Search results

1 – 10 of over 56000
Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2014

Ahmed Bawa Kuyini

The Ghana chapter on special education begins with the history of service provisions for persons with disabilities. It includes information on educational and rehabilitation…

Abstract

The Ghana chapter on special education begins with the history of service provisions for persons with disabilities. It includes information on educational and rehabilitation services, special schools and integrated education. Detailed data is related concerning prevalence and incidence rates and special needs among the Ghana population. This is followed by a comprehensive section on regular and special education teacher roles, expectations, and training. An important aspect of Ghana’s special education is its movement towards inclusive education. The support for this movement comes from the Ministry of Education’s policy, namely, The Education Strategic Plan (ESP), which adopts inclusive education and promotes it as the future special education direction for the country. The chapter provides detailed information on the issues related to the implementation of the ESP plan, four models that have been developed for inclusive education, the progress and effort that Ghana has made towards inclusive education as well as significant challenges that are present.

Details

Special Education International Perspectives: Practices Across the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-096-4

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1983

ALICE N. NDU and TITUS O OHIKHENA

This study, designed to identify what needs teachers seek to satisfy in their work place, was carried out in Imo State of Nigeria. Data were collected by a Herzberg‐type…

Abstract

This study, designed to identify what needs teachers seek to satisfy in their work place, was carried out in Imo State of Nigeria. Data were collected by a Herzberg‐type interview. Teachers were found to be primarily concerned with adequate pay, occupational advancement, appreciation, personal comforts, security, leadership, achievement and opportunity for personal growth, in that order. It does not appear that these teachers are primarily maintenance‐seekers desiring lower order needs (Maslow) or hygiene factors (Herzberg). Intrinsic needs are rated much lower than extrinsic needs. This may have been conditioned by the Nigerian environment where basic social amenities like electricity, housing, water and transportation are still very inadequate. This study therefore gives an indication of what educational leaders in Nigeria can look into in developing motivational strategies for teachers.

Details

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

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1982

MARGARET C. PASTOR and DAVID A. ERLANDSON

It was the purpose of this study to identify areas of teacher motivation by determining teacher needs and their relationship to job satisfaction. This objective was pursued by…

Abstract

It was the purpose of this study to identify areas of teacher motivation by determining teacher needs and their relationship to job satisfaction. This objective was pursued by applying the concept of higher and lower order need strength to secondary public school teachers. This concept was first developed and applied in business administration as a means of measuring worker motivation. It is based on the assumption that a match between the needs experienced by the individual and the needs fulfilled by the job bring greater job satisfaction and thus an increase in job productivity. While a predominance of higher order needs in secondary school teachers was found, the correlation of need strength and job satisfaction varied by school district. Apparently teaching in some schools is more satisfying to teachers with lower order needs while teaching in other schools is more satisfying to teachers with higher order needs.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Book part
Publication date: 28 September 2020

Inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream schools reflects a society’s view of their role as caregivers for all citizens, regardless of any understanding of the…

Abstract

Inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream schools reflects a society’s view of their role as caregivers for all citizens, regardless of any understanding of the benefits that educating for inclusion might have. Although inclusion should be conducted throughout all areas of life, frequently people refer to it only as an academic process that teachers must be responsible for. Thus, such inclusion provides teachers with the opportunity to lead future generations towards the development of societies that indeed practice inclusion as a natural process. However, even if we decide to focus on the process only from the school perspective, in practice teachers cannot conduct it efficiently without proper training. This chapter is thus designed to promote the understanding of possible implications of the new inclusion policy in Israeli elementary schools which will allow the development of innovative and quality teacher-training programmes, and the quality of teaching in general.

Details

From Pedagogy to Quality Assurance in Education: An International Perspective
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-106-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1988

TAMARA E. AVI‐ITZHAK

The purpose of this study is to (a) identify and assess perceived professional needs of kindergarten teachers, (b) identify perceived professional needs, organizational factors…

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to (a) identify and assess perceived professional needs of kindergarten teachers, (b) identify perceived professional needs, organizational factors and teachers' characteristics which significantly discriminate between “satisfied teachers” vs. “dissatisfied teachers” and (c) assess their relative contribution to the discriminant function. Ninety‐three female kindergarten teachers from one school district of a major city in Israel participated in the study. Factor analysis yielded five factors collectively accounting for 62.4 percent of the explained variance. These factors — esteem, autonomy, self‐actualization, security and social — correspond to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Results indicate that teachers are most satisfied on the two lower needs — security and social — and are less satisfied on higher needs — esteem, autonomy and self‐actualization. Results obtained from the discriminant analysis demonstrate the significant role of the three higher needs — age, teaching experience and organizational complexity — in differentiating between satisfied and dissatisfied kindergarten teachers.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 26 February 2024

Spyros Kolyvas, Petros A. Kostagiolas and Konstantina Martzoukou

The aim of this study is to investigate how the information needs satisfaction of visual art teachers affects their creativity. Visual art teachers’ information seeking behaviour…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate how the information needs satisfaction of visual art teachers affects their creativity. Visual art teachers’ information seeking behaviour and specifically the association of information needs satisfaction with creativity has been an understudied area, despite competent information seeking being considered essential for high quality practices of art teachers.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was developed addressing the information seeking behaviour of art teachers, informed by Wilson’s model (1981), including visual art teachers’ information needs, information resources, obstacles faced while seeking information and the perceived impact of information needs satisfaction on visual art teachers’ creativity.

Findings

The study included 298 visual art teachers in Greece. The results demonstrated that the key information needs of art teachers were mainly related to materials’ properties, techniques for creating artwork and artwork promotion methods. Online information sources were the preferred sources of art information, followed by colleagues, personal collections and visits to galleries and museums. Our study identified lack of time, lack of specialized libraries and copyright, as the main barriers to information seeking.

Originality/value

Information about art plays a substantial role in visual art education, while visual art teachers’ information needs satisfaction positively influences their creative endeavours. There is a need to further explore the digital information needs of visual art teachers.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 June 2021

Curt Adams and Olajumoke Beulah Adigun

This study was designed to test the relationship between principal support of student psychological needs and faculty trust in students. Without direct empirical evidence to draw…

Abstract

Purpose

This study was designed to test the relationship between principal support of student psychological needs and faculty trust in students. Without direct empirical evidence to draw from, the line of reasoning integrated evidence on social-cognitive processes involved in trust formation and conversation theory to advance two hypotheses: (1) After accounting for school and leadership conditions, principal support of student psychological needs will be related to school differences in faculty trust in students; (2) The relationship between principal support of student psychological needs and faculty trust in students is mediated by a positive view of the teaching task.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses were tested with a nonexperimental, correlational research design using ex post facto data. Due to the hierarchical structure of the data, hypotheses were tested with a 2-2-1 multilevel mediation model in HLM 7.03 with restricted maximum likelihood estimation.

Findings

Findings were consistent with the hypothesized relationships – principal support of student psychological needs was related to faculty trust in students and this relationship was mediated by teacher perceptions of the teaching task.

Originality/value

School research has primarily examined interpersonal antecedents of trust, focusing on behaviors and characteristics that position a person or group as trustworthy. This study extends trust research to the cognitive side of the formation process, calling attention to the function of mental representation in shaping trust discernments. Results suggest that cognitive processes hold promise as both a source of faculty trust in students and as a malleable mental structure that school leaders can shape through conversation.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 59 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 May 2017

Kirsi Tirri and Sonja Laine

Inclusion, defined as nondiscriminatory education for all, involves embracing gifted students whose special needs should be considered in curriculum planning and in the teaching…

Abstract

Inclusion, defined as nondiscriminatory education for all, involves embracing gifted students whose special needs should be considered in curriculum planning and in the teaching methods used. However, inclusion has often been connected with disability and special needs education. It has been claimed that inclusion neglects the needs of the gifted. This chapter identifies ethical challenges in inclusive education, with gifted students as a case example. Several critical misconceptions about gifted students and gifted education are identified as leading to ethical challenges for teachers. These misconceptions are discussed in the ethical framework of distributive justice in teaching, and recommendations are given for ways to support teachers in meeting the needs of gifted students in inclusive educational settings.

Details

Ethics, Equity, and Inclusive Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-153-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 June 2019

Timothy G. Ford, Jentre Olsen, Jam Khojasteh, Jordan Ware and Angela Urick

The actions of school leaders engender working conditions that can play a role in positively (or negatively) affecting teachers’ motivation, well-being or professional practice…

3606

Abstract

Purpose

The actions of school leaders engender working conditions that can play a role in positively (or negatively) affecting teachers’ motivation, well-being or professional practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore how leader actions might bring about positive teacher outcomes through meeting teachers’ psychological needs at three distinct levels: the intrapersonal, interpersonal and organizational.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of over 1,500 teachers from 73 schools in a large, high-poverty, urban Midwestern school district, the authors applied a multilevel path analysis to the study of the relationships between the intrapersonal, interpersonal and organizational dimensions of teacher psychological needs and the teacher affective states of burnout, organizational commitment and intent to leave the school and/or profession.

Findings

Whereas the intrapersonal dimension works primarily through burnout, the findings suggest that the interpersonal dimension (teacher–principal interactions) primarily functions to cultivate organizational commitment among teachers. At the organizational level, cultivating a trusting, enabling work environment where teachers can build on existing knowledge and skills had a demonstrated relationship to collective teacher burnout and organizational commitment, but only to the degree that these actions serve to build collective teacher efficacy.

Practical implications

In addressing existing deficits in support for teachers’ psychological needs within a school, school leaders have a significant mechanism through which to affect the attitudes and emotions of teachers which precede turnover behavior. However, addressing teacher psychological needs should be thought of as multidimensional – no single dimension (either the intrapersonal, interpersonal or organizational) alone will be sufficient. Principals should expect to work both one-on-one as well as collectively with teachers to address school working conditions which support their psychological needs as learners.

Originality/value

Prior studies examining the various working conditions of schools have included many common constructs, but the authors demonstrate how self-determination theory could be used to unify these seemingly unique characteristics of school working conditions with respect to how they support (or thwart) the psychological needs of teachers. The authors also empirically test the relationship of these dimensions to a wide-range of commonly-used teacher affective outcomes.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 57 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2014

Shaila Rao, Cristina M. Cardona and Esther Chiner

The focus of special education around the globe may be to provide specialized instruction to meet unique needs of children to help them achieve their full potential. However, each…

Abstract

The focus of special education around the globe may be to provide specialized instruction to meet unique needs of children to help them achieve their full potential. However, each country around the globe may also have its own unique issues, barriers, legal frames, policies, and practices, as well as a history of its origin and evolution of policies and practices that govern special education in that country. This chapter describes how special education in Spain originated and evolved to its current state. It includes the following chapter sections: origins of special education in Spain; legislative acts; prevalence and incidence of various recognized disability areas; an overview of Spain’s education system including special needs education; current assessment and intervention practices; teacher education practices; family involvement considerations; and future challenges to special education.

Details

Special Education International Perspectives: Practices Across the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-096-4

1 – 10 of over 56000