– The purpose of this paper is to review the link between public education policies and institutional practices in Argentina throughout history and today.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the link between public education policies and institutional practices in Argentina throughout history and today.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used is in line with socio-educational management studies oriented to analyse educational practices qualitatively from an institutional perspective.
Findings
The review allows a wider discussion about the characteristics of the traditional organizational structure in relation to the rules, order, purposes and homogeneity of educational institutions. Furthermore, the paper shows there are some experiences and practices developed nowadays in Argentinian secondary schools that constitute a guide for social inclusion.
Research limitations/implications
Throughout Argentina’s education history, secondary school has supported its policies on a bureaucratic institutional structure rationally oriented to serving interests of a minority. Today, social inclusion policies and compulsory secondary schooling are presented as an opportunity to democratize the management of educational institutions.
Practical implications
In the early 2000s, the education system in Argentina kept a traditional bureaucratic structure based on a selective education policy. In this regard, statistics are quite revealing as regards the degree of social exclusion in secondary school: only 11 per cent of the students that begin first grade, finish secondary school. In 2006, after the enactment of the compulsory secondary education law, educational management is faced with the challenge to renew its institutional practices in order to make inclusion feasible. In this sense, the paper shows that secondary schools are implementing certain management practices aimed at achieving greater social inclusion.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on the notion that the characteristics of management practices are related to the social interests of education policies. In this sense, the educational management of Argentinian secondary schools is undergoing a process of transformation from traditional selective practices towards more inclusive practices.
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Israel Javier Juma Michilena, Maria Eugenia Ruiz Molina and Irene Gil-Saura
The purpose of this study is to identify groups of employees based on their motivations, detecting the main barriers that may influence their willingness to participate in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify groups of employees based on their motivations, detecting the main barriers that may influence their willingness to participate in the pro-environmental initiatives proposed by their employer.
Design/methodology/approach
To identify the different groups of employees, an online survey was conducted, and the Chi-square automatic interaction detection algorithm segmentation technique was used with a sample of 483 employees from 9 Latin American universities.
Findings
The results allowed us to identify various segments, in which the main obstacle linked to intrinsic motivation is the university culture and, to a lesser extent, the lack of equipment, while for extrinsic motivation, the lack of infrastructure is the most determining factor. Likewise, the results reflect that, compared to the less motivated employees, those who show greater motivation (both intrinsic and extrinsic) are the ones who encounter the greatest barriers, so that the perceptions of the most motivated, as expert observers, help to identify the main obstacles that organisations must remove to promote pro-environmental behaviours among staff members.
Practical implications
The results obtained help to guide the representatives or organisational leaders on the actions that generate the greatest impact in the mitigation of climate change from a motivational approach of behavioural prediction.
Social implications
This study contributes to a more sustainable society by developing an understanding of how employees react to issues related to climate change. Knowing the perceptions of employees can be a turning point so that other members of society can get involved in pro-environmental behaviours.
Originality/value
Many studies have analysed the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of employees to engage in pro-environmental behaviours; however, as far as the authors are aware, this has not been analysed from the perspective of barriers to motivation.
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Roy Boyd, Maria Eugenia Ibarrarán and Roberto Vélez-Grajales
Roy Boyd, Maria Eugenia Ibarrarán and Roberto Vélez-Grajales
Roy Boyd, Maria Eugenia Ibarrarán and Roberto Vélez-Grajales
Thyago Celso Cavalcante Nepomuceno, Miguel Gomes da Silva, Maria Eugênia Vergilio Mori, Wilka Maria do N. Silva and Isaac Pergher
The recent increase in the number of infections and mortality rates in many regions has emphasized the cyclical nature of this pandemic, with new variants emerging constantly…
Abstract
Purpose
The recent increase in the number of infections and mortality rates in many regions has emphasized the cyclical nature of this pandemic, with new variants emerging constantly. Understanding what has been done by efficient administrations to contain the outbreak is essential while new immunization developments for the new variants are not available.
Design/methodology/approach
This work adapts the traditional Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC) Variable Returns to Scale model for including panel data on the Brazilian Federal Government spending over the first pandemic months in Pernambuco to identify efficient municipalities and conduct a benchmark on the best practices, reactions and implications that can serve as a guide for the post-Covid recurrence era.
Findings
The results provide an interesting panorama of municipal response to the pandemic and some quantitative and qualitative prospects on potentials for improvements from the perspective of efficient and inefficient cities. Only one administration (São Bento do Una) was identified as efficient for the entire period. The authors’ benchmark and discussion are focused on this municipality.
Originality/value
The authors believe this work has two innovative components. The first is a robust and systematic methodology integrating the advances in testing convexity and returns to scale in the construction of a production frontier based on panel data. The second is a discussion on what drives efficiency (benchmarking of best practices) in addition to how to quantitatively attain such efficiency prospects. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, both methodological and empirical implications are original to the present manuscript.
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Jennie Gamlin and Maria Eugenia Pastor
The purpose of this paper is to examine the theory, policy and practice of child labour in Latin America. Interventions to reduce child labour are more likely to be successful if…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the theory, policy and practice of child labour in Latin America. Interventions to reduce child labour are more likely to be successful if they are locally‐driven, supported by legislation and based on theoretical understandings of childhood that reflect the realities and needs of the children, families and communities whose lives they aim to improve.
Design/methodology/approach
Sociological and anthropological discourses on children's life worlds are reviewed to situate changes in our understanding of child labour. These theoretical developments are then discussed in the light of changing international legislation, such as ILO's convention 182. Recent statistics suggest a trend for declining child labour and we study the link between statistics, theoretical and legislative positions.
Findings
The ILO's 2006 child labour statistics and examples of policies in Latin America support the hypothesis that theoretical developments in the concept of childhood have influenced successful interventions aimed at its reduction. This theory‐policy‐practice partnership appears to have been a catalyst for the development of successful “government–private‐enterprise – civil society” programmes to reduce child labour.
Research limitations/implications
Although these multi‐sectorial strategies have been successful in Latin America, further research is needed to see whether similar policies and interventions can be repeated in other regions.
Originality/value
The paper is original in its linking of theory, policy and practice in the context of recent statistics and programmes at reducing child labour in Latin America.
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This paper aims to review the economic impact of Covid in Spain and propose policies to deal with them.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the economic impact of Covid in Spain and propose policies to deal with them.
Design/methodology/approach
Not relevant.
Findings
The pandemic is having a very severe effect, which varies across sectors and regions. Given the severity of the problem, a comprehensive policy strategy is needed. Specific proposals about such a strategy are made, distinguishing between the short and the long run.
Originality/value
It provides a discussion about the main measures that have been taken to mitigate the economic consequences of Covid in Spain and about what else should be done.