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1 – 10 of over 41000Isaac Minde, Stephanus Terblanche, Bernard Bashaasha, Ignacio Casper Madakadze, Jason Snyder and Anthony Mugisha
Agricultural education and training (AET) institutions will play a strategic role in helping to prepare Africa’s rapidly growing youth populations for productive careers in…
Abstract
Purpose
Agricultural education and training (AET) institutions will play a strategic role in helping to prepare Africa’s rapidly growing youth populations for productive careers in agriculture and related agri-businesses. The purpose of this paper is to examine the magnitude of skills and youth employment needs emanating from high-population growth rates. It then explores how agricultural education institutions are responding to these challenges in four different countries at different levels of food system development: South Africa tier 1, Tanzania in tier 2 and Malawi and Uganda in tier 3.
Design/methodology/approach
Demographic and school enrollment data provide information on the magnitude of job market entrants at different levels of education while Living Standards Measurement Studies in the respective countries provide a snapshot of current skill requirements in different segments of the agri-food system. In order to evaluate AET responses, the authors have conducted country-level reviews of AET systems as well as in-depth assessments at key tertiary AET institutions in each of the four case study countries.
Findings
Growth rates in primary school enrollments are high in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, because of budgetary constraints, transition rates decline rapidly – about 40 percent from primary to secondary and 7 percent from secondary to tertiary. As a result, substantial numbers of primary and secondary school graduates seek jobs.
Research limitations/implications
The case study countries are limited to four. Had more financial resources and time been available, researchers could have spread further afield and in so doing increasing the precision of the results.
Originality/value
Estimation of the number of primary and secondary school leavers seeking employment because of failure to proceed to the next level of education. Estimation of the level of education shares in the various components of the agri-food system.
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In light of contemporary critiques of New Zealand comprehensive schooling published mainly in the popular press, it is timely to re‐examine the origins of and the rationale for…
Abstract
In light of contemporary critiques of New Zealand comprehensive schooling published mainly in the popular press, it is timely to re‐examine the origins of and the rationale for the widespread adoption of this model of education. The comprehensive schooling philosophy, it was recently alleged, has produced a situation in which ‘as many as one in five pupils in the system is failing’ and where ‘there is a large group at the bottom who are not succeeding’. This group was estimated to include some 153,000 students out of the total current New Zealand student population of 765,000. In this context, however, Chris Saunders and Mike Williams, principals of Onehunga High School and Aorere College in Auckland respectively, have noted that having underachieving students in secondary schools in particular is not a recent phenomenon. A large ‘tail’ of poor performing high school students has long been a cause of concern, Williams suggests.
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There is increasing support for the importance of the principal′sinstructional leadership in school effectiveness. However, there isuncertainty over the extent to which principals…
Abstract
There is increasing support for the importance of the principal′s instructional leadership in school effectiveness. However, there is uncertainty over the extent to which principals actually engage in instructional leadership tasks. Investigates the perceptions held by principals and teachers of principals′ instructional leadership in a sample of Western Australian government primary and secondary schools using the Instructional Leadership Questionnaire. Instructional leadership was found to be a shared responsibility. Principals were perceived to be least involved in “managing the curriculum” and “evaluating and providing feedback”. Primary school principals were perceived to be more responsible for instructional leadership than their secondary counterparts. Principals of very small primary schools (less than 100 students) were most involved in tasks and those of middlesized primary schools (300 to 500 students) were least involved. “Providing rewards and recognition for high quality teaching” was the only instructional leadership task perceived not to be performed by either principals or teachers in both primary and secondary schools. Principals perceived themselves to be more involved in instructional leadership tasks than their staff perceived them to be.
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Nancy Bouranta and Evangelos Psomas
Due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, primary and secondary schools worldwide are deploying online teaching/learning practices, fostering and thus innovation practices…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, primary and secondary schools worldwide are deploying online teaching/learning practices, fostering and thus innovation practices. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree to which practices reflecting educational innovation are implemented in the Greek public primary and secondary schools operating under conditions characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic. Determining the relationship among these educational innovation practices is also an aim of the present study.
Design/methodology/approach
A research study was conducted in the Greek public primary and secondary schools. 522 teachers fully completed a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings reveal that administration-related innovation practices, teaching-related innovation practices and online teaching/learning practices are implemented to some extent in primary and secondary schools in Greece, but there is still scope for continued development. The online teaching/learning practices set the foundations for further developing a culture of fully adopting other educational innovation practices in these schools to improve education.
Originality/value
Limited research concerning educational innovation practices has focused on primary and secondary schools. The need for more studies on teaching and learning innovations that have resulted from the COVID-19 crisis is highlighted by the literature. The results of this study support the fact that online teaching/learning implemented in primary and secondary schools is positively associated with administration-related and teaching-related innovation practices, concluding that this forced change in the educational process can act as a catalyst for more changes and innovative actions.
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Nancy Bouranta, Evangelos Psomas and Jiju Antony
The aim of this paper is to present the main findings of the studies in the field of quality management (QM) in primary and secondary education. Grouping these findings into…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to present the main findings of the studies in the field of quality management (QM) in primary and secondary education. Grouping these findings into themes and these themes, in turn, into broad categories as well as prioritizing the themes of findings are also aims of the present study.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review (SLR) of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education was carried out based on major publishers, namely Emerald Online, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier/Science Direct, Springer Link, Sage Publishing and Online. In total, 133 articles published in 62 journals during 1983–2019 were collected. The affinity diagram was applied in order to group the findings of the QM studies into logical themes and these themes into broad categories. Moreover, the Pareto diagram was applied to prioritize the themes revealed.
Findings
A plethora of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education have been published in the last decades. The findings of the QM studies presented in the 133 reviewed articles are grouped into 43 themes and these themes, in turn, into 6 broad categories, namely management practices, school characteristics, teachers, stakeholders, government and pupils. The analysis also reveals themes that can be characterized as “vital” and “useful.”
Practical implications
Researchers and school managers can take into consideration the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education as well as the themes of high priority for the design of future studies and QM implementation plans, respectively.
Originality/value
This is the first literature review study which presents analytically the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education. This study also contributes to the literature by formulating meaningful themes of these findings and broad categories of these themes and by prioritizing the themes revealed.
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Jinda Kongcharoen, Nutthajit Onmek, Panaya Jandang and Sukanya Wangyisen
The purpose of this paper is to explore the levels of stress and work motivation of primary and secondary school teachers, investigate factors affecting stress of teachers and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the levels of stress and work motivation of primary and secondary school teachers, investigate factors affecting stress of teachers and validate the consistency of the model and empirical data.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 400 teachers of primary and secondary schools. Questionnaire was implemented as the instrument and the data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA and confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The results indicated that teachers of secondary schools have higher overall stress than teachers of primary schools for many reasons, such as financial issues and work obligations. Stress was found to be significantly positively associated with work motivation in secondary school teachers. The study revealed that demographic and work motivation factors influence teacher stress. The validation of a goodness of fitted model demonstrated an acceptable model fit with empirical data (χ2 test/df = 1.913, GFI = 0.934, CFI = 0.965, NFI = 0.930, AGFI = 0.893).
Originality/value
Teachers under stress could negatively influence their students’ academic performance and might be more vulnerable to occupational diseases. Therefore, the teachers should find favorite activities that reduce stress and thereby contribute to effective teaching. This study would be beneficial for anyone who works to support teachers and wants to reduce turnover among teachers.
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The purposes of this study are to explore children’s independent mobility, that is the degree to which children of different ages are allowed to make trips to school, friends…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this study are to explore children’s independent mobility, that is the degree to which children of different ages are allowed to make trips to school, friends, shops, and other destinations unaccompanied by adults within the Arab communities in Israel and to study the influence of the demographic and socio-economic characteristics, built environment, geographical location, cultural context, and risk perceptions on children’s independent mobility.
Methodology
This study is based on a questionnaire given to children between 9 and 15 years old studying in 4th to 9th grades and to one parent or primary caregiver. The methodology of this study is based on descriptive statistics comparing independent mobility licenses and travel behavior of two school children groups: Arab and Jewish children. In addition logistic regression models were developed to study the influence of different factors on independent mobility such as: car availability, gender, age, social class, and so on. In order to examine whether children with independent mobility do more and have access to a wider range of activities than those who do not, a linear regression analysis was performed with the dependent variable being the number of unaccompanied journeys to the various activities in the weekend.
Findings
Results clearly show that boys were granted greater freedom in terms of mobility licenses, as were secondary school children compared with those attending primary school. Walking is still the main commuting mode to school. One of the important findings in this study is that children are not interested in walking. That is, regardless of the built environment and parents driving options, children prefer to be driven.
Social implications
This study will provide essential information for the development of policies and interventions in urban planning, transport planning, community development, community safety initiatives, and health planning.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to examine levels of independent mobility among the Arab school children in Israel, as well as their participation in active transport (e.g., walking/cycling) during journeys to school and to other local destinations.
Therefore, this study will hopefully provide a baseline for future studies in this area and act as a catalyst for more research into independence and mobility, and how this impacts sustainability.
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Helen S. Du, Sam K.W. Chu, Randolph C.H. Chan and Wei He
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process and interaction among group members using wikis to produce collaborative writing (CW) projects, and to compare their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process and interaction among group members using wikis to produce collaborative writing (CW) projects, and to compare their collaborative behavior among students at different levels of education.
Design/methodology/approach
The study investigated the participation and collaboration of Hong Kong primary school, secondary school, and university students in the process of developing their wiki-based CW projects. Both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained from analyzing the revision histories and the content of wiki pages.
Findings
Results indicated that the level of education significantly affected student CW actions, and their interaction and coordination behavior to co-construct the work. Also, the frequency of collaborative activities varied noticeably among the primary, secondary, and university students.
Practical implications
The study enriches our understanding of the complex and dynamic process of CW using wikis. It has practical implications on why and how the pedagogy and technology should be implemented differentially for the students at three different levels of education to facilitate collaborative knowledge construction.
Originality/value
Research to date is still lacking an in-depth knowledge about the processes and activities involved when students write collaboratively on wikis. Also, no study has yet compared the collaborative behavior among students at different levels of education. The results of this study contribute to the development of new and appropriate modes of group-based collaborative learning at all levels of the education system for the twenty-first century.
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Hew Teck Soon and Sharifah Latifah Syed A. Kadir
The purpose of this paper is to verify the moderating effects of school category based on the self-determination theory (SDT) in cloud-based virtual learning environment (VLE…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to verify the moderating effects of school category based on the self-determination theory (SDT) in cloud-based virtual learning environment (VLE) acceptance.
Design/methodology/approach
Two phases of national surveys were conducted using a random sampling technique. The research model was tested empirically using 608 samples of primary and secondary school teachers.
Findings
The full model supports significant effects of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on trust, knowledge sharing attitude and behavioral intention except the autonomy-attitude and relatedness-behavioral intention relationships. In primary school, 61, 24.1, 52.1, and 41.1 percent of variances whereas, in secondary school, 57.4, 31.5, 48.6, and 37.5 percent of variances in instructional effectiveness, behavioral intention, knowledge sharing attitude, and trust in VLE website were explained. There are significant moderating effects of category of school in all causal relationships except the autonomy-knowledge sharing attitude relationship.
Practical implications
There are several useful theoretical and practical implications for scholars and practitioners including Ministry of Education, FrogAsia, etc.
Social implications
The findings may enhance education quality for societal change.
Originality/value
Unlike most studies which focused on TAM, UTAUT, etc., this study investigated the effects of SDT on attitude in sharing knowledge, trust in website and instructional effectiveness. Instead of studying gender differences, this study examined the school category differences.
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Maria Teresa Tatto, Michael Rodriguez and Yang Lu
Are education systems converging toward a global model of teacher education or do local models tend to predominate in spite of attempts to reform them? How much do global…
Abstract
Are education systems converging toward a global model of teacher education or do local models tend to predominate in spite of attempts to reform them? How much do global, national, and local cultures shape and condition future teachers’ opportunities to learn to teach? How do these opportunities influence teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge? In this chapter we use data from the IEA’s first study of the effectiveness of pre-service teacher education in order to investigate teacher education policy, program structure, and outcomes. Using multilevel modeling we found that across countries individual characteristics have a similar and powerful influence on what future teachers come to know at the end of their pre-service programs. The effects of teacher education curriculum on future teachers’ mathematics pedagogical content knowledge reaffirm the prevalence of local cultures on the implementation of an increasingly globalized ideal. We conclude that while the provision of teacher education shares many common features in goals and structure across countries, it is strongly influenced by local conditions and norms, and by cultural notions of the knowledge that is considered essential – framing how quality is to be defined and operationalized – when learning to teach.
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