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This paper applies an original construct of “subjective risk intelligence (SRI)” to the small business context. By leveraging on its multidimensionality, it aims to shed light on the existing ambiguities in the analysis of the relationship between the entrepreneurial attitude towards risk evaluation and firms’ financial stability.

The empirical investigation refers to the Italian context, where an ad hoc survey has been administered to a sample of small businesses. Based on both a linear and a semiparametric regression, results show a significant relationship between SRI and firm’s financial structure, and that such relationship is basically nonlinear.

Evidence shows that entrepreneurs with a high level of risk intelligence run highly leveraged firms. Moreover, in the light of the non-linearity of such relationship, higher levels of risk intelligence are associated with a greater capacity of the entrepreneur to govern the financial balance of the enterprise only up to a certain threshold. Over this threshold, risk intelligence generates overconfidence leading the entrepreneur to a reckless behaviour in taking financial risks.

From a theoretical point of view, the paper contributes to the literature by shedding lights on the complexity of the relationship between risk intelligence and small businesses. From a policy point of view, findings suggest that, to train new entrepreneurs, the educational system aims should focus on the development of two specific “soft skills”: the ability to manage emotions and the ability to glimpse opportunities even in uncertain situations.

Prior research reveals that teachers have lower job satisfaction when they have more Black students, but this work does not consider how different aspects of work conditions – and the increasing diversity of students beyond a Black/White binary – may matter. This study aims to examine the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of work conditions and the racial/ethnic compositions of the classes they teach.

This study leverages data from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study. Analyses consist of both descriptive statistics and multilevel regression modeling.

Findings show that teachers’ satisfaction with working conditions varies in relation to the racial/ethnic composition of their students. Increase in the percent of Black, Latinx and Asian American students in a teacher’s classroom, was associated with a decrease in satisfaction with community involvement and student behavior. For increase in Latinx and Asian American students, this study finds significant decrease in satisfaction with measures of pedagogical and job support. For measures of school leadership and responsiveness to professional development needs, this study sees no significant relationship, which suggests that perceptions of some working conditions are more strongly tied to classroom demographics than others.

This work adds nuance to previous research on teacher job satisfaction by exploring satisfaction with various working conditions and how it varies in relation to classroom racial composition. This study concludes with a discussion of potential explanations for observed differences in teacher satisfaction, as well as potential ways to address these differences.

Micro and small enterprises (MSE) play a critical role in the Swiss economy but had no meaningfully adopted working from home (WFH) policy before the COVID-19 crisis. The timing of the study’s data collection allowed a unique assessment of Swiss MSEs’ adoption of WFH enabled by the adoption of digital technologies due to the first government-mandated COVID-19 lockdown. The study also set out to assess the permanence of any changes in the adoption of WFH by MSEs after initial government COVID-19 restrictions ended.

The study uses a threefold theoretical framework combining social, technical and spatial dimensions. Data were collected via telephone interviews. The utilised sampling frame included 153,000 small businesses with 4–49 employees, and the realised sample for the study was 503 interviews with MSE owners and managing directors (MDs).

The Swiss government’s COVID-19 crisis lockdown policies accelerated the digital transformation of work by employees in Swiss MSEs by increasing the number of employees WFH. However, the number of MSEs with WFH employees decreased after the first lockdown ended. Small business leadership is an important influence on the persistence of any increases in WFH.

The data collection uniquely captures the effects of externally driven digital transformation of work in small businesses by the adoption of WFH. The findings show that small businesses can rapidly learn new ways of working and support the claim that Swiss MSE MDs play a critical role in the adoption of WFH. They also confirm the importance of digital leadership and culture for realising the potential of WFH in small businesses.

This chapter discusses the role of school leadership in the face of climate disasters and environmental injustices. These disruptions to schooling are emblematic of an increasing global uncertainty. School leaders play a pivotal role mitigating uncertainty following an environmental crisis or disaster through leadership activities that support their communities. However, preparing school leaders for unexpected disruptions to schooling has often been overlooked by preparation programs and professional development. The goal of this chapter is to equip school leaders with an essential understanding of both the influence of environmental injustice on schools and the tools to respond effectively to these events. First, the chapter contextualizes environmental injustice and inequality as a factor that influences school and student performance, especially for students living below the poverty line and students of color. Next, it synthesizes how school leaders have responded to prior instances of climate disasters and environmental injustices. Finally, it presents key considerations for school leaders confronting future occurrences.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of iCoaching during reading intervention. An interventionist received mentoring support to implement iCoaching. The goal of the study was to increase teacher-delivered, behavior-specific praise (BSP).

Using a single-case multiple-probe design across participants (Gast, 2010; Horner and Baer, 1978), iCoaching was implemented in a two-part package of (1) professional development (PD) and (2) live iCoaching sessions where three teachers received preemptive coaching comments to increase BSP delivery during reading intervention. Visual analysis identified changes in teacher behavior.

Findings demonstrated the iCoaching intervention package increased teacher knowledge and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs; i.e. BSP) during tiered reading intervention groups. Most student participants made gains in reading skills (accuracy, words per minute and composite score) across the areas measured.

Teacher absences, observation scheduling, an ongoing global pandemic, IEP meetings during intervention time, and other changes in the schedule were limitations of this study. The first set of earbuds lost the audio signal several times, and researchers lost the ability to hear the instruction occurring in the classroom; the earbuds were replaced by the first intervention phase.

Previous iCoaching literature demonstrates iCoaching provides implementation support for EBPs learned in PD. Peer coaching can have a positive impact on EBP implementation when iCoaching is non-evaluative, which supports teachers with EBP implementation with minimal disruption to teaching.

This manuscript extends iCoaching research (Randolph et al., 2020, 2021) from small group special education settings to general education intervention groups. Additionally, research shows iCoaching can be extended with mentoring.

This study aims to identify the factors influencing the adoption of extended reality (XR) applications in libraries for sustainable innovative services and reveal the challenges of adopting XR technology in libraries.

A systematic literature review was applied to address the study’s objectives. The 26 most relevant seminal studies published in peer-reviewed journals were selected to conduct the study.

The findings showed that access to digital collections, skill development, marketing, innovation and sustainable development factors influence the adoption of extended reality applications in libraries. The study illustrated that technical challenges, financial challenges, the unavailability of staff expertise and lack of institutional support caused barriers to the adoption of XR in libraries.

The study has added valuable literature to the existing body of knowledge. It has provided a framework to efficiently adopt extended reality in libraries for the delivery of sustainable, innovative services to library patrons.

This paper provides an examination of the characteristics of educational shift in Indian education during COVID-19 based on the existing research published from March 2020 to December 2023. The paper examines the technological preparedness of all the stakeholders and how technological preparedness created digital equity and inclusivity for digital learning in Indian schools. Given the world-wide closure and shutdown during early 2020, schools were forced to switch their instructions to the newly adopted educational model; namely, digital learning which makes it important to examine two aspects in education: (1) measures taken to provide digital educational opportunities to all students and (2) steps taken to create digital equity and inclusivity in the Indian educational system. The results suggest that several initiatives were taken at national, state, and local level. However, issues of digital equity existed for underprivileged student populations.

The focus of this chapter is on teachers’ well-being; specifically, how education policies designed to shape the dispositions and attitudes of school leaders and teachers may – purposefully or inadvertently – compromise their well-being and pose a risk to their continuation in the profession. Both national and local policies may be devised, framed and promoted in ways that obstruct the establishment of a culture of care in schools, making it difficult for school leaders to prioritise the well-being of their staff. Our chapter responds to recent research data – published separately by the UK government, teachers’ unions and academic researchers – that excessive numbers of education workers are experiencing poor mental health or work-related stress or are planning to leave the profession. Beginning by proposing an original conceptualisation of the complexities of well-being, we report on an empirical project designed to bring new insights into the challenges facing school leadership, as articulated by teachers in England. Following an online, institution-wide questionnaire made available to all teaching staff, interviews were conducted with teachers. Our analysis brings new insights into individual well-being, well-being culture and the broader ethos of the institution. Under each of those headings, we consider how leadership practices are constrained or enabled by the policy context, how they interplay with the practices of teachers working with students and whether local policy decision-making is informed by a concern to establish and maintain a culture of care, making the institution a place where people want to work and to be.

This paper seeks to contribute to the area studies and development of the 2023 Annual Review of Comparative and International Education by doing a trend analysis on the amount of variance of student achievement explained by socio-economic differences between 2013 and 2019 using the ERCE database in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also seeks to contrast these results with the amount of variance explained by a number of teacher characteristics, which the literature has identified as effective. In doing these analyses, we seek to assess on whether the region has made any progress on reducing the impact of socioeconomic differences on student achievement and increasing the levels of teacher efficiency.

This paper synthesises international research on effective mentor training, education and development (MTED).

An adaptive theory methodology (Layder, 1998), combining deductive and inductive methods, was deployed in a qualitative meta-synthesis of thematic findings generated in three studies: a systematic review of literature published between January 2010 and July 2020, together with a secondary analysis of studies including evidence on MTED; a subsequent systematic review of literature published between August 2020 and May 2023 and a general inductive analysis (Thomas, 2006) of interviews of leaders of large-scale MTED programmes that had good evidence of impact.

Our meta-synthesis found that effective MTED is evidence-based, refined through ongoing research, tailored both to individual needs and context and includes sustained support. Effective pedagogical approaches in MTED are underpinned by adult learning principles and establish a learning climate that fosters open and trusting relationships. Effective MTED is shaped by the espoused mentoring model or approach, with particular emphasis on understanding, building and sustaining mentoring relationships and incorporating observing, practising, critically reflecting on and receiving feedback on mentoring.

The study will be helpful to practitioners designing, reviewing and evaluating MTED programmes, researchers seeking to enhance the sparse MTED evidence base and programme commissioners.

The original and significant contribution of this study is the identification of key principles relating to the overall design of – as well as specific content, pedagogical approaches and supporting resources within – MTED programmes that have evidenced positive effects on mentors, mentees, mentoring and/or organisations.