Teresa A. Ogina and Jan Nieuwenhuis
The purpose of this study was to gather data from orphaned learners on their lived experiences in order to gain more understanding of their educational needs. Twelve orphaned…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gather data from orphaned learners on their lived experiences in order to gain more understanding of their educational needs. Twelve orphaned learners (aged 14‐17) from two schools in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa participated in the study. The draw‐write and narrative approach was used to elicit information from the children. The methodological, ethical and practical issues emerging from researching orphans using this approach are discussed and illustrated using examples from the study. The article demonstrates that integrating visual, written and interview data collection methods may enable vulnerable children to open up and talk about their experiences. However, it requires the researcher to be patient, sensitive and empathetic to the circumstances of such children.
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Patricia Brouwer, Mieke Brekelmans, Loek Nieuwenhuis and Robert‐Jan Simons
The aim of this study is to explore whether and to what degree community development of teacher teams takes place and how community development comes about, that is, what…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore whether and to what degree community development of teacher teams takes place and how community development comes about, that is, what community‐building efforts teacher teams undertake.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multi method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from seven interdisciplinary teacher teams in a secondary school during one school year. Teachers' perceptions of community development were complemented with video‐observations of team meetings by relative outsiders.
Findings
Data showed that the teacher teams undertook a wide variety and amount of community‐building efforts. However, community development of the teacher teams as perceived by the teachers was limited. Relative outsiders observed some community development.
Practical implications
From the findings the authors conclude that school managers could play a more proactive role in supporting teacher teams' community‐building efforts. Strategies embedding community‐building into the culture and policy of the school, including diagnosing, custom‐made support and making efforts explicit, could be effective.
Originality/value
The current study takes a long‐term approach, investigating the community development of teacher teams during the course of one school year. In addition, community development is measured using two perspectives, i.e. that of the community members and that of the relative outsider.
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Patricia Brouwer, Mieke Brekelmans, Loek Nieuwenhuis and Robert‐Jan Simons
The first aim of this study is to explore to what extent communities of practice occur in the school workplace. The second aim is to explore the relation between communities of…
Abstract
Purpose
The first aim of this study is to explore to what extent communities of practice occur in the school workplace. The second aim is to explore the relation between communities of practice and diversity in composition of teacher teams.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative as well as qualitative data were gathered from seven teacher teams in a school for secondary education. Questionnaires and observation instruments were used to measure and analyze teacher teams' collaborative activities and diversity in composition.
Findings
Data suggest that communities of practice actually occur in the school workplace, but to a moderate extent. Also, communities of practice are related to four of the five diversity attributes that were investigated.
Research limitations/implications
The current study is a snapshot measurement of communities of practice. Future research is recommended to focus on the development of communities of practice in the school workplace by including longitudinal measurements.
Practical implications
Implications for teachers and administrators include follow‐up activities aimed at stimulating and sustaining communities of practice as well as taking diversity considerations in team composition into account.
Originality/value
Studies suggest that a community is a promising context for embedding collaboration into the culture of the school. However, empirical research that focuses on communities in the school workplace seems largely absent. This study provides insight in the occurrence of communities of practice from two perspectives: the perception of community members and the observation from outsiders.
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Consider two images of gender and power in Indonesia and much of Southeast Asia: the market seller and the king.1 These images, stereotypical and contradictory, represent the…
Abstract
Consider two images of gender and power in Indonesia and much of Southeast Asia: the market seller and the king.1 These images, stereotypical and contradictory, represent the pervasive antinomies that have served to organize analysis of male and female roles within the household and beyond in Java. Careful attention to the lives of women and their movements through the dense urban neighborhoods known as kampung on the central island of the Indonesian archipelago reveal both the limits of these characterizations and some of the interesting reversals that occur based on class and community, especially the community as organized by the Indonesian government.
While much of the existing research regarding moral exemplarity has focused on living individuals, examination of the lives of historical figures can also prove invaluable in…
Abstract
While much of the existing research regarding moral exemplarity has focused on living individuals, examination of the lives of historical figures can also prove invaluable in understanding moral motivation. Consequently, this paper sought to apply Frimer and Walker’s (2009) reconciliation model and methodology in examining themes of agency and communion in the motivation of Miep Gies. Frimer and Walker’s (2009) Self-Understanding Interview and the VEiN coding method (Frimer, Walker, & Dunlop, 2009) served as guides for examining published and audio-recorded interviews, biographical and autobiographical information, as well as video-recorded speeches given by Gies. Aspects of an integrated moral identity appeared evident in the personality of Miep Gies as indicated in statements reflecting an overlap of both agency and communion. The study was limited in its reliance on publically available documents about or by Gies. Further, reliance on these documents, as opposed to a “live” interview, limited the ability of the author to identify responses to all questions included in Frimer and Walker’s (2009) interview or fully utilize the VEiN coding method (Frimer et al., 2009). Exploration of life narratives of historical figures can provide insight into an integrated moral identity as well as examples of developmental crossroads Frimer and Walker (2009) cited as essential in their reconciliation model. Comprehension of this reconciliation process is critical to understanding what lies at the heart of moral motivation and action as well as the ability to promote such growth in the lives of others.
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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing public diplomacy literature as it focuses on the crucial, but so far largely unnoticed negative dimension of public…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing public diplomacy literature as it focuses on the crucial, but so far largely unnoticed negative dimension of public diplomacy by analyzing information campaigns targeting unwanted people as one instrument of public diplomacy.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the cases of Australia and Germany this paper analyses the public diplomacy narratives of these two countries and contrasts those with the messages both countries communicate to potential migrants/refuges through a number of information campaigns. Based on this assessment the paper highlights the negative dimension of public diplomacy and discusses how this negative dimension influences the conduct of public diplomacy.
Findings
Both cases clearly exemplify that public diplomacy is no altruistic affair and that public diplomacy is facing new challenges due to this concurrence of opposing images it aims to communicate. It further illustrates that this negative dimension not only challenges the understanding of public diplomacy, but at the same time exemplifies a communicative predicament which, it is argued, cannot be solved satisfactory and requires a trade-off between deterrence and attraction. The predicament arises from the dichotomy of presenting a positive image of a country to produce endorsement and sympathy as well as to attract tourists and investment, while at the same time communicating a negative image to deter uninvited people from entering the country.
Practical implications
Referring to this communicative predicament, the paper suggests that those campaigns are unrewarding for two reasons: first, they apparently do not achieve their objectives and at the same time undermine other public diplomacy initiatives.
Originality/value
The paper highlights the normally neglected fact that public diplomacy is not only concerned with presenting a positive image of a country and winning hearts and minds, but that public diplomacy also has a negative dimension which needs more academic analysis and practitioner’s attention.