Turning Our Gaze toward Transgender Educators: Fostering Social Justice Leadership in Educational Institutions

The purpose of this study is to find key supports for educational leaders to provide for transgender educators to succeed in an educational workplace setting. By being and becoming aware of the issues involved and conceptualizing interventions to help transgender educators function at their full potential in the workplace, a school’s leadership fosters social equity while also increasing the effectiveness of its organization. This paper draws from a mixed-methods case study that included a quantitative survey conducted with 27 transgender teachers and school principals and focuses on three qualitative in-depth cases. The results show that while some educational administrations support transgender educators in theory, they lack the proper tools to do so; alternatively, many other administrators remain openly hostile toward transgender educators, forcing some to find other work settings. For transgender educators of color, this task is more daunting because they face exponentially higher rates of violence and discrimination. To properly support and supervise transgender educators and principals, educational administrators must learn the necessary skills to provide a more welcoming environment for transgender educators, many of whom experience a myriad of personal struggles. These findings and the insights acquired have implications for transgender educators as well as state, district, and school administrators who wish to better support this growing segment of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The role of self-regulation and perceived self-efficacy in adaptation to home-office work during the pandemic

As a consequence of the unprecedented labor market circumstances that the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic brought about, organizations have faced challenges never seen before. One such challenge was the sudden ubiquity of working from home, which resulted in an intensive learning experience for employees and employers alike. While there is an increasing body of research on working from home in general, the perceived effectiveness of this mode of working is still under-researched. This niche provided the inspiration for us to investigate what factors might influence employees' self-efficacy in working from home arrangements. We conducted a mixed-methods case study by collecting both qualitative and quantitative data from 24 employees of a division of the Hungarian subsidiary of a chemical and consumer goods multinational. The purpose of our investigation was to gain a deeper understanding of perceived self-efficacy and self-regulation during the learning processes that the participants experienced under the new circumstances. Results suggest that the perceived high level of work-efficiency among the employees of the examined division was based on the firmly controlled work-division, trusting managers, as well as supportive and clear communication, which created space for autonomy in the adaptation process. The findings also revealed that self-reflection acted as a predictor of perceived work self-efficacy.

Työuupumuksesta toipumisen yksilölliset polut

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää työuupumuksesta toipumisen kehityspolkuja ja näihin yhteydessä olevia tekijöitä 1,5 vuoden seurannan aikana. Erityisenä kiinnostuksen kohteena oli toimijuus ja sen rakentumisen yhteys työuupumuksesta toipumiseen. Tutkimusaineisto koostui Kuntoutus Peurungan Virveli-kuntoutuskursseille osallistuneista ja kuntoutuksesta lähtökohtaisesti hyötyneistä henkilöistä (n = 9). Kyseessä on tapaustutkimus, jossa näiden henkilöiden toipumisprosessia tutkittiin monipuolisesti sekä haastattelun että kyselyiden avulla. Tulokset osoittivat, että monet työympäristöön liittyvät tekijät olivat yhteydessä toipumisprosessiin, mutta ne eivät yksinään selittäneet sitä, oliko henkilöiden työuupumus uusiutunut vai ei. Aineistosta löydettiin kolme erilaista kehityspolkua, jotka olivat ”työuupumuksesta toipuneet”, ”uudestaan uupuneet” ja ”kovia kokeneet, mutta positiiviseen keskittyvät”. Kuntoutujien toipumispolkuun näyttäisi tämän tutkimuksen perusteella olevan yhteydessä heidän kokemansa henkilökohtainen toimijuus, joka ilmeni erityisesti uskona omaan pärjäämiseen kuntoutusjakson lopussa. Näihin tekijöihin olisikin hyvä kiinnittää huomiota sekä jatkotutkimuksissa että työuupumusinterventioiden kehitystyössä, jotta kuntoutuksen vaikuttavuutta voitaisiin tehostaa. Abstract The individual recovery paths from job burnout: a mixed methods case study on the long-term impact of a rehabilitation intervention The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental paths of burnout recovery and factors associated with it during a 1.5-year follow-up period. A special interest of the study was in agency and whether it is connected to burnout recovery. The study sample (n = 9) included people, who had benefitted from a rehabilitation period arranged earlier in Peurunka Rehabilitation Centre. This research was a case study, which was basedon data collected by interviews and questionnaires in analyzing the recovery process of the participants. Analysis showed that many job-related factors were connected to the recovery process, but none of them was able to explain alone whether participants’ burnout had relapsed or not. Three different recovery paths were found among the sample: ”recovered participants”, ”relapsed participants” and ”participants with difficult experiences but positive mindset”. The results indicate that the personal agency of the people participating in rehabilitation is connected to their recovery paths. Agency was manifested, for example, in participants’ self-efficacy estimates at the end of the rehabilitation period. These factors should be paid more attention in future studies as well as in developing burnout interventions in order to improve the effectiveness of burnout rehabilitation. Keywords: burnout, rehabilitation, agency, follow-up study, mixed methods

Development and application of a hybrid implementation research framework to understand success in reducing under-5 mortality in Rwanda

Background: We describe the development and testing of a hybrid implementation research (IR) framework to understand the pathways, successes, and challenges in addressing amenable under-5 mortality (U5M) – deaths preventable through health system-delivered evidence-based interventions (EBIs) – in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We reviewed existing IR frameworks to develop a hybrid framework designed to better understand U5M reduction in LMICs from identification of leading causes of amenable U5M, to EBI choice, identification, and testing of strategies, work to achieve sustainability at scale, and key contextual factors. We then conducted a mixed-methods case study of Rwanda using the framework to explore its utility in understanding the steps the country took in EBI-related decision-making and implementation between 2000-2015, key contextual factors which hindered or facilitated success, and to extract actionable knowledge for other countries working to reduce U5M. Results: While relevant frameworks were identified, none individually covered the scope needed to understand Rwanda’s actions and success. Building on these frameworks, we combined and adapted relevant frameworks to capture exploration, planning, implementation, contextual factors in LMICs such as Rwanda, and outcomes beyond effectiveness and coverage. Utilizing our hybrid framework in Rwanda, we studied multiple EBIs and identified a common pathway and cross-cutting strategies and contextual factors that supported the country’s success in reducing U5M through the health system EBIs. Using these findings, we identified transferable lessons for other countries working to accelerate reduction in U5M. Conclusions: We found that a hybrid framework building on and adapting existing frameworks was successful in guiding data collection and interpretation of results, emerging new insights into how and why Rwanda achieved equitable introduction and implementation of health system EBIs that contributed to the decline in U5M, and generated lessons for countries working to drop U5M.

Primary specialisations in Australia: graduates’ perceptions of outcome and impact

In 2014, the Australian Government established the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) to advise on how teacher education programmes could ensure new teachers were adequately prepared for the classroom. Following this, the Australian Government endorsed a key recommendation of the TEMAG Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers report, the inclusion of specialisations in primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE). This research was conducted at an Australian public university that, in 2016, had embedded specialisations in a revised primary teacher programme structure and was one of the first ITE institutions in Australia to graduate primary teachers with a specialisation. Using a mixed-methods case study design with convenience sampling, this study sought to investigate these primary graduates’ perceptions of undertaking a specialisation in relation to the development of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge in the specialist area, as well as perceived employment advantages. This research took place over 4 years with participants having completed a Bachelor of Education (Primary) at least three months prior to participating. The participants reported benefits to having completed a primary specialisation but expressed concerns about their preparedness to teach their specialisation and whether it would result in any advantages for employment. Recommendations from the participants included teaching practice in their area of specialisation, consideration of specialist skills and changing the timetabling of the specialisation in the programme. Ultimately, there is a need for ongoing research in this area to determine the extent to which primary specialisations deliver the intended outcomes and impacts at both the policy driver level and the university level.

Development and application of a hybrid implementation research framework to understand success in reducing under-5 mortality in Rwanda

Background: We describe the development and testing of a hybrid implementation research (IR) framework to understand the pathways, successes, and challenges in addressing amenable under-5 mortality (U5M) – deaths preventable through health system-delivered evidence-based interventions (EBIs) – in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We reviewed existing IR frameworks to develop a hybrid framework designed to better understand U5M reduction in LMICs from identification of leading causes of amenable U5M, to EBI choice, identification, and testing of strategies, work to achieve sustainability at scale, and key contextual factors. We then conducted a mixed-methods case study of Rwanda using the framework to explore its utility in understanding the steps the country took in EBI-related decision-making and implementation between 2000-2015, key contextual factors which hindered or facilitated success, and to extract actionable knowledge for other countries working to reduce U5M. Results: While relevant frameworks were identified, none individually covered the scope needed to understand Rwanda’s actions and success. Building on these frameworks, we combined and adapted relevant frameworks to capture exploration, planning, implementation, contextual factors in LMICs such as Rwanda, and outcomes beyond effectiveness and coverage. Utilizing our hybrid framework in Rwanda, we studied multiple EBIs and identified a common pathway and cross-cutting strategies and contextual factors that supported the country’s success in reducing U5M through the health system EBIs. Using these findings, we identified transferable lessons for other countries working to accelerate reduction in U5M. Conclusions: We found that a hybrid framework building on and adapting existing frameworks was successful in guiding data collection and interpretation of results, emerging new insights into how and why Rwanda achieved equitable introduction and implementation of health system EBIs that contributed to the decline in U5M, and generated lessons for countries working to drop U5M.

Response to Expanding Video Consultation Services at Pace and Scale in Scotland During the COVID-19 Pandemic: National Mixed Methods Case Study (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Please see attached letter in response to a recently published article.

Perceptions of isiZulu-speaking pre-service teachers’ classroom English proficiency

Despite less than 10% of South Africans claiming English as their home language, it has become the de facto language of instruction. Yet we cannot assume that teachers have sufficient command of this language when using it for instructional purposes. As a sub-study, in this article we report on the oral proficiency of isiZulu-speaking pre-service teachers who use English when expounding content in rural schools. The conceptual framework draws primarily on research relating to instructional communication and Classroom English. For this mixed methods case study, using questionnaire data from 52 pre-service teachers and 18 tutors, we sought to establish the perceptions that respondents had of students’ oral proficiency while teaching in situ. Responses were statistically analysed using computing software. Unedited audio recordings of lessons presented in rural KwaZulu-Natal schools during pre-service teachers’ work-integrated learning stint provided oral data from which to gauge proficiency using a self-designed rubric. Findings correspond with those of previous studies, pointing to pre-service teachers’ oral proficiency being less than ideal for effectively facilitating learning. However, what is considered adequate proficiency and what is ideal is yet to be agreed upon. We recommend that interventions which address the development of oral proficiency required for classroom use be considered. Our pilot rubric may serve as a useful data-gathering tool in future research.