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1 – 10 of over 3000Anne Podolsky, Tara Kini and Linda Darling-Hammond
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the key findings from a critical review of relevant US research to determine whether teachers, on average, improve in their effectiveness…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the key findings from a critical review of relevant US research to determine whether teachers, on average, improve in their effectiveness as they gain experience in the teaching profession.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the authors’ review of 30 studies published since 2003 that analyze the effect of teaching experience on student outcomes in the USA.
Findings
The authors find that: teaching experience is positively associated with student achievement gains throughout much of a teacher’s career; as teachers gain experience, their students are more likely to do better on measures of success beyond test scores; teachers make greater gains in their effectiveness when they teach in a supportive, collegial environment, or accumulate experience in the same grade, subject or district; and more experienced teachers confer benefits to their colleagues.
Originality/value
A renewed look at this research is warranted due to advances in methods and data systems that have allowed researchers to examine this question with greater sophistication.
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Lisa K. J. Kuron, Sean T. Lyons, Linda Schweitzer and Eddy S.W. Ng
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether work values vary across different life and career stages in a sample of Millennials.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether work values vary across different life and career stages in a sample of Millennials.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample for this study was comprised of 906 Canadian Millennials (born between 1980 and 1994).
Findings
Pre-career and working Millennials varied in terms of the importance they placed on five work values – interesting work, achievement, good co-workers, doing work that helped people and salary – although these differences were small in magnitude. This suggests that Millennials’ work values are relatively stable as they grow older and gain work experience.
Research limitations/implications
A large body of research citing generational differences relies upon cross-sectional studies which compares different generations of individuals at different life stages, thus making it impossible to disentangle whether the differences are a result of generational or life-cycle effects. The findings that the importance of work values shift over the life course suggest that maturation effects may explain only a small portion of these differences in the emerging adulthood phase. This finding is particularly important for researchers who rely on samples of post-secondary students as this is a period of change from both an individual and career developmental perspective.
Practical implications
This research suggests that pre-career Millennials may be attracted to organizations which emphasize a collegial work environment and socially responsible culture. Once they are in the workforce, Millennials can be attracted and retained through attractive working conditions and remuneration. All Millennials are most likely to be attracted to workplaces that provide interesting work, work-life balance, job security and the information workers need to do their jobs effectively.
Originality/value
Developmental psychology and career development literature suggest that transitioning from school-to-work is a major life event. Past research has shown that the importance of work values change across this transition and that this change differs among social generations (i.e. Baby Boomers and Generation Xers), but research to date has not examined this transition in the current, millennial generation (born after 1980). We answer the call for researchers to understand Millennials as they progress in their careers, demonstrate that the shift in work values is different for Millennials, and provide actionable recommendations for managers.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine whether observed hostility mediates the link between passive leadership and sexual harassment. The study also investigates how workplace…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether observed hostility mediates the link between passive leadership and sexual harassment. The study also investigates how workplace gender ratio might moderate this mediated relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used online survey data by recruiting full-time working employees in various US organisations and industries.
Findings
Results suggest that when working under a passive leader, both men and women are more likely to experience sexual harassment. Furthermore, the positive association between hostility and sexual harassment is stronger for female employees who work in a male-dominated organisation (low gender ratio). However, the moderating effects of workplace gender ratio were not significant for male employees.
Practical implications
Organisations seeking to reduce or prevent sexual harassment should monitor and screen out managers who display passive leadership behaviour and create a work environment where collegial and civil interactions are encouraged and valued.
Originality/value
This research advances our knowledge regarding the organisational factors of sexual harassment by examining passive leadership, hostile work context, and workplace gender ratio. Theoretically, the study contributes to the sexual harassment literature by incorporating evidence on passive leadership from a broader field of workplace aggression into sexual harassment research. Practically, the study offers important implications for organisations that seek to minimise sexual harassment.
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There is a vast amount of literature which identifies characteristics of effective schools and effective classrooms. This paper examines selected studies and their findings and…
Abstract
There is a vast amount of literature which identifies characteristics of effective schools and effective classrooms. This paper examines selected studies and their findings and provides an organizing framework which tries to relate these findings to one another and to the school and its environment. A number of implications for school improvement are discussed.
Smadar Gilad-Hai and Anit Somech
The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of implementing innovation in experimental schools (focussing on R & D) for school effectiveness post-intervention…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of implementing innovation in experimental schools (focussing on R & D) for school effectiveness post-intervention (five years). Based on theoretical models of social exchange and “conservation of resources” (Hobfoll, 1989), the authors focussed on assessing the effects of implementing innovation on individual outcomes (strain) and school level outcomes (social cohesion, emotional conflict, organizational innovation). The authors compared three types of schools: schools that have completed the implementation process (after), schools still in the implementation process (during) and schools not participating in the implementation process (control group).
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 75 schools (23 non-experimental, 25 during the experiment, 27 post-experiment) was used. Data were collected from teachers and principals to avoid a single source bias.
Findings
MANOVA analyses suggest that the process of implementation of innovation contributes to organizational effectiveness: differences were found between the control group and the two groups of experimental schools. The two groups of experimental schools showed higher levels of organizational innovation and social cohesion and lower levels of emotional conflict and strain as compared to the control group.
Research limitations/implications
This study concentrated on the question of the direct links between the study variables – the effects of the implementation of innovation on school functioning. It would be interesting to examine the limit conditions (encourage – discourage factors) for these relations.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that a structured process of implementing innovation contributes not only to the outcome of innovation in school, but also enhances overall school functioning.
Originality/value
Permits the authors to deepen the knowledge of the potential of organizational processes of innovation in schools over time (pre-during-post process).
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Ahmed Al Kuwaiti, Hasan Ali Bicak and Saeed Wahass
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the level of job satisfaction among faculty members of the health sciences program at a Saudi higher education institution; and predict…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the level of job satisfaction among faculty members of the health sciences program at a Saudi higher education institution; and predict the influence of various factors on overall job satisfaction. However, this study is quite different since it intended to evaluate the level of job satisfaction of faculty members using a self-structured questionnaire and ascertained the various factors influencing the overall job satisfaction of Saudi academics.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory study design was adopted and Academic Job Satisfaction (AJS) survey was administered to 943 faculty members of the health sciences program through an online system. A total of 850 faculty members responded to 47 items and one global rating item (overall job satisfaction) using a five-point ordinal scale.
Findings
The level of job satisfaction of health sciences’ faculty members on all dimensions of AJS is observed to be high (>3.5) except salary, which is shown as medium (2.5–3.49). Regression analysis indicates the factors other than Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU) administrative policies and interpersonal relationships are significant predictors of overall job satisfaction; and salary is the most significant predictor of overall job satisfaction among health sciences’ faculty members.
Originality/value
This study adds a value to the existing literature by exploring the factors influencing job satisfaction of health sciences’ faculty members working in Saudi Universities. This would aid policy makers to focus on these factors, thereby improve and maintain job satisfaction among healthcare academics.
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The National Health Service is key to Britain’s welfare state, and has been subject to repeated reform initiatives. Such reforms rarely “fix” the problems for which they are…
Abstract
The National Health Service is key to Britain’s welfare state, and has been subject to repeated reform initiatives. Such reforms rarely “fix” the problems for which they are introduced, but evaluations have neglected the significance of local action. Reform implementation involves local translation of politically contextualized ideas into workable practice. I focus on implementation processes and the role of professions. Ethnographic data reveal local actors engaging with policy objectives to protect existing structures within the boundaries of official reform rhetoric. Actors employ multiple strategies to maintain existing systems. Rather than “failing,” policy is made through localized collaboration.
Kerstin Sahlin and Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist
Recent changes in university systems, debates on academic freedom, and changing roles of knowledge in society all point to questions regarding how higher education and research…
Abstract
Recent changes in university systems, debates on academic freedom, and changing roles of knowledge in society all point to questions regarding how higher education and research should be governed and the role of scientists and faculty in this. Rationalizations of systems of higher education and research have been accompanied by the questioning and erosion of faculty authority and challenges to academic collegiality. In light of these developments, we see a need for a more conceptually precise discussion about what academic collegiality is, how it is practiced, how collegial forms of governance may be supported or challenged by other forms of governance, and finally, why collegial governance of higher education and research is important.
We see collegiality as an institution of self-governance that includes formal rules and structures for decision-making, normative and cognitive underpinnings of identities and purposes, and specific practices. Studies of collegiality then, need to capture structures and rules as well as identities, norms, purposes and practices. Distinguishing between vertical and horizontal collegiality, we show how they balance and support each other.
Universities are subject to mixed modes of governance related to the many tasks and missions that higher education and research is expected to fulfill. Mixed modes of governance also stem from reforms based on widely held ideals of governance and organization. We examine university reforms and challenges to collegiality through the lenses of three ideal types of governance – collegiality, bureaucracy and enterprise – and combinations thereof.
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