Search results

1 – 10 of 125
Article
Publication date: 16 August 2011

Kyle Ingle, Stacey Rutledge and Jennifer Bishop

School principals make sense of multiple messages, policies, and contexts within their school environments. The purpose of this paper is to examine specifically how school leaders…

2714

Abstract

Purpose

School principals make sense of multiple messages, policies, and contexts within their school environments. The purpose of this paper is to examine specifically how school leaders make sense of hiring and subjective evaluation of on‐the‐job teacher performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study drew from 42 interviews with 21 principals from a mid‐sized Florida school district. Two rounds of semi‐structured interviews (one to two hours each) were conducted with the informants over two summers (2005‐2006). The multi‐year study allows the authors to assess the consistency across principal participants.

Findings

Principals' personal beliefs, background, and experiences were found to shape their conceptions and preferences for teacher characteristics. School type (e.g. elementary, secondary, levels of poverty) also influenced principals' perceptions of and preferences for specific applicant and teacher characteristics. Principals in the sample, however, showed surprising consistency towards certain characteristics (caring, subject matter knowledge, strong teaching skills) and job fit (person‐job). Sampled principals reported that each vacancy is different and is highly dependent on the position, team, and individuals. Regardless of the position or school setting, federal, state, and district mandates strongly influenced how principals made sense of the hiring process and on‐the‐job performance.

Practical implications

The findings underscore the complexity of the human resource functions in education and raise important questions of how school leaders reconcile personal preferences and building‐level needs with demands from the district, state, and federal levels.

Originality/value

The authors' findings offer important insight into the complex conceptualizations that principals hold and the balances that must be struck in the face of policy and hiring constraints. How principals make sense of teacher quality, however, has not been examined. This study contributes to the extant research and makes a theoretical contribution to studies using a cognitive frame to understand school leadership.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 49 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1974

EDWARD L. KUHLMAN and WAYNE K. HOY

The principal focus of this study involved the changes in bureaucratic and professional orientations of beginning teachers as they encountered the formal organization of the…

Abstract

The principal focus of this study involved the changes in bureaucratic and professional orientations of beginning teachers as they encountered the formal organization of the public school during their first year of professional teaching experience. The basic assumptions underlying the research were that teachers will relate in a positive fashion to both the norms of the bureaucracy and the norms of the profession during their initial encounter with the school in a professional capacity and that they will assume a “mixed type” dual role orientation. Data were collected from prospective teachers during their student teaching experiences and again, near the conclusion of their first year of full‐time professional employment. Responses to the Bureaucartic Orientation Scale and the Professional Orientation Scale suggests that experience in the school organization for beginning teachers is related to increased bureaucratic orientation and decreased professional orientation.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 3 November 2022

Charlina Gozali and Susan J. Paik

The present study aims to examine how a group of young leaders in Indonesia developed their leadership throughout their early and later years. In particular, the study examined…

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aims to examine how a group of young leaders in Indonesia developed their leadership throughout their early and later years. In particular, the study examined focused motivation (“undeterred, intentional perseverance”), which is a common trait found in high-achieving individuals (Paik, 2013, p. 106). The study further investigated the nurturance of focused motivation through key support networks in home and school environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the productive giftedness model (Paik, 2013, 2015) as its theoretical framework, the study used a mixed-method design comprising a structured interview and survey. The final sample included 38 high-achieving Indonesian leaders.

Findings

Findings from the study demonstrate that focused motivation can be cultivated through a combination of opportunities, support and resources. More specifically, the home and school are integral in the development of characteristics contributing to focused motivation, such as resilience and mastery-orientation. In the study, positive characteristics and support networks of young leaders enabled them to overcome a variety of personal and professional challenges, including overcoming social barriers experienced by some of the leaders.

Social implications

Findings from the study can inform practice and policy efforts in creating nurturing home and school environments that will help children and young adults achieve their leadership potential, especially in developing countries where access to education and resources is often limited.

Originality/value

The study highlights the sociocultural context in Indonesia to discuss the opportunities and barriers in talent and leader development.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 47 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 July 2017

Desiree Carver-Thomas and Linda Darling-Hammond

This study uses the most recent national data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 2011–2012 and Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS)…

Abstract

This study uses the most recent national data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 2011–2012 and Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), 2012–2013 to investigate attrition trends among Black teachers, and Black female teachers in particular, to inform a qualitative analysis of proposed and adopted teacher retention policy interventions. This study asks: Why do Black teachers report leaving, and what would bring them back to the classroom? What working conditions are associated with Black teacher attrition? What policy interventions can meet the needs of Black teachers in having successful and supported teaching experiences? How have these interventions been successful, and what are the considerations for applying them more broadly? We find that Black teacher turnover rates are significantly higher than those of other teachers and that there are several substantive differences in their preparation, school characteristics, and reasons for leaving. We describe policy interventions that target these conditions, such as teacher residencies, loan forgiveness, mentoring and induction, and principal training programs. We include in that discussion the relative benefits and challenges of each implications for policymaking.

Details

Black Female Teachers
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-462-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 October 2015

Kent Seidel and Jennifer Whitcomb

A growing body of evidence confirms that good teaching is the most important school-specific factor impacting student achievement and growth. Concerns over teachers’ effectiveness…

Abstract

A growing body of evidence confirms that good teaching is the most important school-specific factor impacting student achievement and growth. Concerns over teachers’ effectiveness have led to escalating demands for reliable systems that measure teachers’ effectiveness. Such performance systems require a stable and explicit definition of knowledge, skills, actions, and dispositions that comprise the work of teaching. In this chapter, we refer to these as teacher “core competencies” (CCs). Well-defined core competency constructs can anchor investigations of teacher effectiveness for purposes in many different settings, but the field currently lacks a set of common stable descriptors. The descriptors encoded in current standards and assessments are plagued by confusion arising from multiple ideological perspectives, conflicting political views on teacher preparation, and disconnects between stakeholders (e.g., university versus alternative preparation routes).

This chapter presents a study designed to move from descriptive, “input-based” ways to describe teaching to the development and early testing of specific construct descriptors. We begin by distilling many disparate sources of authority regarding what teachers should know and be able to do and assess the validity and usefulness of the resulting descriptors across several measurement applications. We find evidence of stability across multiple populations and different settings and evidence that the constructs can describe preparation program emphases, as well as evidence that some program-level aggregate scores correlate with student assessment scores. We also investigate the stability of competency constructs in different settings, attempting to understand the implications of k-12 school contexts for interpreting core competency measurements of preparation programs.

Details

Promoting and Sustaining a Quality Teacher Workforce
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-016-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Renita Schmidt, Mary M. Jacobs and Heidi Meyer

The purpose of this work is to describe the current sociopolitical context and complex consequences surrounding elementary literacy education in one Midwestern US state and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to describe the current sociopolitical context and complex consequences surrounding elementary literacy education in one Midwestern US state and consider how power works through language.

Design/methodology/approach

Using qualitative methods and critical discourse analysis as a theory and method, surveys and interview data from teachers, administrators and parents, policy documents and other artifacts were analyzed and described to explain the sociopolitical climate.

Findings

Using Fairclough (2015) and Gee’s (2015) tools, the authors identified the discourses of deficiency, efficiency and gatekeeping in the data. Foucault’s ideas about governmentality and regimes of truth are used to explain the ways teachers took up the policies and resisted them.

Research limitations/implications

The authors argue that a new testing regime is on the move, and more unity and critique by elementary and secondary teachers and administrators will be important for restoring and sustaining quality literacy instruction and decision-making in all classrooms.

Practical implications

Continued research is needed to understand how particular reading assessments exacerbate and perpetuate the ranking and sorting in schools and the loss and struggle children face when they are denied literacy experiences that validate their lives outside of school and give meaning and purpose to reading in school.

Originality value

As the reality for secondary education language arts teachers begins to shift to a more restrictive curriculum, a loss of academic freedom and frequent testing, the authors see an opportunity for new professional alliances to form in support of a complex theory of literacy.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 August 2014

Cheryl Hunter and Tsooane Molapo

This chapter examines the similarities and differences in teacher education between Botswana and Lesotho to unravel “best fit” strategies specific to the needs of teacher…

Abstract

This chapter examines the similarities and differences in teacher education between Botswana and Lesotho to unravel “best fit” strategies specific to the needs of teacher education in different locals or populations within these two countries. We begin with an overview of the social, political, and economic contexts of each country as a lens by which to understand some of the current challenges teachers face within each country. We review the research literature to understand what teacher preparation looks like at the tertiary level and how teachers in the field maintain current knowledge and pedagogical skills in regard the content they teach. We will argue that when teaching pedagogy at the tertiary level maintains an authoritarian model of teaching with content centered, didactic instruction, and teacher-centered pedagogy there is little ability for national change in education. Likewise, if teacher education does not embed the concept of life-long learning and is not supported by both a national and local commitment to support teacher’s continued professional development the ability to sustain any change in education is thwarted.

Details

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2014
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-453-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 May 2013

John Churchley is the Assistant Superintendent-Human Resources for the Kamloops/Thompson School District in British Columbia, Canada. He has a background in both arts education…

Abstract

John Churchley is the Assistant Superintendent-Human Resources for the Kamloops/Thompson School District in British Columbia, Canada. He has a background in both arts education and educational leadership. These two fields are reflected in his work as a practitioner and leader and in his academic research. He has taught music at elementary, secondary, and university levels and has worked as a fine arts curriculum consultant and as a school principal and district administrator. John holds a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Nottingham and keeps connected academically through an appointment as Adjunct Professor at Thompson Rivers University and through his involvement in the Arts, Aesthetics, Creativity, and Organization Research Network. His research interests include: the aesthetic experience; integrated arts/aesthetic education; leadership development and its intersection with aesthetic education; and public education issues in human resources management, labor law, and labor relations. E-mail: jchurchley@sd73.bc.ca

Details

Understanding the Principalship: An International Guide to Principal Preparation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-679-8

Book part
Publication date: 8 December 2023

Elaine Chan

The author examines the experiences of learning about Japanese elementary education from the perspective of a Canadian teacher. She suggests through a year-long study in a…

Abstract

The author examines the experiences of learning about Japanese elementary education from the perspective of a Canadian teacher. She suggests through a year-long study in a Japanese third grade classroom that the teaching practices and philosophies underlying curricular and pedagogical decisions made by teachers are shaped by the culture and society of which schools are part, such that learning about Japanese schooling highlights the influence of social, societal, cultural, linguistic factors outside, as well as inside, school. In line with narrative inquiry research practices, the author also acknowledges her own stance as a certified elementary level teacher who was educated and certified in Canada, in contributing to shaping her analysis of teacher knowledge of her teacher participants. She argues that the process of learning about schooling in a country or culture different from the one in which an individual was educated and learned to teach, involves immersing oneself into the research context to learn about the experience from the perspective an insider. Realization of the extent to which this expansive interweaving of school and society is apparent in many aspects of schooling in Japan, in turn, reinforces the idea that this interconnection may also underlie schooling in other societies as well, such that one's experiences in one's own culture may form the foundation for understanding and interpreting knowledge gained about schooling in another culture or community. The notion of cross-cultural teacher knowledge, then, may be grounded in personal and professional experience of teaching and being taught in one's own culture.

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1985

GLADYS STYLES JOHNSTON and VITO GERMINARIO

The purposes of this study were (1) to examine the characteristics of teacher involvement in the decision making process in schools; (2) to examine the degree of loyalty to…

Abstract

The purposes of this study were (1) to examine the characteristics of teacher involvement in the decision making process in schools; (2) to examine the degree of loyalty to principals in schools; (3) to test the relationship between teacher decisional status and loyalty to the principal; and (4) to explore the dynamics of teacher decision‐making so that a better understanding of the underlying structure of decision‐making in schools can be developed. Data were collected at regularly scheduled faculty meetings in ten elementary and five secondary schools in New Jersey. In general, analysis of variance was utilized as the basis of statistical analysis. Further, a factor analysis was performed in an attempt to understand the underlying structure of the data. Four major conclusions were drawn from the study: (1) Teacher satisfaction with their decisional status was related to loyalty to the principal; (2) no significant differences were found between elementary and secondary schools with regard to satisfaction with their decisional status; (3) elementary school teachers exhibited a greater degree of loyalty to their principals than did teachers in secondary schools; and (4) teachers' desires to participate in decision‐making are strongest in those areas that are closely related to the teaching‐learning process.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

1 – 10 of 125