Creative Workshop Of Future: Transformational Management Approach In Education

Abstract

Education is facing a number of significant challenges. Students frequently struggle to overcome life events that impede their ability to complete basic education, and teachers face so many adaptation issues during these difficult times. Transformational leadership in education cannot solve all of these issues, but it can serve as a driving force for change. In the present article, there is a brief theoretical presentation of the two main concepts on which the research stays: transformational leadership style in classrooms and the creative workshop of the future as the approach by which the first one is done. The method used was the observation guide, and the main instruments used was the observation file. The new results show that if methods such as the creative workshop of the future are used within the management processes of both schools and classes, educational communities are bonded and students and teachers are being encouraged to achieve higher levels of success.

Keywords: Creative, future, management, transformation, workshop

Introduction

Educators' managerial competence is valued as the ability to facilitate, empathically, the development of identification behaviors, belonging and socializing, and creating interaction, leading to optimal school and social behaviors at the level of student-educator-parent relations. Based on these considerations, we recognize that the implementation of transformational management strategies and styles is influenced by the following factors: external factors that influence the formation of the managerial style, internal characteristics of the school organization, and at the organizational level, cohesion, learning situations that cause leadership styles to manifest (Andrei & Abăcioaiei, 2000).

The current adage is that change is the only constant. We live in a world where tomorrow is becoming increasingly unpredictable. Change is a constant in our lives, and we can see it in the all states and structures are evolving. Additionally, the evolution and change are inextricably linked, as are the first is almost always somewhat natural and logical, while the second is almost never. These kinds of changes are symptomatic of the times we live in. anxiety, resulting in constant searches of the educational institutions. Change is a social process that is directly related to a specific strength, which is a real source of conflict. For most people, change means breaking away from the past, even if it has been successful, and embarking on a journey into an unknown world. Thus, changes are frequently awkward, and they can create uncertainty. They necessitate courage, a desire for progress, and the ability to manage and continually improve the entire process, which is extremely complex (Cardon, 2006).

As a result, the active and creative participation of educators and learners in interactional processes, particularly their training in the sense of adaptation and change, has become necessary and preconditions for the achievement of educational goals. The group of students who develop an efficient social organization, characterized by transactional and transformational managerial styles, task division and delegation, and optimal information and communication systems, manifests an adaptive advantage in the organizational and social environment (Cristea, 2003).

The Creative Workshop of The Future

The Creative Workshop of the Future, a group-oriented problem-solving / problem-solving method developed by Robert Jungk, contributes significantly to the development of critical thinking. It is and must be more than a method of developing critical thinking and skillful creativity; it is a "social event" in which people (educators, students, participants) contribute to problem solving based on their learning experience. The creative workshop of the future consists of four phases: the preparatory phase, the critique phase, the fantasy phase and last, the implementation phase (Păun, 1994). During the preparatory phase the problem is introduced to the participants and the main topic is defined. This is followed by the critique phase which is the first phase of the workshop. During this phase the participants express their complaints and negative issues that lead to the problematic situation. Afterwards these complaints are discussed and finally clustered together. During the fantasy phase, participants come up with ideas without boundaries using their imagination and create a utopian message. These ideas are discussed and clustered. Finally, at the last step which is the implementation phase the participants return to the current state putting boundaries. The purpose of this phase is for the participants to try to implement their creative ideas to the present situation and create an action plan (Boboc, 2002).

The purpose of using this method is to ensure in the case of educators the development of transversal skills (problem solving, decision making), but especially to stimulate the implementation of strategies and styles of transformational managerial approach. It trains creative skills, ensures intrinsic motivation, captures attention and mobilizes effort, trains educators in the design, operational management, evaluation and self-regulation of managerial practices. The elaboration of projects for the improvement and development of educational relations presupposes flexibility in thinking, imagination and inventiveness, the training of intellectual forces and the capacity for group work, all these playing a particularly important role in the transformational managerial approach (Zlate, 2004).

The moderator considers: ensuring a climate conducive to communication, promulgating the golden rules, providing documentary, logistical (material) support, forecasting the possibilities of capitalizing on the methods results in order for the it to take place in good conditions. These characteristics can influence the development of managerial skills among educators (Costea, 2003).

The future creative workshop is the methodological framework for carrying out the training experiment in a formative-participatory manner, involving educators in situational modeling, simulating managerial approaches, and developing organizational and individual development projects. This interactive approach to adult vocational training, carried out in seminars, entails the creation of problem-situations, which educators address with the help of situation-appropriate strategies and managerial styles (Tudorică, 2005).

Research Questions

The main question of the research was if the use of the creative workshop of the future as a method for managers within educational institutions, affects or influences the choice for the transformational management approach within classes and also within schools.

School leadership is essential for high performance and student achievement. There is concern about whether or not school leaders have the necessary management skills, leadership styles, and approaches to ensure effective school operational performance. Schools have evolved into business organizations, and they may benefit from leadership styles that have been shown to improve performance in both business and school settings. Transformational leadership styles have been shown to improve performance in business organizations and educational settings, so education leaders may benefit from training and development in these styles (Stan, 2003).

The secondary questions of the research are as it follows:

Is the method sufficient in assisting participants in developing positive interpersonal relationships, leading to natural intra- and inter-personal communication?

Is the method involving learners in the training process, based on each learner's learning experiences, and managed by the trainer in a co-evolutionary spirit?

Is the method motivating participants to focus on the work task?

Is it awakening one's own initiative in terms of proactive involvement?

Is it encouraging participants to participate in problem solving?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the research is to find out at what extent the use of the creative workshop of the future as a method for managers within educational institutions, influences the choice for the transformational management approach within classes and also within schools.

Transformational leadership is a style of leadership in which leaders in education, encourage, inspire, and motivate teachers to innovate and create change that will help the educational institution grow and shape its future success. This is accomplished by leading by example, by fostering a strong sense of institutional culture, employee ownership, and independence in the workplace (Pânișoară, 2005).

Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their teams without micromanaging; they rely on trained employees to make decisions in their assigned roles. It's a management style that encourages employees to be more creative, to look ahead, and to find new solutions to old problems. Employees on the leadership track will be mentored and trained to become transformational leaders themselves. The transformational managerial approach generates a change of perception in those around it, reversing what is perceived as manifestation and what is perceived as motive. For example, one manager may apostrophize his subordinates for errors or deviations from the desired performance rules, while another, in a similar situation, may focus on revealing important conclusions from accidental failures or accidents. This shift in perspective varies from context to context and from task to task (Winokur & Sperandio, 2017).

In order to change quickly, people need to be prepared to approach ideas outside of their areas of cognitive comfort without fear of possible ideational or emotional conflicts with premises, customs, or taboos. Such an asynchronous change requires a change in optics, attitude and is always promoted and encouraged by the transformational managerial approach, this being one of the most visible features (Hatos, 2006).

The transformational approach can contribute to increasing the level of maturity of the collaborators, they can evolve from concerns for personal safety to concerns oriented towards self-recognition, self-realization and updating. Changing the focus from self-preservation to group conservation or even to promoting and achieving its goals can increase the performance and development potential of the group and the individual. Such changes require a change of perspective and often a focus on doing what is best for both the group and the individual (Greeni, 2021).

But there is important to analyse the fact that the essence of the transactional managerial approach is the behaviour of the educator-manager, active (proactive) or passive (reactive), to clarify what they expect from them and what they will receive in return for those efforts and results, as well as what will happen in their absence. This perspective, which is emphasized in the best-known programs, is useful, but limited to what the literature calls basic or top-level transactions. It is important to note that in the process of transactional management, the manager explains what needs to be done to obtain a certain reward (Gueguen, 2007).

Research Methods

The main method of the study was the observation. The specific instrument of the main method was the structured observation sheet. Using this instrument, information and data was noted about the results of using the workshop of the future method, as the main sample content, at the level of management within 12 schools from Arad County, in order to analyse its impact on the choice of managerial approach. There were 27 participants to the present research. Another method that was used in order to establish the success of the research was the workshop of the future method, which also served as the sample content (Jovanovica & Ciricb, 2016).

The relevance of the information obtained as well as the impact of the changes caused in relation to the studied phenomenon depend to a large extent on the location of the research in the area of ​​the school reality. The major importance of the ascertaining study lies precisely in outlining the alternatives for studying managerial practices at the level of educational actors, in capturing significant areas that, from the point of view of school organization management, can be elements of change and innovation, as pillars of institutional pillars (Tichy & Devanna, 1996).

Besides the working structure within the method, the following elements were observed during the study:

teamwork to achieve educational goals, related to personal ones, through which the two actors involved (educator-student) have the opportunity to express themselves freely and creatively (interests, needs, aspirations, ideals);

coordinating educational activities by using interactive methods, techniques;

permanent encouragement of the members of the school organization to express their personal opinions, thus removing the hierarchies and developing communication networks;

rapid adaptation to the concrete conditions of the school organization;

involvement of educators in identifying optimal solutions for the development of the school organization;

internal and external cooperation with other social partners (family, community, NGOs). (Anderson, 2017)

Findings

Managers from the 12 schools from Arad County that have participated to the study appreciated that they are interested in the development of the educational climate, from a relational point of view, through the managerial styles practiced, although a large part acknowledges that this is not a permanent, systematic concern. Through the observation sheet used, we further wanted to identify the strategies and managerial styles used by educators in the development of interrelationships (mutual knowledge, communication, cooperation and influence) at the level of the school organization, and more specifically, the choice for one of the following managerial styles:

Transactional (Table 1)

Transformational. (Table 2)

Analyzing the obtained results, the following significant correlations can be noticed (Table 3):

Proactive-oriented managerial styles correlate significantly and positively with: reactive-oriented managerial styles, transactional managerial approach, transformational managerial approach, construction of meanings and perspectives, focus on results, and self-assessment of managerial performance.

The transactional managerial approach correlates significantly and positively with: reactive oriented managerial styles, proactive oriented managerial styles, transformational managerial approach, construction of meanings and perspectives and self-evaluation of managerial performances;

The transformational managerial approach correlates significantly and positively with all other dimensions investigated.

The passive / avoidant managerial approach correlates significantly and positively with: reactive-oriented managerial styles, focus on results.

Analysing the data that was collected in the observation sheets that measured the behaviour of the 27 participants, and also the work style during the application of the workshop of future method, it is noted that school managers identify a much more varied and complex range of participatory management strategies and styles, in relation to the teaching staff with leadership positions, which emphasizes the role of group negotiation strategies and attitudinal intervention strategies. The issue of improving and optimizing educational relationships "sometimes arouses" the interest of both categories of subjects, which indicates that this aspect is not neglected, but not given the necessary attention, perhaps due to limitations in terms of action alternatives, or routine installed, many feeling that these relationships are evolving on their own. Unfortunately, the subjects notice that there are still, in the school organizations in which they work, both teachers and principals, less interested in the existing climate, practically ignoring these realities. Therefore, in the context of a bureaucratic logic, the educational-manager gives priority to the functioning and observance of the rules, the reduction of deviations, the optimal management of material and financial resources, without focusing on the development of human resources.

Regarding the process of leading the school organization / group of students, managers, that are also teachers in the schools they lead, appreciated that they use a wide range of managerial styles, through which they aim to:

establishing and communicating organizational objectives;

analysis and interpretation of students' needs;

selection and adaptation of organizational resources;

elaboration and application of performance strategies;

proposing and negotiating solutions to problems;

facilitating optimal decision making by consulting the members of the organization.

For the most part, subjects, refer to the strategies and managerial styles frequently used in the current management practices of the school organization, with reference to the classic typology: authoritarian style, democratic style and laissez-faire. Most of the subjects notice that the main managerial styles are differentiated by:

the way of making decisions;

involvement of members of the organization in solving problems;

focus on tasks / relationships.

Many executives wanted to emphasize that while they are aware of the effectiveness of relationship-oriented managerial styles, they are often forced to focus on tasks, becoming much more authoritarian.

Also, subjects consider that the difficulties they face in applying effective management strategies and styles are manifested on the following levels:

at individual level, of the particularities and character traits of the educator;

at organizational level, of the way in which the educator conceives and realizes the interpersonal relations in the school practice;

social, of the interactional experience of social type, insufficient.

Observations were also made to a number of essential aspects of the difficulties encountered in the management practices in the field of education, of which we noted the following:

lack of overview of the school organization;

insufficient development of managerial skills both in educators and in other members of the school organization;

inadequate dosing of personal and organizational effort;

reducing the time required for personal reflection on leadership efficiency.

Based on these observed behaviours, it can be seen, for the most part, the subjects have a managerial approach focused on results, on identifying mistakes and sanctioning, and less a transformational one, focused on higher levels of interrelationship (Ionescu, 2009). This is not only due to the teachers, but also to the academic programs of initial teacher training, which do not allow the practical training of students, future teachers, in real teaching situations that facilitate the development of managerial skills, often remaining at the level of academic lectures and leadership.

Conclusions

It can be seen that school managers and deputies, refer to managerial styles as an integral part of a transformative process, dominated by activism and initiative or of a process of passive adaptation, focused on constraints. Therefore, without absolutely adhering to a certain conception of managerial styles, as a reactive or proactive orientation, educators-managers, depending on the context, relate differently to these meanings. From this perspective, however, a distinction can be made between subjects who promote a transformational managerial approach and conceive managerial styles as both proactive and reactive orientation, through situational adaptation and those who manifest a passive / avoidant managerial approach, conceiving managerial styles only through reactivity (Iucu, 2006).

Also, managers and deputies who practice a transformational approach, through managerial styles, develop an educational climate with an emphasis on change and pedagogical innovation, while those who prefer a passive / avoidant managerial approach are not actively involved in individual and group development.

Their conceptions of managerial styles are closely linked to self-assessment of managerial performance. If they get a high score for the transformational and transactional approach, then they are likely to estimate a higher level of managerial performance. If for the passive / avoidant managerial approach the educators obtain higher scores, then the subjects will estimate a lower level of managerial performance. (Brewerton & Millward, 2001) Surprisingly, the correlational study does not show the existence of a link between the educators' conception of managerial styles and the exclusive preference for a certain educational climate, which reveals that the influence of the pedagogical environment is reduced in terms of this conception. The reality shows that there is and will always be a gap between good intentions and managerial strategies focused on change processes, which develop institutional projects, by leading task groups and actively intervening in debating issues (Adler, 2002). The results show, that if modern methods are used, such as in this case the method of the workshop of the future, there is a strong tendency to choose transformational management styles within the managerial process of schools. These results have a valid value for the complete leadership model, which considers that different managerial styles should manifest themselves to varying degrees over time, in different situations.

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