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Article
Publication date: 1 September 2020

Mo Wang, Dora Ho, Jiafang Lu and Dongmei Yang

The purpose of this study is to construct a scale that is contextually suitable for measuring early childhood leadership in China.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to construct a scale that is contextually suitable for measuring early childhood leadership in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a standard scale development procedure, both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were addressed. Qualitative data was collected from 21 semistructured interviews with formal and informal teacher leaders in Xiamen City, China. Using survey data of 120 respondents and 305 respondents, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted twice to determine the underlying factorial structure of the scale. A further sample of 317 respondents were used to test the latent structure and validity of the scale using confirmatory factor analysis.

Findings

Based on the results from reliability and validity tests, this study indicates that the scale demonstrates sound psychometric properties. A three-factor model was determined, including staff management and development, peer learning and support and communication with parents.

Originality/value

The scale is the first of its kind for measuring early childhood leadership in China.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 58 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2020

Chun Sing Maxwell Ho, Jiafang Lu and Darren A. Bryant

This study aims to understand of the role that teacher entrepreneurial behavior plays in developing teacher professional capital. The extant concepts around school leadership…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand of the role that teacher entrepreneurial behavior plays in developing teacher professional capital. The extant concepts around school leadership mostly encompass the transformative and instructional roles of school leaders in managing, mobilizing and supporting teachers for student achievement. However, school leadership has not focused strongly on promoting innovation and risk-taking for schools in a knowledge economy. As a timely promising response to the increasingly demanding and competitive school context, teacher entrepreneurial behaviour (TEB), which emphasizes teachers' willingness to take risks and be daring, has started to gain recognition in the school leadership literature, yet a nuanced understanding of TEB's potential impacts on schools is lacking.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a combined consideration of institutionalized recognition and expert judgement, this study identified three innovative entrepreneurial teachers/teacher groups that had won the most competitive teaching award in Hong Kong. Employing a multiple-site case study design, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 informants and collected supplementary school documents and records.

Findings

This study found that TEB enables the implementation of innovation and promotes cross-subject alignment. It cultivates trusting and coherent relationships among teachers. Teachers with TEB scaled up innovation among other teachers. Furthermore, entrepreneurial teachers enhance school attractiveness by creating competitive advantages.

Originality/value

This analysis showed that TEB enables formal and informal school leaders to bring forth critical school outcomes. This study elaborates how TEB enhances teachers' professional capital through building trusting and coherent relationships. It also adds to the research on school innovation by demonstrating that TEB fosters teachers' capacity for bottom-up innovation in the community.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 58 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2019

Maxwell Chun Sing Ho and Jiafang Lu

Under-examination of the notion of competition between schools has created a considerable asymmetry between the reality and the literature of schooling. Therefore, the purpose of…

1063

Abstract

Purpose

Under-examination of the notion of competition between schools has created a considerable asymmetry between the reality and the literature of schooling. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the validity of school competition and verify the propositions regarding the effects of school marketing practices in literature, particularly Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) and aided schools in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

It tests the relationships between student intake and school academic performance and school marketing practices. It also compares the pattern of the relationships between the DSS and aided secondary schools. Secondary data from 441 secondary schools were retrieved from a popular secondary school admission magazine in Hong Kong and from the schools’ websites.

Findings

Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the school’s academic performance was positively related to discretionary student intake. In addition, marketing school academic performance, but not marketing school features, was positively related to student intake. At last, it was found that marketing school academic performance intensified the relationship between the school’s academic performance and student intake in aided schools but not in DSS schools. The results were interpreted as demonstrating that school competition in Hong Kong is a battle of lifting academic performance.

Originality/value

This study is potential and worthwhile in at least two ways. First, testing the relationships of student intake with academic performance and school marketing practices helps to verify the notion of school competition in the education sector, which, in turn, can bridge the gap between the practice and literature of schooling. Second, examining school competition in Hong Kong can help to identify an important contextual reality for future scholars whose research site is located in Hong Kong.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2013

Philip Hallinger and Jiafang Lu

The global expansion of higher education has brought about more ambitious educational goals that require new approaches to curriculum, teaching, and learning. While higher…

2003

Abstract

Purpose

The global expansion of higher education has brought about more ambitious educational goals that require new approaches to curriculum, teaching, and learning. While higher education in East Asia is no exception to this trend, it has been observed that both teachers and learners in the region have adhered to a strong tradition of lecture‐based instruction. An underlying research question concerned the responsiveness of East Asian students to learner‐centered education. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which learner‐centered education can be implemented successfully in the East Asian higher education context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents a quantitative study informed by a description of the context for implementation. It adopts a quasi‐experimental, multiple time series design and examines the process and effects of change in teaching and learning at a graduate school of business (GSB) in Thailand. The GSB implemented a variety of active learning methods that were explicitly designed to increase student engagement. Descriptive statistics, as well as mixed effects models, were used to analyze student course evaluation data over a several year period.

Findings

Active learning methods could be implemented in the context of an East Asian high education institution and they entailed positive change in student engagement over time.

Originality/value

The paper's results support assertions that Asian students respond positively to well‐designed instructional methods that seek to foster active learning.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2013

Parinya Showanasai, Jiafang Lu and Philip Hallinger

The extant literature on school leadership development is dominated by conceptual analysis, descriptive studies of current practice, critiques of current practice, and…

Abstract

Purpose

The extant literature on school leadership development is dominated by conceptual analysis, descriptive studies of current practice, critiques of current practice, and prescriptions for better ways to approach practice. Relatively few studies have examined impact of leadership development using experimental methods, among which even fewer studies have employed a cross‐cultural comparative perspective. The aim of this paper is to discuss the feasibility of using a computer simulation as tools for research in leadership development.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a methodology development paper. It discusses the feasibility of using a computer simulation as tools for research in leadership development. Exemplary research questions, research designs, and data analyses are used to illustrate the potential of this approach for addressing under‐explored issues in management education.

Findings

Three categories of cross‐cultural comparative research questions are proposed: comparative study of leadership expertise, comparative study of instructional approaches, and comparative study of leadership development processes. This study demonstrates the research potential of using the computer simulations to address complex issues in leadership development across cultures.

Originality/value

Although computer simulations have been used as training tools for several decades, few scholars have explored their potential for use in the collection of complex data in an efficient fashion. The current study not only demonstrates how a specific simulation has been adapted to collect data on leadership development in education, but also models the means by which computer simulations could be employed in a similar fashion in other domains of education and training.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Shaobing Tang, Jiafang Lu and Philip Hallinger

Like other nations in Asia, mainland China has undergone continuous reforms in its economic, political and social institutions over the past two decades. These changes are also…

1258

Abstract

Purpose

Like other nations in Asia, mainland China has undergone continuous reforms in its economic, political and social institutions over the past two decades. These changes are also reflected in its education system, which has been both the target of government reforms and an agent for social change. In this context, China's Ministry of Education has cast school principals as key actors in leading and managing change in schools at the local level throughout the country. The purpose of this paper is to explore how Chinese school leaders successfully respond to the implementation of educational reform.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper the authors explore how school leaders in one city in South China perceive their roles and actions in fostering successful change. The study employed extensive literature review with qualitative interviews of five school principals who had demonstrated success at leading change in their schools.

Findings

The findings of both the literature review and interview study unexpectedly found more similarities than differences between how leaders contribute to successful change in China as compared with the Western literature.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings are limited by two main features. First, the sources analyzed in the literature review were of highly varying quality. Moreover, relatively few employed replicable analytical methods capable of generalization. These limitations of the literature mean that the results of the review can only be interpreted as suggestive rather than conclusive. Second, the interview study was framed as an effort to further explore the trends of the literature review. Although the findings from the small-scale interview study were consistent with the broader Chinese literature, the research design suffers form the same limitations as the general literature. Therefore, these findings must also be treated as emergent rather than explanatory.

Practical implications

The paper identifies directions for future research and discusses implications for school leaders in implementing educational change in China.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in its attempt to synthesize a previously inaccessible literature on change leadership in Chinese schools. Despite China's rising role as a global leader, the literature in educational leadership and management remains sparse and largely unknown to Western scholars. Therefore, the study's limitations are balanced by the need to provide better descriptions of current practices employed by leaders as they attempt to improve China's schools.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 28 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2014

Jiafang Lu, Philip Hallinger and Parinya Showanasai

Proponents have argued that simulation-based learning (SBL) offers capabilities that respond to persisting critiques of management education. This research intended to provide…

1800

Abstract

Purpose

Proponents have argued that simulation-based learning (SBL) offers capabilities that respond to persisting critiques of management education. This research intended to provide additional empirical evidence for the instructional effectiveness of SBL. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopted a quasi-experimental, multiple time series design to examine the instructional effectiveness of courses that incorporated computer simulations in a Master of Management program at a business school in Thailand. It compared student perceptions of three SBL courses with courses that used a variety of other instructional approaches over a period of seven years.

Findings

Results revealed that students rated the SBL courses significantly higher on overall perceived instructional effectiveness, as manifested by action-directed learning, student engagement, quality of assessment and feedback, and instructor effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

The consistency of significant results for a large number of course sections over a substantial period of time suggests that the SBL courses created a more active, productive environment in which to learn management theory and practice.

Practical implications

The results support assertions that simulations offer potential for enhancing the quality of university-based management education.

Originality/value

First, the research provides empirical insights into the implementation of SBL in management education; second, many instructors remain skeptical as to whether active learning methods imported from western contexts are suitable for Asian learners. The study addresses this issue in the light of data that describe one institution's sustained attempt to employ computer simulations in its graduate management education program.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

15

Abstract

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 53 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Content available
Article
Publication date: 9 August 2013

Brian Roberts

48

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Article
Publication date: 9 June 2022

Jose Fernando Gallego-Nicholls, Esther Pagán, Javier Sánchez-García and María Guijarro-García

This paper analyzes the influence of leadership styles and human resource management (HRM) on teacher well-being and how these contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs…

1035

Abstract

Purpose

This paper analyzes the influence of leadership styles and human resource management (HRM) on teacher well-being and how these contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3: Good Health and Well-being, 4: Quality Education, and 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. The analysis assesses the extent to which the well-being of schoolteachers is influenced by the human resource management and leadership style of the school management.

Design/methodology/approach

The aim of this study is to determine how leadership by example, high communication leadership, human resource management and gender, influence two dimensions of teacher well-being, namely emotional and physical well-being. Gender was used as a moderating variable. The relationships between these variables are reflected in the hypotheses of this study. Linear regression analysis was used to test these hypotheses. The measurement scales were drawn from the literature. Data were obtained using non-probabilistic convenience sampling of 300 public and subsidized (concertado) high schools. To include large and medium-sized Spanish cities in the study, Madrid, Valencia, Malaga, and Murcia were selected. The final sample consisted of 315 high school teachers from 75 schools.

Findings

The results suggest that leadership by example and high communication leadership influence human resource management directly and positively. Human resource management, in turn, influences the physical and psychological well-being of schoolteachers.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the literature on leadership styles and human resource management by expanding the knowledge of factors influencing schoolteachers' well-being. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first article reporting a study on such factors in schools in Spain.

PROPÓSITO

Este trabajo analiza la influencia de los estilos de liderazgo y la gestión de los recursos humanos (GRH) en el bienestar de los profesores y cómo estos contribuyen a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) 3: Buena salud y bienestar, 4: Educación de calidad y 8: Trabajo decente y crecimiento económico. El análisis evalúa hasta qué punto el bienestar de los profesores está influenciado por la gestión de los recursos humanos y el estilo de liderazgo de la dirección del centro.

DISEÑO/METODOLOGÍA/ENFOQUE

El objetivo de este estudio es determinar cómo el liderazgo mediante el ejemplo, el liderazgo de alta comunicación, la gestión de los recursos humanos y el género influyen en dos dimensiones del bienestar de los profesores, a saber, el bienestar emocional y el físico. El género se utilizó como variable moderadora. Las relaciones entre estas variables se reflejan en las hipótesis de este estudio. Se utilizó un análisis de regresión lineal para probar estas hipótesis. Las escalas de medición se extrajeron de la literatura. Los datos se obtuvieron mediante un muestreo no probabilístico de conveniencia de 300 institutos públicos y concertados. Para incluir en el estudio ciudades españolas grandes y medianas, se seleccionaron Madrid, Valencia, Málaga y Murcia. La muestra final consistió en 315 profesores de secundaria de 75 centros.

HALLAZGOS

Los resultados sugieren que el liderazgo mediante el ejemplo y el liderazgo de alta comunicación influyen directa y positivamente en la gestión de los recursos humanos. La gestión de los recursos humanos, a su vez, influye en el bienestar físico y psicológico de los profesores de instituto.

ORIGINALIDAD/VALOR

Este artículo se suma a la literatura sobre los estilos de liderazgo y la gestión de los recursos humanos, ampliando el conocimiento de los factores que influyen en el bienestar de los profesores de centros escolares. Hasta donde los autores saben, éste es el primer artículo que informa de un estudio sobre dichos factores en los centros escolares de España.

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