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1 – 10 of 769This paper explores how individual and collective burnout has become an organizational concern for school leaders, why burnout matters and what might be done to address the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores how individual and collective burnout has become an organizational concern for school leaders, why burnout matters and what might be done to address the problems individual and organizational burnout generates.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents an analysis of the current literature regarding individual and collective burnout, identifies contributing factors and explores the impacts of each. Following a discussion and synthesis of the research literature, implications for practice are presented.
Findings
Highlighting exhaustion as a factor in burnout and as a significant consequence of stress, the paper proposes specific individual teacher and leader actions focused on addressing broad organizational responses with the potential to address the consequences of burnout including depersonalization, cynicism, emotional and compassion fatigue, and a loss of individual and collective efficacy. The authors argue that for burnout to be successfully mitigated, urgent strategic and focused organizational responses are essential to identify, track, and counter individual and collective burnout.
Originality/value
Much of the existing burnout literature focuses on the individual as the locus of experience and inquiry. The authors contend that this predominant focus on individual experience is insufficient to address systemic organizational issues, problems and concerns facing educational organizations that perpetuates and accelerates the experience of individuals. This paper contribution elevates conceptions of and discussions about burnout to the organizational level and reframes the conversation by focusing on organizational responses.
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Drawn from a recent research study of the Toronto District School Board, this paper aims to examine how the District employs knowledge management to initiate and improve early…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawn from a recent research study of the Toronto District School Board, this paper aims to examine how the District employs knowledge management to initiate and improve early literacy instruction and achievement.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on Nonaka and Takeuchi's framework to explore how focusing on tacit‐to‐tacit knowledge‐sharing strategies influence early literacy‐based knowledge sharing within and across schools. Data collection involved the collection and analysis of documents used and designed by Early Years Listeracy Project (EYLP) staff members. The second phase engaged a cross‐section of 34 EYLP teachers, administrators and senior TDSB superintendents and EYLP management team members in individual semi‐structured interviews. Participants commented on their experience vis‐à‐vis the various knowledge management strategies used to support its implementation. Data from the interviews was codified, analyzed and summarized and summaries were shared with participants for comment.
Findings
The District has employed a comprehensive strategy designed to build instructional and leadership capacity via the use of in‐school knowledge activists and informal professional networks. This paper explores the impact of these strategies on school and district‐level teacher and leader learning and organizational culture.
Originality/value
The overall impact of these strategies for professional and organizational learning and the challenges associated with employing knowledge management within education and the broader public sector are presented.
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William L. Sterrett and Jayson W. Richardson
The purpose of this paper is to help the researchers sought to take a closer look at the technology challenges facing district superintendents in today’s leadership climate.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to help the researchers sought to take a closer look at the technology challenges facing district superintendents in today’s leadership climate.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors chose semi-structured interviews as the data collection method. Through 45 min, one-on-one, semi-structured telephone interviews, the researchers were able to collect data about overcoming the challenges of being a modern technology-savvy superintendent.
Findings
Through the analysis, the authors identified four themes related to the challenges faced by these district leaders, including meeting the needs of stakeholders, supporting professional development, fostering mindset changes and addressing a fear of the unknown.
Research limitations/implications
This study only relied on interviews and did not examine evidence from the field, such as site visits or artifact examination.
Practical implications
This study provides the field with insights into the role of the change-ready district leaders who foster lasting technology-infused transformation.
Social implications
While challenges for any district leader wishing to make long-lasting change exist, there are district leaders today who embody second-order change leadership when overcoming the challenge of school technology leadership. These technology-savvy superintendents play an important role as whole-system change agents.
Originality/value
This study highlighted that there many district leaders today who embody second-order change leadership in helping move their districts forward.
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School-level leaders should not be expected to be mired in emotional turmoil and sacrifice their own health, happiness and well-being to do their jobs effectively. While the…
Abstract
School-level leaders should not be expected to be mired in emotional turmoil and sacrifice their own health, happiness and well-being to do their jobs effectively. While the emotional aspects of school-level leadership have continued to evolve and become increasingly complex since the turn of the twenty-first century, the supports available to these individuals remain outdated, ineffective, and moribund. If mentoring, anonymous telephone support lines and other ‘old school’ approaches for supporting school leaders were still effective, they would not be struggling to deal with the emotional aspects of their work and workload. Further, there is a need to provide ‘just-in-time’ supports that are available to school-level leaders when concerns arise. Absent structural changes, isolated and individualized approaches to self-care cannot mitigate the challenges principals face or the physical, mental and emotional toll associated with their work and workload. Communal strategies and policy levers are recommended in an effort to go beyond mindfulness and other (potentially) individualistic and neoliberal approaches to self-care. This chapter also explores how principal preparation programmes and other formal professional learning opportunities are an untapped resource in terms of strengthening school-level leaders' emotional regulation capacity and building a general appreciation for the emotional aspects of school-level leadership.
edge ellison is only the second law firm in the UK to receive an accreditation from the Institute of IT Training for its internal IT training programme. The award is based on an…
Abstract
edge ellison is only the second law firm in the UK to receive an accreditation from the Institute of IT Training for its internal IT training programme. The award is based on an industry Code of Practice and is consistent with the objectives of Investors in People and ISO but goes much deeper into the specialist area of IT training. Only 70 companies in the UK have received accreditation and, of those, only 15 are in‐house training departments. The award recognises the commitment of edge ellison’s Systems Training Department to their 650+ internal clients as providers of high quality, effective IT training.
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Daniel Gilhooly and Chris Mu Htoo
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how teachers can use their Sgaw Karen students’ names as a means to gaining awareness of their students’ home culture, language and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how teachers can use their Sgaw Karen students’ names as a means to gaining awareness of their students’ home culture, language and personal stories.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study uses interviews with four Karen families to explore the meanings behind the names and nicknames given to Karen individuals.
Findings
The findings of this study reveal that Karen names can provide teachers important insights into Karen culture, history and language. Moreover, Karen names can also provide important biographical information about the student.
Research limitations/implications
This study only focuses on Sgaw Karen names and does not include other Karen subgroups like the Pwo Karen, who are also resettling in the USA. This study does not include all Sgaw Karen names, but the authors have made efforts to include Karen names from various regions of Burma and of different religious backgrounds.
Practical implications
Teachers and others working with culturally and linguistically diverse students like the Karen will gain a better understanding of the various ways that names are given across cultures. While this paper focuses on one particular ethnic group, it is believed that teachers need to expand their notions about how other non-European groups name their children and how these names may reveal something about the student’s heritage culture, history, language and the unique lived experiences of their students.
Social implications
Too often teachers and others working cross-culturally do not realize that other cultures follow different naming practices than those used in the USA. Teachers often mispronounce or misunderstand students’ names when the student comes from a cultural group unfamiliar to them. This paper helps a general audience better realize the unique approach Karen culture takes to naming children and how these names are often transformed to fit American naming conventions. As the title suggests, Karen students often feel embarrassed and take on a negative opinion of their given name as a result of a lack of awareness by teachers and others.
Originality/value
This paper provides a unique perspective in the literature on the ways cultural naming conventions can serve teachers aspiring to incorporate biography-driven instruction into their classroom practices.
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Karen Hilliger and Sue Roberts
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills are crucial to the development of graduate skills and employability. This paper will explore the research undertaken at Edge…
Abstract
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills are crucial to the development of graduate skills and employability. This paper will explore the research undertaken at Edge Hill College of Higher Education to integrate and contextualise ICT skills within an undergraduate marketing programme, with the research and curriculum implementation undertaken through collaboration between Library and Information Services (LIS) and the subject area of Business, Management and Leisure (BML).
Gary Lamph, Alison Elliott, Sue Wheatcroft, Gillian Rayner, Kathryn Gardner, Michael Haslam, Emma Jones, Mick McKeown, Jane Gibbon, Nicola Graham-Kevan and Karen Wright
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of a novel offender personality disorder (OPD) higher education programme and the research evaluation results collected over a…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of a novel offender personality disorder (OPD) higher education programme and the research evaluation results collected over a three-year period. Data from Phase 1 was collected from a face-to-face mode of delivery, and Phase 2 data collected from the same programme was from an online mode of delivery because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
In Phase 1, three modules were developed and delivered in a fully face-to-face format before the pandemic in 2019–2020 (n = 52 student participants). In 2020–2021 (n = 66 student participants), training was adapted into a fully online mode of delivery in Phase 2. This mixed-methods study evaluated participant confidence and compassion. Pre-, post- and six-month follow-up questionnaires were completed. Qualitative interviews were conducted across both phases to gain in-depth feedback on this programme (Phase 1: N = 7 students, Phase 2: N = 2 students, N = 5 leaders). Data from Phase 1 (face-to-face) and Phase 2 (online) are synthesised for comparison.
Findings
In Phase 1 (N = 52), confidence in working with people with personality disorder or associated difficulties improved significantly, while compassion did not change. In Phase 2 (N = 66), these results were replicated, with statistically significant improvements in confidence reported. Compassion, however, was reduced in Phase 2 at the six-month follow-up. Results have been integrated and have assisted in shaping the future of modules to meet the learning needs of students.
Research limitations/implications
Further research into the impact of different modes of delivery is important for the future of education in a post-pandemic digitalised society. Comparisons of blended learning approaches were not covered but would be beneficial to explore and evaluate in the future.
Practical implications
This comparison provided informed learning for consideration in the development of non-related educational programmes and, hence, was of use to other educational providers.
Originality/value
This paper provides a comparison of a student-evaluated training programme, thus providing insights into the impact of delivering a relational-focused training programme in both face-to-face and online distance learning delivery modes. From this pedagogic research evaluation, the authors were able to derive unique insights into the outcomes of this programme.
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This paper aims to focus on an ontological approach to executive coaching and transformational learning.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on an ontological approach to executive coaching and transformational learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is largely drawn from the methodology for ontological coaching designed by Newfield Network. Concepts are applied in actual coaching examples.
Findings
The paper finds that through a transformational process of reflection and deliberate change, we can create a new coherence of self to meet and transcend challenging circumstances. This is consistent with double‐loop learning.
Originality/value
This work explains in concrete terms and examples how the ontological approach can be applied to expand knowledge and engage in transformational learning.
Details