Republic of the Philippines
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate School Satellite
Bayambang, Pangasinan
LORNA G. MACASIEB DR. RAQUEL G. LARANG
MAED-ECED Professor
Written Report in
ECED 214: Organizational and Management of Early Childhood Program
RECORD KEEPING
Introduction
There is a need to keep record of all school activities as part of effective
school administration. Record keeping and the management of records is a vital
responsibility of the school administrator because of the indispensable role of records and
information in the day-to-day activities of the school system. School managers rely on the
short and long-term data captured in records to make effective decisions about immediate
issues and more comprehensive school policies (Okpetu & Peretomode, 1995).
Ibara (2010) asserts that without records there can be no accountability. He further
maintains that quality performance, task accomplishment, and measurable outcomes are
increasingly important responsibilities, all of which depend on the accessibility of usable
records. Without access to records, it is virtually impossible to determine responsibility for
actions and to hold individuals accountable for their actions.
The purpose of record keeping for effective school management is to ensure that
accurate and proper records are kept of student achievement and growth, school activities
and matters that will promote school efficiency and effectiveness (Akanbi, 1999). Record
keeping otherwise known as storage of information is important functions of both the
administration and teaching staff of a school. Additionally, school records include those
pertaining to personal details of pupils, along with those of their academic performance;
assessments and examination results; school policies; minutes of school-based meetings;
including information received from Ministries of education and other education bodies,
solicitors, press organizations and public bodies (Department of Education, n.d).
Importance of Record Keeping
Record keeping generally concerns the administrative activities that are concerned
with achieving cost-effectiveness and efficiency in the creation, maintenance, use and
disposal of the records of educational institutions throughout their entire life cycle and in
making the information they contain accessible in support of the school business
administration (UNESCO, 2005). Thus, it is essential that records are kept in school for
effective administration, because proper record keeping facilitates retrieval of valuable
information that might be helpful in day-to-day operations and decision making in school
systems globally (Durosaro, 2002). According to Ololube (2013, p. 103), “the importance
of good record keeping transcends into short and long term benefits and affects the
overall achievement of educational objectives”. Ololube (2013, pp. 103-104) identified
some additional and important reasons for records keeping in schools:
Accountability: Record keeping is vital to an education system’s information cycle as a
whole, because of its fundamental role in the process of efficient information production
and collection. School records are an important means of accountability because they
provide proof. Records such as cash books and stock books help to ensure accountability
as they show income, expenditures and stock levels in a school. These cash and the stock
books can then be made available to auditors on demand for the auditing of school funds
and facilities.
Decision Making: School records help school administrators to make decisions. Records
provide raw data that enable coherent, balanced and objective decisions on issues such as
promotion, student and staff discipline, and teaching and learning performances.
Employment: Properly kept records on the human resources serve useful employment
and planning related purposes. The number of staff, their areas of specialization,
qualifications, age, gender, and so on will help the principle to determine the human
resource needs and assets of his or her school. Consistent information kept about
employees can also be used in employee performance appraisals.
Guidance Counselors: School records are of great importance to school guidance
counselors as these records can provide counselors with a holistic picture of the students
they counsel (academic grades and achievements, disciplinary measures taken and/or
extracurricular activities) and can help counselors to track student progress.
Information Bank: Records kept in schools serve as an information bank from which
school administrators can recall information as needed.
Information for Parents: Parents often want to know how their children or wards
perform academically. Records of school report cards and/or end of term results should be
kept by schools should parents wish to review or discuss past student performance.
Planning: Accurate data assists educational planners to identify areas of need that should
be addressed or accorded priority attention.
Student Academic Achievement and Behavior: Certificates and testimonials are
issued to graduating students to show how they performed during their studies. Properly
kept records can help considerably in the accurate production of thorough
certificates/testimonials.
Subject Time Table: School time tables help in the coordination of staff and student
activities and work. Keeping track of time tables from year to year can help a school and
school administrators determine which combination of classes and teaching assignments
work best to optimize teaching and learning.
Supervisors/Inspectors: The availability of records enables supervisors or inspectors to
objectively assess student and staff performance and offer advice or proposals for
improvement.
Records of Children
The school sends you reports that tell you how your child is doing in school and
what the school is doing for him. You may know to keep a file of those records. But did
you know there are other records, both formal and informal, that are important to keep
for future reference?
Keeping all of your child’s school records can help you see trends and patterns over
time. The records you keep can provide specific details and documentation when you’re
talking about the resources your child needs to succeed in school. Here are the types of
records to keep—and why they’re important.
Records That Paint a Fuller Picture
The communications you receive from teachers and the school can paint a fuller picture of
how your child is doing in school. For example:
Graded tests and homework can show where your child is struggling or improving
in different subjects.
Report cards provide a snapshot of how your child is doing academically.
Standardized test scores show you how your child is doing compared to other kids
in your school and state. This is also a report on how well the school is performing.
Official School Records
It’s a good idea for you to have copies of everything that’s in your child’s official school
records. In fact, there’s a federal law called Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act(FERPA) that gives you rights around your child’s educational records, including the
right to see and photocopy them all.
Not every school uses the same organization system, so ask your school administrators
how their system is set up. Here are common groups of records kept by schools.
1. Admission and withdrawals register: The admission and withdrawals register
shows the names of students that are enrolled each year in various classes in a
school and the names of those who withdrew from various classes in the school.
2. Attendance register: Attendance register shows the daily record of student
attendance in each class in the school. At the end of every term, the class teacher
closes the register and submits it to the school head to crosscheck and sign.
3. Individual cumulative record card: This is a continuous record or a combination
of records that contain comprehensive information about a student. It provides a
summary of a student’s academic progress in school and also includes the
student’s name, age, date of birth, date of admission, family background, social or
extracurricular activities, etc.
This may be little more than a profile card with personal identification data,
standardized test scores and report cards.
4. Health records: Are records of the names of students who were ill and sent to
local health centers, school sick bays or the hospital for treatment. These records
indicate the nature of the sickness and the treatment administered.
5. Discipline file: This may include notes about behavior and discipline issues that
involve long-term suspension or expulsion. If a student has a behavior intervention
plan (BIP), it may be filed here.
6. Attendance file: This contains a record of a student’s school attendance. It might
also include notes from parents regarding excused absences.
Records of Personnel
Personnel Records are records pertaining to employees of an organization. These
records are accumulated, factual and comprehensive information related to concern
records and detained. All information with effect to human resources in the organization
are kept in a systematic order. Such records are helpful to a manager in various decision -
making areas.
Personnel records are maintained for formulating and reviewing personnel policies
and procedures. Complete details about all employees are maintained in personnel
records, such as, name, date of birth, marital status, academic qualifications, professional
qualifications, previous employment details, etc.
Types of Personnel Records
1. Records of employment contain applicants past records, list sources, employees
progress, medical reports, etc.
2. Wages and salaries records contains pay roll records, methods of wages and
salaries, leave records, turnover records and other benefit records.
3. Training and development contains appraisal reports, transfer cases, training
schedule, training methods.
4. Health and safety records include sickness reports, safety provisions, medical
history, insurance reports, etc.
5. Service Records are the essential records containing bio-data, residential and family
information, academic qualifications, marital status, past address and employment
records.
Purposes of Personnel Records
According to the critics of personnel records, this system is called as a wastage of time
and money. According to personnel records, followers of this : Dale Yoder, an economist
of Michigan University, USA has justified the significance of personnel records after
making an in-depth study.
1. It helps to supply crucial information to managers regarding the employees.
2. To keep an update record of leaves, lockouts, transfers, turnover, etc. of the
employees.
3. It helps the managers in framing various training and development programmes on
the basis of present scenario.
4. It helps the government organizations to gather data in respect to rate of turnover,
rate of absenteeism and other personnel matters.
5. It helps the managers to make salary revisions, allowances and other benefits
related to salaries.
6. It also helps the researchers to carry in- depth study with respect to industrial
relations and goodwill of the firm in the market.
References:
http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.hrmr.20150501.02.html
Human Resource Management Research
Excellent School Records Behaviour for Effective Management of Educational Systems
Department of Educational Foundations and Management, Faculty of Education, Ignatius Ajuru
University of Education, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/understanding-childs-
challenges/observing-taking-notes/why-certain-school-records-are-important-to-keep
