In this Unit, you learnt about governance and management in ODFL. The unit only introduced you to these key concepts which affect the quality of ODFL regardless of the level at which it is offered. To learn more about governance and management you will need to read more resources on the subject. Additional resources are provided at the end of this Unit.
You will have noticed that both school governance and management are essential aspects of the quality of an ODFL institution. Without sound governance and management, ODFL cannot function smoothly and learning gains become compromised. The quality assurance of an ODFL institution should therefore take into serious account the two aspects of governance and management. Both the Revised Nadeosa Criteria and the Quality Assurance Toolkit for Open Schools referred to in Unit One have guiding quality standards on governance and management. You are advised to look at these standards to gain more insights on how these aspects should be evaluated in your ODFL institution(s).
This quiz will help you to check your understanding of selected concepts covered in this unit. These questions are re-used for the knowledge tests for students who are interested in earning a digital Q4ODFL1 Participation badge for QA4ODFL1 or a digital QA4ODFL1 Completion badge. Please consult the Knowledge tests page and the Scenario-based assessment page for more information.
Unit Quiz
Governance and Management quiz
Consider each of the following statements.
Indicate whether they are true or false, in your opinion:
- In a school organisation, which of the following is not facilitated by governance?
- Accountability
- Incorrect, It is true that governance facilitates accountability in a school organisation.
- Transparency
- Incorrect, It is true that governance facilitates transparency in a school organisation.
- Sound financial management
- Incorrect, It is true that governance facilitates sound financial management in a school.
- Allocation of resources across subject areas
- Correct, Allocation of resources across subject areas is the responsibility of school management, not of governance.
- Equity and inclusiveness
- Incorrect, It is true that governance facilitates equity and inclusiveness in a school.
- In open schooling, governance means the same as management.
- True
- Incorrect, Governance does not mean the same as management.
- False
- Correct, This is correct because governance does not mean the same as management.
- Which of the following factors is not important for the sustainability of an open school?
- government support through policy.
- Incorrect, Government support through policy is important for the sustainability of an open school.
- a clearly defined role for the open school as being an alternative to traditional schooling.
- Incorrect, A clearly defined role as an alternative to traditional schooling is important for sustainability of an open school.
- effective management structure to provide good governance at low cost
- Incorrect, Effective management structure to provide good governance at low cost is important for sustainability of an open school.
- support for staff development
- Incorrect, Support for staff development is important for sustainability of an open school.
- engaging only fulltime teachers to support learners.
- Correct, Open schooling employs more part-time teachers (facilitators) than fulltime teachers (facilitators).
- In an open school, it is important for the manager to know conditions under which the distributed learners learn.
- True
- Correct, It is true that an open school manager should understand conditions under which distributed students study so appropriate support can be designed.
- False
- Incorrect, It is true that an open school manager should understand conditions under which students study so as to be able to design appropriate support.
- According to the UNESCO International Bureau of Education, which of the following activities is not a typical governance function in open schooling?
- Implement school policies
- Correct, policy implementation at school level is a management and not a governance function.
- Oversee performance of a school organisation.
- Incorrect, governance is responsible for overseeing the performance of a school organisation.
- Set the strategic vision and direction of an open school.
- Incorrect, setting the strategic vision and direction of an open school is a governance function.
- Oversee and give direction to the management of a school.
- Incorrect, governance is responsible for overseeing and giving direction to the management of a school.
- Retired professionals like company managers, school teachers, or accountants can play an important role as members of school governing bodies (SGBs) because
- They are too old to argue during meetings.
- Incorrect, It is not correct that retired professionals play an important role as members of SGBs because they are too old or that they argue during meetings.
- They love children.
- Incorrect, Retired professionals play an important role as members of school governing bodies not because they love children.
- They have enough resources to bring along with them from their previous roles.
- Incorrect, Retired professionals do not necessarily bring along resources with them when they become members of the SGB.
- They possess important skills and knowledge which can benefit the school.
- Correct, It is true that retired professionals play an important role as members of SGBs because they possess important skills and knowledge that benefit the school.
- They are often friendly to school principals.
- It is important for members of a school governing body to be respected people in the community because
- It attracts more money to the school.
- Incorrect, Members of the SGB who command respect of the community do not necessarily attract money for the school.
- It encourages learners to work hard.
- Incorrect, Having members of the SGB who command respect from the community does not necessarily encourage learners to work hard.
- It earns the school respect from the public.
- Correct, Having SGB members who are respected by the community earns the school public respect.
- It avoids burglaries from occurring at the school.
- Incorrect, Having members of the SGB who are respected by the community does not help prevent school burglaries.
- It makes teachers work hard.
- Incorrect, Having members of the SGB who command respect from the community does not necessarily make teachers work hard.
- An open school should have a decentralised management system to operate effectively enough.
- True
- Correct, Because it serves a distributed student population, having a decentralised management system helps an open school operate effectively.
- False
- Incorrect, It is true that an open school should have a decentralised management system because of the dispersed nature of the students it serves.
- There is no need of implementing quality management system in an open school.
- True
- Incorrect, It is necessary to implement quality management systems in an open school.
- False
- Correct, An open school should implement a quality management system in order to enhance the quality of its delivery.
- It is important for open school managers to be familiar with all of the following except
- Budgeting processes
- Incorrect, Open school managers need to be familiar with budgeting processes in order to manage school finances well.
- The different types of costs and how they behave
- Incorrect, Open school managers need to know the different types of costs so as to control costs of running the school.
- Planning future enrolments of the school
- Incorrect, It is necessary for an open school manager to be able to plan future school enrolments.
- Thinking about appropriate business models for the school
- Incorrect, An open school manager should be able to think about appropriate business models for open schooling.
- Creating OER for integration in open school courses.
- Correct, An open school manager does not necessarily need to create OER, other staff in the school can do so.
