scholarly journals Exploring Teacher Factors that Influence Teacher-Child Relationships in Head Start: : A Grounded Theory

Author(s):  
Shiyi Chen ◽  
Beth Phillips

The purpose of this paper was to explore factors that influence teacher-child relationships in Head Start. Three Head Start teachers from three centers were recruited for this study. Interview and observation data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach by using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. Two coders completed the coding process. Inter-coder reliability and other triangulation techniques were employed to ensure the credibility of this study. The analysis revealed factors that teachers perceived as beneficial or harmful to their relationships with children. Three main themes emerged: professionalism (i.e., teacher beliefs, education, and work experience), teacher self-efficacy (i.e., teacher empowerment, children’s progress, and sufficient education and work experience), and job stress (i.e., lacking organizational support, teacher-parent conflict, workload, and insufficient training). The data vividly illustrated the mechanisms through which those influential factors might work. The results may have implications for teacher education and fostering positive teacher-child relationships in Head Start.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Laurette Kamning

PurposeThere is a significant pressure on consulting businesses to produce innovative solutions and to assist their clients in producing innovative solutions for their organizational problems as well. In addition to that challenging need to innovate for survival and competition, as other contemporary firms, consultancies must face the global changes brought by the outbreak of the coronavirus infection since 2019. This qualitative pilot study aimed at exploring the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the approaches to innovation in the consulting industry.Design/methodology/approachTriggered from the literature gap on approaches to innovation in consultancies during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, a grounded theory approach was used to generate a theoretical explanation of how the COVID-19 is affecting the strategies and approaches of businesses in harnessing innovation opportunities from the perspectives of four professionals from an information technology (IT) consultancy in the USA.FindingsThe findings of this pilot study showed that organizational leaders' increased responsiveness, a Job-To-Be-Done strategy, organizational support and team adaption are the keys to harvesting dynamic capabilities for better competition, even during global environmental changes.Practical implicationsThis implies that managers remain the main actors in a firm's efforts to harvest dynamic capabilities. Innovation strategists, business leaders and policymakers can confidently work together to implement novel and flexible work settings that integrate both social and economic advancements.Originality/valueTheoretical implications support the sustainable innovation strategy concepts and the Job-To-Be-Done theory. Finally, the substantive theory from this pilot study lays the ground for future research on approaches to innovation in the consulting industry.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer D McMillen ◽  
Shayna D Swick ◽  
Lauren M Frazier ◽  
Matthew Bishop ◽  
L Suzanne Goodell

The perceived benefits of outdoor learning have influenced recommendations and policies alike in early childhood education, yet one component (garden education) in Head Start preschools is inconsistent and researchers do not yet know why. The purposes of this qualitative interview study were to explore preschool teachers’ experiences and perceptions of incorporating garden education into a preschool curriculum for children from low-income families and to develop a grounded theory-based conceptual model to explain the findings. Causal conditions included being comfortable in nature, having administrative support, focusing on safety, and reacting to weather. The intervening conditions were teacher knowledge and skills, program structure, resources and physical supplies, and human resources. The strategies for implementing sustainable use of preschool gardens were employing child-directed practices, applying multi-curricular techniques, incorporating health education, and engaging the community. The consequences identified for using preschool gardens were impacting whole child learning, influencing health, and exposing children to nature. Holistic integration of the results into the current literature suggested several opportunities for pre-service teacher education, professional development, and assessment tool development and validation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam Ciby ◽  
R P Raya

Despite considerable research on workplace bullying, trying to identify causal relationships and measurements of specific constructs, there is a need to draw from the experiences and feelings of the targets of workplace bullying. The current study explores the victims' experiences from an interpretive perspective in the context of Information Technology organizations in India. The qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with the victims of workplace bullying. The analysis using grounded theory approach resulted in a conceptual model, which explains the antecedents, bullying behaviours, consequences, and self-coping methods of the victims. Job demands, leadership and management styles of the supervisor, and interpersonal conflict emerged as the major antecedents of workplace bullying. The victims' inability to adapt to changes was found as a personality factor that stimulated workplace bullying in the presence of other antecedents. The study reveals that although the victims experienced negative bullying behaviours in their daily life, most of them were unaware of the phenomenon. Some of the new bullying behaviours identified from the current study are taking ownership of others'work without giving due credit, grabbing others' challenging assignments, and repeated borrowing of money without returning. The victims experienced various negative emotions as the initial reaction to bullying behaviours. As the bullying behaviours prolonged, the participants experienced various personal and work-related consequences. The self-coping mechanisms identified in the study were sharing emotional experiences with friends and family, having an easy-going attitude, voicing the issues, and perceived organizational support (POS). POS was considered to be important for having an influence on employee turnover intention and organizational commitment. Based on the POS, three categories of victims were identified — Leavers, Survivors, and Loyals. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge as it brings out the experiences and feelings of the targets of workplace bullying. The detailed knowledge of the phenomenon helps the organization to either intervene or prevent the relevant processes. The study suggests that the victims need to be empowered with awareness programmes and organizational support to reduce the effects of workplace bullying.


Author(s):  
Esthika Ariany Maisa ◽  
Yulastri Arif ◽  
Wawan Wahyudi

Purpose: To explore the nurses’ positive deviance behaviors as an effort to provide solutions in preventing and controlling infections in the hospital. Method: This is a qualitative research using grounded theory approach. Thirteen nurses from Dr.M.Djamil hospital were selected based on theoretical sampling in order to develop theory as it appears. Nurses were interviewed from June to September 2014. Interviews were thematically analyzed using techniques of grounded theory to then generate a theory from themes formed. Findings: The modes of positive deviance behavior identified were practicing hand hygiene beyond the standards (bringing handsanitizer from home), applying nursing art in wound care practice, placing patients with MRSA infections at the corner side, giving a red mark on a MRSA patient’s bed for easy identification by nurses, changing clothes and shoes in hospital, reducing hooks on the wall, and cleaning the ward on scheduled days. Conclusion: The study shows that nurses have a number of positive deviance behaviors to prevent infection transmission in the wards. It is sugested that the hospital management and nursing managers adopt some of the uncommon solution highlighted by the nurses to solve the HAIs problems in the hospital.


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