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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 September 2024

Chun Sing Maxwell Ho, Ori Eyal and Thomas Wing Yan Man

Literature on teacher leadership highlights a significant gap in understanding the role of teacher leaders (TLs) as entrepreneurs. This research aims to bridge this gap by…

Abstract

Purpose

Literature on teacher leadership highlights a significant gap in understanding the role of teacher leaders (TLs) as entrepreneurs. This research aims to bridge this gap by examining the multifaceted entrepreneurial dimension of teacher leadership. It specifically focuses on providing a comprehensive profile of these leaders and assessing their perceived influence on teachers’ outcome, which are important for improving school performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-step clustering procedure was utilized to discern profiles of teacher leaders’ entrepreneurial behaviours, sampling 586 participants in a teacher leader training program. To assess mean differences in relation to perceived influence on teacher outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, intrateam trust and innovative teaching practices) among these clusters, two-way contingency table analysis and MANOVA were conducted.

Findings

We identified three teacher-leader profiles: congenial facilitators, champion-leaders and executors. Our findings reveal the unique strengths and weaknesses of each profile and their contributions to job satisfaction, intrateam trust and innovative teaching practices.

Originality/value

This study is innovative in its detailed examination of teacher leadership through the lens of Teacher Entrepreneurial Behaviour (TEB), providing new perspectives on the intricate relationships between teacher leaders' TEB and their perceived influences. This deeper insight emphasizes the important role of entrepreneurial behaviours within teacher leadership, suggesting new directions for further research and development in educational leadership practices.

Details

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

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 June 2024

Chun Sing Maxwell Ho and Jiafang Lu

This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure Teacher Entrepreneurial Behavior (TEB), which encapsulates the behaviors teachers employ to identify and amplify…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure Teacher Entrepreneurial Behavior (TEB), which encapsulates the behaviors teachers employ to identify and amplify innovation in schools. TEB are catalysts for innovation, navigating their peers through risks and building trust, which empowers the collective to transcend structural constraints and pioneer new educational initiatives. Despite the importance of TEB, there is a notable absence of a well-validated measurement instrument.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on existing empirical TEB studies, this study conducts four interconnected studies following scale-development procedures. The content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and external validity of the proposed scale were assessed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, invariance analysis, and regression analysis.

Findings

The result is a multidimensional TEB model featuring 15 items with a good model fit. The TEB scale comprises four factors: Advocating Innovation, Seeking Resources, Cultivating Cohesiveness, and Mitigating Risk.

Originality/value

This study represents a rigorous attempt to develop and validate a reliable instrument for measuring TEB. It provides a validated tool for future research aimed at understanding the nature of TEB as an independent construct and associated dynamics. Accurate measurement is important for the robustness and replicability of research. Furthermore, the insights gained on TEB scale can significantly inform both the preparation and evaluation of teacher leaders by emphasizing the importance of entrepreneurial behaviors in promoting teachers’ collaboration and actualizing innovative initiative.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2021

Chun Sing Maxwell Ho and Thomas Wing Yan Man

This study investigates teachers' perceptions of how school conditions influence their motivation for opportunity recognition. It uses discovery theory as a theoretical lens to…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates teachers' perceptions of how school conditions influence their motivation for opportunity recognition. It uses discovery theory as a theoretical lens to understand the dynamics of entrepreneurial teachers' knowledge and alertness in responding to school conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a multi-case study approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with participants in three schools highlighting similarities and differences in their conditions of empowering entrepreneurial teachers to discover opportunities.

Findings

The results indicate that four school conditions facilitate entrepreneurial teachers to discover opportunities, namely, a rigorous working environment, a trusting and opened culture, extensive communication networks and rewarding work conditions.

Originality/value

These findings further underscore the use of discovery theory in educational contexts showing that entrepreneurial teachers are in an active mode of searching for opportunities. Specific ways through which teachers can better recognize opportunities for school improvement are included.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2019

Maxwell Chun Sing Ho and Jiafang Lu

Under-examination of the notion of competition between schools has created a considerable asymmetry between the reality and the literature of schooling. Therefore, the purpose of…

1117

Abstract

Purpose

Under-examination of the notion of competition between schools has created a considerable asymmetry between the reality and the literature of schooling. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the validity of school competition and verify the propositions regarding the effects of school marketing practices in literature, particularly Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) and aided schools in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

It tests the relationships between student intake and school academic performance and school marketing practices. It also compares the pattern of the relationships between the DSS and aided secondary schools. Secondary data from 441 secondary schools were retrieved from a popular secondary school admission magazine in Hong Kong and from the schools’ websites.

Findings

Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the school’s academic performance was positively related to discretionary student intake. In addition, marketing school academic performance, but not marketing school features, was positively related to student intake. At last, it was found that marketing school academic performance intensified the relationship between the school’s academic performance and student intake in aided schools but not in DSS schools. The results were interpreted as demonstrating that school competition in Hong Kong is a battle of lifting academic performance.

Originality/value

This study is potential and worthwhile in at least two ways. First, testing the relationships of student intake with academic performance and school marketing practices helps to verify the notion of school competition in the education sector, which, in turn, can bridge the gap between the practice and literature of schooling. Second, examining school competition in Hong Kong can help to identify an important contextual reality for future scholars whose research site is located in Hong Kong.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2024

Darren A. Bryant, Chun Sing Maxwell Ho, Jiafang Lu and Yiu Lun Leo Wong

This study addresses a gap in the knowledge on how longitudinal engagement in a school improvement initiative influences change in middle leaders’ (MLs') interactions and assesses…

Abstract

Purpose

This study addresses a gap in the knowledge on how longitudinal engagement in a school improvement initiative influences change in middle leaders’ (MLs') interactions and assesses how school–university partnerships around school improvement can support teachers with formal leadership roles (i.e. MLs’) leadership development.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a two-year longitudinal research design, university staff facilitated middle leadership training in a school-defined improvement initiative on lesson study. Results from a pre-test followed by two post-tests administered at one-year intervals were collected on social networks. Analyses examined changes in indegree and brokerage patterns among groupings of senior leaders (SL), subject leaders, cross-school specialists and teachers.

Findings

Accounting for staffing changes, 27 of 67 staff members participated in each survey, yielding 1,623 distinct ties connecting school members. Over the first year, advice-seeking increased by 225%. SLs’ initial propensity to consult peers shifted towards MLs and teachers. Subject leaders advising other leaders and teachers increased tenfold. Teachers’ peer-to-peer consultation increased by 2,000%. Specialists with school-wide responsibilities became the dominant group for advising other leaders, such as SLs and subject leaders. These shifts were sustained over the second year.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates that engagement in the school–university partnership support and the corresponding structural changes stimulated robust cross-school dialogue among teachers and various leaders. Brokerage patterns indicated an enhanced role for MLs in driving the school-defined improvement initiative which corresponded to university-designed development activities.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2020

Chun Sing Maxwell Ho, Jiafang Lu and Darren A. Bryant

This study aims to understand of the role that teacher entrepreneurial behavior plays in developing teacher professional capital. The extant concepts around school leadership…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand of the role that teacher entrepreneurial behavior plays in developing teacher professional capital. The extant concepts around school leadership mostly encompass the transformative and instructional roles of school leaders in managing, mobilizing and supporting teachers for student achievement. However, school leadership has not focused strongly on promoting innovation and risk-taking for schools in a knowledge economy. As a timely promising response to the increasingly demanding and competitive school context, teacher entrepreneurial behaviour (TEB), which emphasizes teachers' willingness to take risks and be daring, has started to gain recognition in the school leadership literature, yet a nuanced understanding of TEB's potential impacts on schools is lacking.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a combined consideration of institutionalized recognition and expert judgement, this study identified three innovative entrepreneurial teachers/teacher groups that had won the most competitive teaching award in Hong Kong. Employing a multiple-site case study design, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 informants and collected supplementary school documents and records.

Findings

This study found that TEB enables the implementation of innovation and promotes cross-subject alignment. It cultivates trusting and coherent relationships among teachers. Teachers with TEB scaled up innovation among other teachers. Furthermore, entrepreneurial teachers enhance school attractiveness by creating competitive advantages.

Originality/value

This analysis showed that TEB enables formal and informal school leaders to bring forth critical school outcomes. This study elaborates how TEB enhances teachers' professional capital through building trusting and coherent relationships. It also adds to the research on school innovation by demonstrating that TEB fosters teachers' capacity for bottom-up innovation in the community.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 58 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 December 2020

Shweta Suri, Deepika Kathuria, Anusha Mishra and Rajan Sharma

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the biological activities of low-calorie natural sweetener, i.e. monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii), which are associated with its…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the biological activities of low-calorie natural sweetener, i.e. monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii), which are associated with its bioactive constituents.

Design/methodology/approach

Recent investigations focused on biochemical characterization and nutraceutical potential of monk fruit (traditional Chinese perennial vine) have been critically reviewed. Also, the safety and influence of monk fruit on organoleptic characteristics of prepared food products have been documented.

Findings

Biochemistry of monk fruit revealed that mogrosides are the principal compounds responsible for the high-intensity sweetness in the monk fruit. The fruit induces several biological activities including anti-oxidative effect, hypoglycemic response, anti-allergic properties, anti-carcinogenic and anti-tissue damage activities. Attributing to great potential as a bio-functional sweetener in food products, monk fruit extract has been approved as Generally Regarded as Safe.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the biological potential of monk fruit opening the doors to future investigations for its utilization in products of commercial importance including food and pharmaceutical preparations.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 51 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

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