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The main purpose of this study was to determine school leaders' ability to manage underprivileged students' needs, the level of achievement of these students and the relationship between the two variables.

A quantitative methodology comprising a questionnaire instrument was utilized to collect data from 239 underprivileged students attending schools in Kelantan, Malaysia. Descriptive statistics comprising mean values and standard deviations were calculated to determine school leaders' ability to manage underprivileged students' needs and the level of achievement of these students. Inferential statistics comprising a Pearson correlation was calculated to determine the relationship between the two variables.

School leaders' ability to manage underprivileged students' needs was high, whereas the achievement of underprivileged students was moderate. A weak positive relationship was observed between the two variables.

The sample was limited to 15–16-year-old students in one state in Malaysia. Further research is therefore needed on samples from across Malaysia. This paper enhances knowledge of the relationship between school leaders' ability to manage underprivileged students' needs and the level of achievement of these students. This study also has implications for Maslow's human needs theory.

The implications of the findings for school management practices are that an ability to manage underprivileged students' needs can increase the level of achievement of these students. The findings also indicate that adhering to Sustainable Development Goals, the Malaysian Education Blueprint and the Eleventh Malaysian Plan to ensure quality education for underprivileged students is relevant and should be continued. The findings can also be used as input in training school leaders.

The findings suggest that the community needs to take more responsibility for underprivileged students, especially in managing their needs, in order to increase the achievement. The findings can usefully be employed to reduce the social gap between underprivileged and privileged groups.

This is the first study to examine the relationship between school leaders' ability to manage underprivileged students' needs and the students' achievement.

As a failure analysis emphasizing school leadership in underprivileged schools serving socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority students, the study is interested in determining whether and to what extent variations in distributed leadership (DL) practices are related to student performance through the mediating effects of four-path variables.

This research conducted secondary data analysis using the 2015 PISA American data. The study employed factor analysis and structural equation models (SEMs) to investigate multidimensional associations among a set of variables, including school socioeconomic status (SES), student composition, DL practices, school four-path factors and student performance. The research used a design-based resampling approach with balanced repeated replication (BRR) weights to analyze the complex survey data.

The results indicate that, within a DL framework, teacher leadership in instructional management is positively and directly related to student performance. Governing board leadership in school administration is indirectly related to student performance through four-path variables' mediating effects. Importantly, though the two leadership sources help improve student performance, they are less prevalent in underprivileged schools with disproportional minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

This research is a failure analysis through the lens of DL for underprivileged schools. The study used rigorous quantitative approaches and examined multidimensional associations among school socioeconomic status (SES), DL, school factors that school leaders could maneuver and student performance. The evidence sheds light on remedial actions in failed schools to focus on improving teacher leadership and organizational capacity.

Entrepreneurship, Strategic Management, Social Sector.

The case can be used in undergraduate, graduate and executive education courses in entrepreneurship and strategic management. It is a perfect fit for executive sessions at incubation centers for not-for-profit (NPO) start-up social enterprises. The case is aimed at early-phase social entrepreneurs and those interested in the field.

Anthill Creations (hereafter referred to as Anthill) is a NPO organization engaged in building low-cost sustainable playscapes for underprivileged children. Their mission is to “Bring Back play” in the lives of millions of children of marginalized communities by building sustainable playscapes. It is an effort that contributes toward the objectives of clause 1.2 (Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, 2020), on “Early Childhood Care and Education” (ECCE) in the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of India as released on July 30, 2020. The ECCE clause emphasizes the importance of “learning through play”; and recognizes it to be central to quality early childhood pedagogy and education. Anthill has been working on the same philosophy since its inception in 2016. They have successfully built 300 playscapes across 18 states of the country and impacted the lives of more than 200,000 children. The playscapes are built using upcycled waste material, such as scrap tires, waste cable and oil drums; further, they use local resources and contextual designs and built them by mobilizing community participation. The playscape play elements provide for unstructured free play for children and encourage them to use their imagination to invent new games.

Pooja Rai – the founder and CEO of Anthill Creations, an architect by discipline started the NPO immediately after her graduation. It was her “calling” in life that pushed her to quit a corporate job in the early stages of her career and instead pursue a career in the social sector. The case details her methodical approach in pursuing her intuitive response to a social need, the way she adopts a lean start-up framework to set-up Anthill, her frustrations, personal resilience and ability to balance different stakeholder interests as she treads the difficult journey of building the awareness of inculcating play as a pedagogy in the early years of childhood development.

The case provides data on the large proportion of the marginalized population in India and the abysmal conditions of the Indian Government schools. The objectives of clause 1.2 on ECCE in NEP 2020 show the Indian Government’s good intent. And yet with the prevailing conditions, the policy’s ambitious target of universalization of ECCE by 2030 (Chanda, 2020), seems a mammoth task, even for the Indian Government.

On the other hand, Anthill as a small NPO of young dedicated individuals is invested and experimental in their approach; they have a tested model but financial dependency limits their activities. The ECCE clause is a sign of new hope for NPOs such as Anthill who want to reach out to millions of Indian children from marginalized communities. What could be a compatible, perhaps complementary or even skillful pathway to integrate Anthill’s tested model of building sustainable playscapes with the Indian Government’s good intentions of universalization of ECCE by 2030? How could Anthill “scale” for a systemic “impact”? Should not the NPOs, early childhood development researchers, funders and government authorities study collaboratively instead of the present siloed approach so as to bring about a systemic change in the thinking lenses about “play” to be an integral part of early childhood development? Rai ponders on the above questions.

To explain the importance of one’s purpose (calling) in life and how the authors can identify with it.

To explain how an intuitive response to social need can be complemented with a methodical approach to social entrepreneurship.

To discuss the importance of business model canvas from the social sector lens.

To explain the important elements in sustaining small start-up social organizations.

To discuss and evaluate the options an early-stage social enterprise can engage into “scale” for “impact.”

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Quality education can be provided to underprivileged section in developing economies by the collaborative effort of private-paid schools. The purpose of this paper is to explore and highlight the model which can be adopted by a private school in imparting education to girls coming from lower income strata. It also highlights how synergies could be attained by sharing of resources in terms of infrastructure and utilities.

Data are gathered through multiple sources via literature and interviews with variety of people including CEO, principal and students. Data on profile of students were provided by the school.

Achieving quality education for girls of low-income strata is possible by efficiently utilizing the resources of a private-paid school. The school operates in second shift when the infrastructure is lying idle without any use. The mammoth cost of building a school can be saved and funds can be diverted for running it. Successful experiments like Prerna shows very distinctively how well-defined intervention strategies and innovation to methodologies using existing infrastructure can provide meaningful access to education not only to girls but to all.

Can the model be adopted by government of developing economies by making it compulsory for every private-paid school.

Findings confirm that quality education to underprivileged girls is a reality at a minimum possible cost.

A learned and well-informed girl is in a better position to take life decisions. In a country like India, where cost act as a deterrent to girl child education this model provides a solution to an extent, bringing relevance of education in their lives by right empowerment approach through focused discussions in the form of critical dialogues on sensitive issues related to marriage, sexual abuse, domestic violence, health and others.

This paper provides case-based evidence of how a successful private-paid school can participate in bringing a paradigm shift in providing quality education to underprivileged girls. It helps in understanding dynamics of sustaining such project.

This paper aims to study the Pesantren’s role in alleviating the poverty in rural region, and the discussion is connected to the theory of local economic development and Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah.

This paper engages a case study and an interview to get insight into the subject matters.

This study finds that the roles of an entrepreneur and a stimulator are evident from the sampled Pesantren in empowering the local economy and the underprivileged community. Further, inasmuch as the fundamental concept of local economic development is in line with Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, the evidence from the sampled Pesantren is also representative of its role in actualising it. This study is relevant for academics, local government in Indonesia and other related stakeholders.

This paper credits both theoretical and practical implications for academics and the government. Firstly, by discussing the concept of prosperity from the Western and Islamic perspective, this paper creates a notion that these theories are harmonisable. Secondly, by sampling a Pesantren to draw how these two concepts are applied to advance a rural economy, this paper comes out with the hands-on advice for Indonesian government to legally engage with the existing Pesantrens to perform its rural development programmes.

While a Pesantren’s role in empowering a disadvantaged community is comprehensively investigated, an accurate evidence is documented which can best challenge its radicalism and terrorism issues.

This is the first study to harmonise the theory of local economic development and Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah and presents the practical evidence from a Pesantren.

Describes a two‐year project funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which commenced in October 1998. The aim of the project is to test whether the introduction of fruit tuck shops in primary schools in underprivileged areas can be associated with a change in the fruit consumption of pupils at those schools, when compared with pupils in comparison schools where fruit tuck shops are not in operation. A secondary aim is to identify the most effective ways of operating fruit tuck shops in primary schools. Overall, the research will provide guidance to schools, health and education authorities on the feasibility and potential nutritional benefit of setting up fruit tuck shops in primary schools.

One of the most efficient approaches to overcome the factors that hinder the right to the education of children and simultaneously to create an upsurge of inclusion in education is the advent of alternative schools. This is because this type of educational arrangement for children better serves the diverse characteristics of each child; thus, it is deemed to be a prominent way of alternatively delivering inclusive education in the future. This chapter explores the status quo of inclusive education in Thailand and provides the recommendations on how to overcome the shortfalls with alternative education.

The study systematically analyses the path dependency and path-shaping of borrowed education policy, tracing it from the global through the national to individual schools. It also revisits the case schools after five years to map the school level policy paths.

Recently, path-dependency heuristics have drawn attention in predicting educational policy trajectories. However, these studies are primarily theoretical, and those empirical studies do not capture what happens at the school level. This paper fills the research gap by presenting a model that synthesises the research from diverse fields and is informed by findings from a longitudinal case study of educational outsourcing in public schools in Hong Kong and Korea.

The findings highlight path dependency interactions across educational levels diachronically and synchronically, while aptly incorporating the creative ways school leaders exercise their agency therein. The paper concludes with new insights into policy trajectory and education outsourcing.

The study substantiates and extends previously suggested theoretical models on the paths of travelling educational policies and identifies the factors that shape the paths. It also sheds light on how school leaders navigate the structures that constrain their actions or create a new path and pursue their educational goals.

Earlier research on “Hole-in-the-Wall (HiWEL)” conclusively indicated groups of children pick up computer literacy on their own and are adept at performing basic functions such as cut, copy, paste, surf the internet to answer high-end questions. Research also indicates that children self-organize themselves to figure out things which they find difficult and thus learning is a continuous process for them. The studies have also indicated that HiWEL pedagogy is child centric and is at the discretion of the child. Children organize themselves and become self-regulated learners. However, so far no study has been undertaken to determine whether children accessing Hole-in-the-Wall learning stations (HiWEL LSs) can improve in mathematics and English. The intent of the present study is to examine whether groups of children are able to pick up mathematics and English on their own using the learning station. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In order to study the impact of HiWEL LS on mathematics and English, the authors took two groups; experimental group and control group from six states. Experimental group – 31 children from each site (except for two sites, where experimental group consisted of 30 children) were randomly selected to be a part of the study. 16 children from class 6th and 15 children from class 7th were identified. For this study, the experimental group consisted of a total of 277 children from nine locations. Mathematics and English tests were administered at two time points, pre and post within a gap of six months of installing the learning station. Control group – children that formed the control group were selected from nearby villages with similar socioeconomic background as the experimental group. A total of 135 children (15 children per location) were selected for this study. This group did not have access to HiWEL LS or to any other computers. These children were also tested on the same two tests at two time points, pre and post within a gap of six months.

Children exposed and using HiWEL LSs pick up academic English and mathematics on their own for grade 6th and 7th. These are government school going children. Qualitatively, the teachers and parents feel that they too have seen the benefits in the academic achievement of these children.

The study was done for a six-month period across seven sites. This study should be replicated over across entire India and a bigger sample should be taken for results to be conclusive.

The actual quantity of schooling that underprivileged children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient. This seems to be true of both the educationally more advanced states and the educationally backward states. These findings suggest a new pedagogy for enabling children to improve their academic performance which in turn leads to improvement in school performance. Thus, for the current educational system, it is important to have alternatives.

So far, no study has been undertaken to determine whether children accessing HiWEL LSs can improve in mathematics and English. The intent of the present study is to examine whether groups of children are able to pick up mathematics and English on their own using the learning station. And, the findings have been positive.

Beliefs about teaching influence practice and can play a powerful role in the day-to-day decision-making of teachers. Pre-service teachers commonly accrue their original set of beliefs on teaching from teacher preparation programs or personal experiences, but unlike teachers with more experience, new teachers are more susceptible to changing their beliefs on teaching once they become official teachers of record. If these beliefs change in a negative way, such as by adopting a set of beliefs that views students through a deficit lens, or capable of achieving less than their privileged counterparts, then schools will continue to foster tendencies for social reproduction instead of tendencies for social justice. In urban schools, this increase in negative perceptions of students is even more common as new teachers face challenges that are less likely to occur in non-urban schools. Findings suggest that new teachers do change their beliefs during their first year, and that these beliefs often reflect the beliefs of trusted and close colleagues within their social networks. While some teachers experienced positive changes in their beliefs and teaching practices, other teachers experienced negative changes in their beliefs that unfavorably affected students. Most teachers were unaware of their belief changes, but offered explanations for how and why their beliefs could have changed without their noticing over the course of the study. Implications and possible directions for future research are discussed.