Language programming in rural and regional Victoria

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvette Slaughter ◽  
Joseph Lo Bianco ◽  
Renata Aliani ◽  
Russell Cross ◽  
John Hajek
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Principal Perspective ◽  
Material Constraints

Abstract Despite decades of often ambitious policies in Australia, languages education is still characterized by intermittent commitment to the teaching of languages, with inequitable access particularly entrenched in rural and regional contexts. While research has focused on the practical and material constraints impacting on policy implementation, little research has investigated the role of the discursive terrain in shaping expectations and limitations around what seems achievable in schools, particularly, from the school principal perspective. Beginning with an overview of policy interventions and an analysis of contemporary challenges, we use Q methodology to identify and analyze viewpoints at work in similarly-positioned rural and regional schools. In doing so, we seek to determine what seems possible or impossible across settings; the role of principals in enabling and constraining pathways for the provision of school language programs, and the need for macro-level language policy to be informed by constraints specific to rural and regional contexts.

scholarly journals The Role of Middle Managers in the Implementation of National Public Policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Cooper ◽  
Martin Kitchener
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Safety Programme ◽  
Implementation Studies ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Occupational Background ◽  
Functional Teams

Recent policy implementation studies have considered the processes by which the top down objectives of policy designers conflict with the bottom up responses of local actors within functional teams. Our paper extends that body of research by analysing the, hitherto underexplored, role of hybrid middle managers (HMMs) who combine their professional expertise with management responsibilities to locally forge compromises when implementing national policy interventions. Drawing from a recent study of the implementation of the Welsh national patient safety programme, this paper presents a detailed analysis of the activities deployed by HMMs to broker policy interventions within their local teams. We provide an analytical model to direct attention towards the varied activities performed by HMMs from different occupations. Our empirical findings reveal how policy implementation processes can be better understood, and planned, if HMMs are differentiated by their occupational background.

A Clear and Consistent Focus on Students: Principals’ Perceptions of the Role of School Counselors

2020 ◽  
pp. 105268462097206
Author(s):  
Travis Lewis ◽  
Karen D. Jones ◽  
Matthew Militello ◽  
Randy Meisenhelder
Keyword(s):  
School Counselors ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
School Counselor ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Principal Preparation Programs ◽  
Grade Levels

As greater emphasis is placed on addressing critical school issues such as school-based mental health, violence prevention, and the effects of trauma, the utilization of school counselors should be examined to ensure that these uniquely-trained professionals are mobilized by school administrators to engage these issues. Q methodology was employed to explore how a convenience sampling of 32 current principals across varying demographics and grade levels conceptualize the role of the school counselor. The results of this study provide a rich understanding of how principals view school counselors in relation to the needs of their respective school communities. Evident is a clear and consistent emphasis of principals on the need for school counselors to have a strong rapport with their students. Discussed are additional steps that may be considered in further advancing the relationships between these two types of professionals, as well as insights to inform school principal preparation programs in how school leaders can appropriately utilize student services personnel.

The corporal dimension of sports-based interventions: Understanding the role of embedded expectations and embodied knowledge in sport policy implementation

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Fahlén
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Embodied Knowledge ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Sport Policy ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
The Individual

The aim of this paper is to show how the corporal character of activities commonly provided in sports-based policy interventions has implications for the results of policy implementation. By employing the theoretical concepts of embedded expectations and embodied knowledge, this paper examines how expectations embedded in such activities interact with experiences embodied by the participants and combine in availing or restricting the possibilities for participation – thereby affecting the outcome of policies for increased participation in organised sport. The paper builds on data from a case study of a sports-based intervention that aimed to usher so-called un-associated youth in to participation in regular sport-club activities by offering ‘organised spontaneous sports’ in ‘drop-in’ sessions that focus on the intrinsic characteristics of non-competitive sports and participants’ wishes. Findings from interviews, the intervention’s internal documentation, and observations show how expectations embedded in these activities require a very specific embodied knowledge of the individual participant. Instead of challenging dominant notions of what sport ‘is’ and ‘can be’, the activities reproduce existing preconceptions and, in extension, existing patterns of sport participation instead of supporting the formation of new ones as aimed for by policy makers. The findings are discussed in relation to the wider discussion about policy implementation in sport and highlight the necessity for understanding the content of the activities offered in sports-based interventions relative to the previous experiences of the pronounced recipients.

Creativity in Sociocultural Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 269-284
Author(s):  
Dean Keith Simonton
Keyword(s):  
Macro Level ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Creative Activity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Sociocultural Systems

Although psychologists typically see creativity as an individual-level event, sociologists and cultural anthropologists are more likely to view it as a sociocultural phenomenon. This phenomenon takes place at the level of relatively large and enduring collectives, such as cultures, nations, and even whole civilizations. This chapter reviews the extensive research on such macro-level creativity. The review begins with a historical overview before turning to the cross-sectional research on the creative Ortgeist, a subject that encompasses the factors that influence the relative creativity of both preliterate cultures and entire modern nations. From there the chapter turns to role of the Zeitgeist in affecting the creativity of civilizations across time—the rise and fall of creative activity. This research examines both quantitative and qualitative causes that operate both short- and long-term.

The role of World War II in the development of Luxembourgish as a national language

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Wagner ◽  
Winifred V. Davies
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Present Situation ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
National Language ◽  
World War

This paper explores the link between explicit Luxembourgish language policy and the actual practices as well as expressed attitudes of a group of speakers of Luxembourgish, with the aim of studying the role of World War II in the advancement of Luxembourgish as Luxembourg’s national language. The first two sections introduce the theoretical approach of the paper and provide an overview of the history and present situation of Luxembourg and Luxembourgish. The following two sections present the findings of a sociolinguistic study of language choice, language values and identities, and linguistic (in)security among a group of Luxembourgish letter-writers, as well as recent interview data provided by the sole surviving correspondent. The final section brings together these results and the claims made regarding the role of World War II in the changing status of Luxembourgish and points out the complexity of this discussion.

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