Instructional Policy From Pre-K to Third Grade: The Challenges of Fostering Alignment and Continuity in Two School Districts

2021 ◽  
pp. 089590482110584
Author(s):  
Abigail Stein ◽  
Cynthia E. Coburn
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Connected Learning ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Learning Pathways ◽  
Practical Implications

In an effort to improve learning for young children and respond to preschool fade out, some districts are working on “PreK-3” initiatives to create better connected learning pathways for children. In these pathways, primary grades continue to build on what children learn in preschool; they also present potential implementation challenges that are not accounted for in the literature. Using conceptual tools from institutional theory and empirical evidence from a study of two school districts, we show how challenges arise as districts try to bridge the divergent and entrenched institutional systems of preschool and elementary. Our findings suggest that these systems are each held in place by their own set of regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive mechanisms that reinforce one another thereby providing an explanation for why beliefs and practices are so resistant to change. This analysis also points to practical implications that may lead to better connections and learning experiences for young children.

scholarly journals Organizational Silence: A Barrier to Job Engagement in Successful Organizations

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wageeh A. Nafei
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Job Engagement ◽  
University Hospitals ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Organizational Engagement ◽  
Organizational Silence ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Practical Implications

<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Although the phenomenon of Organizational Silence (OS) is widely seen in organizations, there is little empirical evidence regarding its nature and components. The purpose of this research is to identify the types of OS and its effects on JE at Menoufia University Hospitals in Egypt.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach</strong>: To assess OS, refer to (OS questionnaire, Schechtman, 2008; Brinsfield, 2009) and JE (JE questionnaire, Rich et al., 2010). Five dimensions of OS are constructed and measured in order to examine their effects on JE at Menoufia University Hospitals in Egypt. Out of the 338 questionnaires that were distributed to employees, 300 usable questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 88%. Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) was used to confirm the research hypotheses.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Results indicate that supervisors’ attitudes to silence, top management attitudes to silence and communication opportunities are associated and predict ES behaviour. The research has found that there is significant relationship between OS and JE. Also, the research has found that OS directly affects JE. In other words, OS is one of the biggest barriers to organizational engagement of the employees at Menoufia University Hospitals in Egypt.</p><p><strong>Practical implications:</strong> This research contributes to stimulate scientific research, particularly in terms of testing the model content, as well as studying the research variables and the factors affecting them. In addition, this research pointed to the need for organizations to adopt a culture which encourages and urges employees to speak in the labor issues and the non-silence in order for the administration to be able to realize these issues and try to solve them first hand in order to prevent their aggravation.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>Although the phenomenon of silence is expected in organizations, there is little empirical evidence in the literature aimed at defining, analyzing, and coping with it. Silence climate has an impact on the ability of organizations to detect errors and learn. Therefore, organizational effectiveness is negatively affected. This research aims to measure the effect of OS on JE. Based on the findings of this research, some important implications are discussed.</p>

Supporting learners’ STEM-oriented career pathways with digital badges

2019 ◽  
Vol 120 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline R. Pitt ◽  
Adam Bell ◽  
Rose Strickman ◽  
Katie Davis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Career Pathways ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Digital Badges ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Learning Pathways ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the potential for digital badges to support alternate learning and career pathways in formal and informal learning environments. Stakeholder groups in higher education and industry discussed how digital badges might transform current processes of admitting undergraduate students and hiring young professionals. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 stakeholders in higher education and the technology industry. Findings Interview participants expressed optimism about the potential for digital badges to make learning pathways visible to learners and external audiences and to promote equity in STEM (STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and careers. Participants noted several obstacles, largely focused on issues of credibility and logistics of working with badges across settings. Research limitations/implications Though the research approach is limited in geographic scope, the findings have broad applicability and insight for the use of digital badges in general. Practical implications Education policymakers, employers and scholars will be able to use the insights from this investigation in their efforts to find innovative ways to expand and diversify the STEM workforce, as well as support a wider range of learners than is currently supported by initiatives aligned with the school-to-workforce pipeline metaphor. Originality/value This paper directly confronts issues of real-world applications of digital badges by discussing practical implications with college admissions officers and employers. The current study fills a need for research that investigates the use of digital badges across – as opposed to within – contexts.

scholarly journals Understanding student learning pathways in traditional online history courses: utilizing process mining analysis on clickstream data

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Crosslin ◽  
Kimberly Breuer ◽  
Nikola Milikić ◽  
Justin T. Dellinger
Keyword(s):  
Poster Session ◽  
Process Mining ◽  
Structured Learning ◽  
College Level ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Clickstream Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Learning Pathways ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis study explores ongoing research into self-mapped learning pathways that students utilize to move through a course when given two modalities to choose from: one that is instructor-led and one that is student-directed.Design/methodology/approachProcess mining analysis was utilized to examine and cluster clickstream data from an online college-level History course designed with dual modality choices. This paper examines some of the results from different approaches to clustering the available data.FindingsBy examining how often students interacted with others, whether they were more internal or external facing with their pathway choices, and whether or not they completed a learning pathway, this study identified five general tactics from the data: Individualistic Internal; Non-completing Internal; Completing, Interactive Internal; Completing, Interactive, and Reflective and Completing External. Further analysis of when students used each tactic led to the identification of four different strategies that learners utilized during class sessions.Practical implicationsThe results of this analysis could potentially lead to the creation of customizable design models that can assist learners as they navigate modality choices in learner-centered or less-structured learning design methodologies.Originality/valueFew courses are designed to give the learners the options to follow the instructor or create their own learning pathway. Knowing how to identify what choices a learner might take in these scenarios is even less explored. Preliminary data for this paper was originally presented as a poster session at the Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference in 2019.

scholarly journals Retrieving Linguistic Information from a Corpus on the Example of Negation in Chinese

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-115
Author(s):  
Ľuboš GAJDOŠ
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Information ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Authentic Language ◽  
Practical Implications

The paper deals with corpus analysis of negation in Chinese, namely the negatives bù 不 and méi/ méiyǒu没/没有. The adverbs BU and MEI are two of the most frequent negatives in Chinese. The aim of this study is to present statistical data together with linguistics analysis. The results provide empirical evidence of discrepancy between “authentic” language data versus linguistic prescription with practical implications for second-language acquisition. The findings inter alia suggest a new approach to verb categorisation.  

scholarly journals Assessing Organizational Information Visibility: Development and Validation of the Information Visibility Scale

2019 ◽  
pp. 009365021987709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claartje L. ter Hoeven ◽  
Cynthia Stohl ◽  
Paul Leonardi ◽  
Michael Stohl
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Scale Construction ◽  
The Core ◽  
Organizational Information ◽  
Common Observation ◽  
Development And Validation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Organizational Transparency ◽  
Practical Implications

A common observation in the digital age is that new technologies are making people’s behaviors, decisions, and preferences more visible. For scholars who study organizations and their effects upon society, increased information visibility raises the hope that organizations might become more transparent. Typically, we assume that increased information visibility will translate into high levels of organizational transparency, but we lack empirical evidence to support this assumption. Our ability to gather data on this important topic is limited because there have been few reliable ways to assess organizational information visibility. To remedy this problem, we develop and validate the Information Visibility Scale to measure the core aspects of information visibility. We then employ the scale to test the relationship between information visibility and transparency. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the scale and consider the limitations and further research possibilities that the scale construction and validation suggest.

scholarly journals Integrating Sustainability into Corporate Strategy: A Case Study of the Textile and Clothing Industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliane Peters ◽  
Ana Simaens
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Clothing Industry ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Potential Barriers ◽  
Practical Implications

This paper aims to explore a set of institutional, organizational, and individual drivers of and barriers to the integration of sustainability into the corporate strategy of a European textile and clothing (T&C) company. The methodology is based on a case study of the exemplar VAUDE, a family-owned sustainable outdoor outfitter company. The results are in accordance with institutional theory and stakeholder theory as a theoretical framework explaining why companies deal with sustainability. The determined drivers depend on coherence at all levels of analysis, i.e., institutional, organizational, and individual. The barriers found are of an institutional and organizational nature only. The findings present significant practical implications for other T&C companies that seek to integrate sustainability into their corporate strategy and for the T&C industry to create a sustainability-friendly environment to drive more companies to become sustainable. It further supports T&C companies in identifying potential barriers, determining how to overcome them, and successfully integrating sustainability into their corporate strategy. To conclude, the results suggest that it only works if sustainability is strongly integrated into the corporate strategy and deeply anchored in all departments and daily tasks of a T&C company.

Reflecting on how we learn

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-48
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Individual Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Pathways ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Student Reflections ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Specific Learning

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This paper explores student reflections during entrepreneurial learning, revealing new insights into the interaction between cognition, conation and affection and finding patterns in individual learning profiles that indicate four specific learning pathways. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The rationale of part-time farming: empirical evidence from Norway

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Mittenzwei ◽  
Stefan Mann
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Farm Households ◽  
Apparent Contradiction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Part Time ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Outside farming, pluriactivity is generally considered as undesirable, whereas agricultural economists tend to recommend part-time farming. This contradiction is to be solved. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Linking tax-payer and statistical farm-level data from Norway, the authors tested how profitable part-time farming is for Norwegian farm households. Findings The analysis showed that concentrating on either working on-farm or off-farm generates a higher household income than combining the two. Practical implications Part-time farming may be a lifestyle decision, but apparently is not economically optimal for most farms. Originality/value The contribution solves an apparent contradiction between the discourses inside and outside agriculture.

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