Fiona King and Howard Stevenson
In recent years the benefits of distributed leadership have often assumed the status of an unchallengeable orthodoxy. There is a general acceptance that leadership is best when it…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years the benefits of distributed leadership have often assumed the status of an unchallengeable orthodoxy. There is a general acceptance that leadership is best when it is dispersed. In reality this is often little more than a form of “licensed leadership” in which those working in subordinate roles can only exercise their leadership in tightly prescribed contexts. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the contribution of teacher professional development to promoting a more optimistic vision of teacher leadership and, ultimately, organisational change. It explores the role of leadership “from above” in supporting classroom teachers to engage with and sustain change.
Design/methodology/approach
The study, which was situated in the Republic of Ireland, employed a case study approach with 20 participants in five urban disadvantaged schools.
Findings
The paper seeks to demonstrate how a professional development initiative was used to promote significant and sustained change in four of the five case study schools.
Research limitations/implications
It argues that in order to understand sustained change in schools it is necessary to better understand the complex ways in which leadership from above can generate change agency from below.
Originality/value
This paper offers a critical perspective in relation to mainstream distributed leadership theory and practice.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of how best to develop teacher capacity in Cambodia. Since the 1990s the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), with its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of how best to develop teacher capacity in Cambodia. Since the 1990s the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), with its development partners, has undertaken the tremendous task of rebuilding Cambodia’s shattered education system. Many of the policies and programmes that have been developed hinge on building teacher capacity. This paper investigates the extent to which the capacity of teachers in the schools in this study was developed under the current cascade model favoured by the MoEYS.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a case study methodology data were collected, primarily, through semi-structured interviews with teachers in three government primary schools located in different geographical areas, and ministry officials and advisors based in these locations.
Findings
The findings identified that the current cascade model of capacity development, apart from watering down what is taught as it filters along the system, is not developing the requisite capacity of teachers. The findings suggest that the current model limits what constitutes capacity and for whom.
Practical implications
An expanded model of capacity development is forwarded that includes: school-based training for all teachers on an ongoing basis; incremental training; and regular training for trainers and principals.
Originality/value
This paper offers valuable insights that contribute to the ongoing discussion of how best to develop teacher capacity in Cambodia. It may also offer insights on developing teacher capacity to those working in similar situations.
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THE London & Home Counties Branch of the la reports a gratifying response to its attempts last year to attract a wider list of applications for its biennial Senior Librarians…
Abstract
THE London & Home Counties Branch of the la reports a gratifying response to its attempts last year to attract a wider list of applications for its biennial Senior Librarians Award, worth £800. As a result, a proportion of the 1973 award has been allotted to Ivan G Sparkes, Librarian of High Wycombe, Bucks, for research into source material relating to furniture history, and to Celia F Thimann, a lecturer at Ealing (London) school of librarianship for a visit to Japan in the autumn to study library provision and information systems in the field of ecological conservation and pollution.
Radha Kothari, Danielle White, Laura Craster, Eva Vicianova, Sophie Dennard, Fiona Bailey, John Kemp, Derek K. Tracy and Natasha Sarkissian
In 1999, the national health service (NHS) was made responsible for the commissioning of prison health care. Mental health inreach teams (MHIT) were set up to mirror community…
Abstract
Purpose
In 1999, the national health service (NHS) was made responsible for the commissioning of prison health care. Mental health inreach teams (MHIT) were set up to mirror community mental health teams and provide secondary care to prisoners diagnosed with severe and enduring mental illnesses (SEMI). Since then, the provision of mental health care to prisoners without a diagnosis of a SEMI has been variable. A rapid review of NHS health care in prisons conducted by Public Health England (PHE) (2016) highlighted the need for provision to be more integrated and meet the needs of prisoners without a diagnosis of a SEMI. In response, an integrated mental health and substance misuse service was implemented within her majesty’s prison/young offenders institution Pentonville. This study aims to evaluate its impact and share lessons learned.
Design/methodology/approach
Routinely collected and anonymised data were reviewed for prisoners referred between 1 May 2018 and 31 December 2019. Data are presented on the quantity of referrals over time, and the type of support offered. Chi-square goodness of fit tests was conducted to determine whether the prisoners referred to the service were representative of the wider prison population in terms of age and ethnicity.
Findings
Referrals showed a general pattern of increase over time and were representative of the wider prison population in terms of age and ethnicity, indicating equitable access. Lessons learned are discussed. Demand for therapeutic and substance misuse services was higher than that for SEMIs. Notable was the high quantity of referrals which provides further evidence for the disparity between high need and limited provision within prison settings, particularly for therapeutic interventions.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first service evaluation of a recently implemented integrated and holistic model of prison mental health care in line with recommendations from PHE (2016).
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Sophie Dennard, Derek K. Tracy, Aaron Beeney, Laura Craster, Fiona Bailey, Anisah Baureek, Michael Barton, Jeanette Turrell, Sarah Poynton, Vafo Navkarov and Radha Kothari
Prisons are uniquely challenging working environments. Staff are often exposed to direct and indirect trauma, impacting negatively on their mental well-being. Due to the limited…
Abstract
Purpose
Prisons are uniquely challenging working environments. Staff are often exposed to direct and indirect trauma, impacting negatively on their mental well-being. Due to the limited research into prison staff experience, this paper aims to explore what staff find most challenging, how they cope, what support they would like and rewarding aspects of their work.
Design/methodology/approach
This service development project was facilitated through a staff well-being event. A qualitative approach was used and 74 staff members provided anonymised responses. An inductive and data-driven approach was used to analyse the data, and the trustworthiness of the analysis was considered using criteria established by Lincoln and Guba (1985).
Findings
Thematic analysis identified six themes, namely, the challenging nature of the work, interactions with prisoners, staff interactions, inadequate resources, staff support and development and coping strategies. Key findings include managing distress, self-harm and violence and limited resources presenting challenges. Role variety and opportunities to support prisoners were reported as positive. A variety of coping strategies were identified. Wider availability of supervision and reflective practice was suggested by staff.
Practical implications
Recommendations for increased staff support are made. Suggestions for future research investigating methods to increase rewarding aspects of work within prisons are given.
Originality/value
This analysis adds to the limited body of qualitative research investigating prison staff experiences; in particular, aspects of the work that they find rewarding such as the role variety and opportunities to make positive changes to prisoners’ lives. Novel coping strategies were identified, including cognitive reframing and behavioural strategies for managing stress, which could be encouraged to increase resilience.
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Some of the most recognizable ‘evil’ fairy tale characters are the stepmothers; second-wives who enter happy households, and seek to subjugate their step-children. This character…
Abstract
Some of the most recognizable ‘evil’ fairy tale characters are the stepmothers; second-wives who enter happy households, and seek to subjugate their step-children. This character arc is due to be dismantled. Patriarchal regimes over time have constructed realities where women and power do not go together. In early-to late-modern (white, European) societies, patriarchal structures placed restrictions on the decisions women could make with their lives. This meant that women with status were left with very few options to earn an income. The aim for this analysis is to show this distortion of upper-class female reality by analysing the portrayal of the stepmother characters in four fairy-tale film narratives released since 2000, focusing on the Cinderella and Snow White narratives (two of the more widely disseminated fairy-tale stories). By illustrating how little information is given about their lives before re-marrying, this chapter will demonstrate how audiences are still ignorant to the backdrop of wealthy male superiority and the patriarchal structures that would lead to a woman remarrying for economic security, showing them in a more sympathetic light.
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Fiona Aspinal, Martin Stevens, Jill Manthorpe, John Woolham, Kritika Samsi, Kate Baxter, Shereen Hussein and Mohamed Ismail
The purpose of this paper is to present findings from one element of a study exploring the relationship between personalisation, in the form of personal budgets (PBs) for publicly…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present findings from one element of a study exploring the relationship between personalisation, in the form of personal budgets (PBs) for publicly funded social care and safeguarding.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people receiving PBs who had recently been the focus of a safeguarding investigation. Participants were recruited from two English local authority areas and data were subject to thematic analysis.
Findings
The analysis identified three main themes: levels of information and awareness; safeguarding concerns and processes; and choice and control. Many of the participants in this small study described having experienced multiple forms of abuse or neglect concurrently or repeatedly over time.
Research limitations/implications
This was a small scale, qualitative study, taking place in two local authorities. The small number of participants may have had strong opinions which may or may not have been typical. However, the study provides some rich data on people’s experiences.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that adults receiving PBs may need information on an ongoing and repeated basis together with advice on how to identify and address poor quality care that they are arranging for themselves. Practitioners need to be aware of the influence of the level of information received and the interaction of organisational or legal requirements when responding to safeguarding concerns when care being supplied tries to reflect the benefits of choice and control.
Originality/value
This paper reports original research asking adults with care and support needs about the interaction between two key policies of safeguarding and personalisation.
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James C. Fowler, Robyn Catherine Price, Kirsty Burger, Alice Jennifer Mattei, Ashley Mary McCarthy, Fiona Lowe and Thuthirna Sathiyaseelan
The use of mental health treatment requirements (MHTRs) has not proven to be successful at meeting the mental health needs of the probation population in the UK, largely through…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of mental health treatment requirements (MHTRs) has not proven to be successful at meeting the mental health needs of the probation population in the UK, largely through underuse of the requirement or lack of available services. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper investigates a method of meeting those needs without the use of MHTRs by embedding third sector services within the probation environment.
Findings
Results indicate a significant impact after a six-month follow-up in symptomology across measures of depression, anxiety, general distress and social functioning; also indicated is a significant result on recidivism, with 74 per cent of participants committing no further offences in the 12 months following treatment.
Originality/value
These results represent the only evaluation of embedded, third sector mental health services in a probation environment in the UK, and highlight a further need to embed specialist mental health services within the probation environment and generalise that practice to other forms of service structure and therapeutic methodology.
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Rhidian A. Hughes, Anu Sinha, Fiona Aspinal, Maria Dunckley, Julia Addington‐Hall and Irene J. Higginson
Clinical outcome measures are used in clinical audit to monitor the quality of care provided to patients. As information technology (IT) is increasingly being integrated into the…
Abstract
Clinical outcome measures are used in clinical audit to monitor the quality of care provided to patients. As information technology (IT) is increasingly being integrated into the delivery of health care, computerising the use of clinical outcome measures has been proposed. However, little is known about the attitudes of health professionals towards this. Aims to understand professionals’ views on adapting one clinical outcome measure – the palliative care outcome scale (POS) – for use on hand‐held computers. Concludes that these results reinforce existing research on clinical outcome measures and IT in health care; identify special palliative care issues when considering the use of computerised clinical outcome measures with patients; and highlight the need for further research.
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Richard Rutter, John Nadeau, Ulf Aagerup and Fiona Lettice
The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand relationships between a mega-sports event, the Olympic Games, and its branded main sponsors, using the lens of brand personality.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand relationships between a mega-sports event, the Olympic Games, and its branded main sponsors, using the lens of brand personality.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the internet-based website communications of the sponsor and event brands to assess congruence in brand personality identity exhibited in the communications of sponsors and how these relate to the event brand itself. A lexical analysis of the website text identifies and graphically represents the dominant brand personality traits of the brands relative to each other.
Findings
The results show the Olympic Games is communicating excitement as a leading brand personality dimension. Sponsors of the Olympics largely take on its dominant brand dimension, but do not adapt their whole brand personality to that of the Olympics and benefit by adding excitement without losing their individual character. The transference is more pronounced for long-running sponsors.
Practical implications
Sponsorship of the Olympic Games does give brands the opportunity to capture or borrow the excitement dimension alongside building or reinforcing their own dominant brand personality trait or to begin to subtly alter their brand positioning.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine how the sponsor’s brand aligns with the event being sponsored as a basis for developing a strong shared image and associative dimensions complimentary to the positioning of the brand itself.