Search results
1 – 10 of 17Ori Eyal, Talya R. Schwartz and Izhak Berkovich
This study aims to explore the conception and construct of ideological leadership (IL) as it relates to public organizations, such as public schools, and to validate a tool for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the conception and construct of ideological leadership (IL) as it relates to public organizations, such as public schools, and to validate a tool for its measurement in this setting.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 633 teachers working at 69 randomly-sampled Israeli public schools. In each school, an average of nine (SD = 2) randomly-sampled teachers completed questionnaires that measure IL, transformational leadership, organizational commitment, leader-member exchange and motivational factors. The data underwent validity and hypotheses tests.
Findings
The hypothesized presence of the personalized and socialized IL orientations among public-school principals has been confirmed. Only personalized IL predicted teachers' outcomes above and beyond transformational leadership, affecting measures of organizational commitment, leader-member exchange and controlled motivation.
Originality/value
New evidence supports the validity of this proposed measurement tool. New evidence also suggests that although ideology has been known to be a factor of charismatic leadership, IL in close public-school settings accentuates practices of control, rather than proselytizing coherent worldviews to teachers. This, in turn, may have a deleterious influence on work outcomes and outweigh the possible benefits of IL. Accordingly, it is suggested that school leaders should critically consider the desirability of embracing ideological zeal as part of their leadership tools.
Details
Keywords
In recent years, third sector–school partnerships have become more common and received increasing research attention. Yet, the ethical aspects of third sector–school partnerships…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, third sector–school partnerships have become more common and received increasing research attention. Yet, the ethical aspects of third sector–school partnerships have not been discussed in-depth. As a result, the field lacks a conceptual framework that makes possible in-depth understanding of the ethical characteristics involved in partnerships between public schools and the third sector. The purpose of this paper is to fill this lacuna.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrative review of the general literature on stakeholder theory, corporate social responsibility, cross-sector partnerships (CSP) and strategic alliances, as well as of empirical studies on partnerships between schools and the third sector, offers insights on ethical conduct in these partnerships and their antecedents.
Findings
Based on the general literature on CSP and the educational literature on third sector–school partnerships, the authors offer a conceptual model and propositions about ethical conduct in these partnerships and its antecedents.
Originality/value
The innovative conceptual model makes possible a re-evaluation of existing knowledge on third sector–school partnerships, and can support direct research of ethical aspects in these partnerships. In addition, the model provides conceptual language for administrators for managing practical ethical dilemmas in these partnerships.
Details
Keywords
Empirical evidence links transformational school leadership to teachers’ autonomous motivation and affective organizational commitment. Little empirical research, however, has…
Abstract
Purpose
Empirical evidence links transformational school leadership to teachers’ autonomous motivation and affective organizational commitment. Little empirical research, however, has focused on the emotional mechanisms behind these relations. Following the argument in the literature that transformational leadership can transform followers’ emotions, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether teacher’s experience of emotional reframing by principal mediates the relationships between transformational school leadership and these work-related outcomes (i.e. teachers’ motivation and commitment).
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were used to collect information from 639 primary school teachers nested in 69 randomly sampled schools. The data were analyzed using multilevel path analysis software.
Findings
The results indicated that the effect of transformational school leadership behaviors on teachers’ autonomous motivation was fully mediated by emotional reframing, and that the effect of transformational school leadership on affective organizational commitment was partially mediated by it. The authors further found an indirect relationship of transformational school leadership with affective organizational commitment through emotional reframing and autonomous motivation.
Originality/value
The present study makes a unique contribution to the literature by confirming that teachers’ sense of emotional reframing is a key affective mechanism by which school leaders influence teachers’ motivation and commitment.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to do methodological review of the literature on educational leaders and emotions that includes 49 empirical studies published in peer-reviewed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to do methodological review of the literature on educational leaders and emotions that includes 49 empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 1992 and 2012.
Design/methodology/approach
The work systematically analyzes descriptive information, methods, and designs in these studies, and their development over time.
Findings
The review suggests that scholarly interest in educational leaders and emotions has increased over time, and identifies methodological patterns in this body of research. The results are compared with methodological data from other syntheses in the disciplines of educational administration (EA) and organizational behavior for the purpose of using the findings to produce broader insights into the meaning of an emerging research field in EA.
Originality/value
The findings of the methodological review are interpreted from two conceptual perspectives: functionalist and critical. Together, they offer a holistic portrayal of the meaning of producing scientific knowledge in an emerging research field in EA.
Details
Keywords
By exploring the unique networks of parents, this paper attempts to shed light on the assumptions of social capital theory, showing the advantages of combining bonding and…
Abstract
Purpose
By exploring the unique networks of parents, this paper attempts to shed light on the assumptions of social capital theory, showing the advantages of combining bonding and bridging social capital for educational entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper focuses on a group of Israeli parents who founded a new school. Data collection and analysis were based on the grounded theory perspective. In total, 20 in‐depth interviews were conducted. Triangulation was achieved by studying the phenomenon from different perspectives: those of the founders, school employees, and people who supported the founding of the school. The data were analyzed using categorization techniques.
Findings
The paper finds that bonding and bridging social capital complemented each other. Whereas the former was employed to take advantage of existing opportunities in the community, the latter was used to explore new opportunities that would otherwise not be available. Moreover, it was found that both strong and weak ties may be used by parents to obtain scarce resources. The study shows that parents with cultural capital know the “rules of the game” and can therefore take advantage of network opportunities to ensure the school's survival.
Originality/value
This paper reframes parental involvement, using social capital as a theoretical perspective. From this perspective, it uncovers the deeper aspects of the network dynamics and unique circumstances created when bonding and bridging social capital are combined.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between public schools' networks and strategies of entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between public schools' networks and strategies of entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
The Public School Entrepreneurship Inventory (PSEI) and a questionnaire on schools' networks were administered to a stratified, random sample of teachers and principals from 140 Israeli elementary schools.
Findings
It was found that although the network is associated with school entrepreneurship, it is limited to non‐radical entrepreneurship. Thus, extensive connections in the school's network may be considered an advantage for some entrepreneurial purposes and a burden for others. It may therefore be concluded that extensive connections create pressure to conform with network norms, thus restricting radical endeavors.
Orginality/value
The study bridges the gap between the general literature on networks and the literature on educational networks, reflecting how a school's entrepreneurship is contingent on the qualities of its network ties.
Details
Keywords
– The purpose of this paper is to identify the epistemological trends in the Israeli Educational Leadership (EL) scholarship between the years 2000 and 2012.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the epistemological trends in the Israeli Educational Leadership (EL) scholarship between the years 2000 and 2012.
Design/methodology/approach
The 51 studies included in this review were detected through a systematic search in online academic databases. Abstracts of studies identified as being relevant for this review were read, however, only empirical studies which addressed EL constructs, practices, and processes were ultimately included. As part of data analysis, studies were classified using categorization techniques. To ensure trustworthiness, two independent researchers systematically analyzed all studies. Themes were then compared with thematic trends found in other EL reviews.
Findings
Three themes, which reflect conceptual and methodological distinctions, emerged in this review: first, the impact of leadership on school effectiveness; second, the politics of leadership; third, alternative lenses of leadership. Findings revealed a prevalence of studies adopting alternative lenses in the Israeli scholarship, though they represent a blind spot internationally. In addition, findings revealed a blank spot in the Israeli research attributed to few studies which embed leadership into the realm of instruction, though they are prevalent around the world.
Originality/value
Theoretically, the findings of this review are valuable for providing a foundation from which to address the blank and blind spots in the field of EL. Practically, its contributions offer insights regarding the cultural complexities of EL-related constructs which may be valuable for local and international EL academics, policymakers, and practitioners, researching or implementing EL scholarship worldwide.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between educational leadership and teacher's motivation. The research described here was anchored in the convergence…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between educational leadership and teacher's motivation. The research described here was anchored in the convergence of two fundamental theories of leadership and motivation: the full range model of leadership and self‐determination theory. The central hypotheses were that transformational leadership would predict autonomous motivation among teachers, whereas transactional leadership would predict controlled motivation. The authors further predicted that autonomous motivation would mediate the relations between transformational leadership and teachers' burnout and that controlled motivation would mediate the relations between transactional leadership and burnout.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires assessing the variables of interest were completed by 122 Israeli teachers.
Findings
Results, based on structure equation modeling, supported the hypotheses, suggesting that leadership styles among school principals play a significant role in teachers' motivation and well‐being.
Research limitations/implications
The school's environment in Western society is characterized by many impositions and pressures that affect teachers' well‐being, as reflected in their quality and intensity of motivation, affect, and burnout. Thus, the present research findings suggest that if the power in educational systems is delegated to school principals, and if the latter are encouraged and trained to be autonomy supportive toward their educational staff, then these steps may potentially facilitate teachers' autonomous motivation, satisfaction, and well‐being.
Originality/value
Few studies have examined the relationship between various styles of leadership and different types of motivation among followers. The present novel study has the potential to fill this gap by empirically studying the relationship between educational leadership and teachers' motivation.
Details
Keywords
Ori Eyal, Izhak Berkovich and Talya Schwartz
Scholars have adopted a multiple ethical paradigms approach in an attempt to better understand the bases upon which everyday ethical dilemmas are resolved by educational leaders…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars have adopted a multiple ethical paradigms approach in an attempt to better understand the bases upon which everyday ethical dilemmas are resolved by educational leaders. The aim of this study is to examine the ethical considerations in ethical judgments of aspiring principals.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the ethical considerations involved in school leadership decision making, a specially designed ethical perspective instrument was developed that draws on the multiple ethical paradigms. This exploratory instrument was pre‐tested for validity and reliability among school principals and students of educational administration. The research sample consisted of 52 participants in principal training programs in Israel.
Findings
Negative correlations were found between choices reflecting values of fairness and those reflecting utilitarianism and care. In addition, negative correlations were found between choices reflecting values of community and those reflecting care, critique, and profession. Critique turned out to be the value most widely adopted by educational leaders to solve ethical dilemmas, followed by care and profession.
Originality/value
The common notion in the literature is that the various ethics complement one another. There is, however, little empirical work on ethical judgments of educational practitioners. The importance of this exploratory research is twofold: first, it examines the extent to which multiple ethical considerations can be taken into account simultaneously; and second, it identifies the prevailing values that come into play most often.
Details
Keywords
Ori Eyal and Dan E. Inbar
Entrepreneurship is one of the fundamental strategies of business organizations. However, the unique characteristics of entrepreneurship in education have not been fully examined…
Abstract
Entrepreneurship is one of the fundamental strategies of business organizations. However, the unique characteristics of entrepreneurship in education have not been fully examined. This study examines the concept of entrepreneurship in a centralized educational system, presents a tool for measuring educational entrepreneurship, and demonstrates its relevance by inquiring into the relationship between a school's geo‐social location and entrepreneurial profiles. The public school entrepreneurship inventory was tested on a representative sample of 1,395 elementary school teachers within the Israeli public school system. The results demonstrate high reliability and convergent validity of the instrument. The study explores the different entrepreneurial profiles existing within the Israeli educational system, and demonstrates the instrument's use in studying the degrees of freedom for school entrepreneurship in the same national expanse. The study has found that school entrepreneurship in the periphery is better able to exploit the freedom existing within the system than school entrepreneurship in the center. In all cases, however, this freedom is limited and schools’ entrepreneurship cannot go much beyond what is legitimized by the system. These findings are then explained by reference to the canonical mechanisms that serve as constant points of reference in a centralized educational system.
Details