Professional networking for preschool educators: Barriers, Means and Types

Professional networking for preschool educators Barriers, Means and Types

Barriers to effective communication in the professional field:

The communication process faces some obstacles that limit its effectiveness:

Personal obstacles:

      It is the set of obstacles related to the person himself, whether he is a sender or receiver, as individual differences play an important role in the success or failure of the communication process:

      Difference in perception: This disparity results from individual differences that affect the understanding, perception, and judgment of things, as each person has their own way of describing and talking about events.

      Negative attitudes: It arises when the sender holds negative thoughts about himself and the receiver, and the manifestations of this include staying away from others and not communicating with them, as well as withholding information and not sharing it with others in order to appear distinct from them, these behaviors negatively affect the success of communication.

      Lack of skills: The skills that must be possessed in speech are writing and logical thinking, and if these skills are not available, it is difficult to establish effective communication.

      Communicating information in the wrong way, this leads to poor communication and bad relationships between individuals and the lack of understanding, trust, and cooperation, which leads to difficulty communicating between them.

Organizational barriers: 

      All organizations have an organizational structure that clarifies the administrative levels, authority, responsibility and management of relationships within the organization, and any defect in this structure leads to an impediment to effective communication.

Examples: The presence of different disciplines sometimes hinders communication between workers, because each of them speaks according to their field of specialization. The presence of unstable situations and many sudden changes, which leads to poor organization and communication. - Lack of effective information management in terms of collection, categorization and distribution. 

Environmental barriers :

These are the obstacles that arise from the environment in which individuals live, whether the internal or external environment. 

Among them:

Different languages and dialects: They affect the understanding of the two parties to the communication and their perception of the intended meaning of the speech, as each of them understands the phrase differently.

Geographical distance: The geographical distance between the decision maker and the implementer, which contributes to increasing the likelihood of familiarity with all matters and lack of communication.

Lack of social activities in the organization: This leads to the divergence of social relations between individuals and workers in the organization, resulting in a lack of effective communication and common understanding.

Means of communication in the professional field:

Oral means: These are the means by which information is exchanged between the caller and the callee verbally through the spoken word, such as (personal interviews, phone calls, seminars and conference meetings) This method is considered the shortest, easiest, easiest, and most straightforward way to exchange information and ideas, but it has the disadvantage of exposing information to misrepresentation, misunderstanding, and rumors.

Written means: It is the means by which information is exchanged between the communicator and the communicated through the written word, such as regulations, publications, reports, memos, proposals, complaints...), and this method is considered the method used in most organizations.

Written means: Characterized by the possibility of retaining and referring to them when needed and protecting the information from distortion, but the most important disadvantages are the slowness in communicating information, and the possibility of misunderstanding it, especially when the word has more than one meaning.

Non-verbal means: These are the means by which information is exchanged between the caller and the recipient through signs, gestures, and behavior (facial expressions, eye movement, hands, way of sitting...), also called body language.

Types of communication within the preschool institution:

 Formal and informal:

Formal: These are the communications that occur through official lines of authority and are approved by written regulations and decisions, and may be internal (within the institution) or external (with organizations), and are divided into the following types:

Types of formal communication in the professional field (preschool education):

Vertical:

Descending: These are the communications that flow from the top of the organization to the bottom (from the manager to the subordinates), and aim to convey orders, instructions, directives and decisions, and are usually carried out in many familiar forms of communication, such as memos and group meetings...
Ascending: These are the communications issued from workers to the manager, and include the results of implementing plans, explaining the obstacles and difficulties in implementation, observations and opinions, and these communications do not achieve the required goals unless the workers feel that there is a certain degree of trust between them and the manager and his permanent readiness to accommodate proposals and opinions aimed at development and promote these communications through the open door policy by the manager and through suggestion boxes and others.

 Horizontal:

Lateral communication that takes place between individuals or groups at opposite levels (e.g. managers with each other, or subordinates with each other), this type of communication promotes cooperative relationships between different levels of management.

Formal forms of communication in the professional sphere (pre-school education):

Administrative: All types of communication between the administration and the educator (school principal, regional director...). 

Pedagogical: All forms and manifestations of relations between educators and parents, as the school space is characterized as a space for all that contributes to the transition from self-centeredness to gathering and a sense of cooperation and solidarity.

Informal: This type of communication is characterized by its speed compared to formal communication, and some research has indicated that it cuts more than 75% of the time in the transfer of information, and is characterized by its reliance on oral means of communication.