Job Discussion Forums

[desertfox]

Over the time spent in the KSA teaching, what has always struck me is the variable quality of ex pat management.

Saudi management can be brutal and poor. But I have found that a good HOD acted as a buffer between the Saudi management and the teachers. Conversely, poor HOD's tend to be mere tools or ciphers for those higher up the food chain.

I wondered why it was that ex pat management was so often 1. poorly qualified for the post 2. lacking basic management skills 3. were bad at communicating with staff, and/or lacking administrative/organizational skills??

Don't get me wrong, I have come across some capable people as well.

I just wondered what the experience was of others?

[Lord T]

In my time as a tefler, I was managed by a man who was ex-army, a man who was ex-RAF, a former warehouse supervisor, several ex-engineers, a former council office clerk, an ex-chef, an ex-dairy manager, and a man who had run his own transport company.

None of them were qualified applied linguists and to the best of my knowledge, only one of them could hold a basic conversation in a second language.

They weren't all bad people by any means, and most were very hard working, but they had no real interest in language education and didn't like being in the classroom. In fact, they had talked their way into management because they didn't want to teach.

[veiledsentiments]

[leggeymountbatten]

VS wrote"There is an obvious reason why so many of the managers weren't very good at their job. I never met one that had any education, training, or experience in management. That said, all of them had some sort of EFL background/education. But they pushed into management because they were not teachers... and didn't want to be in the classroom. Their most important skill was being able to schmooze with those that chose the managers."

I guess a part of the problem, as VS intimates, is that there is no career structure as such in tefl. You are either a teacher, or you try to get into management.
That's why people can be poor at both. It can represent a kind of dead-end if I can put it that way.

A related issue is the fact that tefl is unregulated. So often "anything goes." It also gives an open door for "chancers" and other undesirables.

[desertfox]

Talking of undesirables, one of the worst examples I saw of poor management in Saudi (from a crowded field!) was at a college in Riyadh.

The manager chose to lead through a management technique which he described as "management by delegation."

This meant in practical terms that he quickly divested himself of nearly all of his responsibilities and pushed those functions down to the team leaders and coordinators.

Now, this may have worked had he had the ability to choose people of ability to
man these "strategic" positions. But he didn't. He appointed them because he didn't feel threatened by them. Not a good idea.

The result was chaos piled upon more chaos.

[leggeymountbatten]

where was the college??

Leggey

[veiledsentiments]

Rather than make this another thread nitpicking individual employers or identified managers, best to stay on the general topic of problems with management.

VS
(try PMs if you want to try to get ID)

[nomad soul]

Better yet... The subject line asks what makes a good Head of Department.

[RedLightning]

Ironically, the worst HOD(by far) was also the most qualified.
He could go on for hours about the latest educational philosophies, ground breaking pedagogical research, etc., but (like the aforementioned research and philosophies) was seemingly clueless as to the realities of what it actually is to teach in a classroom. I don't blame him though, he's simply a victim of the depthless, pedagogical nonsense and mindset that define modern academia. I'm currently working in the education department of a university here in the U.S. and have found that many of the absurdities I had attributed to the 'TEFL industry' are actually found (and created) here in the west.

[Lord T]

I think s/he has to be a language educator that moves into management; a realist that is aware of the difficulties teachers face in the classroom, and a person that knows how to motivate all types of personalities.

The legendary football (soccer) manager Brian Clough said that managing players when things weren't going well was all about knowing who to put your arm around and who to kick up the backside.

That may sound simple enough, but it's actually very difficult.

[desertfox]

Leggey - I'll PM you with the details.

Save to say, the college is now run by Lincoln, an outfit with Maltese links.

MOD EDIT