THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAM WORK AND THE INDIVIDUAL IN PUT IN FOSTERING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

There are a number of reasons for dividing work and creating groups among which are specialised increased skills, increased efficiency and reduction in time loss.Teamwork involves the interaction of individuals for a common purpose where the interests of the individual are secondary to group unity and the efficiency of the group to perform the task assigned. It is the purpose of this essay to therefore agree to the phrase or saying that groups and team working are essential and integral part of the organisation, though people value their individuality for the mutual benefit of the group. The essay further elucidates how school managers might best be trained to enhance the contribution and performance of groups.

To begin with, it important to realize that a school is an organisation that is made up of many but different individuals who have been employed to achieve the mission and vision of the school (Robbins 2005). Each of these individuals is unique in terms of the skills and interests possess. This is the reason people value their own individuality because they are aware there is no one like them. It is therefore very important for school managers identify these special abilities and allocate them where they best suit. However, there is very little we can achieve by working alone hence the need for a group or team work.

There are a number of benefits when organisation members work as a team as opposed to working as individuals. Firstly, the main benefit of group work or a team environment is the ability to share ideas among the group (Gronn, P. 2000). Perhaps there are several possible approaches to a project, and as an individual, a staffer may not be sure of which one to take. However, as a team, each of the members can contribute pros and cons of approaches to tasks and methods to accomplish key goals. This kind of collaboration both benefits the project and gives team members an outlet to bounce around ideas. An example can be in a school where teachers in a department identifies a challenge and they all come together to find a lasting solution.

Another key advantage of group work in the office is that things get done faster and with efficiency (Leithwood et al,. 2006). When a group attacks a project or task, that task can be done more quickly and with greater efficiency than if an individual attempted to deal with it as it might take a group a few hours to work on a task that can take an individual a number of days. In other words, a group approach can lead to cost savings for the company, since groups accomplish more, as well as an ability to meet individual and team goals more quickly, since more people are attacking the task.

Clarke (2007) provides another reason why groups and team working are essential and must be encouraged at all coast is that:

            “team spirit often produces a healthy dose of friendly competition; not in                             the sense that each individual is trying to outdo their colleagues, rather, as                                 the group contribute to the overall success of the company, team members                                              will work assiduously to avoid being seen as the weak link in the chain.”

This will further bring out natural trust in a co-worker’s abilities which enables him or her to concentrate fully on his or her tasks and responsibilities without fear of interruption.

The other benefit is that employees who are able to participate in team building exercises tend to be less stressed than more isolated workers, resulting in increased productivity and this further tightens the connection between individuals; understandably (Gronn (2000).  These effects are amplified if regular social outings are arranged such as sporting activities, dinner, boat cruise and many more. This therefore implies members will be so open to one another hence organizational or office disputes will be easier to resolve when team members feel able to communicate their grievances with each other openly, especially when there’s a professional and personal association.

School managers should be trained to make group members to be aware that, before a collaborative culture can flourish, employees themselves have to make a concerted effort to foster it themselves. It should also be brought to the attention of individuals working in a team environment to accept that, to succeed, they must work in full collaboration with their colleagues; even if they’re not overly gregarious outside the office (Sammons  et al., 1997). Similarly, employees have to be aware their performance and attitude can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the team, thus they are responsible for others, not just themselves.

Another thing to bear in mind is that school managers should be trained on how to advise employees to refrain from office gossip. This will help a lot in limiting the chances of quarrels breaking out and encourage a positive attitude even in difficult times, whilst individual team members should endeavour to behave politely (Clarke 2007).

One of the key elements for any organisation to flourish is that it should be able to communicate effectively and openly to each other. It is therefore the task of school managers to have the skill on how they have to instill a culture of open communication as its one of the best ways for managers to increase team spirit amongst their staff.  

School managers have goals that need to address among key elements when designing the institutional structure such as work specialisation and departmentalisation.The importance of viewing schools as social systems being built up of interrelated parts which work together to achieve the objectives of the organization (Robbins, 2005) . This is of course in line with the systems theory. Just like the human body which is made up different parts that perform different functions, the organisation’s parts also include the individuals in the organization, the departments, and even the environment which forms an important part of the survival of the organization. As such, school managers have the task of ensuring that every person and every part of the organization is of equal importance and works in harmony to achieve school goals.

There are classroom teachers who have the responsibilities in specific operational areas, like subject area heads or counselling duties , academic committee; persons in charge of the curriculum, Guidance and Counselling committee, production unit committee, preventive maintenance committee, core curricular, housing committee , boarding, accounts committee , procurement and stores committee (Day et al., 2008). Each of the mentioned above may be a department or a committee comprising of two or more members with its head who report to the school manager on progress of activities undertaken by the committee. School managers have to work tirelessly to encourage members of the different committees to each one work hard for benefit of the group and in turn the school as a whole.

Other committees which school managers have to encourage to exist are the Parent Teachers Association and the school board committee which assist a lot in the running of the schools since these are the eyes of the school in the communities where learners come actually from. School should be trained on their major activities in the school known as principles of management which include: forecasting and planning, organizing, commanding, co-ordaining and controlling.

In order to improve teaching and learning in schools,  Louis, K.S., etal (2010) asserts that considerable emphasis has recently been placed on school leaders’ contributions to building staff capacity in particular. It is quite easy to capacity build the staff in a group as compared to an individual, teachers for instance in a department or committee could easily be taught a skill than teaching each individual at a time. Creating productive environments where teamwork thrives requires workers with highly developed communication and interpersonal skills and an organizational structure that promotes collaboration and partnership instead of competition and rivalry (Christopher D and Pamela S (2014). This implies that where team work is encouraged, members do not compete and there is no spirit of opposition or jealous.

Mbiti, (2007) asserts that improving professional development practices in terms of in house trainings, seminars, workshops, as well as providing them with necessary equipment and resources can also work as an effective motivational factor. This means school managers need to be trained on how to organise for the mentioned events above as they assist a lot in building group work or team work later on effectiveness. Where distributed leadership and leadership for learning are of concern, professional development that promotes collaborative work is increasingly favoured (Hannay and Ross, 1999). This also means continuous professional development activities should be at the center of every manager’s work plan. In conclusion, we can say that no teacher is an island as no matter how good you can teach, you still the input of the other teacher in another area. Team work and group work is very cardinal for the success of any organisation including schools. School managers have to be trained in techniques that encourage their teachers to always work as teams such as departments or committees so that managers just receive reports from departments and advice where necessary.                                                     REFERENCES Christopher Day and Pamela Sammons (ed.)(2014) Successful school leadership. United Kingdom: University of Oxford. Clarke, A. (2007). The handbook of school management. Cape Town, South Africa: Kate McCallum. Day, C., J. Moller, D. Nusche and B. Pont (2008), “The Flemish (Belgian) Approach to System Leadership”, a case study report for the OECD Improving School Leadership activity, available at www.oecd.org/edu/schoolleadership and in Pont, B., D. Nusche and D. Hopkins (eds.), Improving School Leadership, Volume 2: Case Studies on System Leadership, OECD, Paris. Gronn, P. (2000) ‘Distributed properties: a new architecture for leadership’. Educational management and administration, 28(3), 317-338. Hannay, L M. and J.A. Ross (1999), “Department Heads as Middle Managers? Questioning the Black Box”, School Leadership and Management, 19 (3) pp 345-358 Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A. & Hopkins, D. (2006a) Successful school leadership: what is it and how it influences student learning. Research Report 800. London: DfES Louis, K.S., Dretzke, B. & Wahlstrom, K. (2010) ‘How does leadership affect student achievement? Results from a national US survey’. School effectiveness and school improvement, 21 (3) 315-336. Sammons, P., Thomas, S. & Mortimore, P. (1997) Forging links: effective schools and effective departments. London: Paul Chapman. Mbiti, D. (2007). Foundations of school administration (Rev. ed.). Nairobi, Kenya: Oxford University Press East Africa. Robbins, S. (2005). Organizational behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

HENRY FAYOL’S PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT AND HOW THEY CAN BE UTILIZED TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY OF EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.

HENRY FAYOL’S PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT AND HOW THEY CAN BE UTILIZED TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY OF EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.

A principle may be defined as fundamental statement of basic truth that provides a guide to thought and action. Principles of management originate and grow as a result of past experience and accomplishments. Among the reasons why we need principles of management include improving efficiency, crystalline the nature of management, improving research and also to attain social goals. Henry Fayol was born in Istanbul in 1841 and through the years, he began to develop what he considered to be the 14 most important principles of management. Essentially, these explained how managers should organize and interact with staff. The purpose of this paper therefore is to outline the principles of management by Henry Fayol and also to discuss how each of the principles can be utilized to promote effective management and productivity of educational organization.

The first principle he came up with was the division of work. The principle proposed that work can be performed more efficiently and more productively if it is divided into smaller elements and assigning specific elements to specific workers (Carl, 2001:880). The main idea behind was specialization where each employee is performing a specific task. This was actually opposed to generalization, where each employee was performing multiple tasks. There is an efficient result in the operational level when tasks, are distributed to qualified and competent workers or when people do specialize. For instance a subject teacher will contribute to increased productivity in a school if he is given to specifically teach what he or she is taught and it becomes very easy for management to supervise the teachers.

The second principle that he proposed was authority and responsibility where with formal authority managers have the right to command and give orders to their subordinates. The concepts of Authority and responsibility are closely related hence whosoever assumes authority also assumes responsibility. Whereas authority is seen as the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience, responsibility on the other hand involves being accountable (McAdams, 1988). In educational organisations, teachers are accountable for the pupils they teach hence administrators have to give teachers enough room to implement their responsibilities as they know them.

The principle of discipline being the third suggests that along with good supervisors at all levels of an organisation requires a set of clearly defined rules and procedures aimed at attaining good employee discipline and obedience (Carl, 2001:881). Good discipline can be achieved by having all agreement between the school organisation and the employed teachers stated in a clear and fair manner. This principle is essential and is seen as the oil to make the engine of an organization run smoothly. When all employees are disciplined, it means they follow the laid down rules and perform all their duties as supposed hence increasing productivity and promoting good management. Late reporting for working will be reduced in turn increasing time for teaching and performing other work related tasks.

The management principle of unity of command is the fourth and it meant that an individual employee should receive orders from one manager and that the employee is answerable to that manager. If tasks and related responsibilities are given to the employee by more than one manager, this may lead to confusion which may lead to possible conflicts for employees. This implies that any action whatsoever, an employee should receive orders from one boss only (Carl, 2001:882). In an educational institution, when orders are got from one person, the message reaches the intended person without any distortion hence improving on the productivity.  

The fifth principle is unity of direction and it meant that operations within any organization having the same objective must be directed by only one manager using one plan. In a department for example, there should not be two or more supervisors each having different policy to follow.  The manager is ultimately responsible for this plan and he monitors the progress of the defined and planned activities (Wren, Bedeian and Breeze, 2002). In an educational organisation, Heads of department gives direction related to school goals to teachers in his/her department hence all teachers follow it in turn achieving organizational goals.

Subordination of the Individual Interest to General interest is where the interests of one person should not take priority over the interests of the organization as a whole (Hodge, 2002).  This principle also means that individuals and small groups within the overall school organisations should make their needs secondary to those at the school. An individual may see things in one way but a large may see it in another way hence it is better to follow the majority if productivity is to be achieved.

Remuneration as one of the principles points to payment as important motivator in any organisation. Compensation for work done should be fair to both employees and employers and it should be sufficiently motivational. However, overtime there was the introduction of performance pay that was based on the notion that individual equity suggests that ‘better workers should receive higher wages on the same job than poor workers’ (Wallace and Fay, 1988:18). In an educational organisation when a teacher works had and he deserves to be paid, for instance salary related allowances, let him be paid as they will motivate him to even put more effort.

Centralization implies the concentration of decision making authority at the top management. Too much centralization and decentralization leads to ineffectiveness hence educational organizations should strive for a good balance in this area (Katz and Khan, 1966). In an educational institution, upper-level managers or administrators are not to make decisions alone but should consult lower level managers which may include senior teachers or heads of department by so doing it will promote management and productivity.

The other principle of management is the scalar chain. The principle is sometimes called hierarchy principle and it tells us that communication in organizations should be basically vertical; that is a single uninterrupted chain of authority should extend from the highest level to the lowest position in the organization (Carl, 2001:883). When information is uninterrupted, it reaches the intended recipients as clear as before hence what top management plans will be implemented by lower level employees even without the presence of managers.

Another principle of management is order and it implies both the order of material and social that is very necessary.  It also means the workplace facilities must be clean, tidy and safe for employees (Wren, Bedeian and Breeze, 2002). According to this principle, employees for instance teachers in an educational organization must have the right resources which may include books and other teaching and learning resources at their disposal so that they can deliver the lessons properly.

Equity is yet another principle which involves treating employees well which is very cardinal to achieving organizational goals. It also implies that managers should be fair to staff at all times, both maintaining discipline as necessary and acting with kindness where appropriate. The fairness may be a consequence of managers being kind and just toward their subordinates who will further lead to devoted and loyal service (Carl, 2001:884). When employees (teachers) in the school environment are treated fairly, they will put in their best which will turn increase productivity which in this implies better results and promote management.

The next principle is Stability of personnel tenure. This required managers to strive to minimize employee turnover and regard personnel planning to be a priority (Hodge, 2002). This also relates to unnecessary staff turnover which must be avoided at all cost. For instance, end of tenure due to old age, ill health, retirement, death which disturbs the human makeup of the firm. Management strive to minimise employee turnover and to have the right staff in the right place.

The principle of initiative or workers participation meant that employees are supposed to be given the necessary level of freedom to create and carry out plans. This principle allows workers to participate in the solving of problems and in the ruling of the organisation. This is where Fayol argued that employees should be allowed to express new ideas as this will encourage interest and involvement and creates added value for the company (Katz and Kahn, 1966). Employee initiatives are a source of strength for the educational organisation.

The Spirit de-corps (team spirit) principle signifies that employees should work as a team and management should not use divide and rule, instead management’s task should be to unite conflicting groups and individuals (Hodge, 2002). This therefore implies that educational organizations should strive to promote team spirit as well as unity. Managers are responsible for the development of morale in the workplace; individually and in the area of communication.

In summing up the 14 principles of management, they can be used to manage educational organisations and are useful tools for forecasting, planning, coordination, controlling, decision making, organizing, commanding and process management. The above outlined principles of management team spirit, employee initiatives, division of work, equity, unity of command and many others help to coordinate the material and human resources in order to achieve the desired goals or common objectives in an educational organisation. Without principles of management, there would be a lot of wastage of resources including time.

REFERENCES

Carl A. Rodrigues (2001), Fayol’s 14 principles of management then and now: A framework for managing today’s organizations effectively. Montclair State University, New Jersey.

Hodge, B. J. (2002). Organisation theory: a strategic approach. Pearson Education

Katz, D and Kahn, R. L. (1966), The Social Psychology of Organisations, John Wiley and Sons, New York.

McAdams, J. (1988), “Performance – based reward systems; towards a common fate environment”,Personnel Journal, June, pp.103-13.

Wren, D. A., Bedeian, A. G., Breeze, J. D. (2002). The foundations of Henri Fayol’s Administrative Theory. Management Decision, Vol. 40 Iss:9, pp.906-918.

Wallace, M.J. and Fay, C.H (1988), Compansation Theory and Practice, PWS-Kent, Boston, MA.

THE LINK BETWEEN CIVIC EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

This paper presentation will discuss the assertion that civic education is a prerequisite to national development. So what civic education, development and how is civic education a prerequisite to development? Actually civic education the process of educating the citizens on their rights ,duties, obligations, responsibilities to empower and to motivate them to identify areas of political and governance and participate in order that they can influence political outcomes both at national and grassroots stages. Civic education is the knowledge that relates citizens to their particular country. In the United States, education was seen as the means to safeguard individual rights especially against intrusions of the state. Education was seen as liberal arts. Arts that would liberate them from ignorance and also from the grip of tyrants and enable those liberated to rule themselves if they so wish. Civic education is "instructions that cultivate the habits, skills and virtues necessary for the preservation and flourishing of a given political order". In a lay man's language it is simply a study that deals with the rights, duties of citizens and responsibilities of government. But what is the meaning this famous word known as development.

Development is simply a process of advancing or improving the social, economic and political welfare of citizens. This means that if citizens hold the bull by its horns that is, by taking full control of their public affairs ,it is likely that development will take root because their skills which they will acquire in civic education will help them achieve their aspirations. Society has a common view to say; If a nation has frontiers of knowledge in the fibre of its society then the likelihood that it will speed up its development is high. Education or knowledge is power hence the civic education given to citizens is an According to Aristotle the purpose of political education that is civic is the self development of the citizens.

Good civic education seeks to develop competence in explaining and analyzing issues of the government and its people. If citizens can explain how something should work, for example the American federal system, the legal system of communist china, some regime in north eastern Asia or the system of checks and balances in government they will be more able to detect and help correct malfunctions. Civic education in a democracy should prepare citizens participate in the politics of their country and challenge what seems to be an inequality and injustices within that system. Other scholars like Gutman argue that society has the responsibility for educating all children for citizenship. Hence democratic societies have Citizens who need to be able to analyze such things as the components and consequences of politics. In a self- governing society’s citizens are decision-makers. They need, therefore, to develop and continue to improve their skills of evaluating, taking, and defending positions. These skills are essential if citizens are to assess issues of public agenda, to make judgments about issues and to discuss their assessment with others in public or private By so doing citizens can develop their country and it cannot be wrong to ascertain that civic education is linked to development .If citizens are to influence the course of political life and the public policies adopted, they need to expand their repertoire of participatory skills. Voting certainly is an important means of exerting influence.

Livingston and Thompson (1971:283) argues that "...the other possible means by which the average citizen can influence politics are considered that is, reading and listening to campaign materials , talking politics with friends...". Many institutions help develop citizens' knowledge and skills and shape their civic character and commitments. There's need for education to bring about greater awareness about democratic government systems as well as promotion ,protection of human rights. Family, religious institutions, the media, and community groups exert important influences. Schools, however, bear a special and historic responsibility for the development of civic competency and civic responsibility. Schools fulfil that responsibility through both formal and informal education beginning in the earliest years and continuing through the entire educational process. To substantiate this, Patrick (1974) argues that secondary education is concerned with equipping young people for the kind of society they will encounter. Formal instruction in civics and government should provide a basic and realistic of civic life, politics, and government. It should familiarize students with the constitutions of other states and the understanding of their state in which they live, because these and other core documents are criteria which can be used to judge the means and ends of government.

In countries like France or Germany civic education is perceived as having a central role in the of such in the transmission of such democratic values and principles and hence become an important policy while in Taiwan and Japan civic education focuses on identity, moral behaviour ,personal attributes and international or global perspectives. In the United States of America it is ,political process ,human rights and free market economic. Development of good citizens will enable them to live in peace and harmony with their fellow citizens and this further means children should have morals and be cultured . In this way citizens will be developed fully and that’s why civic education is linked to development. Formal instruction should enable citizens to understand the workings of their own and other political systems, as well as the relationship of the politics and government of their own country to world affairs. Good civic education promotes an understanding of how and why one's own security, quality of life, and economic position is connected to that of neighbouring countries.

In order to create good citizens and it requires a little beyond teaching the basic teaching of mechanics about government. Because of this citizen need to be educated for many activities of different sorts. This is to enhance civic education and not civic indoctrination. These citizens actually need to be educated so that they think critically about democratic institutions because both political knowledge and critical thinking are required if citizens are to participate and share in national issues. Civic education causes citizens to be democratic therefore society has a task of educating all for citizenship. This means to shape the structures of society to engage in conscious social reproduction. Social studies teachers have a responsibility and a duty to focus their classrooms on the teaching of character and civic virtue. They should not be timid or hesitant about working toward these goals. The civic education profession of this nation has vital role to play in keeping this well-spring of civic virtue flowing .Developed nations believe that schools have a civic mission and that education for good citizenship should be the schools' top priority. Unfortunately for long time now in Zambia and the third world in general many people understand civic education as mere civics for youngsters. The concept of civic education is however broader than civics. Civic education relates to human beings and their natural, physical, social and cultural environments. Civic education allows high school learners a chance to explore the obligations and rights outlined in various international instruments and covenants that many countries are signatory just like Zambia is. When these high school learners acquire the above skills and are able to apply the skills appropriately and effectively then that is development. Then it can be said that civic education brings or rather linked to development. The course will give also learners an opportunity to develop their understanding,skills,capacities and values that will mould citizens into socially constructive members of society. It also prepares learners to become concioutised.When this happens learners become active participants in national issues. By being active participants their welfare will be developed hence it can be said that civic education leads to development. Then it can be said that civic education is linked to development. Johari (2011:232) views that, “the most active forms of political participation are formal enrolment in a party, canvassing and speech -writing and speech-making, working in campagns and competing for public and party offices". Effective civic education programs should provide students with many opportunities for the development of desirable traits of public and private character. Learning activities such as the following tend to promote character traits needed to participate effectively for the development of the person and the social environment.

Civility, courage, self-discipline, persistence, concern for the common good, respect for others, and other traits relevant to citizenship can be promoted through cooperative learning activities and in class meetings, student councils, simulated public hearings, mock trials, mock elections, and student courts. Uchendu (1995:48) views that " the educational system of any nation aims at developing individuals to their fullest capacity, so that in turn, they would contribute to the achievement of the ideals of the governments" and further goes on to say that "every government aims at this because every effective democratic form of government depends on a well educated citizenry". This is because when citizens are educated they will be able to run their countries as efficiently as they can to promote and do national development programs. For example the late former president Chiluba was denied a third term . The masses used their civic knowledge to shape the destiny of the country. If there was no single citizen to oppose the third term bid on this land the situation would have been chaotic. There would have been continued embezzlement of tax payer's money as well as continued wastage of government resources at the expense of the poor. Hence the social and economic development would come to stagnation and in turn employment would be a thing for the haves the so -called "big fishes". Fortunately enough the bid did not succeed.

Within the course of 2011 the people of Zambia rejected the constitution for it seemed to favour the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) who then the ruling party.The citizens of this countries used their civic education to stop a biased constitution. Instead the people want to have a people driven constitution which will stand the test of time. After all it is said it is rule of the people by the people for the people and of course that’s democracy. The citizens of Zambia could not wait to have a regime change. Ultimately the party was changed on September 20, 2011 after ruling for twenty years. Then it was booted out. In deciding which party should rule the nation the citizens used their knowledge to see who should be in authority though normally its a very tricky deal whenever it comes to a point of selecting good leaders.

Civic Education has the capacity to produce responsible citizens who will later be aware of bad governance which is the evil in our society. Moreover, the citizens will know to which extent the evil will affect their society at large and as such the citizens will work towards reducing or if possible combating such evils. When the evils are reduced or combated there will be development because living standards will be improved for the benefit of society. Civic education breeds the effective use of resources so that they can replenish themselves Civic Education enables the small scale farmers to make a shift from old methods of farming to new ones such as conservation farming. This will lead to high food production which will further enhance food security in respective communities. At the same time land will be protected against destruction. If the farmers know and use the best farming practices they have acquired from civic education then that’s a crystal clear indicator of development especially in terms of agriculture. In terms of transport the civic education will equip road users to be responsible drivers in that they will reduce accidents by following civic rules. In the same vein citizens in high authority will be able to plan for the construction of good roads as well as avoiding corruption in their dealings. If the nation is able to record low levels of accidents and the passengers are travelling with dignity as compared to a situation where they are loaded like animals then that’s development. It can be rightly be said that civic education can be linked to development or it is linked to development for it improves the living standards of citizens.

With civic education in mind citizens will be able to lobby from the government on behalf the community on many issues. They will able to lobby for women's rights and children's rights. With civic education in minds of citizens they shall be able to discuss issues of democracy, sex education, on rights of individuals, rights of dissent and also the responsibility to inform and to be informed. As though that is not enough ,with civic education citizens acquire the right to participate in the implementation of policies and development programmes. In fact civic education can help citizens develop a critical sense of identity on a lager view, empathy and a positive attitude on diversity.

For democracy to survive and flourish, citizens must possess the skills, assimilate the values and manifest the behaviours that are in accord with democracy. Civic education gives the citizen an opportunity to absorb democratic beliefs and practices over a life time. As they participate in family, neighbourhood life, join local organizations move through the educational system and as they are exposed to free media they develop into better and responsible citizen .Here citizens have the opportunity to absorb the practice of the basic norms of a democratic culture. When this occurs, that is definitely how civic education is linked to development.

In countries where civic education does not exist or less pronounced wholly or partly due to wars or bad regimes, children can or may grow without civic knowledge hence no or little development in terms of civic issues such as human rights, rule of law and so on and so forth. Without civic values such as political tolerance, trust in democratic institutions and respect for the rule of law, how then are the citizens to gain the skills, values and behaviours that are thought to be necessary for a stable democracy which leads to development? The answer is civic education which essentially promotes developmental behaviours among ordinary citizens.

Civic education introduces children to the basic rules and institutional features of good political systems and to provide them with democratic rights. when citizens happen to know their rights they will be able to use their rights to avoid victimization. When human rights abuses and victimization are minimized or stopped it is development. Why? Because the citizens are able to use their education for their benefit and for others. Before the acquisition of civic education skills other citizens would actually take advantage of their power and definitely abuse or victimise the less privileged or the vulnerable in society since power without control is destructive.

Richard (1994) argues that civic education has observable positive effects but mainly on privileged elements in society. Civic education has consistently greater impact on country men and women and has influence on their knowledge, values, and their political behaviour. Therefore means and ways have to be devised to induce citizens to become active voters. When they become active voters and there is no voter apathy meaning that they are able to usher in their leaders with an informed decision. If the ushered in leaders reach the aspirations of the people then that’s development and if the citizens fail to see that as development then it will take long for them to see that as development. Civic education encourages citizens to be responsible, Hahn (1998). Families take a critical role in reinforcing democratic lessons, therefore they should be included in achieving significant and lasting impact on students and this is likely to grow.

Last but not the least, the link between civic education and development will be very obvious if all the necessary education and skills are imparted to the citizens. Beginning from the family through kindergarten, primary, secondary and tertiary education. This should further be extended with seminars, workshops conferences as well as television and radio broadcasting, so that when this civic education is put into practice, results yield then with full confidence it can be said that civic education is linked to development. Therefore civic education is really linked to development.

Check how civic education is linked to development by watching this video.

THE MANIFEST FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION AS EXPLAINED BY ROBERT MERTON

•  watch the manifest functions of education according  to  Robert  merton