“The day after”

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smadar Gilad-Hai ◽  
Anit Somech
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
School Effectiveness ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Functioning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emotional Conflict

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).

scholarly journals Assessing the impacts of school entrepreneurial initiatives

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Pepin ◽  
Etienne St-Jean
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
School Level ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Attitudes ◽  
Enterprise Education ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Experimental Group

Purpose Many countries around the world have now introduced entrepreneurship into their curricula and educational practices, starting at the elementary school level. However, recent studies show the relative (un)effectiveness of K-12 enterprise education on diverse learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to report on a research aimed at assessing the impacts of enterprise education on students’ entrepreneurial attitudes. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a quasi-experiment between May and June 2017 to assess the entrepreneurial potential of students at Elementary Cycle 3 (10–12 years) in Quebec, Canada. Relying on attitude theory, the authors used Athayde’s Attitudes toward Enterprise for Young People test, which assesses students’ entrepreneurial potential through four entrepreneurial attitudes (leadership, creativity, achievement and personal control). The experimental group consisted of 11 classes which had conducted an entrepreneurial project during the 2016–2017 school year (n = 208 students), while the 7 classes of the control group had not (n=151 students). Findings At first glance, data showed no difference between the two groups. Further investigation showed that private and Freinet (public) schools’ students, both from the control group, show significantly higher leadership scores than those of the experimental group. In-depth analyses also show that increasing the number of entrepreneurial projects significantly impacted three of the four attitudes assessed, although negligibly. Research limitations/implications Taken together, those results question the relevance of single entrepreneurial activities in developing students’ entrepreneurial attitudes. They also suggest the positive impact of a progressive, constructivist pedagogy in developing such entrepreneurial attitudes. Moreover, the paper raises several factors likely to impact students’ entrepreneurial attitudes for further research. Originality/value K-12 enterprise education remains an understudied context, largely crossed by unproven statements. This research contributes to understand and give direction to educational initiatives targeting the development of young students’ entrepreneurial attitudes.

An effective school autonomy model

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 718-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galatia Nicolaidou Solomou ◽  
Petros Pashiardis
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Educational System ◽  
School Effectiveness ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Autonomy ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Related Stress

Purpose – Although school autonomy has been a matter of great interest during the last decades and several relevant measures have been implemented toward this end, the relation between school autonomy and school effectiveness has not been examined thoroughly. The purpose of this paper is to explore this relation and to propose an effective school autonomy model for Cyprus, a small European country with a highly centralized educational system. The suggested model indicates which decisions (related to various administrative, financial, academic, pedagogical and human resources matters) must be made at school level, which decisions can be made partly from the school with a higher level of control from the ministry and which decisions have to be made exclusively by a central authority, in order to enhance school effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – An unusual methodological design is followed, using scenarios to examine hypothetical situations. Cypriot headteachers’ job satisfaction and work-related stress is examined in the case of full autonomy and in the opposite scenario of very limited autonomy. The results from this phase of the study lead to the design of the suggested school autonomy model, which is then tested in terms of effectiveness through a third scenario. The scenarios are given in questionnaires and the sample includes 300 out of a population of 350 primary school headteachers of Cyprus. Findings – The findings of the study suggest that headteachers’ job satisfaction and work-related stress is affected by the level of school autonomy that characterizes an educational system. The most effective scenario for the case of Cyprus does not refer to the existing situation of very limited autonomy, neither to the opposite scenario of full autonomy. The most effective scenario refers to the suggested model of school autonomy where all decisions related to various academic, managerial, financial and human resource matters are taken at school level, except for the decisions related to teaching materials and textbooks, teacher placements, promotions, payroll and dismissals. For these decisions the guidance, support and/or control from the educational authorities have to be enhanced. Research limitations/implications – In this study school effectiveness is examined through the headteachers’ job satisfaction and stress as the dependent variable, and not through the conventional student achievement variable. A part of the existing literature suggests that these variables affect school effectiveness in an indirect way. Taking into consideration student achievement was not possible for the case of Cyprus, since the only scenario currently existing refers to very limited or no school autonomy. Therefore, it is not possible to compare the academic results of students coming from schools with different levels of autonomy. Practical implications – The methodological approach of the study can be followed in other contexts as well, in order to design an effective school autonomy model for a different educational system, district or school. Scenarios can also be used to test and make corrections for a suggested educational reform, before this is implemented, in order to avoid waste of time and/or financial resources. Originality/value – The value of this study first lies in its attempt to design a school autonomy model, based on all the educational decisions and matters that can be affected from a school autonomy reform; this became possible through an extensive literature review. Second the study, does not only support some suggestions based on the results, but also tests the effectiveness of the suggestions before these are implemented, following the unusual methodological approach of scenarios. Moreover, the relation between school autonomy and school effectiveness has not been examined thoroughly in the existing literature and some conflicting opinions exist. The findings of the study can help us gain a better understanding of the above relation.

Teachers’ perceptions of educational reform: the schools’ readiness, supporting mechanisms and contributions of the reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-187
Author(s):  
Orit Avidov-Ungar ◽  
Rinat Arviv-Elyashiv
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
School Effectiveness ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
School Level ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of teachers toward national reform in education according to the reform stage (Initiation, Implementation or Institutionalization) attained in their school. The study aim to examined: How do teachers perceive the current reform?; Is there a correlation between teachers' perceptions and reform stage?; To what extent are teachers' perceptions affected by school's mechanisms and school's readiness?Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology is quantitative. Teachers (N = 288) completed a written questionnaire. One-way ANOVA was used to investigate teachers' perceptions of the reform and its contributions to school effectiveness and to teachers' working conditions according to reform stage, while controlling for managerial position, teaching experience and school level. Multivariate modeling was used to examine the relationships between the variables.FindingsTeachers' overall attitudes toward the changes associated with the education reform lay between moderately negative and neutral. Reform was perceived to have made a greater contribution to school effectiveness than to teacher working conditions. School readiness for reform and the presence of school mechanisms supporting reform explained much (41%) of the variance in teachers' attitudes. Teachers holding leadership roles and those whose schools were in the Institutionalization stage exhibited more positive attitudes toward the reform and perceived it as having improved their working conditions to a greater extent than those without leadership roles or whose schools were in the Initiation or Implementation stages, respectively.Originality/valueTeachers' attitudes toward reform have not previously been examined in the context of reform stage.

Teacher corps stability: articulating the social capital enabled when teachers stay

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-252
Author(s):  
Timothy G. Ford ◽  
Patrick B. Forsyth
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
School Effectiveness ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Value Added ◽  
School Level ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Over Time

PurposeThe evidence is strong that the instability of teacher rosters in urban school settings has negative consequences for student learning, but our concern is with the opposite phenomenon: What is the value added to the organization when a school's teaching roster is stable over time? Our theory of teacher corps stability hinges on the claim that the stability of a teacher corps over time is a sine qua non that, under certain conditions, permits formation of the social capital needed to catalyze school effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachWe test this claim using longitudinal data from 72 schools in a large, urban southwestern US school district. We first identified a subset of 47 schools with either chronic teacher turnover (high, stable turnover) or a stable teacher roster (low, stable turnover) via school-level HLM growth modeling techniques. These classifications were then used as a covariate in a series of HLM growth models investigating its relationship to growth in structural, relational and cognitive social capital over time.FindingsOur findings sustain a claim of the importance of teacher corps stability. In our sample of urban schools, we found robust increases in the relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital over time in those schools with stable rosters. Furthermore, schools with chronic turnover were declining significantly in relational social capital, but no appreciable growth in structural social capital was found in either stable roster or chronic teacher turnover schools.Practical implicationsGiven the nature of teacher corps stability and its relationship to key organizational outcomes, school leaders play a central role in realizing teacher corps stability within their school. A certain amount of this effort must necessarily be focused on retaining a stable corps of quality, happy, committed teachers. However, building social capital concerns the active engagement of all actors; thus, school leaders need to think beyond retention to how the teachers that remain can play larger leadership roles in this process.Originality/valueFew studies have examined the positive benefits that can emerge in schools where the majority of teachers remain year after year. Collectively, the study findings suggest that teacher corps stability can provide fertile conditions for the development of social capital that has the potential to enhance school effectiveness and that its staff can leverage for school improvement.

Light touch, heavy hand: principals and data-use PLCs

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 376-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Huguet ◽  
Caitlin C. Farrell ◽  
Julie A. Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Data Use ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
School Level ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Principal's Role

Purpose The use of data for instructional improvement is prevalent in today’s educational landscape, yet policies calling for data use may result in significant variation at the school level. The purpose of this paper is to focus on tools and routines as mechanisms of principal influence on data-use professional learning communities (PLCs). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a comparative case study of two low-income, low-performing schools in one district. The data set included interview and focus group transcripts, observation field notes and documents, and was iteratively coded. Findings The two principals in the study employed tools and routines differently to influence ways that teachers interacted with data in their PLCs. Teachers who were given leeway to co-construct data-use tools found them to be more beneficial to their work. Findings also suggest that teachers’ data use may benefit from more flexibility in their day-to-day PLC routines. Research limitations/implications Closer examination of how tools are designed and time is spent in data-use PLCs may help the authors further understand the influence of the principal’s role. Originality/value Previous research has demonstrated that data use can improve teacher instruction, yet the varied implementation of data-use PLCs in this district illustrates that not all students have an equal opportunity to learn from teachers who meaningfully engage with data.

Modulation effects of hexamethylene bisacetamide on growth and differentiation of cultured human malignant glioma cells

1996 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 831-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Nan Li ◽  
Zi-Wei Du ◽  
Qiang Huang
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Malignant Glioma ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cell Cycle Distribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hexamethylene Bisacetamide ◽  
Human Malignant Glioma

✓ The modulation effects of hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), a differentiation-inducing agent, on growth and differentiation of cells from human malignant glioma cell line SHG-44 were studied. At cytostatic doses (2.5 mM, 5 mM, 7.5 mM, and 10 mM for 15 days), HMBA exerted a marked inhibitory effect on cell proliferation. Exposure to HMBA (5 mM and 10 mM for 12 days) also resulted in an accumulation of cells in G0/G1 phase and a decrease of cells in S phase as analyzed by flow cytometry. The reversible effects of 7.5 mM HMBA and 10 mM HMBA on cell proliferation and 10 mM HMBA on disruption of cell cycle distribution were observed when HMBA was removed from culture media on Day 6 and replaced with HMBA-free media. Colony-forming efficiency (CFE) in soft agar was remarkably decreased by HMBA (2.5 mM, 5 mM, 7.5 mM, and 10 mM for 14 days), and in 7.5 mM HMBA— and 10 mM HMBA—treated cells, the CFEs were reduced to 25% and 12.5%, respectively, of that in untreated cells. Cells treated with HMBA (5 mM and 10 mM for 15 days) remained tumorigenic in athymic nude mice, but the growth rates of the xenografts were much slower than those in the control group. The effects of HMBA on cell proliferation, cell cycle distribution, CFE, and growth of xenografts were dose dependent. A more mature phenotype was confirmed by the morphological changes from spindle shape to large polygonal stellate shape and remarkably elevated expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein in cells exposed to HMBA (5 mM, 10 mM for 15 days). Our results showed that a more differentiated phenotype with marked growth arrest was induced in SHG-44 cells by HMBA.

Macro-level Criminological Perspectives and School Delinquency: A Meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2110223
Author(s):  
Natasha Pusch
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
School Level ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Concentrated Disadvantage ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
School Differences ◽  
Academic Implications

School delinquency in public elementary, middle, and high schools has decreased in recent years, but is still a major issue that has negative mental health and academic implications for adolescents. Although research has focused on both individual-level and school-level explanations of school delinquency, it is not yet clear which macro-level criminological perspectives best explains it. Using 656 effect sizes nested within 75 studies and 30 unique datasets, this study addresses two questions using meta-analytic methods: Which macro-level criminological perspectives explain between-school differences in delinquency? Are effect sizes invariant across samples and research design? Results indicate that only concentrated disadvantage and social cohesion are significantly related to school delinquency. With the exception of concentrated disadvantage, effects are homogenous. This suggests that some school-level explanations are useful and future research should not exclude these factors. Practical implications suggest that improving social cohesion in schools may be more effective at preventing violence than target-hardening efforts.

An alternative evaluation: online puzzle as a course-end activity

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zülfü Genç ◽  
Emrah Aydemir
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Traditional Instruction ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Retention ◽  
Alternative Evaluation ◽  
Usability Tests ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Experimental Group

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine whether the use of online puzzles in the instructional process has an effect on student achievement and learning retention. This study examined students ' perception and experiences on use of puzzle as an alternative evaluation tool. To achieve this aim, the following hypotheses were tested: using puzzle activities in lessons increases student achievement, using puzzle activities in lessons increases retention of information learned by the students and students have positive attitudes toward using puzzle activities in lessons. This study uses an online puzzle system (OPS) by which instructors can prepare puzzle activities for students to solve online. The technical and functional properties of the OPS developed and used are beyond the scope of this study. Design/methodology/approach – A pre- and post-test with control group experimental research design was implemented. Study participants were tenth-grade students in the Information Technologies Department of Gazi Anatolia Technical and Industrial Vocational School in Elazig during the 2011-2012 year. Thirty students each were chosen for the experimental and control groups, totaling 60 students. During the study, a traditional instruction method was used for the control group, while the experimental group received both traditional instruction and performed activities using the OPS. The subject Fundamentals of Networking was chosen, and the implementation period lasted six weeks. Four weeks after completion of the study, the achievement level of students was calculated again to test learning retention. Findings – The first hypothesis of the study is, “Using puzzle activities in the lessons increases the achievement of the students”. In the teaching of the Networking Fundamentals Module of Information Technologies Course for tenth graders, a significant difference in favor of the experimental group was seen, where online puzzle activities were used in terms of student achievement. The second hypothesis of the study is, “Using puzzle activities in the lessons increase the retention of the information learned by the students”. Four weeks after completion of the study, the achievement levels of the students were calculated again to test learning retention. The learning retention of the students in the experimental group is higher than that of the students in the control group. In addition, students in the experimental group had positive attitudes toward online puzzle activities. Doing online puzzle activities accelerates learning for students and helps them learn networking terms by creating an enjoyable environment. Research limitations/implications – The current study was limited to six weeks of implementation during the 2011-2012 school year at Gazi Anatolia Technical and Industrial Vocational High School in Elazig. Similar studies could be conducted in other schools for longer periods and at different levels, so the findings can be compared with those of the current study. This study is further limited to an Information Technologies Course. Studies can be conducted with various courses using appropriate online puzzle activities. Puzzle types other than the crossword used in the OPS of the current study should be developed and added. The system should also be developed by visual multimedia objects, allowing it to be more interactive. Moreover, in the development process of such an OPS, educators, software designers, psychologists and scholars from other fields should work together. Usability tests should be conducted to improve user-friendliness of the system by adding various features related to functionality and visuality. Practical implications – From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that online puzzle activities help students understand subjects better and aid in exam preparation. Moreover, these activities are effective for students in terms of increasing understanding and retention of learned terms in and outside class, forming valuable learning experiences. Doing online puzzle activities in class as a course-end activity can be said to be more effective in students’ learning than doing them outside of class. Crossword puzzles offer opportunities for students to accelerate learning by quickly mastering new words and phrases and by directing students to more actively interact with computer-related vocabulary and terminology as compared with the rote learning method. Originality/value – Paper-based puzzles are frequently used, and there are few Web-based puzzles. Despite their frequent use, preparing and evaluating paper-based puzzles can require a significant time investment; another disadvantage is the lack of immediate feedback. Based on the literature review, there is no dynamic OPS used for educational purposes. This study uses an OPS by which instructors can prepare puzzle activities for students to solve online. The originality of this study is OPS features and puzzle generation mechanism. The system presents a user-friendly interface with Turkish character (or any language) support and number-writing properties.

scholarly journals Beyond agency and stewardship theory: shareholder–manager relationships and governance structures in family firms

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Sophie K. Löhde ◽  
Giovanna Campopiano ◽  
Andrea Calabrò
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Managerial Behavior ◽  
Exchange System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The One ◽  
Over Time

PurposeChallenging the static view of family business governance, we propose a model of owner–manager relationships derived from the configurational analysis of managerial behavior and change in governance structure.Design/methodology/approachStemming from social exchange theory and building on the 4C model proposed by Miller and Le Breton-Miller (2005), we consider the evolving owner–manager relationship in four main configurations. On the one hand, we account for family businesses shifting from a generalized to a restricted exchange system, and vice versa, according to whether a family manager misbehaves in a stewardship-oriented governance structure or a nonfamily manager succeeds in building a trusting relationship in an agency-oriented governance structure. On the other hand, we consider that family firms will strengthen a generalized exchange system, rather than a restricted one, according to whether a family manager contributes to the stewardship-oriented culture in the business or a nonfamily manager proves to be driven by extrinsic rewards. Four scenarios are analyzed in terms of the managerial behavior and governance structure that characterize the phases of the relationship between owners and managers.FindingsVarious factors trigger managerial behavior, making the firm deviate from or further build on what is assumed by stewardship and agency theories (i.e. proorganizational versus opportunistic behavior, respectively), which determine the governance structure over time. Workplace deviance, asymmetric altruism and patriarchy on the one hand, and proorganizational behavior, relationship building and long-term commitment on the other, are found to determine how the manager behaves and thus characterize the owner's reactions in terms of governance mechanisms. This enables us to present a dynamic view of governance structures, which adapt to the actual attitudes and behaviors of employed managers.Research limitations/implicationsAs time is a relevant dimension affecting individual behavior and triggering change in an organization, one must consider family business governance as being dynamic in nature. Moreover, it is not family membership that determines the most appropriate governance structure but the owner–manager relationship that evolves over time, thus contributing to the 4C model.Originality/valueThe proposed model integrates social exchange theory and the 4C model to predict changes in governance structure, as summarized in the final framework we propose.

Relationship closeness paradox: contingency analysis in B2B sales

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 971-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonggui Wang ◽  
Daniel Peter Hampson ◽  
Myat Su Han
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Sales Performance ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Contingency Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Expansion ◽  
Relationship Closeness ◽  
Business Customers

Purpose This study aims to examine the positive and negative consequences of relationship closeness between salespersons and their business customers in a B2B sales context: sales performance and salesperson passive opportunism. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the social exchange theory, the authors develop a conceptual model of positive and negative consequences of relationship closeness. The authors empirically test the model using matched survey data from 269 salesperson-sales supervisor dyads and individual sales performance ratings from one of the largest distribution and market expansion companies in Myanmar. Findings Results provide evidence of positive (i.e. sales performance) and negative (i.e. salesperson passive opportunism) consequences of salesperson’s perceived relationship closeness. These relationships are, however, contingent on organization-level and employee-level factors. High extent of supervision enhances the effects of salesperson’s perceived relationship closeness on sales performance but attenuates its influence on salesperson passive opportunism. The effect of salesperson’s perceived relationship closeness on salesperson’s passive opportunism is stronger for salespersons with a promotion (vs prevention) focus. Research limitations/implications The results offer guidelines to firms seeking to optimize the efficacy of close relationships between their salespersons and customers. For example, higher levels of supervision could increase the likelihood of positive outcomes of relationship closeness while minimizing its negative consequences. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate not only the benefits of relationship closeness between salespersons and customers but also its dark side: the relationship closeness paradox.

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