Kathleen M. Cowin, Gordon S. Gates and Kathleen Luckett
Studies uniformly portray the assistant principal (AP) position as challenging given a number of systemic issues that negatively impact job satisfaction and performance. Mentoring…
Abstract
Purpose
Studies uniformly portray the assistant principal (AP) position as challenging given a number of systemic issues that negatively impact job satisfaction and performance. Mentoring has been proposed as a way to redress these problems. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate an alternative to traditional mentoring and make recommendations for how to utilize this approach in supporting APs and principal interns.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ a retrospective and conversational approach, sharing incidents and interactions from their professional experience and making connections to existing research literature. The authors explain the relevance of three concepts developed in relational cultural theory (RCT) including: interdependent self-in-relation, growth-fostering interactions, and an exploration of systemic power.
Findings
The narrative exposes the ambiguity of school leadership and its toll, as well as how relational mentoring facilitates integration and making sense of challenging experiences for improved coping. Barriers in communication are described and the ways relational mentoring addresses these weaknesses by building trust, recognizing the expertise of mentor and protégé, and encouraging protégé empowerment and judgment.
Research limitations/implications
Potential research limitations such as inaccuracies in recall, reliance on a single method, and hindsight bias are recognized and addressed to reduce their threat.
Practical implications
RCT may provide ways to develop and structure more effective mentoring programs and educate both aspiring leaders and their mentors in their work together to provide for leadership development.
Social implications
Improved mentoring practices have the potential to help APs socialize into the role more quickly and become more effective school leaders.
Originality/value
The authors describe the use of RCT in a new context. The paper provides insights and guidance for APs, principals, principal interns, and leadership preparation faculty to offer a pathway on which to prepare the next generation of school leaders equipped with the desired competences and experiences to transform schools.
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Jean C. Marczynski and Gordon S. Gates
The purpose of this paper is to analyze data gathered in 1998 and 2011 from representative samples of women secondary school principals in Texas to identify differences in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze data gathered in 1998 and 2011 from representative samples of women secondary school principals in Texas to identify differences in personal, professional, leadership, and school characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Two proportionate, random samples were drawn of women secondary principals 13 years apart. The Texas Education Directory provided the sampling frame and school data were downloaded from the Public Education Information Management System. Principals were sent surveys including measures of situational and distributed leadership as well as demographic questions. Response rates of 65 percent and 42 percent were achieved on the 1998 and 2011 surveys respectively.
Findings
While the percentage of secondary schools led by women principals shows little change and is similar to previous research, a more nuanced examination of these women and their schools evidences progress. The diversity for women administrators has increased and women are more likely to hold positions in urban schools. Years of teaching experience has decreased and women appear to be entering the profession at a younger age. Change on both variables reflects averages for male principals. Leadership scores indicated lower adaptability and more directive styles for women in 2011; however, scores on the Distributed Leadership Inventory were high.
Originality/value
Schools led by women in 2011 possessed a larger proportion of students of poverty but no differences were noted in school enrollment or student passing rates on accountability tests. The authors encourage districts to continue fair hiring policies and argue women have become more competitive for the large urban high school principalships.
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Walter H. Gmelch and Gordon Gates
The purpose of the study was threefold: to identify the most salient personal, professional, and organizational characteristics contributing to administrator burnout; to determine…
Abstract
The purpose of the study was threefold: to identify the most salient personal, professional, and organizational characteristics contributing to administrator burnout; to determine those correlational relationships that are most salient; and to assess the role of social support’s impact on job satisfaction, burnout, and performance. A total of 1,000 principals and superintendents from Washington State were administered the Administrator Work Inventory. The authors identify different strategies to be taken to mitigate the various dimensions of burnout.
Jimmy Hill, Pauric McGowan and Paula Drummond
Outlines a qualitative methodology for researching in entrepreneurial small firms and through an application of this methodology to a group of five entrepreneurs, illustrates its…
Abstract
Outlines a qualitative methodology for researching in entrepreneurial small firms and through an application of this methodology to a group of five entrepreneurs, illustrates its appropriateness in explaining how such firms manage and develop their personal contact networks over the life cycle of an enterprise. Draws on the relevant literature to provide a contextual setting for the research. The research approach adopted is largely inductive and it resulted in the emergence of a theoretical model of network evolution for owner‐managed entrepreneurial small firms.
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Scott Thorne and Gordon C. Bruner
The purpose is to examine the behaviors of consumers engaged in fan activity and determine if there are attitudinal and behavioral characteristics common across the differing fan…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to examine the behaviors of consumers engaged in fan activity and determine if there are attitudinal and behavioral characteristics common across the differing fan subcultures.
Design/methodology/approach
The characteristics affecting fan behavior are examined through the literature and a series of structured interviews with fans which are then evaluated for the presence or lack of the sought for characteristics of fanaticism.
Findings
The research indicates that there are certain common characteristics to be found in fans interested in different topics and that these characteristics influence the behaviors of those involved in fan behavior.
Research limitations/implications
Given the prevalence of fan influences in popular and consumptive culture, opportunity exists for research beyond the exploratory work done here including larger interview populations from a greater number of fan subcultures.
Practical implications
Marketing professionals may use the identified characteristics as a guide in marketing popular culture to those markets best attuned to accept and embrace it.
Originality/value
This paper provides exploratory research in an area of popular culture that has previously been examined as categories of fans, rather than as an inclusive subculture of fanaticism.
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Linda J. Searby and Denise Armstrong
The purpose of this paper is to introduce readers to the special issue on “middle space” education leaders (those individuals who are second-in-command in schools). The special…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce readers to the special issue on “middle space” education leaders (those individuals who are second-in-command in schools). The special issue contains papers pertaining to mentoring those preparing for and aspiring to the assistant school leader role, as well as papers on programs that support new assistant principals/vice-principals through mentoring and coaching. The authors provide background on middle space leadership and mentoring from existing research literature, introduce the international papers selected for the issue, and identify unifying themes across the papers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide highlights of relevant research literature on the importance of mentoring for school leaders in general, but also specifically address the need for mentoring for middle space leaders from the scant literature that exists on the topic. After reviewing the relevant literature, the authors provide an overview of the seven papers that were chosen for the issue through a rigorous peer-review process.
Findings
The co-editors of this special issue identify common themes that emerged from the papers chosen for the issue. In general, authors note that middle space leaders have unique mentoring and coaching needs, and there are few formal programs that address their needs. However, there is a growing awareness of the need to support assistant principals through structured mentoring programs, as well as preparing and mentoring those who aspire to the position.
Research limitations/implications
The seven papers chosen for the special issue represent a variety of research methodologies. A limitation is that the majority of the studies are qualitative, with small sample populations. However, even with small sample sizes, commonalities can be seen across the studies and across international contexts.
Practical implications
This review summarizes the issues facing middle space leaders in education and how they can be effectively addressed. The global audience that can benefit from engaging with the papers in this special issue includes educational leadership faculty, educational governing bodies, policymakers, school district central office personnel, senior principals, and assistant principals themselves.
Originality/value
This paper and the seven that follow extend the scant research literature in the realm of middle space leaders in education. They provide unique insights – from different international contexts including the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, and New Zealand – into the need for and potential benefits of mentoring and coaching aspiring and new middle space leaders.
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A previous paper had shown that milling organic pigments at elevated temperatures often improves colour development through better wetting. The present investigation shows that…
Abstract
A previous paper had shown that milling organic pigments at elevated temperatures often improves colour development through better wetting. The present investigation shows that heat can, nevertheless, have an overall adverse effect on colour strength and hue of pigments which partially dissolve (and subsequently recrystallise) in a vehicle system under the combined action of heat and impact. Likewise, metastable polymorphic pigments should be dispersed at the lowest possible temperature to minimise hue shifts and/or loss of colour strength.
Liza Turner McAninch, Kathleen Owings Swan and Mark Hofer
This article provides a starting place for teachers wanting to dabble with the latest trend in technology—podcasting. The authors present a general overview of a tool that will…
Abstract
This article provides a starting place for teachers wanting to dabble with the latest trend in technology—podcasting. The authors present a general overview of a tool that will most likely be part of the teaching vernacular, if not now, in the very near future. We offer a short tutorial on podcasting as well as perspectives on how teachers might incorporate podcasts into their curricula. We also summarize the value and limitations of podcasts, and perhaps most importantly, we include a resource guide to some of the more intriguing and useful podcasts currently available.
Morgan R. Clevenger, Cynthia J. MacGregor and C.J. Ryan
This chapter highlights the roots of corporate philanthropy from Frishkoff and Kostecka's (1991) concern for community, Young and Burlingame's (1996) Paradigm Lost, Saiia's (2001…
Abstract
This chapter highlights the roots of corporate philanthropy from Frishkoff and Kostecka's (1991) concern for community, Young and Burlingame's (1996) Paradigm Lost, Saiia's (2001) strategic philanthropy, and Bruch and Walter's (2005) Four Types of Corporate Philanthropy.