Reconceptualizing the School Administrator's Role: Socialization at Mid‐Career

School reform strategies involving restructuring require that administrators redefine their roles. Most of the research in this area has emphasized new rather than veteran administrators. However, if these reform strategies are to be implemented, school administrators at mid‐career stages will need to change their conceptions of the role.

This article identifies and examines literature concerning the major issues of socialization to a role conception, including definitions, sources, and socialization mechanisms for changing conceptions of the role. The article also presents a research agenda based on this theoretical examination that delineates research questions, relevant variables, and possible findings regarding changing role conceptions. The research agenda focuses on two major strategies of educational reform: shared decision making and schools of choice.     

Two Sides of the Same Coin? Analysis of Faculty and Administrators’ Perspectives on Governance

This study explored institutional governance in an Alabama public two-year community college and investigated the perceptions of faculty and administrators within this sector. To answer the research questions for this study, a quantitative cross-sectional survey utilizing inferential analysis of the collected data was employed. To analyze the perceptions of Alabama community college faculty members and administrators regarding their interactions in institutional governance, three quantitative research questions were used. The research questions were analyzed based upon participant responses from the survey instrument. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was the statistical method used to determine if any significant differences in perception existed between faculty and administrators. The results of the study revealed that a significant difference existed between faculty and administrator perceptions with respect to institutional structure and shared governance, but no significant difference existed between faculty and administrators perceptions with respect to supervisory relationships. Considering the findings and conclusions of the present study, the researchers made recommendations related to institutional governance.     

Selecting and Implementing Whole School Improvement Models: A District and School Administrator Perspective

As a growing number of schools and districts are found to be underperforming under the requirements of NCLB, school and district administrators are increasingly searching for research-based whole school improvement programs, including comprehensive school reform (CSR) models and education service providers (ESPs), in order to create dramatic changes and improvements within schools. Limited available research on the effectiveness of these models constrains what education consumers know about how a model will meet the unique needs of a particular school. This article reviews the experience of practitioners who have been through the selection and implementation process of whole school improvement models in order to identify emerging themes that education consumers embarking on this process should consider. During the qualitative data collection process for three Comprehensive School Reform Quality (CSRQ) Center reports, CSRQ staff held phone conversations with school and district administrators. The researchers analyzed 86 of these conversations and grouped them into similar topic areas. Common themes emerged for both the selection process and the implementation of whole school improvement models.     

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE,ATTITUDES, AND SOCIAL RELATIONS IN INTERGENERATIONAL COLLEGE CLASSES

Increasing acceptance of the idea of older adults returning to college campuses has raised a number of questions. Not least among the concerns are those related to classroom behavior and classroom relations. Despite the philosophical support for mixing older and younger students in college classes, limited empirical support is available to administrators who must contend with the fears of younger students and the insecurity of faculty. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze research concerning three important dimensions of the mixed classroom: academic performance, attitudes, and social relations.

Studies reported in three major gerontological journals since 1978 were reviewed. Accordingly, seven studies reported in 1980 or later were identified and analyzed. Based on the analysis, conclusions and recommendations are reported.     

The Desegregation Aims and Demographic Contexts of Magnet Schools: How Parents Choose and Why Siting Policies Matter

This paper is designed to specify a set of new opportunities for educators, school administrators, and scholars to realize the practical aims and strategic advantages envisioned in magnet schools. The paper is divided into three distinct sections. In Section I, we examine the extensive research literature on parents’ choice patterns and school preferences in magnet schools and other school-choice programs. In Section II, we compare the reasons parents choose particular schools with the criteria school districts use to select magnet school locations (and themes). This section highlights desegregation goals and district-level magnet school policies pegged to the following questions: What is the policy context for siting decisions in districts with magnet schools? Are siting policies strategically aligned with what is known from the research literature about parents’ school preferences? Do neighborhood characteristics play a part in magnet school siting policies and specific decision-making? In Section III, we use geographic information system (GIS) tools to add both clarity and complexity to the convergence of parent choice patterns and sociodemographic diversity in our four selected school districts. The maps depict the racial and socioeconomic characteristics of the magnet schools in each district, as well as the demographic characteristics of surrounding census tracts (extended school neighborhoods). We conclude that GIS can be a viable option for improving the citing decisions for magnet schools, and that this can allow for the merging of parent choice priorities with educational equity and diversity goals of the district.     

Finance,Policy Making and the Organisation of Special Education

Beyond rather general complaints about budgets not matching the necessary costs of ‘integration’, financial aspects have not obtained much attention in special education research. The importance that different fiscal frameworks may play in shaping equality policy programmes towards different organisational forms at the national, district or school levels, has to a large extent been overlooked. Most equality policy programmes imply a relatively high degree of autonomy being given to the school‐site level, but few studies have so far systematically analysed how such funding streams are mobilised and put into use by administrators and teachers at the local school level. As a means a highlighting some of these questions we report on a study that has (a) analysed the relations between income level and expenditure on special education in Norwegian municipalities, and (b) made attempts at examining possible connections between organisational quality and level of expenditure on special education in four strategically sampled schools.     

Que Luchen por sus Intereses (To Fight for Your Interests): Unearthing Critical Counter-Narratives of Spanish-Speaking Immigrant Parents

This article reports on findings from a year-long research project conducted during the 2012–2013 school year in a PK–12 school district, located in the Mountain West region of the United States, utilizing the Photovoice method. The findings in the project point to the important critical counter-narratives Spanish-speaking immigrant parents present to the larger school community when given the opportunity to have their voices and perspectives heard and recorded in written form. The article provides teachers, counselors, administrators, and support staff in schools and school districts with insight into the hopes and aspirations of Spanish-speaking immigrant parents and highlights educational practices that address issues of equity and access, as seen through the eyes of the participants in the study.     

Interpreting and using student ratings data: Guidance for faculty serving as administrators and on evaluation committees

This article is about the accurate interpretation of student ratings data and the appropriate use of that data to evaluate faculty. Its aim is to make recommendations for use and interpretation based on more than 80 years of student ratings research. As more colleges and universities use student ratings data to guide personnel decisions, it is critical that administrators and faculty evaluators have access to research-based information about their use and interpretation.The article begins with an overview of common views and misconceptions about student ratings, followed by clarification of what student ratings are and are not. Next are two sections that provide advice for two audiences—administrators and faculty evaluators—to help them accurately, responsibly, and appropriately use and interpret student ratings data. A list of administrator questions is followed by a list of advice for faculty responsible for evaluating other faculty members’ records.     

The Antecedents of the Market Orientation in Higher Education

ABSTRACT

Colleges appear to be more eager and willing than ever to adopt a market orientation given declining enrollments and the downsizing that many are experiencing. Yet, the factors which foster and produce a market orientation have not been well defined in previous research. This study examines three antecedents of the market orientation within the context of higher education: institution size (student enrollment), source of funding (public/private), and institutional innovativeness. While the findings indicate that all three have some effect on adoption of a marketing orientation, innovativeness overwhelmingly plays the largest role. The implications for administrators as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

实施有针对性的管理者培训——石景山区学校管理者培训需求调研报告

本文通过对北京市石景山区的中小学管理者的培训需求调研发现,该区管理者虽然接受过不少培训,但对以往的培训从内容到组织形式,到具体的方式等不甚满意。从各个环节提高培训的针对性是提高培训效果的关键。     

From child study to efficiency: district administrators and the use of testing in the Chicago public schools, 1899 to 1928

Historians have documented the dramatic battle over the mass introduction of IQ testing waged by Chicago’s unionised teachers in 1924 against Superintendent McAndrew and the Chicago Board of Education. The efforts of Chicago’s mid‐level district administrators and their work with principals and teachers to address the real and perceived differences of the students pouring into classrooms in this era have garnered less consideration. Examining the work of district administrators responsible for the educational programmes intended to manage “backward”, “subnormal” and “feeble‐minded” children provides a rich case to analyse how these district administrators made use of the emerging field of testing to address the educational issues they confronted. The use of testing in Chicago’s schools during the early twentieth century represents a moment when the line between administrative and pedagogical progressives appeared unclear and illustrates the complexity of educators’ pedagogic beliefs and practices. It offers examples of educators making use of educational testing and resisting it. This study analyses the reports of Chicago’s district administrators and superintendents, who often identified as progressive educators. These administrators seemed able to question the use of testing at least in part because of the vibrant progressive reform movement that existed in Chicago during this era. Indeed, although teacher resistance complicated the use of testing on a wide scale in Chicago, the early concerns of these mid‐level district administrators in the 1910s proved critical to keeping intelligence testing at bay until the mid‐1920s.     

Costs and financing of adult education: A case study of Shenzhen,China

Analyses of costs and financing are a neglected area in the literature on adult education and training (AET). This paper presents a study of the costs and financing of AET in Shenzhen, a high-growth and fast-changing area in China. Based on a survey of trainees, and administrators, as well as interviews with administrators, managers, and trainees from three different types of AET centers in Shenzhen, the study addressed three research questions: What are the costs of AET? How are resources utilized in AET centers? How is AET financed in a fastchanging area? The study demonstrates some of the methodological difficulties in cost estimation; it provides preliminary evidence of the existence of economies of scale in the operation of AET; and it finds that enterprises and trainees are the major financial sources and that the government has a very limited financing role. The implications of the findings for policy analysis in AET are discussed.     

What’s involved in ‘the work’? Understanding administrators’ roles in bringing trans-affirming policies into practice

ABSTRACT

Researchers have concluded that policy implementation is a process of mutual adaptation between policies and implementers. Our study draws attention to that relationship, especially with respect to policies that challenge assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality. We focus on how six administrators in one United States school district understood ‘the work’ of bringing the district’s Guidelines for Supporting Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students into practice. Our analysis of interview data focused these questions: How do administrators describe their motivation and commitment to engage in the work? What puzzles of practice do participants name? How do they talk about the work of implementation? What does that work mean/involve in everyday practice? What were their roles? We found that implementation was locally defined and enacted; participants’ sense-making, their roles in enacting the Guidelines, and the puzzles they negotiated were influenced by their unique contexts. We share examples of diverse cases in an effort to create policy knowledge.     

Effects of “nonrational” influences on decision making in higher education: A simulation test

The purpose of the present study was to determine if a nonrational model of decision-making was used by college administrators in three typical areas of college operations. Were the value positions taken by three college constituency groups (faculty, students, community board) on problems in curriculum, student affairs, and personnel influencing decisions made by administrative groups? In a simulation study, information describing a mythical community college was prepared, using the dimensions of the management-information system CAMPUS (Comprehensive Analytical Methods for Planning in University Systems). Three simulated problems within the hypothetical community college setting were administered to teams of decision makers each composed of three junior college administrators. Junior college administrators did not use the nonrational model in reaching group or individual decisions in the three simulated problem areas. Administrators did not respond in a significant manner to the influence of college constituency groups in reaching decisions. The type of problem being considered (curriculum, student affairs, and personnel) was a significant factor in determining decision alternatives selected by administrators. Both the rational and nonrational models of decision-making as used in this study appear inadequate to explain administrative decisions. It is tenable to posit that decision-making is influenced at least as much by previously learned responses of the decision-makers, and it may need to be considered as an important element in any model of decision-making.     

Tips,Tools, and Techniques for Teaching in the Online High School Classroom

The growing availability of online learning in K-12 education requires understanding of the tools and pedagogy necessary for effective teaching and learning. This paper provides recommendations to advance teaching and meaningful learning in online high school courses. Additionally, it provides principles of practice for teachers, students, and school and district level administrators. It concludes with a list of “best practices” for online, high school teachers. All recommendations are based on the findings from the author’s research in three secondary online learning settings.     

The Physical Educator as Researcher

In an attempt to confront society's drug problem, many colleges and universities have implemented drug testing programs for their student-athletes. While more and more institutions continue to initiate drug testing programs, a number of questions concerning the constitutionality of drug testing remain unanswered. constitutional questions such as due protection against self-incrimination, due process guarantees, and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures are at issue. In light of the many unanswered questions surrounding drug testing, administrators should develop not only a philosophical rationale but also a legal rationale for either having or not having drug testing programs for student-athletes.     

Assessing the needs of training on inclusive education for public school administrators

This study assessed the needs of urban school leaders for special education preparation in a large public school district in the USA in order to assist the school administrators with improving their knowledge and skills for providing appropriate services to students with disabilities and their families to support inclusive education. The needs survey was created based on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC 2009) standards for school administrators in the USA and the literature in special education. The validity and reliability of the instrument were verified. The needs assessment measures 10 aspects regarding special education knowledge and skills as indicated by 10 factors in the exploratory factor analysis. Quantitative data analyses on a sample of 289 participants revealed that there were significant differences in the needs of training in special education knowledge based on the school administrators’ backgrounds. The current research supports the call for the professional development and inclusive education for school leaders. The findings of the current study indicated that school leaders wanted the knowledge to make them more successful in serving students with disabilities to answer the call for inclusive education.     

Students' understanding of concepts related to plant growth

This paper reports on an investigation into students' understanding of the concept of plant growth. There are three aspects to the research. First, responses of Australian primary students to questions concerning plant growth are compared with those identified in British research (Russell & Watt, 1990). Second, the answers of secondary students, Year 7-Year 12, to questions concerning plant growth were analysed and common categories of responses were identified. Finally, the response categories were considered within the framework offered by the SOLO Taxonomy of Biggs and Collis (1982, 1991). In particular, interest was focused on whether the findings of an earlier study (Levins, 1992) in which cycles of development in the understandings of the concept of evaporation were established, might be observed in the concept of plant growth. Specializations secondary science curriculum, biology and chemistry teacher education. Specializations secondary mathematics curriculum topics, the SOLO Taxonomy, student cognitive growth.     

Perspectives on quality and quality assurance in learner support areas at three Southeast Asian open universities

While quality measures in higher education in general have gained significant and growing attention over the past 30 years, questions remain about quality in open universities. This research was an international comparative case study focusing on perceptions of quality and quality assurance (QA) in learner support areas at open universities. The goal of the study was to explore and understand the concept of quality and QA in three open universities in Southeast Asia from the perspectives of practitioners, instructors, and administrators serving in learner support areas. Results indicate that staff at all three institutions view satisfying students as the primary quality criterion in learner support areas, while their conceptualizations of QA focus on the importance of quality guidelines (standard operating procedures) as the roadmap to meeting individual quality criteria.     

Confronting the “Acid Test”: Educators’ Perspectives on Expanding Access to Advanced Placement at a Diverse Florida High School

This study examines educators’ perspectives on accountability mandates designed to expand access to the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) classes to traditionally underserved students at a diverse suburban high school in Florida, Palm Crest High School. Consistent with Elmore (1979), district and site-based administrators focused on the “forward mapping,” of implementation and identified teacher “gatekeeping” as well as parental expectations as chief barriers to opening up AP enrollment. Teachers, however, found implementation problematic—accountability levers had contradictory provisions and overall neglect nonacademic barriers to college access for low-income African American and Hispanic students. The current value-added model of incorporating student exam performance as a key component of teacher evaluations complicates the advocacy associated with increasing low-SES students’ participation in AP classes as educators strive to maintain high pass rates amid open-enrollment policies. We argue for increased support systems to enhance students’ preparedness for taking college-level courses while in high school, leading to increased college attendance and degree completion.