Rima Karami-Akkary, Julia Mahfouz and Samaya Mansour
Emotions of school leaders influence school culture and structure. Understanding emotions is under-researched and under-theorized in non-western contexts, especially during…
Abstract
Purpose
Emotions of school leaders influence school culture and structure. Understanding emotions is under-researched and under-theorized in non-western contexts, especially during educational change. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the leadership team’s (LT’s) emotional responses to change, their coping strategies and conditions that maintain their commitment to change.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used intrinsic case study research, drawing on data from interviews and a focus group that illuminated perceptions of the LT in a school. The data set was analyzed following the general inductive approach.
Findings
The LT’s experienced three critical incidents (CI) of educational change that provoked a range of intense negative and positive emotions, a national curriculum reform. Despite the team’s attempt to cope with the national curriculum reform (i.e. CI1), negative emotions and unsupportive conditions challenged their commitment to change. In CI2, supportive conditions and effective personal coping strategies helped elicit positive emotions, which led to sustained commitment to change. Emotions experienced during the capacity-building program (i.e. CI3) were predominantly positive due to support from the school principal and coaches, resulting in sustained commitment to change.
Research limitations/implications
Findings from this small-scale case study in Lebanon are not generalizable to other contexts. The time lag could have affected the recollection of experiences. All participants were female, and their experiences might not reflect those of other school members affected by the changes.
Practical implications
Examining emotions during change uncovers insight into school leaders’ subjective experience, facilitates a more nuanced understanding of change, and supports change implementation. Considering emotions during change informs the development of tailored interventions that provide effective support.
Originality/value
This study examines how emotions affect the success of educational change. Contrary to common understanding, change does not always generate negative emotions that impede implementation. School-based improvement creates structural and cultural conditions for effective change as it considers practitioners’ socio-emotional needs, eliciting positive emotions.
Details
Keywords
Based on a need to utilize strategies and develop social-emotional competency skills of school administrators, the purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Cultivating…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on a need to utilize strategies and develop social-emotional competency skills of school administrators, the purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE), a mindfulness-based professional development program, on the leadership and well-being of 13 school administrators.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data consist of in-depth interviews with 13 administrators before and after the implementation of CARE program, observation notes from shadowing their activities during school time and attending the CARE program as a participant observer. Employing the pro-social classroom model (Jennings and Greenberg, 2009) as a theoretical foundation, the paper is based on an ongoing, iterative data analysis process, following the coding and interpretive techniques of grounded theory.
Findings
The positive outcomes that emerged from the data relate to improved leadership skills, such as increased self-reflection, better relationships and attendance to self-care. These skills are tied to increased self-awareness, self-management and self-compassion. Participants also reported an improved ability to recognize their emotional reactions, which enabled them to better understand their leadership roles in shaping their school climates.
Research limitations/implications
The findings reveal significant insights about the implementation of social-emotional, mindfulness-based professional development with school administrators and potential outcomes. Implications for professional development that fosters school administrators’ social-emotional competencies are discussed.
Originality/value
As a study of one of the first implementations of mindfulness-based professional development programs among school principals, this research illuminates the specific benefits of such programs for school leaders and how mindfulness could be integral in their lives and education. Specifically, this study is one of the first to reveal how the CARE professional development program influences principals’ well-being and leadership.
Details
Keywords
The challenges that Saudi female leaders face have a major effect on their wellbeing, because their life’s satisfaction as Gärling et al. (2015) pointed out is related to the…
Abstract
The challenges that Saudi female leaders face have a major effect on their wellbeing, because their life’s satisfaction as Gärling et al. (2015) pointed out is related to the balance between mental and physical circumstances that they experience. Additionally, female leaders in Saudi higher education experience considerable job-related stress, and they often lack the strategies and guidance which are necessary to enhance the social and emotional competencies that could help them to cope appropriately with challenges and maintain their wellbeing. Therefore, this chapter presents findings from a qualitative study and unravels Saudi female leaders’ strategies for managing challenges and sustaining their wellbeing in higher education organizations.
Details
Keywords
Hilary Lustick, Abeer Hakouz, Allison Ward-Seidel and Larissa Gaias
This study facilitated restorative coordinators in co-constructing and proposing solutions to common problems in RJ implementation.
Abstract
Purpose
This study facilitated restorative coordinators in co-constructing and proposing solutions to common problems in RJ implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used grounded theory to examine barriers to equitable restorative justice (RJ) implementation in the US. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with restorative coordinators, we used a combination of inductive and deductive coding consistent with the grounded theory approach.
Findings
Coordinators distinguished between RJ as a top-down, isolated “program” versus RJ as a collaborative “practice” among all stakeholders. Only the latter was equitable, in their view, and required a consistent principal commitment to building and maintaining an inclusive school culture. Participants recommended that teacher and principal preparation provide opportunities to cultivate critical consciousness and participate in RJ practices.
Originality/value
Existing research on discipline reform tends to focus on outcomes, such as suspension rates. Instead, participants focused on the reform process, viewing equitable RJ as an ongoing “practice” to improve school culture. Our findings also open new discussions about leadership preparation content and pedagogy: participants called for preparation programs to cultivate critical consciousness and facility with RJ. Lastly, the study’s recruitment and focus group design raise important considerations for future RJ research.
Details
Keywords
Noor Ul Hadi and Assim Ibrhaim Abdel-Razzaq
Several studies have attempted to explain the integration of sustainable development in business school curricula. However, little is known about who (male students vs female…
Abstract
Purpose
Several studies have attempted to explain the integration of sustainable development in business school curricula. However, little is known about who (male students vs female students), at which age (under 21, 21–25 and 26–30) and at which stage of their undergraduate education (freshman, junior or senior) can attain and retain an adequate understanding of sustainability in accounting education. For this reason, the present study aims to investigate the students' interest in sustainability in accounting with respect to their demographic factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a quantitative research design where data were collected at a single point in time. Further, an independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA and factorial design were performed on 132 responses conveniently collected from accounting students in the College of Business Administration (COBA) at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Findings
The study found no differences between the attitudes of male and female students toward sustainability in accounting education. Similarly, no statistical differences were found in the three age categories identified in this study. However, significant results were found throughout the different academic classifications (seniority): freshman students, junior students and senior students. Further, differences in the mean scores for freshman and junior accounting students were different between the male and female students, indicating that both male and female senior students' attitudes toward sustainability in accounting education were higher than those of male and female freshman and junior accounting students. The study concluded that students achieve an adequate understanding of sustainability in accounting education related to the relativism category of the Perry model of intellectual development.
Originality/value
Literature on attitude of students toward sustainability in education, specifically accounting education, is questionable and needs further exploration. This is due to the fact that only a small number of accounting students have been exposed to sustainable accounting education. Similarly, a recent study found a significant deficiency in sustainable accounting education in four Saudi Arabian universities, with only 4.5% of respondents knowing the comprehensive definition of sustainable development and 88% respondents having very low to low familiarity with the term sustainability.
Details
Keywords
Julius Eggert and Julia Hartmann
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential synergy between companies’ sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) activities and their supply chain resilience…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential synergy between companies’ sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) activities and their supply chain resilience (SCRES). The authors propose hypotheses about the impact of buying companies SSCM activities on the inflicted damage by unexpected supply chain disruptions and the recovery time afterwards and test these empirically using data from companies during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors investigate a sample of 231 of the largest publicly traded companies in the European Union with 4.158 firm-year observations. For the analysis, the authors generate variables capturing the companies’ intensity and years of experience of their SSCM activities targeted at the supply chain and run regression analyses on the inflicted damage due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery time after the disruption.
Findings
Buying companies’ SSCM activities have a positive effect on their SCRES. The damage inflicted by unexpected supply chain disruptions is lower when companies have higher levels of SSCM and longer experience with it. The recovery time afterwards is significantly reduced by longer experience with SSCM efforts.
Research limitations/implications
The authors suggest SCRES is reinforced by transparency, situational awareness, social capital and collaboration resulting from companies SSCM activities translate into increased SCRES.
Practical implications
The authors show that companies with superior SSCM are more resilient in a crisis and conclude that, therefore, companies should invest in SSCM to prevent future supply disruptions.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study analyzing a data set of multi-industry companies, linking their SSCM activities to SCRES during the pandemic.
Details
Keywords
Muyiwa Oyinlola, Oluwaseun Kolade, Patrick Schröder, Victor Odumuyiwa, Barry Rawn, Kutoma Wakunuma, Soroosh Sharifi, Selma Lendelvo, Ifeoluwa Akanmu, Timothy Whitehead, Radhia Mtonga, Bosun Tijani and Soroush Abolfathi
This paper aims to provide insights into the environment needed for advancing a digitally enabled circular plastic economy in Africa. It explores important technical and social…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide insights into the environment needed for advancing a digitally enabled circular plastic economy in Africa. It explores important technical and social paradigms for the transition.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted an interpretivist paradigm, drawing on thematic analysis on qualitative data from an inter-sectoral engagement with 69 circular economy stakeholders across the continent.
Findings
The results shows that, while substantial progress has been made with regard to the development and deployment of niche innovations in Africa, the overall progress of circular plastic economy is slowed due to relatively minimal changes at the regime levels as well as pressures from the exogenous landscape. The study highlights that regime changes are crucial for disrupting the entrenched linear plastic economy in developing countries, which is supported by significant sunk investment and corporate state capture.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study is with the sample as it uses data collected from five countries. Therefore, while it offers a panoramic view of multi-level synergy of actors and sectors across African countries, it is limited in its scope and ability to illuminate country-specific nuances and peculiarities.
Practical implications
The study underlines the importance of policy innovations and regulatory changes in order for technologies to have a meaningful contribution to the transition to a circular plastic economy.
Originality/value
The study makes an important theoretical contribution by using empirical evidence from various African regions to articulate the critical importance of the regime dimension in accelerating the circular economy transition in general, and the circular plastic economy in particular, in Africa.