Voting Power on School Governing Boards: The Countenance of Proportionality

Acknowledging the realities and responsibilities of power is a precondition to using it wisely. The claim that there has been a shift in power away from the formal providers of education towards the individual consumer is one that needs closer investigation. This paper uses the mathematics of cooperative multiperson game theory to analyse the relative strengths of the various representative groupings on three different models of school governing bodies. Only a basic knowledge of mathematics is assumed as the various coalitions are analysed and compared, and conclusions drawn about the relative power of major and minor factions. Voting strategies, suggested payoffs for winning coalitions and implications for committee-forming are fully examined. The paper is based on the author's direct experience of school amalgamations in the border region of Ireland. An extended consideration of the theory of voting in multiperson games can be found in his book Decision-Making and Game Theory (2002, Cambridge University Press).     

Independent School Leadership: Heads,Boards, and Strategic Thinking

This study seeks to identify and assess factors that contribute to effective independent school governance at the board of trustees level. A review of extant literature reveals two major challenges: (a) definitions and standards of board effectiveness are inconsistent, and (b) there is very little empirical evidence to support existing definitions and notions of effective governance. Study authors have developed a “strategic effectiveness” metric to encompass factors associated with perceptions of board effectiveness and an “institutional performance” metric that includes factors that are critical to the sustainability of independent schools. Survey respondents include 806 heads of school and board chairs. School leaders at six independent schools in the Northeast, Midwest, and the South were interviewed to gather empirical data regarding strategic board governance and institutional performance. This study identifies two areas that impact school leaders’ ability to think and act strategically: (a) intentional acculturation of trustees over extended periods of time (“onboarding”) and (b) strategic identification and cultivation of potential trustees. Both of these factors impact strategic effectiveness and contribute positively to institutional performance.     

Teachers,School Boards,and the Power of Money: How the Right Wins at the Local Level

Abstract

This article examines national conservative political advocacy groups' growing interest in local politics, and analyzes how they form alliances and gain political power. Following efforts to restrict collective bargaining for Wisconsin public employees, Kenosha school board members' attempts to legally protect teachers' rights provoked concern from nationally financed conservative groups. This article discusses why a small-town school board election attracted such attention, and the significance of increased attention to the local by these national groups.     

Contextual Influences on School Effectiveness: The Role of School Boards

The purpose of this research project is to investigate if characteristics of school boards and their administrative control do explain variance among schools in pupil achievement in the cognitive domain. A combination of findings of research on school effectiveness and organizational effectiveness, gives the ground for the framework of school boards’ administrative control used in this study. A random sample of 133 school boards and one specific primary school, selected out of the total number of schools they oversee, was drawn. The findings show that characteristics of school boards do explain variance in cognitive achievement. Even after controlling for student background and school characteristics, school boards do make a difference. School boards that involve school team and parents (committee) in their decision‐making process manage schools with relatively better results in the cognitive domain.     

Student Drivers and the Fiduciary Duty of School Boards

Following E.D.G. v. Hammer, Canadian law has held that school boards, although they have a fiduciary duty to their students, do not guarantee the safety of their students from the acts of their employees. The scope of that fiduciary duty is narrow, restricted to a board acting with disloyalty, in bad faith, or in a conflict of interest to its students, which causes them injury. This paper takes the position that the scope of that duty should include cases where a school board’s policy allows students to use their own cars to drive fellow students to school-sponsored functions.     

The School Entry Gap: Socioeconomic, Family, and Health Factors Associated With Children's School Readiness to Learn

Notwithstanding the constant debate in the scientific and policy literature on the precise meaning of school readiness, research consistently demonstrates a wide variation between groups of children resulting in a gap at school entry. Recently, the teacher-completed Early Development Instrument (EDI), a new measure of children's school readiness in 5 developmental areas, was developed, tested, and implemented in Canada. EDI results confirmed the existence of a school entry gap. In this article, we explore factors in 5 areas of risk: socioeconomic status, family structure, child health, parent health, and parent involvement in literacy development. In a series of logistic regressions, we demonstrate that variables in all 5 areas, as well as age and gender, contribute to the gap. Child's suboptimal health, male gender, and coming from a family with low income contribute most strongly to the vulnerability at school entry. As the purpose of a tool like the EDI is primarily to assist in population-level reporting on children's school readiness, the results of our study provide additional and much-needed evidence on the instrument's sensitivity at the individual level, thus paving the way for its use in interpreting children's school readiness in the context of their lives and the communities in which they live.     

学校文化的地位和作用

笔者对＂学校文化的地位和作用＂这个问题还需要讨论吗？它似乎是不言自明的。但不言自明的东西往往最容易被忽略,最容易满足于＂感觉＂状态,因而在意识里最容易出现朦胧、似是而非的现象。最终作为问题提出来讨论,出于两方面的考虑。     

Performance,Perseverance, and the Full Picture of College Readiness

Although college readiness is a centerpiece of major educational initiatives such as the Common Core State Standards, few systems have been implemented to track children's progress toward this goal. Instead, college‐readiness information is typically conveyed late in a student's high‐school career, and tends to focus solely on academic accomplishments—grades and admissions test scores. Late‐stage feedback can be problematic for students who need to correct course, so the purpose of this research is to develop a system for communicating more comprehensive college‐readiness diagnoses earlier in a child's K‐12 career. This article introduces college‐readiness indicators for middle‐school students, drawing on the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of educational inputs, contexts, and outcomes. A diversity of middle‐school variables was synthesized into six factors: achievement, behavior, motivation, social engagement, family circumstances, and school characteristics. Middle‐school factors explain 69% of the variance in college readiness, and results suggest a variety of factors beyond academic achievement—most notably motivation and behavior—contribute substantially to preparedness for postsecondary study. The article concludes with limitations and future directions, including the development of college‐readiness categories to support straightforward communication of middle‐school indicators to parents, teachers, and students.     

Towards the Victimless School: Power,Professionalism and Probity in Teaching

This paper argues the importance of moving beyond the state of affairs that makes victims either of children or of teachers by exploring the conditions of possibility for the idea of a victimless school. The argument is developed drawing data from a study being conducted by the authors into the impact of risk management on teacher work and identity in a number of Australian primary schools (McWilliam, Singh & Sachs, 2002 Managing Risk in Primary Schools: Teachers professional Identity and Work Practices, ARC Discovery Project Funded by the Australian Research Council). The argument put is that risk minimisation as a system of management and surveillance (including self-surveillance) is producing some effects (whether intended or not) that are counterproductive for teachers and, indeed, for children, the very group they are purported to protect. In order to counter the more pernicious effects of this logic, teachers need actively to engage in seeking ways to optimise child protection and staff protection simultaneously.     

知识与权力关系的微观分析——以学校的“招贴画”为例

作为重要的学校知识的招贴画,是现代学科知识与学校的学科权力结合的产物。以福科的观点,这种结合是通过空间分布的艺术、适当的行为控制、日常训练、力量的重新组合等形式实现的。这为我们提供了一个知识与权力关系的分析框架。通过微观知识学分析,可以看到招贴画是如何与学校的学科权力结合的。     

君子之道:乐道·弘毅·善良·尊贵——兼论当代大学生的道德理想与人格追求

君子道德与君子人格是以天下为己任的知识分子不懈追求的人生境界.这一人生境界可以概括为"君子之道",其主要理念包括乐道、弘毅、善良和尊贵.当代大学生肩负着国家昌盛、民族复兴的重任,应将君子之道作为自己的人生追求.     

市民健身动机、参与程度和坚持性的研究

采用Frederick和Ryan修订的《身体活动动机测量》量表,对山西省2055名市民的健身动机、参与程度和坚持性进行了调查与分析,研究表明：乐趣动机、外貌动机、健康动机和社交动机是市民坚持锻炼的主要动机,且对市民锻炼的参与性和坚持性均有重要影响。不同健身动机对不同年龄段市民健身的参与程度和坚持性的影响也存在显著差异。     

Self-Control as a Personal Resource: Determining Its Relationships to Success,Perseverance, and Well-Being

Self-control is understood as the ability of the individual to manage his behavior and emotions, thoughtfully react to events that happen around him, and to prevent himself from acting out of undesirable impulses and emotions. This article presents two studies that sought to validate a Russian-language version of the Brief Self-Control Scale that was developed by June P. Tangney, Roy F. Baumeister, and Angie Luzio Boone. The studies tested samples of employees (n = 591) and students (n = 328), respectively, using the scale consisting of 13 items. We demonstrate the one-dimensional structure of the scale using confirmatory factor analysis. The scale has high reliability (Cronbach alpha of 0.84 and 0.79), and it demonstrates predictable current and potential future relationships with self-reported and objective indicators of academic and professional success. Self-control is associated with indicators of successful functioning and well-being. The obtained connections retain statistical reliability when controlling for social desirability. The results show that self-control is an important personal-motivational resource that contributes to success in life and improving psychological well-being.     

Fostering Good Governance at School Level in Honduras: The Role of Transparency Bulletin Boards

Corruption is at the core of weak governance. In the education sector, corruption is a threat to the quality of and access to education. Although the diagnosis is straightforward, effective reforms are more difficult to implement. The principles of good governance (transparency, participation, accountability, and integrity) provide us guidance, but innovative ways need to be found to fill these principles with life and create dynamics of change. We present a simple, efficient experience of introducing transparency and fostering participation and therefore accountability at the school level in Honduras. The transparency bulletin boards (murales de transparencia) are a homegrown response to the call for improving governance in a challenging environment.     

打造学校软实力 提升学校竞争力

教师队伍是学校发展的根本所在,是学科建设的重中之重,一所好的学校必须有一支高水平的教师队伍。要实现电大人才培养的目标,必须提升教师的职业素养。同时,也要注重挖掘学生的自身潜能,提升学生的自信力,切实有效地培养学生勇于面对困难、正视困难、解决困难的能力。