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11 – 20 of 306Terje Ogden, Mari-Anne Sørlie, Anne Arnesen and Wilhelm Meek-Hansen
This chapter provides an overview of a programme or rather a model used in Norwegian primary schools to meet the needs of children whose behaviour difficulties interrupt teaching…
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of a programme or rather a model used in Norwegian primary schools to meet the needs of children whose behaviour difficulties interrupt teaching and learning. In this chapter we give an overview of the PALS model and also present the general outline of a longitudinal outcome study of the school model including some information about the participating schools, staff and students.
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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ALLAN WALKER and JOSEPH MURPHY
The Disadvantaged Schools Program (D.S.P.) has been an important and integral part of education for many students in Australia for over a decade. The original goals and philosophy…
Abstract
The Disadvantaged Schools Program (D.S.P.) has been an important and integral part of education for many students in Australia for over a decade. The original goals and philosophy of the program still hold true today. However, we suggest that perhaps it is time to build on the foundation which has been developed by adding a much stronger academic strand as part of the overall D.S.P. mission. Recent school effectiveness findings offer a powerful and compatible opportunity for the D.S.P. to provide a more complete education for their students. The adoption of the school effectiveness characteristics by D.S.P. schools would not interfere with, but rather would enhance an already valuable program. The eight most important school effectiveness variables are reviewed in this article. We then argue that by combining the current focus of the D.S.P. with the focus of effective schools research, the overall quality of education received by students in Program schools can be enhanced. We argue that critical elements of the effective schools movement, such as emphasis on academic success and cognitive skills, can help create D.S.P. projects that produce a wider array of important student outcomes. By making effective school variables an important aspect of the D.S.P., we believe that both equity and quality will be emphasized to a greater extent than they are currently.
Elson Szeto and Annie Yan Ni Cheng
Empirical research on leadership for social justice is in progress in many parts of the world. The purpose of this paper is to explore principals’ school-leadership journeys in…
Abstract
Purpose
Empirical research on leadership for social justice is in progress in many parts of the world. The purpose of this paper is to explore principals’ school-leadership journeys in response to social-justice issues caused by specific contextual changes at times of uncertainty. It seeks to answer the following key questions: What social-justice issues do principals identify as arising from their schools’ transformation due to contextual changes? How do principals practise leadership for social justice in response to these contextual changes at different levels?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on qualitative data from a cross-case study of two principals’ school-leadership journeys. The authors pay particular attention to the understanding of leadership for social justice grounded in principals’ efforts to foster equality in learning development for a diverse student population.
Findings
Timely adverse conditions may be required to foster leadership for social justice in schools. The principals reacted to contextual changes at several levels, planning and implementing innovative and flexible interventions to ensure equality in students’ learning development. These findings contribute to international accounts of educational leadership.
Research limitations/implications
This study of leadership for social justice in schools is contextually specific. Therefore, more empirical comparisons of school leadership are required in future studies, as principals’ practices vary between education settings.
Originality/value
This paper offers insights into the evolution of leadership for social justice in schools in response to contextual changes. Principals’ leadership strategies can be reoriented and their actions reshaped to overcome threats to social justice in schools. Accordingly, although leadership for social justice in school communities is culturally and pedagogically inclusive, it is also socially distinctive.
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There is no computer topic today more widely discussed, that occupies more pages in the popular and academic journals than computer software. It is said to be sparse, nonexistent…
Abstract
There is no computer topic today more widely discussed, that occupies more pages in the popular and academic journals than computer software. It is said to be sparse, nonexistent, ineffective, “junk,” inaccurate, incomprehensible, unsuitable, etc. Software is essential to the efficacy of any school computer operation, yet rarely purchased concomitant with the equipment itself. Originally, vendors gave away software with every hardware purchase. Today, school practitioners recommend that schools should budget twice the cost of the hardware for appropriate materials. The New York Times, in an article entitled “Computers: The Action's in Software,” reveals much about the economics of a field that is just beginning its rapid growth phase (November 8, 1981). Indeed, schools may come to the realization with this technology that equipment without software is a projector without a film, a phonograph without a record.
Daniel Sidney Fussy and Hassan Iddy
This study aims to explore motives behind teachers' and students' use of translanguaging and how they use it in Tanzanian public secondary school classrooms.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore motives behind teachers' and students' use of translanguaging and how they use it in Tanzanian public secondary school classrooms.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using interviews and non-participant observations.
Findings
The findings indicate that translanguaging was used to facilitate content comprehension, promote classroom interaction and increase students' motivation to learn. Translanguaging was implemented using three strategies: paraphrasing an English text into Kiswahili, translating an English text into its Kiswahili equivalent and word-level translanguaging.
Practical implications
By highlighting the motivations for translanguaging and corresponding strategies associated with translanguaging pedagogy in the Tanzanian context, this study has significant practical implications for teachers and students to showcase their linguistic and multimodal knowledge, while fostering a safe learning space that relates to students' daily experiences.
Originality/value
The study offers new insights into previous research on the role of language-supportive pedagogy appropriate for teachers and students working within bi-/multilingual education settings.
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Fazal Elahi and Muhammad Ilyas
The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship of process approach (PA), customer focus approach (CFA) and school quality with the moderation of professional certification…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship of process approach (PA), customer focus approach (CFA) and school quality with the moderation of professional certification of school principal to fill the gap of quality management practices in private schools.
Design/methodology/approach
Study applied quantitative design with the sample of 401 principals of private schools. Questionnaires were adapted from different studies, and pilot study was carried out. Confirmatory factor analysis was done along with structural equation modeling.
Findings
Results indicate that the process approach has a significant effect on functional quality and academic quality of schools. Customer focus approach medicates the relationship of process approach and functional quality. The study found no evidence of the relationship of moderation of professional certification of school principal with process approach, functional quality and academic quality.
Practical implications
Study contributed through the generation of new dimensions of school quality, putting professional degree of school principal as a moderator and by providing basis to understand the implementation of quality management system in schools. The outcomes of study will guide school managers to implement the process management approach to improve the school quality.
Originality/value
Originality of the study is defined in three ways; first, it is first study that examines the relationship of process approach, customer focus approach and school quality with the moderation of professional certification of principal. Second, it chooses “single” schools that have not been subject of any quantitative research exclusively. Third, it is a first attempt to examine the working of private schools in Pakistan with respect to quality management principles.
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The basic legislative frameworks determining the cooperation between school and parents at the elementary school level in Slovenia are presented in this chapter. Parents have a…
Abstract
The basic legislative frameworks determining the cooperation between school and parents at the elementary school level in Slovenia are presented in this chapter. Parents have a special role in the school council and the parents’ council where they are involved in (co)decision-making in the organization and the content of the elementary school programme. The organization of parents’ meetings and individual consultation hours which enable a direct formal form of the cooperation between school and parents is of outmost importance besides the legislative provisions which manage the informing of parents about school achievements and the behaviour of children, the inclusion of parents in the formation of school education plan and school regulations. The partnership model of cooperation between teachers’ and parents’ is perceived as the most productive model for developing constructive involvement of parents. Teachers should have appropriate attitudes towards cooperation with parents and possess suitably developed interpersonal communicative, cooperative and organizational skills, all of which are prerequisite to establishing and maintaining quality cooperation between teachers and parents. The results of the empirical research on the cooperation between schools and parents, based on representative sampling of both teachers and parents, showed the basic advantages and obstacles related to this cooperation, along with challenges facing more high-quality cooperation in the future.
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The purpose of this study is to explore the understanding and observance of the program “This School is a Zone of Peace” (SZOP) in schools where conflict and violence are not…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the understanding and observance of the program “This School is a Zone of Peace” (SZOP) in schools where conflict and violence are not prevalent.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper followed a qualitative research tradition – narrative inquiry. Eight teachers and a school head participated in the study. Data were gathered through nonparticipant observation, photography and focus group discussion with photo elicitation.
Findings
The participants elucidated the declaration, “This School is a Zone of Peace,” as a message of assurance to the community that the school is a home for learners that is welcoming and violence free. Furthermore, learners in a school that is a zone of peace are honed holistically with the participation, cooperation and togetherness of the school community members. Teachers at the forefront viewed themselves as mentors, implementers and models. Teachers contended that peacebuilding practices in schools could be sustained through regular implementation, encouraging others to get involved and have commitment.
Originality/value
A handful of articles have illustrated the essence of the School as Zone of Peace program, which pointed out to create a culture of peace in schools; however, it leaned toward the negative conception of peace – the absence of conflict and violence. This study bared additional insights and fresh perspectives of the SZOP initiative observed in schools with different contexts and experiences that may be helpful to policymakers for the enhancement of the adapted program with the goal of peacebuilding to making schools highly functional.
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