Bill Mulford, Lawrie Kendall and Diana Kendall
This article explores the relationship between teachers' perceptions of administrative practice in high schools and students' perceptions of the school, teachers and their own…
Abstract
This article explores the relationship between teachers' perceptions of administrative practice in high schools and students' perceptions of the school, teachers and their own performance. It was found that where decision making is perceived by teachers as collegial, collaborative, co‐operative and consultative and providing adequate opportunities for participation it will be more likely to lead to positive student perceptions about their school and teachers, as well as perceptions about relationships and their own performance, than where decision making is more top‐down, executive or does not foster widespread involvement. Reinforcing these findings it was found that where teachers identify the main sources of stress in their schools as lack of support from management, poor leadership and ineffective decision‐making processes, students are much less favourably disposed towards their teachers or their own engagement and performance. Previously reported results have shown that such inclusive decision‐making practices may not be widespread in high schools.
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Bill Mulford, Bill Edmunds, John Ewington, Lawrie Kendall, Diana Kendall and Halia Silins
Who are late‐career school principals? Do they continue to make a positive contribution to their schools? Do they feel tired and trapped or do they maintain their commitment to…
Abstract
Purpose
Who are late‐career school principals? Do they continue to make a positive contribution to their schools? Do they feel tired and trapped or do they maintain their commitment to education and young people? The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues, employing the results of a survey on successful school principalship with the population of Tasmanian government school principals.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys on successful school principalship were distributed to a population of 195 government schools (excluding colleges and special schools) in Tasmania. Return rates were 67 per cent for principals and 12 per cent for teachers. Surveys sought responses in areas such as demographic characteristics, leadership characteristics, values and beliefs, tensions and dilemmas, learning and development, school capacity building, decision making, evaluation and accountability, and perceptions of school success.
Findings
The findings confirm other research indicating that pre‐retirement principals, when compared with other principals, are more likely to have a strong work ethic, to consult widely and to have a strong social consciousness. The findings contradict results from other research indicating that pre‐retirement principals, when compared with other principals, are more likely to be rigid and autocratic, disenchanted with and withdrawn from work, and “tired and trapped”.
Practical implications
Such findings lead one to conclude that pre‐retirement principals continue to be a committed and valuable resource and that therefore greater research and policy attention should be given to the issue. With education systems undergoing major and continuing change, while at the same time suffering potential shortages of effective school leaders, it is time to re‐examine educational career structures, especially for those principals approaching retirement.
Originality/value
The paper's originality lies in the evidence it provides about an area that is not well researched.
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Bill Mulford, Diana Kendall, John Ewington, Bill Edmunds, Lawrie Kendall and Halia Silins
The purpose of this article is to review literature in certain areas and report on related results from a study of successful school principalship in the Australian state of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to review literature in certain areas and report on related results from a study of successful school principalship in the Australian state of Tasmania.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys on successful school principalship were distributed to a population of 195 government schools (excluding colleges and special schools) in Tasmania with a return rate of 67 per cent. Surveys sought responses in areas such as demographic characteristics (including a measure of school poverty), leadership characteristics, values and beliefs, tensions and dilemmas, learning and development, school capacity building, decision making, evaluation and accountability, and perceptions of school success. In addition, details of actual student performance on literacy and numeracy tests were supplied by the Department of Education.
Findings
The literature reviewed in this article indicated that world‐wide poverty is a major issue and that there is a nexus between poverty and education. While questions may be raised about the effectiveness of schools as institutions in serving those in high‐poverty communities, as well as problems in labelling a school as high‐poverty, evidence has emerged of high‐performing schools in high‐poverty communities. A common characteristic of these schools is successful, high‐performing leadership.
Practical implications
Evidence is provided on the nature of successful principalship of high‐performance schools in high‐poverty communities.
Originality/value
World‐wide poverty is a major and growing social and economic issue. Yet, material available in the area, including research reported here, leads one to conclude that the research on successful principalship in high‐performance schools in high‐poverty communities needs to be given greater priority.
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John Ewington, Bill Mulford, Diana Kendall, Bill Edmunds, Lawrie Kendall and Halia Silins
The special characteristics of small schools appear to set them apart from larger schools. In fact, small schools may be a discrete group in that their complexity may not be in…
Abstract
Purpose
The special characteristics of small schools appear to set them apart from larger schools. In fact, small schools may be a discrete group in that their complexity may not be in direct ratio to their size. The special characteristics of small schools may include the absence of senior staff, administrative assistance on a part time basis only, conservatism and role conflict within the community, and lack of professional interaction. This paper aims to explore these issues by analysing data from a recent survey on Tasmania successful school principalship.
Design/methodology/approach
Results from a survey with the population of Tasmanian principals in schools of 200 or less students are compared with previous research findings from the limited literature in the area.
Findings
The study has confirmed that contextual demands result in role conflict for teaching principals, that principals of small rural schools are mobile, staying for short periods of time, and that a higher proportion are female. Statistically significant differences were found among small rural schools of 100 or fewer students and small rural and urban schools of between 101 and 200 students. These differences were best explained by combination of the “double load phenomenon” and the increasingly mandated requirements for the implementation of growing amounts of Department of Education policy, rather than rurality or socio‐economic status.
Practical implications
Given the combination of the expected large turnover in the principalship in Australian schools over the next five to ten years, the high proportion of small schools (at least one‐quarter) and the unlikely change to the traditional career path wherein, for many, becoming a principal of a small school is the initial step progressively moving to large schools, the findings add weight to the need for greater attention to be paid to small school principalship.
Originality/value
The study adds to the very limited research into successful school principalship in small schools.
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Janet M. Alger and Steven F. Alger
Ever since Mead, sociology has maintained a deep divide between human and non human animals. In effect, Mead constructed humans as having capacities that he saw lacking in…
Abstract
Ever since Mead, sociology has maintained a deep divide between human and non human animals. In effect, Mead constructed humans as having capacities that he saw lacking in animals. Recent research on animals has challenged the traditional ideas of Mead and others by providing evidence of animal intelligence, adaptability, selfawareness, emotionality, communication and culture. This paper examines the human‐animal relationship as presented in Introductory Sociology Textbooks to see if this new research on animals has allowed us to move beyond Mead. We find outdated information and confused thinking on such topics as the relationship between language and culture, the development of the self in animals, and the role of instinct, socialization and culture in animal behavior. We conclude that, with few exceptions, the main function of the treatment of animals in these texts is to affirm the hard line that sociology has always drawn between humans and other species.
Diana Cardenas-Cristancho, Laurent Muller, Davy Monticolo and Mauricio Camargo
This study aims to propose a novel approach to select and prioritize performance indicators in Lean Manufacturing depending on whether they are influencing or being influenced by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose a novel approach to select and prioritize performance indicators in Lean Manufacturing depending on whether they are influencing or being influenced by others, thereby assisting in the decision-making process for improving overall performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology comprises two stages. First, a literature review was conducted to identify the performance indicators, and then their interrelationships were analyzed by means of the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method.
Findings
The results provide a comprehensive visualization of the performance indicators in Lean Manufacturing, with a total of 50 identified indicators. Among these, 29 were categorized as causal, meaning that their results mainly influence the others, and 21 as influenced, with their results mostly being influenced by others. Among the causal indicators, those related to the human factor (eight indicators) were the most predominant. However, the most-cited performance families in the literature do not stand out as being causal, but rather as mostly influenced.
Practical implications
This study can help managers improve and analyze performance more effectively, while focusing on the importance of choosing causal over influenced indicators.
Originality/value
Performance measurement plays a crucial role for organizations, but because of the increasing number of metrics, there lacks an established framework. This exploratory study thus opens the discussion on relevance to determine a group of coherent and connected indicators that could help measure performance in a more comprehensive manner, rather than in several isolated parts.
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Dorina Nicoleta Popa, Victoria Bogdan, Claudia Diana Sabau Popa, Marioara Belenesi and Alina Badulescu
The purpose of this work is twofold. First, looks to identify the main homogenous groups of companies after environmental, social, economic and governance (ESEG) disclosures…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this work is twofold. First, looks to identify the main homogenous groups of companies after environmental, social, economic and governance (ESEG) disclosures, non-financial statement and earnings per share (EPS), and second investigates the connection between variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Using financial and non-financial information from annual reports of private listed companies, the authors performed two-step cluster analysis (TSCA) in the first stage of the research, followed by parametric, nonparametric correlation analysis, as well as regression analysis based on panel data, in the second stage.
Findings
Results of TSCA revealed a cluster of companies with good financial and non-financial outcomes and a cluster of companies with poor performance. The performance dynamics showed a slight improvement during the period for few companies and composition analysis of clusters by industries through Kruskal–Wallis test highlighted differences between clusters, only for 2017. The main findings confirm a direct, although weak in intensity but statistically significant correlation between ESEG disclosure index, its sustainability component and financial performance (FP), valid for the entire period. Also, the results showed a direct link of low intensity to average, but statistically significant between the non-financial statement and EPS, valid only for 2017 and 2018.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicate mixed findings which invites further in-depth research. Limits of the study can be found in selected indicators and the short period of time analyzed. However, the practical implications are worth considering from the perspective of finding new managerial tools that can better shape the relationship between ESEG disclosures and FP.
Practical implications
ESEG Dindx can be an instrument for managers that can optimize the link between the FP of companies and its sustainable development.
Social implications
ESEG Dindx measures the disclosure degree of ESEG information by the companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). The main findings of the work confirm a direct, although weak in intensity but statistically significant correlation between ESEG disclosure index, its sustainability component and FP, valid for the entire period.
Originality/value
This study adds value to the existing literature by the proposed research framework, design of ESEG Dindx and the way correlations between variables were investigated.
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Yuhfen Diana Wu and Susan Lee Kendall
Effective integration of information literacy skills into the business curriculum requires the development of collaborative partnerships between teaching faculty and librarians…
Abstract
Purpose
Effective integration of information literacy skills into the business curriculum requires the development of collaborative partnerships between teaching faculty and librarians. Developing a good partnership requires an understanding of the teaching faculty's perspectives. This paper aims to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was sent to business teaching faculty at California State Universities to determine their expectations in regards to student information literacy skills.
Findings
Writing a report or project that required in‐depth research is one of the major expectations. All faculty surveyed expect students to use library research for their assignments.
Originality/value
Business faculty and librarians will be able to use these findings in developing guidelines to integrate information literacy into coursework, assignments and research tools.