scholarly journals Management of Professionals in School Practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Juel Jacobsen ◽  
Anders Buch
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
School Context ◽  
Change Processes ◽  
School Practices ◽  
Organizational Reform ◽  
Ethnographic Approach ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Management Position ◽  
Empirical Material

This article investigates organizational reform changes as they are constructed in the interaction between managers and teachers in a school context. The empirical basis is comprised of case studies carried out in Danish upper secondary schools. An ethnographic approach and a concept of paradox related to an understanding of professionals are used to investigate the practices involved in the change processes. The article argues that the ambiguity of a primus inter pares management position among professionals leads to several paradoxes, deadlocks, and detours, all of which affect the work for change in the schools. Significant paradoxes are identified on the basis of the empirical material, and methodological advantages of a proposed paradox perspective, are demonstrated.

scholarly journals It’s not all About the Peers: Reintroducing School Context to the School Segregation Literature

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solveig Topstad Borgen
Keyword(s):  
Selection Bias ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
School Context ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
School Segregation ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Academic Tracks ◽  
Application Data ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

This paper investigates the effect of attending immigrant-dense schools on student outcomes, which consists of the joint effect of immigrant peers and school context. The sorting of students into schools is not random, and a large immigrant peer effect literature uses school fixed effects to eliminate selection bias. However, keeping schools fixed also eliminates the effect of the school context and is accordingly unsuited to estimate the total effect of attending immigrant-dense schools. Using application data to manage selection bias, I demonstrate that attending immigrant-dense upper secondary schools in Norway negatively affect natives’ completion of academic tracks, even though a school fixed effects model indicates no immigrant peer effects. These findings suggest that immigrant-dense schools affect students in other ways than through mere peer exposure, and that research on the consequences of school segregation should take into account the effect of both school context and peers.

scholarly journals Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Malefors ◽  
Pieter Callewaert ◽  
Per-Anders Hansson ◽  
Hanna Hartikainen ◽  
Oona Pietiläinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Statistical Measures ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Hospitality Sector ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Empirical Material

There is an urgent need for primary data collection on food waste to obtain solid quantification data that can be used as an indicator in the goal of halving food waste by 2030. This study examined how quality baselines for food waste can be achieved within the different segments of the hospitality sector, encompassing establishments such as canteens, elderly care units, hospitals, hotels, preschools, primary schools, restaurants, and upper secondary schools. The empirical material comprised food-waste quantification data measured in 1189 kitchens in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Germany for 58,812 quantification days and 23 million portions. All the data were converted to a common format for analysis. According to the findings, around 20% of food served became waste. Waste per portion varied widely between establishments, ranging from 50.1 ± 9.4 g/portion for canteens to 192 ± 30 g/portion for restaurants. To identify the measurement precision needed for tracking changes over time, we suggest statistical measures that could be used in future studies or in different food-waste tracking initiatives.

Motivating teachers’ commitment to change through transformational school leadership in Chinese urban upper secondary schools

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 735-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Context ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Commitment To Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers’ commitment to change and the effects of organizational and teachers’ factors on teachers’ perception of transformational school leadership in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper mainly uses quantitative methods to explore the relationships between different constructs. The author asks: to what extent can transformational school leadership practices in the urban upper secondary schools of a particular Chinese city explain the variation in teachers’ commitment to change during curriculum reform? What are the effects of organizational and teachers’ factors on teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership? Findings – The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the effect of transformational school leadership was moderate when transformational school leadership and teachers’ commitment to change were treated as single variables. Four dimensions of transformational leadership practice together explained the moderate effects on four dimensions of teachers’ commitment to change, among which the effect of managing the instructional program was the most prominent. The results of multiple regression analysis also revealed that variables like culture, strategy, environment, and teachers’ age had significant relationships with teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership. Culture, environment, strategy, structure, and teachers’ factors such as age and grade taught had moderate effects on different dimensions of teachers’ perceptions of transformational school leadership. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to explore the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers’ commitment to change in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context. The findings contribute to educational management in China and similar contexts, and this study advances knowledge and furthers the understandings of the transferability of theories to different contexts.

Entrepreneurship in Swedish upper secondary schools: governing active future citizens?

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-563
Author(s):  
Eva-Lena Lindster Norberg
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
School Context ◽  
Female Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Individual School ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical contribution by exploring how secondary school students are governed and shaped when entrepreneurship is emphasised in school curricula, and if female and male students are governed in different ways through different techniques connected with entrepreneurship in school. Design/methodology/approach This study takes its departure in Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality. In total, 90 students in gendered focus groups from three upper secondary schools were interviewed about how entrepreneurship in school was implemented and experienced. The schools were geographically dispersed. Findings The analysis indicates, the three schools included in the study provide different prerequisites for students to become an active subject. This partly depends on where the individual school is geographically located, but also on the students gender. When entrepreneurship in school is implemented throughout the entire curriculum, female students tend to adopt male-coded entrepreneurial abilities. The neoliberal agenda, with an aim of fostering entrepreneurial self, appears to have permeated the awareness of students, especially female students. Originality/value First, the paper contributes with an empirical research regarding students’ experiences of entrepreneurship in school. Second, the paper contributes to a gender perspective on entrepreneurship in school. Third, the paper contributes to the understanding of how entrepreneurship in school is realised in a different school context.

scholarly journals Prevalence of exhaustion symptoms and associations with school level, length of work experience and gender: a nationwide cross-sectional study of Swedish principals

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Persson ◽  
Ulf Leo ◽  
Inger Arvidsson ◽  
Carita Håkansson ◽  
Kerstin Nilsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
School Level ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Compulsory Schools ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Exhaustion Disorder

Abstract Background While poor mental health and psychiatric disorders attributed to stressful work conditions are a public health concern in many countries, the health consequences of the occupational stress experienced by school principals is an understudied issue. Although current data is lacking, some research suggests that principals have a stressful work situation that eventually may lead to burnout and exhaustion disorder, thus negatively affecting the ability of principals to function as leaders. To gauge the situation in Sweden, and as a basis for future preventive actions, we examined to what extent principals displayed signs of exhaustion and whether the prevalence rates of exhaustion differed across school levels, length of work experience as a principal, and gender. Methods Principals (N = 2219; mean age 49 years [SD 7 years]; 78% women) working at least 50% in pre-schools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools or adult education completed a cross-sectional web survey entailing two validated inventories: The Karolinska Exhaustion Disorder Scale (KEDS) and the Lund University Checklist for Incipient Exhaustion (LUCIE). Data was analysed using traditional non-parametric methods. Gender stratification achieved covariate balance when analysing school level and length of work experience. Results Altogether, 29.0% of the principals met the exhaustion criteria in KEDS. The prevalence rates for the four LUCIE-steps of increasing signs of exhaustion were: no signs of stress, 48.8%; weak signs of stress, 25.6%; clear signs of stress but no exhaustion, 15.4%; possible exhaustion disorder, 10.2%. Compared with male principals, female principals reported more signs of possible exhaustion disorder in both LUCIE and KEDS. School level was not associated with reports of exhaustion symptoms in neither LUCIE nor KEDS. Among male principals, length of work experience was associated with exhaustion symptoms in KEDS. Conclusions A large group of Swedish principals working in pre-schools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools or adult education displayed a symptomatology of signs of exhaustion that if sustained might lead to poor health. This observation suggests that education authorities, or other relevant stakeholders, ought to take some form of preventive action. However, effective combinations of individual, group, organisational, and/or societal preventive activities remain to be identified and tested.

scholarly journals Religiosity as a factor protecting against problem behaviour in adolescence

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 63-89
Author(s):  
Iwona Niewiadomska ◽  
Rafał P. Bartczuk ◽  
Joanna Chwaszcz ◽  
Stanisław Fel ◽  
Weronika Augustynowicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Behaviour ◽  
Problem Behaviours ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Conceptual Work ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract This article explores the question, to what degree religiosity contributes, as a protecting factor against a broad category of socially deviant adolescent and youth behaviours. It also tests the hypothesis that gender plays a moderating role in the relationship between religiosity and problem behaviour. It employs a modified version of the Problem Behaviour Syndrome Measure (PBSM), in concert with Jessor and Jessor’s conceptual work. It also makes use of the Duke Religion Index (DUREL) to assess religiosity. The empirical study deals with a representative group of 960 students of upper-secondary schools in the Lubelskie province, Poland. The results were analyzed using canonical analysis and ANOVA. The achievements of the article are twofold. First, it identifies significant correlations between the different levels of religiosity among youth, and the occurrence and intensification of problem behaviours, particularly in regard to organized activity. Organized and intrinsic religiosity play principal protective roles, while the impact of personal religious practices is less significant. Secondly, while analyzing the moderating role of gender in the relationship between religiosity and the intensity of problem behaviour, it was found that gender does not have a significant interactive impact. An affirmative conclusion was confirmed in only two instances.

A quantitative investigation of the effects of new generation vs traditional upper secondary schools in Cambodia through the lens of STEM transfer model

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sovansophal Kao
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Attitudes Toward Science ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
New Form ◽  
K 12 ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis study aimed to examine the effects of Cambodia's New Generation Schools (NGS), as compared to their traditional counterparts, in enhancing the seven constructs: (1) science and math achievement, (2) science and math self-efficacy, (3) science and math outcome expectations, (4) attitudes toward science, (5) interactive science and math lessons, (6) support from science and math teachers and (7) encouragement and support in science from family.Design/methodology/approachThe two observations data was collected using self-rated questionnaire from 301 11th graders from five upper secondary schools located in three provinces of Cambodia. Independent sample t-test, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and dependent sample t-test were used to analyze the repeated measures data.FindingsThe study revealed that students from the NGS exhibited statistically higher scores for most constructs, especially for attitudes toward science. However, when controlling for the differences in the first observation data, the significant effects of the three constructs have been neutralized. Moreover, though there was an increase in science activities outside school, there was a negative trajectory in the other two sub-constructs of attitudes toward science and support from science and math teachers, both in NGS and traditional schools.Practical implicationsThese findings point some practical implications for enhancing the effectiveness of the two school types and further research.Originality/valueThere is heavy investment in new form of schools across the world to enhance students' learning and academic achievement in science and math in K-12 and to promote their interest in STEM in higher education. However, there is little document on the effectiveness of this new form of school, particularly in the Cambodian context.

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