Abstract
The management of self-access centres (SACs) is often undertaken by teachers with little or no relevant management experience and it is also not uncommon for SACs to be staffed by teachers who initially have little or no relevant experience of working with self-access learning. As an attempt to identify some of the components of this dual problem, this paper presents a set of key tasks within the SAC context that require management and staff training. The emphasis is on those tasks which could not be ordinarily expected to be within a language teacher’s professional training. The purpose of the paper is not to provide solutions for the problem, indeed that would be an impossible task, but to identify those tasks most urgently in need of attention by the manager and staff of a SAC. In this way, it is hoped, the manager and SAC management team can establish their own management and training priorities and look for appropriate solutions within their own working environments.
Highlights
In the beginning there were simple self-access centres and there was evolution and devolution, all of which generated management training needs
This paper looks at the evolution and devolution of management and training needs for self-access centre staff
The paper finishes with a review of the management training needs of the modern self-access centre
Summary
In the beginning there were simple self-access centres and there was evolution and devolution, all of which generated management training needs. When self-access centres (SACs) first became popular in educational institutions in the 1990s they were, from a managerial perspective, fairly simple They tended to be standalone operations sited in a dedicated single physical location but usually under the control of a larger administrative unit (often a language department). They contained resources consisting of a combination of learning materials and equipment which varied considerably depending on the educational context but which were physically present and were, accessible only during opening hours. Training Area (needs) Consisting of: Management systems establishing a structure/hierarchy, job descriptions, internal reporting procedures, defining the roles of committees/working groups
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call