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1 – 10 of 131Vicki Park, Elise St John, Amanda Datnow and Bailey Choi
The purpose of this paper is to examine how data are used in classroom placement routines. The authors explore educators’ assumptions about the purposes of the classroom placement…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how data are used in classroom placement routines. The authors explore educators’ assumptions about the purposes of the classroom placement routine, detailing the ostensive (i.e. structure and template) and performative aspects of the routine itself, and the implications of data use for equity and leadership practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multi-site case study involving in-depth interviews of teacher and school leaders and observations of meetings, the authors examined the role that data played in classroom placement routines in three elementary schools in the USA.
Findings
Findings show that educators across schools collected similar types of multi-dimensional data; however, analysis and decision-making processes varied based on their assumptions and goals. Assessing student needs holistically and balancing students across classes based on academic diversity, behavioral or socio-emotional needs, gender and teacher workload were consistent patterns. There was a distinct difference between collecting data and actually using it as a basis of decision making.
Research limitations/implications
These findings highlight the importance of using in-depth observations to understand data use in schools. Educators’ assumptions and philosophies about classroom placement contributed to the pattern of discussion and decisions made throughout the routines. Delving deeper into how data are used in specific routines and organizational contexts can illuminate how data use is socially constructed and enacted for equity.
Practical implications
Educators who guide school routines have the power to maintain taken-for-granted assumptions about students, or to create counter-narratives.
Originality/value
This study provides insights into classroom and student placement processes by emphasizing the social and interactional dimensions of data use as they unfold in practice. It also extends empirical knowledge about the purposes, dimensions, and uses of data-driven decision making models.
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Sharon L. Howell, Vicki K. Carter and Fred M. Schied
Investigates how a particular work team interprets and comes to understand quality management initiatives centered around customer service. The study set out to add to the…
Abstract
Investigates how a particular work team interprets and comes to understand quality management initiatives centered around customer service. The study set out to add to the understanding of how work team members interpret and learn as a part of a functional work based team operating within a quality management work environment. Data sources, including field notes, an extensive reflective journal, strategic plans, annual reports, e‐mail messages and office memos, provided rich, in‐depth information. The study argues that, contrary to much of the management‐based learning literature, learning is used as a way to mold and shape attitudes of workers and to control them.
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Amanda Datnow, Vicki Park and Brianna Kennedy‐Lewis
An increasing number of schools and districts across the US are requiring teachers to collaborate for the purpose of data‐driven decision making. Research suggests that both data…
Abstract
Purpose
An increasing number of schools and districts across the US are requiring teachers to collaborate for the purpose of data‐driven decision making. Research suggests that both data use and teacher collaboration are important ingredients in the school improvement process. Existing studies also reveal the complexities of teacher collaboration and the importance of context in shaping teachers’ collaborative work, especially with data. Yet, the intersection of teacher collaboration and data use has been understudied. The purpose of this paper is to examine the affordances and constraints that exist in the context of established teacher collaboration time for the purposes of data‐driven decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws upon qualitative case study data gathered in six schools that structured teacher time for collaboration on data use.
Findings
An analysis of the data revealed that a variety of leadership activities and organizational conditions shaped teachers’ collaborative work with data. These included leadership focused on thoughtful use of data and the framing of data‐driven decision making in terms of collective responsibility; the establishment of norms for teacher collaboration; the implementation of data discussion protocols; and teacher groupings and subject matter subcultures.
Originality/value
Knowing how and when a leadership activity or organizational condition becomes either an affordance or a constraint to teacher collaboration around data use has important implications for leadership and educational change. The findings of this study also help to lay the groundwork for future research regarding teacher collaboration around data use.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the intersection of teacher emotions, teacher collaboration and educational reform, particularly with respect to time, a key teacher…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the intersection of teacher emotions, teacher collaboration and educational reform, particularly with respect to time, a key teacher resource that is often impacted in school change.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws upon data gathered in an in-depth, two-year qualitative case study of teacher teams in two US elementary schools. A total of 57 interviews and 102 hours of teacher team meeting observations were conducted across the two schools. The data analysis process involved several rounds of content coding of interview transcripts and teacher team meeting observation notes using MAXQDA software.
Findings
Teachers at the two schools benefitted from collaborative school structures that allowed time and space to innovate and brought joy to their professional lives. Strong professional communities served as sources of support as teachers experienced stress and frustration with reforms that created demands on their time and shifts in their teaching. Leadership played an important role in providing emotional support and autonomy to teachers, allowing teachers to flourish collectively.
Originality/value
This study has important implications for how researchers, policymakers and practitioners conceptualize the emotional dimension of teachers’ time in educational reform efforts. It is critical to consider whether expectations for what teachers can accomplish in collaboration are realistic in light of current working conditions. Given that emotions are at the core of teaching and the process of change, it is important to continue to explore the connections between teacher emotions and the professional capital they build in collaboration with each other.
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Bonnie A. Nardi and Vicki L. O'Day
In a previous paper (Nardi & O'Day 1996), we chose to begin thinking about intelligent software agents with a detailed look at what human agents do. Our interest is in agents that…
Abstract
In a previous paper (Nardi & O'Day 1996), we chose to begin thinking about intelligent software agents with a detailed look at what human agents do. Our interest is in agents that provide expert services to end users. We analysed data from two studies of reference librarians to see how they provide value to their clients, considering the librarians as exemplary human agents. Shneiderman (1995) observes that claims about intelligent software agents are vague, dreamy and unrealised: we wanted to bring some precision and optimistic realism to the discussion.
Kimberly Griffin, Vicki Baker, KerryAnn O’Meara, Gudrun Nyunt, Tykeia Robinson and Candice L. Staples
The purpose of this study is to explore the developmental networks of graduate students of color participating in PROMISE, Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the developmental networks of graduate students of color participating in PROMISE, Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program, a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded graduate retention and support program. The authors specifically examine how underrepresented minority students gain access to needed supports through building individual mentoring relationships and broader networks of support.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors rely on a case study approach to explore developmental networks and support accessed by students participating in the PROMISE program. A total of 16 students of color in STEM fields from three institutions in the University of Maryland System have participated.
Findings
Study findings reveal that scientists from underrepresented backgrounds construct and draw from diverse developmental networks that include individuals from within and outside of the academic community. Key relationships include advisors; faculty with whom they share identities, peers in and outside of their programs; and administrators. Developers play distinct roles within the networks including shaping students’ emerging professional identities as scientists and providing psychosocial support. Student agency and initiative as well as faculty engagement and programs like PROMISE further enhanced student access to mentorship.
Research limitations/implications
This study offers unique insights into the nature, cultivation and resources gained from the relationships that make up the developmental networks of science graduate students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Originality/value
Traditional notions of mentoring and support, particularly in graduate education, highlight the role and importance of the student’s advisor in their growth and development. This study is unique in its focus on the multiple relationships students of color in science form. This study offers specific insight into the nature, construction and resources gained from developmental networks formed by a group of underrepresented minority students in STEM graduate education.
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Within the past 20 years hiking and backpacking have enjoyed rapid growth among Americans as favorite outdoor activities. From 1965 to 1977 the number of hikers almost tripled…
Abstract
Within the past 20 years hiking and backpacking have enjoyed rapid growth among Americans as favorite outdoor activities. From 1965 to 1977 the number of hikers almost tripled, from 9.9 million to 28.1 million, while national forest visitor days among hikers and mountaineers increased from 4 million in 1966 to 11 million in 1979. Accompanying this growth in interest has been a boom in books about the sport. These include both “how‐to‐do‐it” volumes and guides to specific geographical areas. Each year brings another spate of books, yet to this compiler's knowledge no bibliography of hiking guides to the Rocky Mountains, one of North America's premier outdoor regions, has yet been attempted. This bibliography is an effort to correct that situation.
Vincent Onyemah and Simon O. Akpa
The purpose of this paper is to offer a state of the art description of open air markets (OAM), a little-known phenomenon that is indispensable in Africa’s consumer packaged goods…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer a state of the art description of open air markets (OAM), a little-known phenomenon that is indispensable in Africa’s consumer packaged goods industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology comprising in-depth semi-structured interviews and direct observation was employed.
Findings
Analysis of data from Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, reveals that channel members have roles that are different from that of their Western counterparts. For example, distributors often do not distribute and principals are expected to actively sell on behalf of their distributors to empty the latter’s warehouse. Also, while many end-users in developing countries expect credit sales and opportunity to bargain, extant literature does not include these demands in the formal list of service output demands. Another major finding is the surprising order underlying OAM. It is the bedrock of commercial activities: for most consumer packaged goods manufacturers, sales through OAM account for over 90 percent of revenue.
Research limitations/implications
The focus on one industry and country limits the generalizability of the above findings.
Practical implications
Africa is the next growth frontier. Tapping into this growth requires a deep understanding and appreciation of the important role played by its unique marketing channels.
Originality/value
Given the dearth of documented knowledge about marketing channels in emerging markets, this study addresses an important gap. Its findings could inform theory development and encourage more research on marketing channels in developing countries.