Deborah A. Boehm-Davis and Robert W. Holt
A strong, useful theoretical foundation for performance assessment and prediction relies on four components: preliminary observation of a system, identification of key or…
Abstract
A strong, useful theoretical foundation for performance assessment and prediction relies on four components: preliminary observation of a system, identification of key or dominating variables in the system, synthetic and vertical thinking, and successive refinement.
Denise T. Airola, Ed Bengtson, Deborah A. Davis and Diana K. Peer
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between school principals’ sense of efficacy and their involvement with the Arkansas Leadership Academy's (the Academy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between school principals’ sense of efficacy and their involvement with the Arkansas Leadership Academy's (the Academy) School Support Program (SSP).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from participating SSP principals to explore differences in mean principal self-efficacy given varied years of participation in SSP. The Principal Self-Efficacy Survey was used to measure the construct of principal self-efficacy of 27 principals participating in the Academy's SSP for low-performing schools.
Findings
The findings suggest that principals of low-performing schools that participated in the Arkansas Leadership Academy's SSP for more years have a stronger sense of leadership efficacy than principals of low-performing schools that are just beginning the SSP. Post hoc qualitative data were collected through a focus group discussion to provide insight regarding actual practices that led to increased perceived self-efficacy as a result of participating in the SSP.
Research limitations/implications
This study is highly contextualized to the principals and school systems participating in the SSP, a limited population due to conditions under which schools qualify to participate in the program.
Practical implications
As schools continue to be identified as needing to improve based on accountability measures, external sources of leadership development for the principals leading these schools should be considered as a possible means for increasing their senses of efficacy, and indirectly supporting the potential for improved school performance.
Social implications
The attributes of highly efficacious principals – self-regulating, confident, and calm in difficult situations – may be more critical to leaders engaged in systemic change in low-performing schools where the challenges may be more complex.
Originality/value
There could be a strong argument that the influence of an outside support program might be one strategy to consider when addressing the improvement of low-performing schools through raising leader efficacy.
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Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the…
Abstract
Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.
Di Wang, Deborah Richards, Ayse Aysin Bilgin and Chuanfu Chen
This Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation lesson introduces students to the story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The lesson includes an introductory…
Abstract
This Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation lesson introduces students to the story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The lesson includes an introductory activity that orients students to concepts of unfairness and discrimination, followed by a reading of the story. Students engage with primary sources (photographs) to compare and contrast life during segregation and life today. The lesson may be expanded to include a study of notable individuals involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Students utilize higher order thinking skills to determine ways to deal with issues of unfair situations they encounter. Throughout the lesson, students exhibit their learning through discussion, writing, and artistic expression.
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Deborah A. Carroll, Mikhail Ivonchyk and Sarah Elizabeth Larson
The purpose of this paper is to test the theory of optimal monitoring, which posits that more generous county homestead exemptions lower the incentive for residents to monitor…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the theory of optimal monitoring, which posits that more generous county homestead exemptions lower the incentive for residents to monitor school operations, thereby increasing inefficiency in service outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses two-stage Simar and Wilson’s data envelopment analysis to assess county school districts’ efficiency in the state of Georgia for each year from 2007 to 2012.
Findings
Controlling for other factors known to be correlated with government efficiency, such as fiscal capacity and competition, this study finds evidence that higher property tax burdens resulting from lower county school district homestead exemptions, as a proxy of more intense citizens’ monitoring pressures, are associated with improved county school district performance efficiency. These results provide empirical support for the theory of optimal monitoring.
Practical implications
Increased government funding toward education is more likely to improve education outcomes if accompanied by efficiency control mechanisms. One such mechanism could be increased transparency of government operations and accountability of public officials.
Originality/value
This research uses a newer and more robust estimation of relative efficiency and analyzes a more common type of property tax exemption. This improves the internal validity and generalizability of the findings regarding the theory of optimal monitoring.