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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1978

KEITH F. PUNCH and BARRETT E. SHERIDAN

This paper examines the relationship between the reference group, influences of parents, teachers and peers, and the vocational aspirations of secondary school students, taking…

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the reference group, influences of parents, teachers and peers, and the vocational aspirations of secondary school students, taking account of differences in sex, social class, mental ability and home environment. It uses a sample of 704 student, of ages 16 and 17 years, drawn from four metropolitan senior high schools in Western Australia. Regression analysis indicates that approximately two‐thirds of the variance in boys' vocational aspirations, and half the variance in girls' vocational aspirations, is accounted for by a model which uses as predictors social class, mental ability, home environment, teacher and parent expectations and peer aspirations. Further analysis, using step‐wise techniques, shows that the influences of parents and teachers—in that order—are most important, as intervening variables, between the contextual variables of social class, mental ability and home environment, and the dependent variable of aspirations.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1970

KEITH F. PUNCH

The term “bureaucracy” is becoming increasingly relevant in discussion of schools, especially as they grow bigger and organizationally more complex. This study of 48 elementary…

Abstract

The term “bureaucracy” is becoming increasingly relevant in discussion of schools, especially as they grow bigger and organizationally more complex. This study of 48 elementary schools in Ontario attempted to account for interschool variation in bureaucratization, particularly as it was associated with leader behavior. Hall's scales were used to measure perceived degree of bureaucratization; the LBDQ‐XII to measure leader behavior. It was found that leader behavior is the biggest single determinant of level of bureaucratization. Contrary to the traditional view, size of school is inversely related to level of bureaucratization. Although some 25 per cent of interschool variation in bureaucratization was not accounted for by the variables studied it seems clear that “as goes the principal, so goes the school.”

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1972

KEITH F. PUNCH and DAVID J. DUCHARME

Initiating Structure and Consideration provide a simple, powerful and popular way of describing the behaviour of leaders. Tile determination of leader effectiveness poses added…

Abstract

Initiating Structure and Consideration provide a simple, powerful and popular way of describing the behaviour of leaders. Tile determination of leader effectiveness poses added methodological and theoretical demands for the researcher, however. Hersey and Blanchard's “Life Cycle Leadership Theory” represents one such approach. The study reported below, conducted in Toronto, tested two hypotheses that suggested inverse relationships between maturity level of teachers and the degree to which they prefer task‐oriented and relationships‐oriented leader behavior. Limited support was found for the hypotheses but the authors discern some important trends and suggest relevant areas for future research.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1992

Elizabeth Tuettemann and Keith F. Punch

Summarizes the results of a comprehensive investigation into levelsof psychological distress, and factors associated with those levels,among a large and representative sample of…

Abstract

Summarizes the results of a comprehensive investigation into levels of psychological distress, and factors associated with those levels, among a large and representative sample of Western Australian teachers. Psychological distress was measured by the General Health Questionnaire, and the nine independent variables included five stressors (inadequate access to facilities; frequency of student misbehaviour; the extent to which societal expectations of teachers are seen to be excessive; the intrusion of school work into out‐of‐hours time and total workload); and four destressors (teachers′ perceptions of the extent of their influence and autonomy in the school environment; of their personal competency and achievement, of the amount of support they receive from colleagues and principal; and of the acknowledgement and praise they receive). The data show that levels of distress are high, and that the five stressors correlate positively and the four destressors correlate negatively with distress. The data also confirm the theoretical model used in the research, which predicts that the destressors effectively ameliorate the distress associated with the stressors. While the general pattern of the results is the same for male and female teachers, some important sex differences are identified. Discusses the implications of these findings for school administration.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1973

GEOFFREY B. ISHERWOOD and WAYNE K. HOY

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' sense of powerlessness within two distinctive school organizational structures. The concept of teacher work values was employed…

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' sense of powerlessness within two distinctive school organizational structures. The concept of teacher work values was employed as an intervening variable in the primary relationship. Definite patterns of teacher sense of powerlessness were uncovered within Authoritarian and within Collegial school bureaucratic structures. In addition, a majority of teachers in Authoritarian schools experienced a greater sense of powerlessness than did their peers in Collegial schools.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1973

EUGENE W. RATSOY

Recent studies of bureaucracy and decision making in education using differing methodologies and populations are, the writer claims, pointing to generalizations which are largely…

Abstract

Recent studies of bureaucracy and decision making in education using differing methodologies and populations are, the writer claims, pointing to generalizations which are largely supportive of each other. An important question only partly answered is whether the relationships identified as between the bureaucratic variables and situational and personal variables examined are causal. Caution should therefore be exercised in drawing implications for practice. Nevertheless, on the basis of overall consistency in the findings, the writer proposes that moves toward participative management approaches and away from rigid hierarchical organization of schools should lead to positive consequences such as improved supervisor effectiveness, greater teacher satisfaction, a decrease in student alienation, and improved student achievement.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1996

David Goddard and Keith F. Punch

Surveys and analyses developments in the Western Australia education system between 1983 and 1989, a period of dramatic and unprecedented change. Demonstrates that patterns of…

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Abstract

Surveys and analyses developments in the Western Australia education system between 1983 and 1989, a period of dramatic and unprecedented change. Demonstrates that patterns of control are underpinned and shaped by ideologies which exist in a wider socio‐political context. The main changes during this period are shown to proceed from two almost opposite ideological strands: a social imperative and an economic imperative. While reconcilable in theory, the attempt in Western Australia at the simultaneous implementation of changes driven by these imperatives resulted in the social imperative being subjugated to the politically‐based economic imperative. Concludes that this outcome occurred through intervening factors associated with patterns of control.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1977

EDDY J. VAN METER

A review is made of several efforts to describe the instructional emphasis and curricular content of courses relating to theory in educational administration. A summary is then…

Abstract

A review is made of several efforts to describe the instructional emphasis and curricular content of courses relating to theory in educational administration. A summary is then provided of the evolution and eventual discontinuance of one approach to the teaching of theory which has previously been cited in the literature. Finally, a course format initiated as a replacement for the aforementioned instructional approach is described, and the content of the new course is discussed in some detail. A thesis of the article is that by making explicit what is taught concerning theory in educational administration it is thereby possible to provide a greater impetus for an increased theoretical orientation within the discipline.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1963

THE generic term “reprographic” is intended to cover all the methods of making copies or reproductions and also the equipment related to these processes. The steady growth of all…

Abstract

THE generic term “reprographic” is intended to cover all the methods of making copies or reproductions and also the equipment related to these processes. The steady growth of all these methods has resulted in a close relationship between them, so that it is now almost impossible to refer to one without the other, especially where economics are being considered.

Details

New Library World, vol. 65 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1983

JOHN BENSON

Teacher resignation and transfer is a widely observed phenomenon, both in Australia and overseas. The Victorian state education system is no exception. The reasons for teachers…

Abstract

Teacher resignation and transfer is a widely observed phenomenon, both in Australia and overseas. The Victorian state education system is no exception. The reasons for teachers resigning or transferring are varied, but in the main have been accepted by school administrators (both at the central and school level) as a problem inherent to all school systems. The effects however, on students and their education, can be significant. This paper reports the findings of research carried out in Victoria which linked the organisation of individual schools with a teacher's willingness to leave that school. The results indicate strong support for the central hypothesis and thus have important implications for the school administrator. It should, however, be recognised that the findings are not prescriptive in nature; but if taken into account may go some way to improving the conditions under which teachers work and students learn.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

1 – 10 of 154