شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

This study aimed to identify the extent of achieving the standards of institutional excellence at UNRWA schools in Palestine and it’s relation to the degree of practising of strategic planning from the teachers’ perspective. To achieve the aims of the study the researcher adopted the descriptive approach in his analytical style. The researcher used two questionnaires as tools of the study. The first questionnaire was to measure the degree of achieving the standards of institutional excellence at UNRWA schools in Palestine, and it has involved (50) items distributed in five domains which are: (leadership and management, human resources, community service, policies and procedures, relations and resources). The second questionnaire was to measure the degree of the principals' practice of strategic planning, and it has involved (50) items distributed in five domains which are: (vision and mission, strategic objectives, strategic analysis, implementation of the strategic plan, follow up and evaluate implementation of the strategic plan), And after ensure the validity and reliability of the tools, they were applied to a sample consisting of (420) teachers which was equal to (5%) of the original study population of (8369) teachers. After analyzing the data by SPSS package, the results were as the following: 1) The total degree of the standards of institutional excellence from teachers’ perspective is (83.40%) which is considered very high. 2) There are statistical differences between the estimates of the sample on the degree of achieving the standards of institutional excellence due to gender, in favor of females. As well as for the ten educational areas compared to Jabalia region, also for those have more than (5) years of service only in the field leadership and administration. The results revealed that there are no differences related to the scientific qualification. 3) The study showed that the total degree of practicing strategic planning from the teachers’ perspective is (86.0%) which is considered very high. 4) There are statistical differences between the average of the sample estimates of the degree of principles practice of strategic planning due to gender in favor of females, as well as for the ten educational areas compared to Jabalia region. The result showed that there were no differences between the average scores of the respondents' estimates of the degree of their managers' practicing strategic planning in all fields except the field of strategic objectives for the bachelor’s holders, and there are no differences due to the years of service. 5) There is a strong and positive relationship at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.01) between each of the average estimates of the sample to the extent of achieving the institutional excellence and the average of their estimates of the degree of their managers' practicing strategic planning and the correlation coefficient was (0.760). In the light of the results, the researcher recommended the following: 1) Promote a culture of excellence of the school staff, whether they are teachers or managers, and achieve excellence in all activities, through training courses and workshops. 2) Develop the skills of the new staff of teachers and managers in achieving the institutional excellence through appropriate training courses. 3) Provide rewards and moral incentive to motivate teachers and managers to reach an appropriate degree of excellence and creativity in the work. 4) Promote the participation of staff in the development of strategic plans and decision-making regarding the school. 5) Use modern models in strategic planning such as planning in light of institutional excellence models. 6) Utilizing strategic planning experts to prepare a clear guide in strategic planning steps for the educational institutions and putting it in the hands of all those working in this field. 7) Exchange the planning experiences between the educational areas to ensure the level of strategic planning in areas with less planning performance. (Author’s abstract)