Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective board governance.

This study applied a model of emotional intelligence competencies to the practice domains of school boards. A board self‐assessment questionnaire measured board practice domains for the presence or absence of 18 emotional intelligence competencies defined in an emotional competence inventory. Inter‐rater reliabilities were established and confirmed. Current and former school board members in two urban areas rank‐ordered the most critical emotional intelligence competencies for effective board governance and offered explanations for their most highly‐rated competencies.

Emotional intelligence is a critical factor for effective school boards. A set of six core competencies are universal across the six board practice domains: transparency; achievement; initiative; organizational awareness; conflict management; and teamwork and collaboration. Each board practice domain is also characterized by one or two key emotional intelligence competencies.

First, one model of school board leadership was used. Future studies should examine additional models of effective board practice for their relationships with emotional intelligence in order to extend the generalizability of these results. Second, there has been some debate regarding the substantive nature of the emotional intelligence construct.

The six practice domains in the school board effectiveness model are fundamental elements for all boards to develop in order to become more effective governing bodies.

This paper identifies a novel application of emotional intelligence leadership competencies to the work of effective governance boards.

Private supplementary tutoring is expanding fast around the world. Recognising that examination boards are major shapers of curricular load, the purpose of this paper is to identify the roles of examination boards at Grades 8, 9 and 10 in Bengaluru, India. Two boards were chosen, with one having a heavier perceived curricular load than the other.

The study used mixed methods with a questionnaire survey of 687 students in Grades 8, 9 and 10, and 51 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews.

Perhaps surprisingly, the findings did not reveal significant differences in tutoring demand by students. Both groups viewed the board examinations as having high stakes, and accordingly invested in extensive private tutoring. Competition emanating from credentialism was the main driver of the decision to receive tutoring among both cohorts.

Although previous studies have explored various components of demand for tutoring, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first to explore the impact of examination boards on demand for tutoring. Since the system of schools being affiliated to examination boards is common not only in India but also in many other countries, the study has broad international relevance.

The aim of the research project reported here was to evaluate the process and outcomes of the in‐depth training programme provided to primary and secondary schools’ boards of trustees by the Far North Rural Education Assistance Programme (REAP) in New Zealand. Practical research questions were developed from an analysis of the policy context and programme contracts. The international research literature on mentoring and effective support programmes was then examined. Data were collected using four methods: documentary analysis; case studies of eight selected school communities; a survey of all members of 24 participating boards’ of trustees; and a focus group interview of programme consultants. Construct validity, multiple data types and sources, reasonable survey response rates, bias control strategies and triangulation permitted tentative conclusions and provisional recommendations to be drawn. It was found that the REAP scheme was valued for three main reasons; it built governance capacity in school communities; delivered “free”, appropriately‐scaled, culturally sensitive and customized support on‐site; and it improved the ability of schools to self‐manage improvements. It was also found that the Far North REAP Office played a key role in conceptualizing, developing, brokering and managing these board mentoring services, and developed a model of brokerage that might be usefully replicated through the Ministry of Education’s contracting processes.

Analyzing data collected from the charter school board members and the superintendent in a charter school district in a southeastern state about the quality and usefulness of training, the purpose of this paper is to provide an important foundation for understanding training and development for charter school boards in the USA.

This study uses a qualitative case study approach to examine a charter school district and the preparedness of charter school board members to serve in that district. The authors sampled one charter school district in the southeast region of the USA and interviewed five charter school board members and the superintendent.

The first theme is composition and responsibility of charter school board members, which outlines the roles and responsibilities that charter school board members assume when they serve on this charter district board. The second theme is preparedness to serve, which traces the readiness of charter school board members to serve on a board. The final theme is training and documents related to the kind of training charter school board members receive once they are appointed to the board.

This study provides a conceptual framework about the dimensions and standards associated with preparedness to serve as a charter school board member and broadens the authors’ understanding of the roles and responsibilities of charter school boards, their preparedness to serve and the training and development they receive.

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study carried out to determine the effect of governing boards on the performance of Ugandan secondary schools. Specifically, the study investigated whether governing boards (board role performance, finance committee role performance, board size, frequency of board meetings and board finance expertise) have an effect on the perceived performance of the schools.

This study is cross-sectional and correlational. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 271 schools out of which 200 responded. The data were analysed through ordinary least squares regression using Statistical Package for Social Scientists.

The results suggest that board role performance, finance committee role performance, frequency of meetings and finance expertise of governing boards have a significant effect on the schools’ performance.

The authors measure some of the variables qualitatively and perceptively contrary to, for instance, the commonly used quantitative measures of performance, but process factors which are inherently qualitative in nature can better explain variances in secondary schools’ performance. Thus, in this study, the authors do not claim highly refined measurement concepts. More research is therefore needed to better refine qualitative concepts used in this study. The results too suggest that board and finance committee role performance and finance expertise of the board are more important for performance of a school than board size, and frequency of meetings which academics have been focusing on. These findings call for more research to validate the posited relationships.

The results are important for governing board policy development; for example, in terms of prescribing the qualifications for schools’ governing board members and also finance committee board members.

This study shows that one way to capture the influence of all governing boards’ roles including service role is to adopt a perception-based approach which asks respondents to what extent they think governing boards fulfil all their roles. Unlike previous studies which used proxies for board role performance such as proportion of non-executive directors and board size for monitoring and control and resource provision, the study incorporates proxies as well as perception-based measures of board role performance to determine if governing boards have a significant influence on the performance of Uganda secondary schools.

Education funding has been a significant concern of both providers and consumers of the educational system in the United States for many generations. This expenditure accounts for the single largest allocation in most state and local government budgets; and scholars, practitioners, and the general public often question whether or not American students are getting the most “bang for their buck”. While school board members are not responsible for the allocation of revenues from federal, state, and local governments, these individuals are directly responsible for the distribution of these funds for the operation of local schools within their districts. The purpose of this study is to determine if school board members in Tennessee understand the role they play in allocating educational finances which ultimately influence student achievement. The results of this analysis suggest that the perceptions of school board members in Tennessee are not always reflective of the actual outcomes when real data is examined regarding school district expenditures.

The research reported in this paper focusses upon the following concern: the participants and procedures followed by the central office of boards of education in Ontario in the process of making policy decisions; the size of the central office staff responsible for administering the edcuational system; the changes that have occurred in the organizational structures of school boards in the past ten years. Twelve boards were selected taking into account such variables as size, type, structure, language, urbanization and location. Within each board, the director, the senior business official, and at least one supervisory officer were interviewed. In addition, directors' reports to governmental and professional agencies were analyzed. The findings illustrate that the complex, delicate process of “making policy” proceeds through a series of stages during which the influence of key actors shifts. Boards with a medium number of students enrolled were found still to have the lowest number of administrators—a pattern noted earlier by Hickcox. Finally, it is suggested that the delivery of education has undergone much experimentation, adaptation, and change during the 1970s and while the description of the administrative structure of boards developed earlier still tends to hold, it may also mask significant organizational configurations that have developed more recently.

This study examines the impact of school-district governance characteristics, which include board and management entrenchment and budget and audit committee expertise, on fiscal measures. Despite the significant influence school boards have over the determination and use of the bulk of property taxes, virtually no empirical research exists that examines the influence of school-district governance structures on fiscal outcomes. We find a positive association between board entrenchment and spending and find a negative association between budget and audit committee expertise and spending. The findings of this study confirm that governance structure matters for fiscal outcomes and recommendations are provided to support efforts to improve fiscal efficiency of school-district governance.

This study aims to use the original data collected from school board members representing nonprofit charter schools in the state of Minnesota to examine the relationship between the distribution of board-executive governance responsibilities and the performance of organizations operating as part of a New Public Management style macro-governance reform.

A combination of survey data collected from Minnesota charter school board members and hard performance data were utilized in two OLS regression models to predict the link between organizational governance and school performance.

The authors find that boards can improve hard measures of organizational performance by shifting responsibility of day-to-day operations closer to the executive, and public advocacy duties closer to the board. The results build on the existing literatures on school board governance and board-executive relations. Overall, the findings suggest the existence of an ideal balance between board-executive governance responsibilities in key functional areas on charter school boards.

Though a healthy literature exists regarding the value of charter schools, very few studies have actually explored the way in which these organizations are governed. This study is the first to link charter board governance responsibilities to performance.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of a study carried out to determine the use of Management Accounting Practices (MAPR) in Ugandan secondary schools. The study also sought to determine whether MAPR and governing boards (board size, gender diversity and frequency of board meetings) influence the perceived competitive advantage.

This study is cross-sectional and correlational. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 200 secondary schools. The data were analysed through ordinary least squares regression using Statistical Package for Social Scientists.

There are wide variations in MAP in terms of the extent to which the schools employ management accounting techniques. Also, MAP and governing boards have a predictive force on the schools’ competitive advantage. However, governing board’s size has no effect on competitive advantage. In terms of the control variables, the results suggest that while government school ownership has a positive effect on competitive advantage, the school’s size has no effect. There are intertwining relationships of frequency of board meetings, board size and school size.

The present study was limited to the secondary schools in Uganda which limits generalisability. Still, the results offer important implications for secondary schools’ governing boards, owners and for similar African governments who are a major stakeholder in the secondary school education system. The exact mechanism by which intertwining relationships of frequency of board meetings, board size and school size impact competitive advantage is not been explored in this paper. Future researchers may direct research effort in this endeavour.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate use of MAPR in secondary schools and to provide evidence of their efficacy.