Successful Leadership in Schools Serving Disadvantaged Communities in Germany and the USA

2021 ◽  
pp. 47-61
Author(s):  
Stefan Brauckmann-Sajkiewicz ◽  
Petros Pashiardis ◽  
Ellen Goldring ◽  
Esther Dominique Klein ◽  
Michelle D. Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disadvantaged Communities ◽  
Successful Leadership ◽  
The Usa

scholarly journals Analysis of the COVID-19 epidemic: an additional narrative; an alternative response

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-40
Author(s):  
Robert Rennebohm
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Alternative Response ◽  
Disadvantaged Communities ◽  
Scientific Analysis ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Spanish Flu ◽  
Seasonal Flu ◽  
Deaths Of Despair

According to the current prevailing narrative, the virus responsible for the COVID epidemic is exceptionally deadly and contagious possibly as deadly, contagious and dangerous as the 1918 Spanish flu and, in the absence of prolonged lockdown measures, has had the potential to kill a million or more people in the USA alone. At the other end of the explanatory spectrum a counter narrative has greatly minimized the threat posed by COVID and sees little need for major public health intervention or social change. A disciplined scientific analysis suggests an additional narrative that navigates a reasonable path between fear driven prescriptions and dismissive reassurance. This middle ground narrative suggests that the intrinsic deadliness of the COVID virus is above average when compared to many of the seasonal flu viruses of the past decade, but similar to that of the 20172018 flu virus, which killed an estimated 61,000 people in the USA. It also emphasizes that the intrinsic deadliness of many current social arrangements has contributed to COVID deaths and that there is need for major social change. This article suggests that neither the narrative of fear that prescribes excessive social control, or a narrative of dismissive reassurance that disregards need for fundamental social change, are based on good science. The article raises concerns that the prolonged lockdown/re-lockdown approach is misguided and likely to cause an enormous number of unnecessary deaths both a greater number of cumulative COVID deaths, as well as deaths of despair, deaths from worsening poverty and hunger, and deaths from inadequate attention for non-COVID health issues, particularly in disadvantaged communities and countries. An alternative response to the COVID epidemic is presented.

Autonomy and accountability in schools serving disadvantaged communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 589-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Dominique Klein
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
School Autonomy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disadvantaged Communities ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Governance Models ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Increased school autonomy and accountability have been a common denominator of national reforms in otherwise heterogeneous governance systems in Europe and the USA. The paper argues that because schools serving disadvantaged communities (SSDCs) often have lower average performance, they are more often sanctioned or under closer scrutiny, but might also receive more additional resources. The purpose of this paper is to therefore analyze whether SSDCs have more or less autonomy than schools with a more advantageous context in four countries with heterogeneous autonomy and accountability policies. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the data from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 school and student questionnaires from Finland, Germany, the UK, and the USA. The choice of countries is based on different governance models described by Glatter et al. (2003). The data are used to identify SSDCs and analyze the reported autonomy in resource allocation and curriculum and assessment. Using regression analyses, patterns are analyzed for each country individually. They are then juxtaposed and compared. Differences are related back to the governance models of the respective countries. Findings The results indicate an association between the communities the schools are serving and the autonomy either in the allocation of resources, or the curriculum and assessment. SSDCs appeared to have a little more autonomy than schools with a more advantageous context in Finland, Germany, and the UK, but less autonomy in the USA. The comparison suggests that in the USA, autonomy is rather a reward for schools that have the least amount of need, whereas in the other three countries it could be a result of strategies to improve schools in need. The paper discusses possible explanations in the policies and support structures for SSDCs. Originality/value The effects of increased school autonomy and accountability on student achievement have been discussed at length. How different accountability policies affect the autonomy of schools with the highest needs has so far not been studied. The study can be understood as a first step to unravel this association. Following steps should include in-depth investigations of the mechanisms underlying increased or diminished autonomy for SSDCs, and the consequences for school improvement in these schools.

How do tax-based revitalisation policies affect urban property development? Evidence from Bronzeville, Chicago

Urban Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 004209802199514
Author(s):  
Minjee Kim
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Property Development ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Disadvantaged Communities ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Community Organisations ◽  
Fiscal Incentives ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Investment Capital

Fiscal incentives are frequently used to stimulate property development in distressed communities but the efficacy and impacts of this approach have been contested. In this study, a theory of real estate production was utilised to evaluate the Opportunity Zones (OZ) policy in the USA. Qualitative data collected from interviews and fieldwork are analysed to understand how the property development scene of a predominantly African-American neighbourhood had been affected by the OZ designation. Interviewees, including black local developers, represented diverse types and scales of real estate production. It was found that new investment capital was flowing into Bronzeville but not into projects proposed by small, local developers and community organisations. This was largely for two reasons: first, the less experienced and resource-constrained players had insufficient resources and expertise to connect with the OZ-induced investors. Second, when they were connected, their projects were deemed highly risky and thus unattractive. The perception of risk was likely amplified in Bronzeville, a historically marginalised black neighbourhood. For tax-based urban revitalisation policies to increase marginalised communities’ access to capital, appropriate public interventions must be accompanied to level out the playing field for the under-resourced and historically marginalised players of real estate production. One such intervention might be to create and support a network of financial intermediaries that specialise in connecting capital to projects proposed by black developers, other non-profit developers and community organisations. Without such measures, policies such as OZ are likely to exacerbate existing inequalities rather than uplifting disadvantaged communities.

The outcome of laparoscopic fundoplication for reflux disease in communlity practice in the USA

2001 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. A16-A16 ◽  
Author(s):  
N VAKIL ◽  
S TREML ◽  
M SHAW ◽  
R KIRBY
Keyword(s):  
Reflux Disease ◽  
Laparoscopic Fundoplication ◽  
The Usa

Of Frames and Cultures - A Cross-Cultural Comparison of TV Newscasts

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 160-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Senokozlieva ◽  
Oliver Fischer ◽  
Gary Bente ◽  
Nicole Krämer
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Comparison ◽  
Explorative Study ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
Tv News ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. TV news are essentially cultural phenomena. Previous research suggests that the often-overlooked formal and implicit characteristics of newscasts may be systematically related to culture-specific characteristics. Investigating these characteristics by means of a frame-by-frame content analysis is identified as a particularly promising methodological approach. To examine the relationship between culture and selected formal characteristics of newscasts, we present an explorative study that compares material from the USA, the Arab world, and Germany. Results indicate that there are many significant differences, some of which are in line with expectations derived from cultural specifics. Specifically, we argue that the number of persons presented as well as the context in which they are presented can be interpreted as indicators of Individualism/Collectivism. The conclusions underline the validity of the chosen methodological approach, but also demonstrate the need for more comprehensive and theory-driven category schemes.

Measurement Invariance of a Universal Behavioral Screener Across Samples From the USA and Germany

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gino Casale ◽  
Robert J. Volpe ◽  
Brian Daniels ◽  
Thomas Hennemann ◽  
Amy M. Briesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
School Based ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Universal Screener ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

Abstract. The current study examines the item and scalar equivalence of an abbreviated school-based universal screener that was cross-culturally translated and adapted from English into German. The instrument was designed to assess student behavior problems that impact classroom learning. Participants were 1,346 K-6 grade students from the US (n = 390, Mage = 9.23, 38.5% female) and Germany (n = 956, Mage = 8.04, 40.1% female). Measurement invariance was tested by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) across students from the US and Germany. Results support full scalar invariance between students from the US and Germany (df = 266, χ2 = 790.141, Δχ2 = 6.9, p < .001, CFI = 0.976, ΔCFI = 0.000, RMSEA = 0.052, ΔRMSEA = −0.003) indicating that the factor structure, the factor loadings, and the item thresholds are comparable across samples. This finding implies that a full cross-cultural comparison including latent factor means and structural coefficients between the US and the German version of the abbreviated screener is possible. Therefore, the tool can be used in German schools as well as for cross-cultural research purposes between the US and Germany.

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