix of school process is made up of three dimensions as shown

in Figure 6.2:
Figure 6.2: Matrix Of School Process

Source: Cheng (1996)
There are three types of congruence in the school process (Cheng, 1996):
(a) Congruence Across Domains

The effects of the school process are mutually consistent in the behavioural,
affective, and cognitive domains of the administrator/principal, teacher,
and student at the school, group, and individual levels. For instance, the
actions of a teacher or student must be consistent with his or her feelings
and thoughts. If this can be achieved, then the effectiveness of the school
process can be maximised.
(b) Congruence Across Actors

How principals, administrators, teachers, and students perform is mutually
consistent at the affective and cognitive domains at the school, group,
and individual levels. For example, principalsÊ leadership styles toward
teachers, and teachersÊ leadership style toward students, must be consistent
with expected student outcomes.
(c) Congruence Across Levels

Congruence across the school, group, and individual levels, and the main
features of the three levels are consistent with administrator/principal,
teacher, and student in the affective and cognitive domains. For instance,
the effectiveness of a school policy can only be maximised, if it is
implemented consistently by individual teachers groups of teachers, or all
teachers in a school.
6.3 THE LAYER MANAGEMENT CONCEPT

The matrix of process that we discussed in the last subtopic can be used as a basis
for a more extensive concept to manage the school process. This concept is called
layer management. According to Cheng (1996), the matrix of process can be
divided into actor layers such as the administrator layer, the teacher layer, and
the student layer. It can also be separated into level layers such as the individual
layer, the group layer, and the school layer. This is more reflective of the organic
and dynamic nature of the school process, and has a positive effect on the school-
based management mechanism.
In the next subtopics, we will look at every individual layer of management to

obtain a better understanding of the internal school process at every layer. If you
are ready, let us get started with the first layer of management.

6.3.1 The Actor-layer Management

Do you still remember what we talked about earlier on the different layers,
domains, and levels in management involving principals, administrators,
teachers, and students? Yes, you are right. Each layer, for instance, the
administrator layer affects the teacher layer through management activities, and
the teacher layer in turn influences the student layer through classroom activities
and the teaching process. However, this process can also be reversed where the
student layer affects the teacher layer, and the teacher layer affects the
administration layer (Cheng, 1996).
Similarly, the student layer defines the outcomes of education in the affective,
behavioural, and cognitive domains at the individual, group, and school
levels. Basically, we can conclude that educational effectiveness is based on
performance at the student layer.
Now let us go back to the concept of congruence. We have already established

the fact that congruence among components is an important determinant of
organisational effectiveness. Within the context of schools, it ensures
effectiveness of education and the school process. Cheng (1996) talks about two
types of congruence in the school process:
(a) Between Actor-layer Congruence

Congruence between the three actor layers in terms of consistency in the
affective, behavioural, and cognitive performance of the administrators,
teachers, and students at the different levels. The consistency in the
affective and cognitive domains of actors is reflected in the school culture,
whereas the consistency in the behavioural domain is evident in the school
operation and in the learning, teaching, and managing activities.
(b) Within Actor-layer Congruence

This refers to the consistency across the affective, behavioural, and cognitive
domains within one layer, and also congruence across the individual, group,
and school levels. In other words, we are looking at congruence between the
three domains and the three levels within the same layer.
Based on the basic principles of congruence, we can conclude that the greater
the between actor-layer congruence and the within actor-layer congruence, the
higher is the internal school effectiveness (Cheng, 1996).

6.3.2 The Level-Layer Management

The mechanism for management can be based on the individual, group, or school
layers, which in turn includes the actors such as the principals/administrators,
teachers, and students as well as the affective, behavioural, and cognitive
domains. Educational outcomes too can be divided according to the different
layers: the individual outcomes, group outcomes, and school outcomes in
affective, behavioural, and cognitive domains of students (Cheng, 1996).
There are two types of congruence in the school process that affects internal
effectiveness of schools. They are:
(a) Between level-layer congruence which refers to congruence between

individual, group, and school layers, which is assessed in terms of
consistency of the affective, behavioural, and cognitive domains of school
actors. This is reflected in the school culture and the school technology.
(b) Within level-layer congruence which refers to congruence within a single

layer, with reference to the consistency across the affective, behavioural,
and cognitive domains and consistency across school actors (principals,
administrators, teachers, and students).
The greater the gap between level congruence with layer congruence and within
them, the higher is the internal school effectiveness.
6.3.3 Ensuring Within-layer Congruence

One of the key management strategies to increase school effectiveness is to
ensure that there is between-layer congruence and within-layer congruence in
the school process. Cheng (1996) posits the following ideas on how internal
school effectiveness can be enhanced within the different layer actors in school:
(a) In actor layer management, this can be achieved through a dynamic

development cycle that enables actors to perform consistently in all three
domains at all the three levels.
(b) In terms of the administrator layer, a long-term development programme

for administrators can be set up at the different levels of management. A
similar long-term programme can also be developed for teachers at all three
levels.
(c) For students, a continuous development cycle that includes education

activities at the individual, group, and school levels needs to be established
to ensure students learn, experience, and develop.

(d) In level-layer management, within-layer congruence is determined by having

in place a continuous development cycle at each layer. A programme for
individualised social interactions and developments can be introduced at
the individual layer, to help school actors at individual levels to identify
inconsistencies and take appropriate measures to overcome them.
(e) A group layer programme can be introduced at the group layer, to

encourage group interactions and developments among school actors to
enhance group level effectiveness.
(f) Classroom climate forms an important aspect of group dynamics for

students, whereas professional development is an important consideration
for teachers at the group level.
(g) At the school layer, programmes and policies that involve the whole school
can be introduced, to facilitate social interactions and developments to
ensure congruence at the school level.
ACTIVITY 6.2
How would you evaluate your leader at work? What qualities of

leadership would you look for in an effective leader?
6.3.4 Ensuring Between-layer Congruence

Cheng (1996) speaks of leadership and the school layer as driving forces in
ensuring between layer congruence. Let us look at the roles played by both these
components in more detail.
(a) Leadership as the Driving Force

A lot has been said about the important role of leadership in ensuring
effective school management. So, what is leadership? Numerous studies
have been conducted in this area, resulting in a multitude of definitions of
the concept of leadership. For the sake of our discussion, let us take a look
at one definition of leadership to establish a framework for the discussions
in this subtopic.

Bush and Glover (2003) define leadership as:
A process of influence leading to the achievement of desired

purposes. It involves inspiring and supporting others towards the
achievement of a vision for the school, which is based on clear
personal and professional values.
Now that we have established the importance of leadership in ensuring

school success, let us move on to examine how leadership can enable
between-layer congruence in the actor layer management.
One way in which this can be done is by establishing a management

mechanism based on the principles of school-based management, and the
concept of multi-level self-management or strategic management to help
identify inconsistencies between and within layers, and to plan appropriate
corrective measures. You may want to revisit Topic 4 and Topic 5 to
enhance your understanding.
(b) The School Layer as the Driving Force

Besides the administrative layer, the school layer should also be a driving
force to ensure between-layer congruence, which would indirectly cause
within-layer congruence at the group and individual layers. Group layer
congruence can be encouraged by developing school level policies and
programmes. This in turn will result in individual level congruence and
subsequently, effectiveness of the school process at all three levels.
School effectiveness is a reflection of the values, beliefs, and norms

practised which eventually translates into the school culture. Therefore, the
key to ensure effectiveness at the school level could be the development of a
positive school culture.
6.4 THE MATRIX OF SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY

In the previous discussions, we had already divided the school process into
three distinct processes: the management process, the teaching process, and
the learning process. Based on this, we can also classify the technology used
in schools into managerial technology, pedagogic technology, and learning
technology (Cheng, 1996).

How would you differentiate the three different categories of technology?

Continue reading to get a better understanding of school technology.
Figure 6.3 depicts the categories of technology:
Figure 6.3: Categories of Technology

Source: Cheng (1996)
Cheng (1996) combines these three types of technology to form a matrix of school
technology. The three types of technology do not automatically bring about
effectiveness. It is important that all three types of technology match each other
and are complementary in nature. For instance, managerial technology should
support the process of teaching and learning; pedagogic technology should
support all learning activities and ensure equal opportunities for all students to
learn according to the intended education content. Learning technology should
fit the expected educational experiences and goals, and help students with
different personal attributes, learning abilities, and learning styles to learn.

Cheng also talks about two types of technology congruence that can affect
effectiveness of the internal school process: between-type congruence of
technology and the within-type congruence of technology. A greater congruence
of between-type congruence and the within-type congruence will lead to higher
effectiveness of the internal school process.
ACTIVITY 6.3
Explain what you understand by the term school culture. How would
you differentiate culture from climate?
6.5 THE MATRIX OF SCHOOL CULTURE

School culture:
„⁄ is the set of norms, values and beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, symbols
and stories that makes up the ÂpersonaÊ of the school. These unwritten
expectations build up over time as teachers, administrators, parents, and
students work together, solve problems, deal with challenges and, at times,
cope with failures. ⁄ every school has a set of expectations about what can
be discussed at staff meetings, what constitutes good teaching techniques,
how willing the staff is to change, and the importance of staff
development‰
Deal & Peterson (1999)
In fact, „the rituals and procedures common to most public schools also play a
part in defining a schoolÊs culture‰ (Goodlad, 1984; Deal, 1988; Donahoe, 1997;
McLaren, 1999, as cited in Hinde, 2004).
Cheng (1996) argues that the cognitive and affective congruence of school actors
at the three different levels actually refer to an inconspicuous aspect of process
congruence, which is often related to school culture. School culture can mean
different things to different people, but generally it can be seen as the sharing of
beliefs, values, and assumptions about education and management.

When we talk about the internal process of schools, we cannot ignore the following
three guiding questions: what is to be conveyed, how to educate, and how to
manage in school. These questions relate to different sets of values and beliefs held
in the school process. For example, the first question refers to the specific content of
the school process, focusing on the moral and civic values and beliefs to be
imparted, and the second questions deals with the values and beliefs about the
education process. The focus of the third question is on values and beliefs about
the management process, as perceived by the different school actors.
However, we must also note that education is not only shaped by the values and
beliefs that relate to education per say, but it also affected by the existing values
and beliefs on issues such as morality, citizenship, and management in the
school. The dimensions of these values and beliefs can be used to form a matrix
of values and beliefs that can contribute towards understanding internal school
effectiveness.
Values and beliefs about education, management, morality, and citizenship may
differ according to the different philosophical approaches used to define them.
Generally, education values and beliefs can affect the pedagogic technology and
learning technology used in the education process. In terms of management, the
significance of management values and beliefs to the effectiveness of the internal
school process draws attention to the importance of organisational culture to
ensure effectiveness of schools.
6.6 A SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT

MECHANISM
In this subtopic, we will be looking at the characteristics of a school-based
mechanism that can be used for continuous school development and school
effectiveness. Cheng (1996) proposes that the mechanism should display the
following characteristics:
(a) School-based management principles ă the mechanism is supported by the

theories of school-based management as discussed in Topic 4;
(b) School profile ă the school profile of the mechanism includes school
mission, types of activities, management strategies, use of resources, role
of the different constituencies, quality of administrators, and evaluation
indicators;
(c) Strategic management ă the mechanism is based on a strategic management

system at the school level, including all the components of the strategic
management process;

(d) Self-management at multi-levels ă the mechanism can support self-

management at multi-levels in school and is supportive of the development
of individuals, groups, and the whole school;
(e) Pursuing dynamic effectiveness ă the mechanism can help the school to
adapt to its internal and external environment and maximise the eight
different categories of school effectiveness represented by the eight models
of effectiveness;
(f) Layer management ă there should be integration of the concepts of actor-

layer management and level layer management;
(g) Principle of congruence ă the functions of the mechanism must be based on

the principles of congruence. Internal school effectiveness is dependent on
congruence in categories of school effectiveness, congruence in models of
school effectiveness, and congruence in the school process; and
(h) Driving forces ă the administrator layer and the school-level layer must
function as driving forces to ensure between-layer congruence in the
school process as well as the necessary developments for within-layer
congruence.
SELF-CHECK 6.1
1. Explain the roles played by principals/administrators, teachers,
and students in the school process.
2. Explain the three types of congruence in process.
3. What do you understand from the concept of layer management?

How is it different from the traditional view of the school process
matrix?
4. List down the characteristics of a school-based management

mechanism.

 Management is a process of working with and through others to accomplish

organisational goals efficiently.
 If we were to relate this definition to the school process, we would be looking

at the main activities in school ă management, teaching, and learning.
 Principals, administrators, teachers, and students are key players in the

school process.
 Organisational effectiveness of schools is the ultimate aim of the management

process.
 In an organisation, the different components rely on each other to determine

overall performance of the organisation. Within the school context, the
concept of congruence can be applied to the various internal processes that
take place in the school.
 The greater the congruence in the school process, the higher is the internal
school effectiveness.
 There are three types of congruence in the school process – congruence across
domains, congruence across levels, and congruence across actors.
 The matrix of process can be used as a basis for a more extensive concept to
manage the school process.This concept is called layer management.
 There are two types of congruence in the school process ă between actor-layer
congruence and within actor-layer congruence.
 The greater the between level-layer congruence and within level-layer

congruence, the higher is the internal school effectiveness.
 Leadership and the school layer are driving forces in ensuring between layer
congruence.
 We can classify the technology used in schools into managerial technology,

pedagogic technology, and learning technology.
 Cheng (1996) combines these three types of technology to form a matrix of

school technology.

TOPIC 6 A SCHOOL-BA
ASED MANAGE
EMENT MECHA
ANISM FOR DEVELOPMENT  117
 The dimensions about

a values and beliefs can be used to form a matrix
m of
valuees and beliefss that can con
ntribute towaards understan
nding internaal school
effectiveness.
 One of the key management

m s
strategies to increase scho
ool effectiven
ness is to
ensure that there is between-llayer congrueence and withhin-layer conngruence
in thee school process.
 School-based mecchanism can be

b used for co
ontinuous sch
hool developm
ment and
ol effectiveneess.
schoo
Actor-laayer managem
ment Level-lay
yer managem
ment
Between layer congrruence Levels of
o processes
Categorries of actors Matrix of
o school cultu
ure
Congru
uence in proceess Matrix of
o school techn
nology
Domain
ns of effects School-b
based manageement mechan
nism
Matrix of school pro
ocess Within-llayer congrueence
Layer management
m
Cheng, Y. C. (1996). School effe

fectiveness an
nd school-baased managem
ement: A
meechanism for development
d t. London: Rou
utledge.
T & Glover,, D. (2003). School lead

Bush, T., dership: Con
ncepts and evidence.
e
No
ottingham: NC
CSL.
Fry, L. W., D A. (1987). Congruence,

W & Smith, D. C contingency,, and theory building
b .
anagement Reeview. 12(1), 117ă132.
Academy of Ma 1
E R. (2004). School cultur

Hinde. E. ure and changge: An exammination of th
he effects
of school cultur
ure on the pro
rocess of chan
nge. Essays in Education. Winter:
Vol. 12.

Nadler, D.A. & Tushman, M. L. (1997). Implementing new designs: Managing

organizational change. Managing strategic innovation and change: A
collection of readings. Oxford University Press, New York.
Peterson, K. D., & Deal, T. E. (2002). Shaping school culture field book.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sergiovanni, T. J., Burlingame, M., Coombs, F. S., & Thurston, P. W. (1992).

Educational governance and administration. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

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Topic  A School-based

In this topic, we will be discussing a concept introduced by Cheng (1996), called

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

the development of an effective school-based management mechanism to be

6.1 THE MATRIX OF SCHOOL PROCESS

Figure 6.1: Main activities in school

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Based on the explanation above, Cheng (1996) concludes that principals,

Organisational effectiveness of schools is the ultimate aim of the management

(b) Emphasis is on the whole school approach, focusing on planned collective

(c) Education involves development of individuals as well as the development

(d) Education performance of individuals can be affected by classroom climate

(g) If the school process is a learning process, students, teachers, principals, or

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

6.2 CONGRUENCE IN PROCESS

Based on the discussions on the concept of congruence presented above, we can

ChengÊs (1996) matrix of school process is made up of three dimensions as shown

Figure 6.2: Matrix Of School Process

(a) Congruence Across Domains

(b) Congruence Across Actors

(c) Congruence Across Levels

6.3 THE LAYER MANAGEMENT CONCEPT

In the next subtopics, we will look at every individual layer of management to

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

6.3.1 The Actor-layer Management

Now let us go back to the concept of congruence. We have already established

(a) Between Actor-layer Congruence

(b) Within Actor-layer Congruence

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

6.3.2 The Level-Layer Management

(a) Between level-layer congruence which refers to congruence between

(b) Within level-layer congruence which refers to congruence within a single

6.3.3 Ensuring Within-layer Congruence

(a) In actor layer management, this can be achieved through a dynamic

(b) In terms of the administrator layer, a long-term development programme

(c) For students, a continuous development cycle that includes education

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

(d) In level-layer management, within-layer congruence is determined by having

(e) A group layer programme can be introduced at the group layer, to

(f) Classroom climate forms an important aspect of group dynamics for

How would you evaluate your leader at work? What qualities of

6.3.4 Ensuring Between-layer Congruence

(a) Leadership as the Driving Force

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Bush and Glover (2003) define leadership as:

A process of influence leading to the achievement of desired

Now that we have established the importance of leadership in ensuring

One way in which this can be done is by establishing a management

(b) The School Layer as the Driving Force

School effectiveness is a reflection of the values, beliefs, and norms

6.4 THE MATRIX OF SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

How would you differentiate the three different categories of technology?

Figure 6.3 depicts the categories of technology:

Figure 6.3: Categories of Technology

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6.5 THE MATRIX OF SCHOOL CULTURE

Deal & Peterson (1999)

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6.6 A SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT

(a) School-based management principles ă the mechanism is supported by the

(c) Strategic management ă the mechanism is based on a strategic management

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)