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Fed413 - Communications in Educational Organisations

This document discusses communication in educational organizations. It defines communication as a two-way process of transmitting information from a sender to a receiver. Effective communication is important for management functions in organizations and achieving organizational goals. The main purposes of communication in educational organizations are to coordinate actions, share information, create public awareness, and allow for continuous improvement. The communication process involves a sender transmitting a message through a medium to a receiver, who then provides feedback. Barriers to effective communication can occur at the individual level, such as attitudes or skills, or at the organizational level, due to issues like structure, culture, or policies.

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Ibrahm Shosanya
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269 views4 pages

Fed413 - Communications in Educational Organisations

This document discusses communication in educational organizations. It defines communication as a two-way process of transmitting information from a sender to a receiver. Effective communication is important for management functions in organizations and achieving organizational goals. The main purposes of communication in educational organizations are to coordinate actions, share information, create public awareness, and allow for continuous improvement. The communication process involves a sender transmitting a message through a medium to a receiver, who then provides feedback. Barriers to effective communication can occur at the individual level, such as attitudes or skills, or at the organizational level, due to issues like structure, culture, or policies.

Uploaded by

Ibrahm Shosanya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COMMUNICATION IN EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Chapter Objectives
After you have read and studied this chapter, the reader should be able to:
Explain the concept and meaning of communication
State the purpose of communication in school management
Describe the process of communication
State the types of communication
Identify barriers to Communication in educational organisations

Introduction
Communication is important for management functions (planning, organising, staffing,
direction and controlling) in organisations. Effective communication often yields positive
results in terms of individual behaviour and organisational processes.
It is a two-way process that involves the transfer of information from one person to the other
(the sender to the receiver). It has to do with people and how they relate with information. It
can be multi-directional, complex, simple, formal or informal depending on the nature and role
of the message.

The dynamic nature of communication makes it fundamental to the practice of management


and continued existence of organizations. It permeates every spectrum of the organization,
playing a vital role of balancing individuals and organizational objectives with constant flow of
information and feedback which are necessary requirements for effective management. In
educational organisations, communication has become as essential tool for establishing,
extending and maintaining relationships, achieving goals and aligning with societal
expectations.

Concept of Communication
Communication has been derived from the Latin word “communicatio” meaning “to import,
share or make common” (Peters 1999:7). It is referred to as a bridge of meaning where
information is shared among people. Its effectiveness lies in the understanding and desired
response or action from the receiver.

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Hargie (2016) opines that communication is a process which involves the transmission of
accurate and timely information between individuals and/or organization to elicit actions and
proper feedbacks. The information may arise from ideas, facts, attitudes, beliefs, opinions or
emotions. It can be reefed to as the sum of human interchanges that create understanding and it
is passed from one person or place to another. It is the means by which people exchange
information concerning managerial and administrative activities in the workplace. Its purpose
is towards improving efficiency and effectiveness. Organization may cease to exist without
communication, and this explains why every improvement in communication translates to
achievement of objectives and healthy mutual interaction among employees.

The Purpose of Communication in Educational Organisations


Coffen, Cook and Hunsaker in Uchendu and Akuegwu (2016) identified three specific
purposes:
1. It allows members of organisations to coordinate actions, share information, and satisfy
social needs. They submit that that this purpose not only make employees committed to
their different job roles but help to resolve organisational problems arising from
communication breakdown.
2. Effective communication helps to create public awareness, needs assessment and
identification, participatory climate, and cognitive development among employees and
other stakeholders.
3. It provides leverage background for resolutions, developmental processes, effectiveness
and efficiency in educational institutions. This includes updating the system functions
by embracing the opportunities of new and more efficient technologies in all
ramifications.

The Process of Communication


The process of communication can be described as the way the sender gives message to the
receiver using a medium. It is a process because of its continuous, cyclic in nature and it entails
the basic elements that establish the means of transmitting information through a two-way
channel from one person to another. These include a sender, a message, a medium, a receiver,
a response and feedback.

Communication begins with the sender and ends with the receiver but most importantly the
message must be transmitted free of noise, through a channel, understood and confirmed
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through feedback. It is a dynamic process that has two basic phases, the transmission and
feedback phases embedded between the two phases in the potential for noise which is an
inhibiting factor (Isola, 2010), though there are other barriers which will be discussed later in
this chapter. The key components of the communication process are:
1. Ideating
2. Encoding
3. Transmitting
4. Decoding
5. Reacting

It is essential that school administration create a communicative environment where there is a


well articulated message, cooperation between the sender and receiver, appropriate channel for
onward transmission and receipt of response. These will not only facilitate effective
communication but lead to high quality performance in educational institution and build a
healthy climate among staff.

Factors that Contribute to Effective Communication Process


1. Purposeful Message: the message to be sent should be concrete, concise, complete and
clear enough to give purpose and meaning to the communication process.
2. Adequate encoding and decoding of the message: The content and overtones of the
message should be understood by the sender and the ultimate recipient.
3. Cooperative interaction between the sender and the receiver: The sender and the
receiver should interact at a common level of understanding and interest.
4. Appropriate transmitting channel: in planning communication, a lot of consideration
should be given to selection of channel suitable for transmitting the message.
5. Acknowledgement of receipt and feedback: actions must be congruent with information
to give desired response.

Types of Communication
Communication technologies are rapidly changing especially in schools. This calls for
continuous upgrading and improvement of the channels of communication. The basic types of
communication are oral, written and non-verbal communication. Educational leaders can use
any of these means to communicate to members of the organization.

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Verbal communication refers to the process of conveying meaning in oral form while non-
verbal describes the transmission of information, ideas, emotion and skills in written texts and
non-verbal elements such as gestures, symbols and postures.

Written Communication can be used in place of oral communication where message needs to
be modified and revised before transmission. It is written in text form such as e-mails, letters,
reports, circulars, minutes, memoranda and telephone text messages.

Non-Verbal Communication is a fundamental interactive communication that occurs without


words. It involves the transmission of information through the use of body gestures and
language, facial expression, signs, symbols, postures, maps, charts, graph, pictures and posters.

Barriers to Effective Communication


Barriers to effective communication are described as inhibitors or obstacles in the process of
communication. Effective communication is essential for the management of educational
institutions but more often than not, barriers come up to distort the process of communication,
impair accurate understanding on the part of the receiver and, render the message or
information ineffective. Enikanoselu (2012) identified two basic barriers to communication in
educational organisations. They include individual and organisational barriers.

Individual Barriers
Individual barriers refer to problems of communication emanating from the individuals
involved in communication. These include inadequate planning, personal factors (attitude, age,
educational and socio-economic background), medium selection (choice of the channels of
transmitting the message depends on the content, quantity, quality and prevailing
circumstances)and distortions (semantic or physical distortions).

Organisational Barriers
Organisational barriers are aided by the design and structure of the organization. The size,
location and structure of the organisation as well as the status symbols, information system,
office design, cultural impositions and human relations within the organisation can cause
barrier to effective communication.

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