Management and administration are an integral part of every organization. Generally, these are merged and work as one department owing to their overlapping work areas. They play an essential role in running the daily operations smoothly. Educational administrators and managers also develop the organizational chain of command and ensure a professional work environment.
However, when we talk about education, management and administration are two distinct departments with distinct functions. Owing to the importance of education, these two departments work separately.
Administration ensures the institute goals are correct and resource utilization is optimal. It also checks that the system promotes human development and is efficient. The administration generally follows a locally accepted system, including the curriculums and grading mechanisms. They define the practical terms to apply the best practices available. Management, on the other hand, is more concerned with day-to-day tasks. Their responsibility is to develop regulatory systems and rules to ensure the educational goals are met efficiently.
Out of the two roles, administration teaches you to be a leader as they are more involved in the decision-making and brainstorming to develop better systems. It also improves the educational standards. You can choose from various educational administrator online courses or enroll in administrative institutes to improve your administrative skills and further the cause of education.
This article will explain some of the differences between administration and management.
Practical Functions
Administrators and managers have different functions in education. Administrators work on the top of the chain to develop ideas that can improve the educational system and positively impact everyone in the system. Educational managers develop the ideas into reality and implement those reforms.
Some functions of educational administrators revolve around:
Educational Goals
Achieving goals is a crucial task for educational administrators. They develop the goals of the educational programs and curriculums. Certain KPIs and other practical indicators to assess the learning are also set to ensure the educational data is maintained. The available information is used to evaluate the system and curriculum when necessary and improve it.
Educational Review
Review is another essential task of the educational administrators. Developing the educational standards is the first step in educational review. It is also necessary to regularly review those standards according to modern developments. Current trends and innovative methods are incorporated to improve the educational system.
Educational Feedback and Evaluation
Feedback and evaluation are necessary steps for any system that needs to be improved with time. The system becomes stagnant and degrades over time without feedback and evaluation as it cannot adjust to the change. Educational administrators ensure that feedback and evaluation protocols are present for the system.
Some functions of the educational managers are explained below.
Human Resources
The primary task of educational management is in human resource management. They develop systems based on the administrators’ ideas and ensure those ideas transition into practical protocols. This way, the design can be implemented effortlessly and maintained daily. Management is also responsible for recruiting and allocating the required talent to ensure the educational standards and the KPIs are achieved.
Financial Management
Finance is another crucial aspect of every department. The management collects and allocates the budget to the different curricular and co-curricular activities. It is often the most discussed aspect of the management due to the people affected by the changes in allocations.
Daily Activity Management
It is the routine task of educational management. Daily activities include setting the everyday items like timetables, activities, and various events organized by the institute. Personnel management is also done on a routine basis. Appointing instructors and managing the substitutes in case of any problems is one of the essential duties.
Safety Management
A vital part of this daily activity management is defining the contingencies for anything disrupting the flow. If you are a part of the educational management team, it is crucial to oversee any problems and describe specific protocols to deal with those problems.
The safety of the institute personnel is crucial in this regard. Administration defines the safety standards; educational management creates practical awareness through instructions and training.
Summary
Educational management and administration are two pillars in the educational system. They work together to provide the best educational experience to students and teachers. It is an ever-changing aspect of the educational system, and both departments need to evolve together to keep up with the educational demands.
Educational management and administration differ in the area of expertise and the skillset. Suppose you are more socially active and have the skill to influence and manage people on a personal level positively. In that case, you can perform much better in management as they directly deal with human systems and problems. You can have higher control over the day-to-day activities and manage things to conform to the institutional standards and codes.
Educational administration is for you if you have a leadership personality and like to look at the big picture. You will deal with the administrative policies and planning on a bigger scale and positively affect the system. You can control things that affect the whole educational system, bring reforms and monitor the educational system for any weaknesses and improve them.
