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1 – 10 of 187Minna Säävälä, Elina Turjanmaa and Anne Alitolppa-Niitamo
School is an institution that provides an opportunity to improve children’s equity and wellbeing and to bridge the potential disadvantage related to ethnic- or language-minority…
Abstract
Purpose
School is an institution that provides an opportunity to improve children’s equity and wellbeing and to bridge the potential disadvantage related to ethnic- or language-minority backgrounds. Information sharing between immigrant homes and school can enhance school achievement, support positive identity formation and provide early support when needed. In this paper, the perspectives of immigrant parents, school welfare personnel and school-going adolescents are analysed in order to understand how they see their respective roles in information flows between home and school. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consist of qualitative group and individual interviews of 34 representatives of school personnel, 13 immigrant parents and 81 young people who have experienced immigration, in the metropolitan area of Helsinki, Finland.
Findings
Despite general goodwill, school personnel may fail to secure the flow of information. Due to structural power imbalance, school personnel are often incapable of engaging the parents in dialogical discourse. Young people of immigrant background in turn try to manipulate the information flow in order to protect their family and ethnic group and to cope with pressures from parents. The patterns of information flows in school as a social field reproduce immigrant homes as subaltern. Adolescents act in a strategically important juncture of information flows between immigrant home and school, which indicates that home-school interaction is actually a triad.
Social implications
Awareness building among school personnel is vital for equity and wellbeing of children of immigrant families.
Originality/value
This triangulated analysis of patterned information flows in school as a social field provides a fresh perspective to those working with children of immigrant families.
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Shun Wing Ng and Tai Hoi Theodore Lee
The purpose of this paper is to report on a case study of 93 parents’ attitude toward their involvement at various levels of school education in a special school. It also examines…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a case study of 93 parents’ attitude toward their involvement at various levels of school education in a special school. It also examines the relations between parents’ education backgrounds and different levels of parental involvement.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted quantitative research approach. A questionnaire composed of 30 items under six scales was developed with reference to Ng’s (1999) six-level Model of Home-School Cooperation which was adopted to frame the study.
Findings
The study indicates that parents’ inclined to be involved more outside the school including “two-way communication,” “supervision of children at home” and “participation in parent organizations and activities” than that inside the school such as “volunteering,” “providing advice on school policies” and “participating in decision making.”
Research limitations/implications
In spite of its small scale in a case-study special school, the paper does not aim at generalization but illuminates how parental involvement was carried out.
Practical implications
The study carries implications for school management and policy makers when promoting and implementing parental involvement in special schools.
Originality/value
For the school personnel, a total and positive relationship could help enhance efficient and effective management of education. Second, more resources should be provided by the Education Bureau for special schools to educate parents and subsidize their involvement. Third, more training opportunities regarding knowledge and skills of parental involvement should be provided for frontline teachers.
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The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study exploring how parents have been included in school governance in Hong Kong and in what ways their roles have been…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study exploring how parents have been included in school governance in Hong Kong and in what ways their roles have been evolving in state education.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative method was adopted in this exploratory study, the findings of which help provide insights for conceptualization of phases of progression of the development of how parents have been included in state education in Hong Kong. The method of exploration is two‐fold. First, evidence was obtained through examining Hong Kong's educational policy documents with regard to parent‐school relations in the last two decades and taking reference to the literature and research studies on parent involvement in Hong Kong. Second, two focus group interviews were conducted with parents and teachers respectively, in order to obtain data of development of the relationship between home and school in times of reforms.
Findings
Derived from the findings, four phases of development of how parents are included in school governance are conceptualized. They are: parents as unwelcome guests – separate responsibilities; parents as volunteers – encouraging participation; parents as clients: accountability approach; and parents as school governors – shared responsibilities. The issue of whether including parents in school governance is reality or rhetoric emerging from the data was discussed.
Originality/value
The findings of this study contribute to the international studies on parent involvement in school governance, so as to formulate an effective policy that helps facilitate parents as “real” but not “rhetorical” school governors.
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The purpose of this paper is to contribute experience of and ideas for transformational leadership, not only for the principal who wants to improve leadership himself or herself…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute experience of and ideas for transformational leadership, not only for the principal who wants to improve leadership himself or herself, but also for the school at critical periods of improvement, through summarizing the forming process and problems during the course, and key factors that affect the course.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the case study method, the paper draws some conclusions from the improvement of principal leadership skills, by choosing two typical cases that show transformational leadership of principals in primary schools, and rethinking the practice of school improvement profoundly.
Findings
There were three periods: embryonic stage, basically forming stage and mature stage. Discovering problems, understanding the relationship between the problems and finding solutions are the major considerations in the process. The transformational leadership skills of a principal can be seen in forming ideas, building a shared vision, power sharing, gaining credence and experiencing success.
Practical implications
This paper provides references for the principal to recognize the importance of transformational leadership during the school improvement so as to force the principal to improve their transformational leadership in practice.
Originality/value
At first, the paper puts forward that transformational leadership is the core of leadership; proves that the principal's transformational leadership is very important in school development through the fact of a home-school cooperation study and emphasizes that the principal's transformational leadership should play a key role during the critical period of school improvement. Principal transformational leadership work should be based on different school members’ actual situations and the fact of different school periods, and then find different solutions.
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The purpose of this article is to report an exploratory study which was designed to illuminate how school cultures and teachers' value orientations are affected by the educational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to report an exploratory study which was designed to illuminate how school cultures and teachers' value orientations are affected by the educational change of parental involvement.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative research that informs this paper is conceptualized within the interpretive paradigm. Two schools were selected purposefully for the study. In‐depth interviews with 12 teachers and their principal were conducted in each school where observation took place for half a year. Eventually themes and dimensions of teachers' value demarcations emerged in times of change.
Findings
The study demonstrates that three balkanized factions of teachers were wrestling at school. The first balkanized teacher group welcomed the innovation of parental involvement. The second faction of teachers who disbelieved such innovation was found diffident and conservative, and demonstrated resistance to change. The third type of teachers was of a majority who might or might not take part in implementing change. However, once incentives were imposed from the management, they would probably be assimilated.
Research limitations/implications
The study aims at illuminating teachers' responses to change. It does not attempt to make generalization.
Originality/value
The study reveals that managing teacher balkanization in times of change, school leaders' personal beliefs and their early intervention, are of paramount importance.
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Chenhui Wang, Suqi Li and Yu-Sheng Su
This study focused on parents' health anxiety by proxy about their children when they started learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic, to explore the impact of academic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study focused on parents' health anxiety by proxy about their children when they started learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic, to explore the impact of academic stress by parent-proxy on parents' learning support services with the mediating role of health anxiety by parent-proxy and the moderating role of parental educational level.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 8,940 primary school students' parents participated in the study. Bootstrapping was performed to test the constructed model.
Findings
(1) Academic stress by parent-proxy positively predicted health anxiety by parent-proxy. (2) Health anxiety by parent-proxy significantly positively predicted learning support services. (3) Academic stress by parent-proxy also significantly positively predicted learning support services. (4) Academic stress by parent-proxy positively predicted parents' learning support services through the mediating effect of health anxiety by parent-proxy. (5) Parental educational level moderated the relationship between academic stress by parent-proxy, health anxiety by parent-proxy, and learning support services. Academics and parents will benefit from the conclusions of this study in both theory and practice.
Originality/value
During the COVID-19 pandemic, offline learning has been replaced with online learning, which has brought with it many physical and mental health problems, including additional academic stress. Most studies on learning support services have focused on offline learning. However, this study explored the relationships between academic stress by parent-proxy, health anxiety by parent-proxy, learning support services, and parental educational level in the context of online learning. Results show that it is necessary to pay attention to academic stress and health to provide children with appropriate learning support services.
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James Ko, Yin Cheong Cheng and Theodore Tai Hoi Lee
The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of school autonomy and accountability and related multiple changes and impacts in key areas of school education in Hong Kong…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of school autonomy and accountability and related multiple changes and impacts in key areas of school education in Hong Kong since implementing school-based management (SBM) from 1990s.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the evolution and the uniqueness of autonomy and accountability in the Hong Kong school system, the paper begins with an historical account, followed by an evaluation of the effects of SBM as shown in policy documents, local research, international reviews and illustrative findings from a case study. The local and international implications of SBM for research and practice are then discussed.
Findings
This paper shows the links between school autonomy and accountability by exploring the potential effects of both of these factors on educational management and student achievement, which are increasingly emphasised in educational policies. The investigation shows that the assumed links and effects are not always consistent or empirically supported. The positive effects that school autonomy has on school governance and management, teachers’ work, school-based curriculums and student learning are all significant when there is also strong leadership, comprehensive continuous professional development and a positive, collaborative school climate. These key elements work alongside school autonomy to facilitate positive change.
Research limitations/implications
School autonomy and accountability should be viewed as necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for school improvement and development. Further characterisation of the processes happening in schools is needed to explore the different realisations of school autonomy and accountability.
Originality/value
This investigation of school autonomy and accountability in Hong Kong provides the international audience with a deeper understanding of the dynamics involved in the development of SBM.
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Cimei Dai and Dickson K.W. Chiu
This research explored how COVID-19 affects Shenzhen high school students' reading behavior and preference and their parents' attitudes toward reading during the lockdown.
Abstract
Purpose
This research explored how COVID-19 affects Shenzhen high school students' reading behavior and preference and their parents' attitudes toward reading during the lockdown.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted a qualitative approach to conduct one-on-one semi-structured interviews with parents of a boarding high school in Shenzhen, China. Thirteen parents were recruited through a purposeful sampling method, and NVivo12 software was used to analyze the results with a theme-based approach guided by the 5E instructional model.
Findings
The results revealed the effectiveness and problems of high school students' use of electronic resources and discovered changes in the reading behavior of high school students and their parents' attitudes during COVID-19.
Originality/value
There are few studies specifically on the reading behavior of boarding students from a parental view, especially in Asia. This research can fill the gaps in related research during COVID-19.
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Numerous school reforms have failed to pursue educational effectiveness and quality in different parts of the world because of the ignorance of the multiplicity of school…
Abstract
Numerous school reforms have failed to pursue educational effectiveness and quality in different parts of the world because of the ignorance of the multiplicity of school functions in the rapidly changing environment and the lack of understanding of the internal school process. This paper aims to propose a framework for developing a new knowledge base for re‐engineering schools. The framework requests new knowledge about multiple school functions including technical/economic function, human/social, political, cultural, and educational functions at the individual, institutions, community, society, and international levels in the new century. The understanding of these functions and their inter‐relations is necessary for policy development and formulation.
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Annette Kamp, Henrik Lambrecht Lund and Helge Søndergaard Hvid
Focus on the qualities and rhythms of time are important in order to understand strain and learning opportunities in modern working life. This article aims to develop a framework…
Abstract
Purpose
Focus on the qualities and rhythms of time are important in order to understand strain and learning opportunities in modern working life. This article aims to develop a framework for exploring the qualities of time in boundaryless work, and to explore self‐management of time as a process, where the relations between time and tasks are negotiated.
Design/methodology/approach
The article consists of a theoretical part that takes inspiration from newer time sociology and leads to proposal of a framework that focuses on the relation between identity, meaning and qualities of time. The empirical part illustrates the use of the framework. The authors present a case study of teachers’ work at an elementary school based on qualitative data collected by observations, teachers' time dairies and individual and group interviews.
Findings
The authors suggest an analytical framework where temporal order is a core concept, and points at conflicts between multiple temporal orders as a focus for empirical studies. On the basis of the case study the article discusses how mastering of time conflicts is an integrated part of doing the job and how professional identity and meaning is at stake in this process.
Research limitations/implications
The article urges for a renewal in research on time and strain at work, and discusses how self‐management of time becomes a new area for learning at the workplace, implying that collective arenas should be established.
Originality/value
The article offers an original contribution to understanding and studying temporal aspects of work and the role of learning processes.
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