scholarly journals DEMOCRATIC SCHOOL GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF TWO SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vusi Mncube ◽  
Lynn Davies ◽  
Renuka Naidoo
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
School Policy ◽  
Shared Decision ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Learner Participation ◽  
Whole School ◽  
School Governing Bodies

This article reports on a qualitative study that investigated the functioning of school governing bodies (SGBs) as a tool for promoting democracy in two schools. Data was gathered through interviews, observations and document reviews. Findings revealed that democracy was in existence and practised at both schools and that it was characterised by shared decision making and acknowledged rights of individuals, representations, participation and equality. Two structures for promoting democracy were found to be in existence in both schools. These are school governing bodies and representative councils for learners. Such structures were found to be functioning effectively and contributing to the democracy in schools. However, although the learner voice was represented at both schools, learner participation in crucial issues in both the schools was limited. The study recommends that all teachers, learners and parent representatives on the SGBs be trained in skills such as deliberation, debate, dialogue and managing differences. Furthermore, training or capacity building related to advocacy skills and leadership development should be provided for all members of the SGBs, including teachers. The more learners, parents and staff are involved in school policy and decision making, the more there is a genuine community involvement in schools, and the more effective a school becomes. Also, schools need to move towards learnerinitiated decision making where learners initiate the process and invite adults to join them in making decisions. Also, there is need for teachers to be trained in democratic ways of operating in the school and classroom, which will possibly help them learn ways of working democratically in both the whole school and the classroom.

scholarly journals Invoking learner voice and developing leadership: what matters to learners?

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Callie Grant
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Practicing Teachers ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Bachelor Of Education

Educational leadership and management (ELM) research overly focuses on adult leadership development at the expense of leadership of learners. Framed by the concept of learner voice, this article focuses on learner leadership and argues that learners should be treated as people whose ideas matter. It draws on a Bachelor of Education Honours (ELM) elective which required students (practicing teachers) to establish school leadership clubs and involve learners in a reform initiative in pursuit of leadership development. The longitudinal study which informed this article was designed as a multi-case study to explore learner voice and the development of leadership across 44 leadership clubs drawing on three data sources. The study found that while the phenomenon of learner leadership was not common across schools, leadership clubs offered a space for the development of learner voice. Learner voice was generated in relation to the school physical environment, English proficiency amongst learners, improved learner conduct, developments pertaining to the extra-mural curriculum, and leadership training initiatives. In addition, the clubs afforded learners the opportunity to initiate and lead a change project in their schools. However, the take-up of learner leadership as a whole school initiative was problematic in the majority of schools. The article concludes with some suggestions for a future research agenda emerging out of the first phase of the project.

Feminist dilemmas: an Australian case study of a whole‐school policy approach to gender reform

1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Blackmore ◽  
Jane Kenway ◽  
Sue Willis ◽  
Leonie Rennie
Keyword(s):  
School Policy ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Australian Case

A Case Study of Innovation Platforms for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Development

2015 ◽  
pp. 173-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. S. Gboku ◽  
Oitshepile M. Modise ◽  
Jenneh F. Bebeley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Agricultural Extension ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Agricultural Technologies

Stakeholder organizations clearly need to have more than a symbolic role in IAR4D decision making. They are currently hindered by their lack of knowledge of leadership roles and capacity to implement the IAR4D. In this chapter, the authors have presented the use of the IAR4D in Sierra Leone with clear justification of how it fits into contemporary approaches and interventions at the national, regional and global levels. The chapter focuses on the “Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa (DONATA)” project in Sierra Leone as a shining example of leadership development and adult learning in both formal and non-formal settings. The authors highlight current challenges of the use of innovation platforms through IARD and articulate implications of the case study for adult education, agricultural extension and non-formal training in agricultural research institutions. The chapter ends with recommendations for surmounting the current challenges of the case described.

scholarly journals Shared Leadership for Learning in Denver’s Portfolio Management Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 819-855
Author(s):  
A. Chris Torres ◽  
Katrina Bulkley ◽  
Taeyeon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Shared Decision Making ◽  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Management Model ◽  
Shared Decision ◽  
Leadership For Learning ◽  
School Contexts

Purpose: This study examines how district governance and different school contexts in Denver’s portfolio management model affect shared leadership for learning. We define this as shared influence on instructional leadership and school-wide decision making, which research suggests have strong ties to student achievement and teacher commitment. Method: We analyze interview data from 53 administrators, teacher leaders, and teachers in eight case study schools and teacher surveys in 48 schools. In both data sets, we purposively sampled based on variance in school performance ratings and by school type (e.g., traditional public, standalone charter, charter management organization [CMO], and innovation schools). Findings: We find that perceptions of shared instructional leadership were generally high across the school contexts, though CMO and innovation schools had the highest perceptions in both the survey and case study data. Schools varied substantially in shared decision making, but innovation schools had higher average scores than other school models. Centralized policies and supports, alongside organizational visions spanning networks of schools, helped explain the enactment of shared leadership for learning. For example, schools within Denver’s “innovation” network shared a common vision of teacher empowerment, while CMOs that had more prescribed policies and practices across their schools had lower reported levels of shared decision making. Implications for Research and Practice: Portfolio management models that prioritize school-based autonomy and choice between different kinds of schools are proliferating in urban areas. Our study helps explain why and how shared leadership for learning differs between school models and explores important implications for this variation.

scholarly journals Communication strategies and persuasion as core components of shared decision-making for children with life-limiting conditions: A multiple case study

2021 ◽  
pp. 026921632110689
Author(s):  
Emma Popejoy ◽  
Kathryn Almack ◽  
Joseph C Manning ◽  
Bridget Johnston ◽  
Kristian Pollock
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Shared Decision Making ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Shared Decision ◽  
Psychosocial Wellbeing ◽  
Multiple Case

Background: Families and professionals caring for children with life-limiting conditions face difficult healthcare decisions. Shared decision-making is promoted in many countries, however little is known about factors influencing these processes. Aim: To explore the communication strategies used in shared decision-making for children with life-limiting conditions. Design: A longitudinal, qualitative, multiple-case study. Cases were centred around the child and parent/carer(s). Most cases also included professionals or extended family members. Data from interviews, observations and medical notes were re-storied for each case into a narrative case summary. These were subject to comparative thematic analysis using NVivo11. Setting/participants: Eleven cases recruited from three tertiary hospitals in England. 23 participants were interviewed (46 interviews). Cases were followed for up to 12 months between December 2015 and January 2017. 72 observations were conducted and the medical notes of nine children reviewed. Findings: Strategies present during shared decision-making were underpinned by moral work. Professionals presented options they believed were in the child’s best interests, emphasising their preference. Options were often presented in advance of being necessary to prevent harm, therefore professionals permitted delay to treatment. Persuasion was utilised over time when professionals felt the treatment was becoming more urgent and when families felt it would not promote the child’s psychosocial wellbeing. Conclusions: Communication strategies in shared decision-making are underpinned by moral work. Professionals should be aware of the models of shared decision-making which include such communication strategies. Open discussions regarding individuals’ moral reasoning may assist the process of shared decision-making.

scholarly journals The Evolution of an Interprofessional Shared Decision-Making Research Program: Reflective Case Study of an Emerging Paradigm

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maman Joyce Dogba ◽  
Matthew Menear ◽  
Dawn Stacey ◽  
Nathalie Brière ◽  
France Légaré
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Shared Decision Making ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Shared Decision
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