Since an educational institution is expected to perform a variety of functions, its effectiveness has to be measured using multiple dimensions. Institutions must not only attain the goals of teaching and learning but must do so efficiently and in a manner that keeps faculty morale high, order in the institution and peace in the community.
Sergiovanni, Burlingame, Coombs and Thurstone (1987), have identified four major critical responsibility areas of an institution and their respective dimensions as follows:
(A) Goal Attainment
The dimensions of institutional effectiveness within this critical responsibility area include:
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(i) Productivity is measured in terms of the extent to which students, teachers and institutions accomplish outcomes or services intended.
(ii) Quality refers to the level and quality of attainments, performance, outcomes and services of individuals and the institution.
(iii) Growth includes improvements in the quality and services, responsiveness and innovativeness, talent and general competence, when an institution’s present status is compared with its own past.
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(iv) Training and Development Emphasis incorporates the amount of effort and resources that the institution devotes to developing the talents of teachers and other personnel.
(v) Planning and Goal Setting is measured in terms of the degree to which the members plan future steps and engage in goal-setting behaviour.
(vi) Achievements Emphasis includes the extent to which the institution places a high value on achieving existing and new goals.
(vii) Leadership Management Skills refer to the overall level of ability of the principal, vice-principals, supervisors and other leaders as they perform institutional tasks.
(B) Maintaining Internal Integration
The dimensions of institutional effectiveness within this critical responsibility area include:
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(i) Absenteeism which refers to the number of times not present and the frequency of non-attendance by teachers, students and the non-teaching staff.
(ii) Efficiency is measured in terms of the ratio of individual and institutional performance to the costs involved for that performance. Costs are calculated not only in terms of time and money but also in terms of objectives or outcomes neglected so that other objectives or outcomes might be emphasized and accomplished.
(iii) Shared influence includes the degree to which individuals in the institution participate in making decisions that affect them directly.
(iv) Turnover incorporates the number of students, faculty and non-teaching staff leaving the institution voluntarily apart from those completing the course/retiring.
(v) Teacher job satisfaction includes the extent to which teachers are pleased with the various job outcomes they are receiving.
(vi) Student satisfaction refers to the extent to which students are pleased with the various institutional outcomes/processes/inputs received.
(vii) Motivation includes the willingness and drive strength of teachers, students and other staff as they engage in the work of the institution.
(viii) Information management and communications is measured in terms of the completeness, efficiency of dissemination and accuracy of information considered critical to the institution’s effectiveness by all interested parties including teachers, parents and the larger community.
(C) External Adaptation
The dimensions of institutional effectiveness within this critical responsibility area include:
(i) Flexibility adaptation is measured in terms of the ability of the institution to change its procedures and ways of operating in response to external environmental changes.
(ii) Readiness refers to the probability that the institution could successfully perform some specified tasks or accomplish some specified goal if asked to do so.
(iii) Utilization of the environment is the extent to which the institution interacts successfully with its community and other arenas of its environment and acquires the necessary support and resources to function effectively.
(iv) Evaluation by external entities includes favourable assessments of the institution by individuals, organizations and groups in the community and in the general environment within which it interacts.
(D) Maintaining Cultural Patterns
The dimensions of institutional effectiveness within this critical responsibility area include:
(i) Morale refers to the general good feeling that teachers, parents students and others have for the institution, its traditions and it: goals and the extent to which they are happy to be a part of the institution.
(ii) Cohesion includes the extent to which students and teachers like one another, work well together, communicate fully and openly and co-ordinate their efforts.
(iii) Goal consensus incorporates the extent to which community members, parents and students agree that the same goals exist ft the institution.
(iv) Stability refers to the ability of the institution to maintain certain structures, functions and resources over time and particular during periods of stress.
(v) Internalization of organizational goals refers to the acceptance the institution’s goals and belief by parents, teachers and student that the institution’s goal is right and proper.
If we want to understand whether our institution is effective or not, must first identify one or more of these dimensions of institution effectiveness and then proceed to determine the extent to which measures of these dimensions are present in or attained by the institution.