Principals’ perceptions of school autonomy and educational leadership

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110341
Author(s):  
Richard Niesche ◽  
Scott Eacott ◽  
Amanda Keddie ◽  
Brad Gobby ◽  
Katrina MacDonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
School Autonomy ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Leadership Experiences ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Leadership Research ◽  
Principals Perceptions ◽  
Perceptions Of School

This paper examines principals’ perceptions of school autonomy and leadership as part of a 3-year research project looking at the implications of school autonomy on social justice across four states of Australia (Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland). Drawing on interviews with principals and representatives from principal stakeholder organisations in these four state jurisdictions, the paper identifies a number of key issues for school principals and the implications for understandings and practices of educational leadership. These include varied understandings of autonomy, practices of leadership and implications for health, workload and well-being. The paper argues that while principals have mixed perceptions of school autonomy policies, there has been a narrowing of leadership experiences by principals in the form of managerialism and compliance. Furthermore, principals continue to experience high levels of workload, and some principals, depending on career stage and experience level, feel better able to work within and sometimes against these policies in their schools and communities. These practices are sometimes felt to be despite the system and not due to school autonomy policies themselves. The implication of these findings is that principals are inequitably able to respond to and implement school autonomy policies, an issue often glossed over in educational leadership research.

scholarly journals “How Do We Actually Do Convergence” for Disaster Resilience? Cases from Australia and the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shefali Juneja Lakhina ◽  
Elaina J. Sutley ◽  
Jay Wilson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Century ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Systemic Risks ◽  
Work Community ◽  
Research Findings

AbstractIn recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on achieving convergence in disaster research, policy, and programs to reduce disaster losses and enhance social well-being. However, there remain considerable gaps in understanding “how do we actually do convergence?” In this article, we present three case studies from across geographies—New South Wales in Australia, and North Carolina and Oregon in the United States; and sectors of work—community, environmental, and urban resilience, to critically examine what convergence entails and how it can enable diverse disciplines, people, and institutions to reduce vulnerability to systemic risks in the twenty-first century. We identify key successes, challenges, and barriers to convergence. We build on current discussions around the need for convergence research to be problem-focused and solutions-based, by also considering the need to approach convergence as ethic, method, and outcome. We reflect on how convergence can be approached as an ethic that motivates a higher order alignment on “why” we come together; as a method that foregrounds “how” we come together in inclusive ways; and as an outcome that highlights “what” must be done to successfully translate research findings into the policy and public domains.

How adolescents perceive that community-based exercise improves their well-being

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 456-459
Author(s):  
Kevin Rourke ◽  
Coralie J Wilson
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Parental Consent ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Team Games ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Perceived Benefit ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Energy Survey

Objectives: To determine if adolescents perceive community-based exercise as beneficial to their well-being and in what ways. Methods: A New South Wales Police Citizens Youth Club ran a four-week fitness course. The classes involved: 1) sports including basketball and soccer, 2) non-contact boxing drills, and 3) games, both team games such as dodgeball and non-team games such as line tag. Parental consent to offer a survey at the completion of the course was requested during registration. The survey was the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale; it was minimally modified to measure perceived benefit to mental well-being instead of actual benefit. Results: Thirty-one high school adolescents, ages 13–18, completed the survey. As a group, participants reported that they believed their well-being had improved after the course. The mean score for each survey item showed an improvement in every area of mental well-being for this sample of adolescents. Thirty-two per cent of adolescents reported having less energy. Survey scores indicated a statistically significant improvement in perceived well-being ( p<0.0001). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that four weeks of community-based exercise improves perceived mental well-being in adolescent participants.

Blending Conventional Methods with Emerging Flight Simulation Technology as Tools for Effective Teaching and Learning Experiences in Aerospace Engineering

2014 ◽  
pp. 21-39
Author(s):  
Noor A. Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Flight Simulation ◽  
Aerospace Engineering ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Conventional Methods ◽  
The University ◽  
Effective Teaching And Learning

Engineering is about wealth creation for the comfort and well-being of human beings. In this context, the process and experiences associated with teaching and learning of engineering concepts are pivotal in sustaining and advancing the progress of modern day civilization. However, the teaching of aerospace engineering is not easy and fraught with difficulties, as the students have to be provided with the opportunity to develop their creative skills while retaining a professional and practical base. It is also important to proactively harness the available and emerging technologies to greater effect in the learning process. At the University of New South Wales in Australia, the authors have approached the teaching and learning in undergraduate aerospace engineering from a non-conventional perspective to prepare students to be creative and become practically oriented for productive employment in the very competitive world of today. They have been experimenting and refining what is generally known as the “advanced project design study concept” used in some aerospace industries and incorporated it as an integral component in aerospace engineering studies. In the process, the authors have blended conventional methods with flight simulation as methods of enquiry and investigation. The feedback, support, and encouragement that they have received from industries, the potential employers of students, have been very positive. This chapter outlines the basic philosophies behind the authors’ approach and the methodologies and technologies used in achieving the desired outcomes.

Social Impact of the Fiscal Crisis Upon the Livelihood Conditions of the Children of Greece

2017 ◽  
pp. 157-165
Author(s):  
George O. Tsobanoglou ◽  
Ioanna Giannopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Fiscal Crisis ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Psychological Vulnerability ◽  
Community Risk Factors ◽  
Of Greece ◽  
Acute Crisis ◽  
Increased Pressure

This chapter focuses on the effects of the fiscal crisis, which is assumed as a stressor or traumatic event, on children's emotional, physical and developmental well-being. Emphasis is placed on how individual, family and community risk factors and resources might be critical in increasing children's psychological vulnerability in times of such acute crisis. The key issues related to the provision of mental health services in times of increased pressure put upon them are discussed.

Using Narrative Inquiry to Explore “Wicked Problems” in Educational Leadership in the Anthropocene

2019 ◽  
pp. 144-167
Author(s):  
Nandakumar Mayakestan ◽  
Gopinathan Sarvanathan
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Viable Approach ◽  
Leadership Research

A highly contested issue in educational leadership research is the place of narrative inquiry to study school leadership practice. While the study of narratives has had long epistemological roots in the works of Dewey, Bruner, Clandinin, and Connelly, its potential for revealing the human condition and providing deeper insights into critical issues like power, inequity, social justice, and oppression is often underestimated. Moreover, the method has also drawn much debate for its limitations ranging from its highly reflexive nature to issues of validity and reliability of “storied” experiences. This chapter outlines some arguments for the use of narrative inquiry and suggests a nuanced and expanded understanding of the method as a viable approach to study “wicked” problems in the age of Anthropocene. The chapter also aims to inspire further discussions of how narrative inquiry could be further re-conceptualized to study educational leadership in the anthropogenic era.

Principals’ Perceptions of Transformed School Counselors

2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-157
Author(s):  
Ashley Lawrence ◽  
Carolyn Stone
Keyword(s):  
School Counselors ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Hiring Practices ◽  
Leadership Qualities ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Counselor Educator ◽  
Effective Principal ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Principals Perceptions ◽  
Perceptions Of School

This study investigated the relationship between the Transformed School Counseling (TSC) initiative counselor educator programs, the perceptions of school principals hiring TSC-prepared school counselors, and factors affecting principal’s hiring practices. Results indicated that principal’s value TSC candidates because they: (a) have effective principal-counselor relationships that positively affect students, (b) exemplify leadership qualities, (c) align their work with the mission of the school, (d) have strong communication skills, and (e) do not require additional training.

Young person’s well-being: Exploring material, subjective and relational factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (01) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot Rawsthorne ◽  
Grace Kinsela ◽  
Karen Paxton ◽  
Georgina Luscombe
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Relational Factors ◽  
Report Data ◽  
Self Report Data ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractYoung people’s well-being has attracted significant policy and research attention in Australia and internationally for at least three decades. Despite this, there is no consensus about what it means, how it can be measured or, most importantly, what supports young people’s well-being. This paper adopts a definition of well-being as a multidimensional process, comprising subjective, material and relational factors. Drawing on self-report data collected at two time points from young people (aged 9–14 years) living in rural and regional New South Wales (N= 342 at baseline andN= 217 Wave 2), this paper seeks to identify the salience of these factors to well-being, measured through Perceived Self-Efficacy. Our analysis suggests that a sense of belonging, safety and the presence of supportive adults all appear to support enhanced well-being. The paper concludes with recommendations for policy makers and communities wishing to better support the development of young people’s well-being.

Personalised Budgets: What Is the Future for Child Protection?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Plath ◽  
Ann Dadich ◽  
Susan Evans ◽  
Kenny D Lawson ◽  
Brian Stout
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Australian State ◽  
Potential Benefits

Abstract As the Australian state of New South Wales considers the adoption of a policy of personalised budgets in child protection, questions arise regarding how such a policy could take shape and how it would impact service delivery to promote safety and well-being amongst vulnerable children. This article presents findings from a mixed-method, realist evaluation of a pilot programme that adopted some of the features of personalised budgets, namely, personalisation, brokerage and keyworkers. Drawing on literature on personalised budgets in disability and aged care, the article highlights the features, potential benefits and challenges of personalised budgets in child protection. It concludes by arguing for a better understanding of how personalised budgets could benefit vulnerable children. This might involve: defining the roles of brokers and keyworkers, developing ways to increase service user engagement, clarifying implications for the wider service sector and planning for the provision of required supports and services for children and families.

The Koori Growing Old Well Study: investigating aging and dementia in urban Aboriginal Australians

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1033-1043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie Radford ◽  
Holly A. Mack ◽  
Hamish Robertson ◽  
Brian Draper ◽  
Simon Chalkley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
Aboriginal Australians ◽  
South Wales

ABSTRACTBackground:Dementia is an emerging health priority in Australian Aboriginal communities, but substantial gaps remain in our understanding of this issue, particularly for the large urban section of the population. In remote Aboriginal communities, high prevalence rates of dementia at relatively young ages have been reported. The current study is investigating aging, cognitive decline, and dementia in older urban/regional Aboriginal Australians.Methods:We partnered with five Aboriginal communities across the eastern Australian state of New South Wales, to undertake a census of all Aboriginal men and women aged 60 years and over residing in these communities. This was followed by a survey of the health, well-being, and life history of all consenting participants. Participants were also screened using three cognitive instruments. Those scoring below designated cut-offs, and a 20% random sample of those scoring above (i.e. “normal” range), completed a contact person interview (with a nominated family member) and medical assessment (blind to initial screening results), which formed the basis of “gold standard” clinical consensus determinations of cognitive impairment and dementia.Conclusion:This paper details our protocol for a population-based study in collaboration with local Aboriginal community organizations. The study will provide the first available prevalence rates for dementia and cognitive impairment in a representative sample of urban Aboriginal people, across city and rural communities, where the majority of Aboriginal Australians live. It will also contribute to improved assessment of dementia and cognitive impairment and to the understanding of social determinants of successful aging, of international significance.

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