“They Don’t Know What They Need”: A Call for Critical Reflection in Community School Leadership to Address the Pervasive Creep of Deficit Perspectives

2021 ◽  
pp. 155545892110411
Author(s):  
Tiffanie Lewis-Durham ◽  
Monique Saastamoinen
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Community Building ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Community School ◽  
Emerging Leaders ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Critical Reflexivity ◽  
Shed Light

Washington Hunt is an urban community school attempting to balance the implementation of equity initiatives that meet the needs of minoritized students and families while preventing the adoption of deficit perspectives among school staff. The purpose of this case is to describe how “deficit-creep”—the subtle infusion of deficit-based perspectives from well-meaning administrators—can thwart sincere attempts at community building and social justice. This case study provides an opportunity for emerging leaders to use critical reflexivity to identify deficit-creep and shed light on the strengths and assets of the community it serves. Finally, this case provides students with an opportunity to grapple with how policy makers and school leaders make sense of inequity that is linked to classism and racism.

The courtier’s empire: a case study of providers and provision

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Leader ◽  
Symbolic Violence ◽  
Central State ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Principal Autonomy ◽  
Close Relationship

In this chapter, I draw on Bourdieu’s concepts of symbolic violence, social capital and misrecognition to theorise three effects of a few elite multi-academy trust principals’ positioning on other local headteachers’ and principals’ agency and identities — I typologise these as the “follower”, the “acquired” and the “excluded”. The chapter reports on primary research which shows how newly privileged system-leading principals, or courtiers at the court of the Secretary of State for Education, have won regional empires through expanding their academy chains to occupy the spaces opened up by the dismantling of local authorities. Public-sector and school-leader identities and histories permit the promotion of their activities as “school led” and downplay their close relationship with private-sector networks and central-state policy-makers. What this analysis reveals is the hierarchisation of school leadership and the illusion of headteacher or principal autonomy.

scholarly journals FEELING THE RHYTHMS OF CODE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minna Saariketo
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Shed Light

This presentation examines how the softwarization of everyday life is experienced. The point of embarkation is the observation that despite the proliferation computation in the everyday, people pay little attention to the conditions of software and its role in shaping their mundane time-spaces. I will discuss results from a case study that used Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis (1992/2004) to shed light on how the rhythms of code-based technology are experienced. The research design of the intervention was inspired by the idea of privacy mirrors (Ngueyn and Mynatt 2002). Research participants (n=13), who described their relation to their devices as intense, used tracking software (RescueTime, ManicTime, App Usage or RealizD) in their ICTs and kept media diaries. These were used as artefacts in the interviews to enable reflection on the role of ICTs in daily life. The results from the rhythmanalysis show how the complex intertwinement of digital devices and applications in the everyday evokes manifold feelings. Simultaneously, technology is perceived as an aid in organizing and managing the daily life, but it also induces feelings of losing control, chaos, and burden. The results suggest that although people might take for granted the infrastructural conditions of technology, such as data mining, they still actively negotiate their relation to devices and applications vis-à-vis temporality. Outcomes from the intervention encourage developing further research designs that use the means of softwarization itself (e.g. tracking and digital traces) to enable critical reflection.

An Extended Case Study Exploring the Effects of a Whole School Staff Pilot Wellbeing Programme on Eight Local Authority Primary Schools

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-106
Author(s):  
Jane Anderson
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Standardised Testing ◽  
Staff Wellbeing

This paper is a case study about a Local Authority whole school staff pilot wellbeing programme (PWP) based on the reflexive practice (Schon, 1983) journals and records kept by the school staff wellbeing manager (SSWM) who conceptualised, coordinated and implemented the initiative and who is also the author of this paper. The paper is written as a first-person narrative. All identities have been anonymised for ethical reasons. The purpose of the paper is to tell the story of this intervention and how the people involved (author included), and the schools that participated, were affected by their involvement. Also how what was learned from the episode could be usefully put into practise in other schools. Over the past twenty-five years a continual rise in accountancy thinking as applied to education in the form of productivity related outcomes (pupil standardised testing and assessment; Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspection of school standards etc) along with continual pressure to implement latest educational thinking, has contributed to increased demands on school staff. Simultaneously, school leadership and teaching have gradually come to be regarded as highly stressful professions. The PWP was about looking at what people in school could do to help themselves maintain their health and wellbeing on a day to day basis. In particular the focus was on investigating individual perspective and personal accountability and offering opportunities for people to explore and practice methodologies that could support more positive behaviour. The issues across the schools were complex and manifold and the approach in each case was tailored and nuanced according to the emerging needs of the organisation involved. The PWP was important and unique because its scope was fully inclusive of all school staff (professional, support and maintenance) and participation was voluntary. Research had shown that prior to the PWP, school wellbeing interventions had tended to be compulsory and confined only to professional staff. The effects of the PWP intervention are on-going, which was the aim of the work, but some of the methodologies introduced, in particular solutions focus (Rhodes & Ajmal, 204) and appreciative inquiry (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987) have in some instances become integrated both individually and collectively in daily practice in school and continue to beneficially shape the culture of these organisations.

Nurturing Is Not Enough: A Case Study on Social Justice, Caring, and Discipline

2019 ◽  
Vol 199 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
Darrick Smith ◽  
Christine J. Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Urban School ◽  
School Policy ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Disciplinary Consequences

We explore the dynamics of nurturing, caring, and enabling in a social justice school and how a problematic context of educational enabling can develop when notions of nurturing are not balanced with consistent disciplinary consequences. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight school staff, teachers, and a student at a social justice urban school. Observational data and institutional documents were also analyzed, and three main themes emerged revealing the tension between nurturing and enabling: (a) sentimentalist standards, (b) perceptions of authority as oppressive, and (c) contradictions in social justice values. We discuss implications for school policy, multicultural education, and school leadership.

Involving fathers in family social services in Israel: in the shadow of a conflicted policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayana Halpern ◽  
Nadav Perez-Vaisvidovsky ◽  
Reli Mizrahi
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Ethical Conflict ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Father Engagement ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Social Work Interventions ◽  
Shed Light

While it is widely accepted that social work interventions are more productive when they include fathers, fathers are largely left out of child and family social service interventions in Israel and most Western countries. Current research worldwide focuses on the role that fathers, mothers and social workers play in causing this phenomenon. In this article, we shed light on the importance of a fourth element: the policy-making process. In a case study of Israeli social services, we interviewed leading bureaucrats and policy makers regarding their position on engaging fathers and identified three main conflicts hindering policy makers’ ability and motivation to promote policy favouring father engagement: a gendered profession conflict, a political conflict, and an ethical conflict. We show how these conflicts, each emerging from a different sphere, together create a conflict-ridden environment that may explain policy makers’ lack of action. Finally, we provide our conclusion and discuss the limitations of the study.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance - A Case of Rural Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Saida Parvin
Keyword(s):  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Donor Agencies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.

Effects of Financial Inclusion on Startup Establishment in OECD Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinh Thi Thanh Van ◽  
Nguyen Thuc Trang
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Mobile Banking ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Financial Index ◽  
Enterprise Survey

Financial inclusion and startup are two topics, which recently get attention of academic researchers and policy makers in Vietnam. One of the important factors for setting up a successful startup is the financial capability of the owners. Therefore, financial inclusion has a strong correlation with startup establishment. This article tested the effects of several factors in financial index (findex) developed by World Bank on startup establishment in some OECD countries. The result showed that borrowing from friends and relatives along with from credit institutions and opening a debit account at banks have  significant impacts on startup establishment in these countries. Finally, the article presented several recommendations for policy makers to stimulate the startup growth in Vietnam in the next time. Key words startup, financial inclusion, startup establishment References 1. Colman Msoka (2015), “Financial inclusion and microfinance in Tanzania”, Inclusive growth: Tanzania Country Report2. Endeavor-GEM, 2011, “High-Impact Entrepreneurship Global Report”3. Eric Ries, 2012, “The Lean Startup” book”, http://www.stpia.ir/files/The%20Lean%20Startup%20.pdf 4. European Startup Monitor, 2015, “European Startup Monitor 2015”, http://europeanstartupmonitor.com/fileadmin/presse/download/esm_2015.pdf 5. Jennifer Dahlin Ivarsson (2014), “Mobile-banking and entrepreneurship: Is there a link? A case study on South Africa”, Nationalekonomiska Institutionen, Box 7082, ISSN 0283 – 15896. Maher Al-Mahouq (2010), “Success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs): The case of Jordan”, Anadol University jourmal of social sciences, Cilt/Vol.: 10 – Say/No:1-16 (2010)7. Mohammed S.Chowdhury (2013), “Success factors of entrepreneurs of small and medium sized enterprises: Evidence from Banladesh”, Business and Economic Research, ISSN 2162 – 4860, 2013, Vol.3, No.2.8. OECD, 2015, “Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2015”9. Roman Angela, 2011, “SME’s sector access to finance: An overview”10. Yao Wang, 2014, “What are the biggest obstacles to growth of SMEs in developing countries? An empirical evidence from an enterprise survey”, JED 210 Paper

Information Literacy and Education Policy: An Instrumental Case Study of the Ontario Public School Curriculum

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Liv Russell
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Education System ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
Student Access ◽  
Literacy Policy ◽  
Étude Cas

This interdisciplinary case study explores information literacy policy in Ontario’s public education system. Using interviews with policy makers and a rhetorical analysis of information literacy policy documents, it finds Ontario’s current information literacy policy inadequate to the task of providing equitable student access to opportunities for information literacy development.Une étude cas interdisciplinaire explore la politique de littératie informationnelle du système d’éducation publique de l’Ontario. En utilisant des entrevues avec les décideurs et une analyse rhétorique des documents sur la politique de littératie informationnelle, il est démontré que la politique de littératie informationnelle actuelle de l’Ontario est inappropriée pour la mission qui vise à offrir aux étudiants un accès équitable aux possibilités de développement de la littératie informationnelle. 

An Analytical Approach to Cruise Tourism As an Option For Development: a Case Study of the Sultanate of Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Heba Aziz ◽  
Osman El-Said ◽  
Marike Bontenbal
Keyword(s):  
Capital City ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Cruise Tourism ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Average Expenditure ◽  
Return Intention

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Framework for Standardising System Boundary Definition in Life Cycle Energy Assessments

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Hossein Omrany ◽  
Veronica Soebarto ◽  
Jian Zuo ◽  
Ruidong Chang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Building Energy Efficiency ◽  
System Boundary ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Energy Assessment ◽  
Boundary Definition ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework’s capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.

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