An Interactive Approach for Developing Interprofessional Collaboration: Preparing School Counselors

School counselors are expected to be prepared to work cooperatively with school administrators, teachers, special education teachers, and other school personnel so that they can better serve students. Currently, the various professionals in schools, including school counselors, are trained separately and have few opportunities to learn about each other's roles, responsibilities, and perspectives. The authors discuss an interactive CD‐ROM that is designed to prepare school counselors and other school professionals (e.g., teachers, school administrators) to solve problems collaboratively.     

Aspiring School Administrators' Perceived Ability to Meet Technology Standards and Technological Needs for Professional Development

The merits of technology in general and of educational technology specifically are well documented. The use of educational technology has been shown to improve teaching and learning and the overall educational quality of schools. However, the successful integration of educational technology in schools hinges on school administrators' technology leadership abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate aspiring school administrators' perceived ability to meet technology standards established by ISTE Standards for Administrators (formerly known as the NETS·A) and to determine which standards they wished to pursue for future professional development. Utilizing the ISTE Standards–A as a framework, a survey was created to decipher how aspiring school administrators perceived their own abilities to become leaders with foundational technology leadership skills. The findings showed that (a) the aspiring school administrators were more likely to indicate a need for professional development in technology utilization to meet the standards than they were to indicate their perceived current competence in meeting the technology standards and effectively utilizing technology in their schools; (b) when interests were examined by race, African American aspiring school administrators were more interested in pursuing professional development to enhance their abilities to perform the tasks than were Caucasian aspiring school administrators; and (c) there was a statistically significant difference between aspiring school administrators' average Perception and Interest scores. It appeared that in general, the participants perceived a greater need for professional development in technology standards than their perceived current ability to perform the standards.     

Meanings of success and successful leadership in Ontario,Canada, in neo-liberal times

The provincial government of Ontario, Canada, has committed itself to raising student achievement, closing achievement gaps, and increasing the public's confidence in public education. It has introduced many policies, including the Ontario Leadership Strategy (OLS), to support these goals. Our study examined how teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents in three elementary schools in Ontario understand and enact school success and successful school leadership within this (neo-liberal) context. Findings of a comparative analysis of Ontario policy texts and data from interviews with administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents in the schools demonstrate that the school-based participants defined success as academic learning, a positive school climate, and students' well-being. This definition differs from the definition prioritised by Ontario's government: high scores on standardised provincial and international tests. However, principals in the schools enacted leadership practices advocated by OLS to support locally defined notions of success.     

Intersecting Domains of Assessment Knowledge: School Typologies Based on Interviews with Secondary Teachers

This study used qualitative interviewing with teachers at three high schools to answer research questions about teachers' assessment knowledge, school-specific assessment cultures, and teachers' perceptions of the assessment literacy of other key stakeholders. Data analysis revealed shared knowledge and practices across schools—use of formative assessment to guide instructional decision making; reliance on collaborative processes as the basis for cultivating school-wide assessment practices; and the belief among teachers that students, parents, and school administrators often hold naive views about the relative primacy of summative over formative assessment. Data analysis also identified distinctive features of the assessment culture at each of the schools.     

Reshaping Primary Teacher Education in New Zealand: compressed courses and school partnership

In response to a serious shortage of primary teachers the New Zealand Government introduced competitive contracts for new and established providers to develop initial teacher education programmes which could be completed in a 12‐18 month timeframe. The University of Auckland reacted by developing a January to December post‐graduate programme taught in partnership with a consortium of primary schools. A mentor teacher from each of the selected primary schools was accredited at post‐graduate level to co‐ordinate and deliver the school‐based practicum component of the programme utilizing an associate teacher to host each student teacher. The programme was founded on a continuous placement model with student teachers attending one school per term for three days of each week, and university lectures for the other two days, throughout the year. Mentor teacher roles included in‐school seminars, assessment of the practicum component and assisting lecturers in planning and delivering university papers. Seven postulates which underpin the University of Auckland approach are advanced and the extent by which they can be generalized is discussed.     

Willing to play the game: How at‐risk students persist in school

A qualitative case study of 17 high‐school students identified as at risk for dropping out, this research develops a grounded theory describing the process of students' persistence and the support they received from teachers and school administrators. Three interactive factors appear critical to persistence: (a) goal orientation—students' belief they will benefit from graduating, (b) willingness to play the game—students' willingness to follow school rules, and (c) meaningful connections—relationships with teachers who believed students could graduate and provided support and caring. All three factors were present for students who stayed through the school year whereas one or more was absent from the experiences of the students who left school before graduation. The research provides further support for the role of schools in supporting students' persistence and has implications for how schools support students who are struggling to stay in school. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 599–611, 2006.     

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Comparing Teacher Mobility in Florida's Charter and Traditional Public Schools

Currently, we know very little about the mobility decisions of charter public school teachers and how these compare to the decisions made by traditional public school teachers. In addition, it is unclear whether the teachers who leave charter schools tend to be weaker or stronger than their peers. Using statewide administrative data, I begin to answer these questions by studying the magnitude and nature of teacher turnover in Florida's charter public schools compared with turnover in the state's traditional public schools. It appears that Florida's charter school administrators may be better able to recruit and retain teachers with high academic skills than their traditional counterparts. In addition, the mobility patterns exhibited by Florida's charter school teachers differ from those exhibited by traditional school teachers in important ways, including greater sensitivity to accountability measures and less sensitivity to salary considerations.     

School administration and school reform in Botswana

This paper reports the results of a survey of post-primary school administrators in Botswana, and discusses the implications of the findings for the success of the current program of school reforms. The paper suggests that administrative authority will have to be decentralized and school-level administrators will have to be given additional training if the reforms are to maintain or improve the quality of education in Botswana's schools.     

School Teachers’ and Administrators’ Opinions about Disability Services,Quality of Schools,Total Quality Management and Quality Tools

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to determine primary school administrators’ and teachers’ opinions about the quality of their schools; the school administrators and teachers’ knowledge about Total Quality Management and quality tools and the quality tools used in primary schools. The research has been carried out with a qualitative approach and it is in the case study pattern. The participants consisted of 16 teachers and 4 school administrators working in primary schools in North Cyprus. The participants were chosen via maximum sampling method. The findings show that the current situation in schools contradicts with the basic principles of Total Quality Management. It was determined that school administrators were ignorant about Total Quality Management and none of the teachers and school administrators had previously heard the concept of quality tools. Teachers and school administrators mentioned disabled students as an issue. It seems like teachers have problems in behaving in the right way towards these students. They do not know how to improve these students’ talents because they are not educated on the subject. Via tools of quality teachers and school administrators may find reasons and solutions for issues like people with disabilities and plan events to promote disability awareness.     

Comparing Beginning and Experienced Teachers' Perceptions of Classroom Management Beliefs and Practices in Elementary Schools in Turkey

The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether a difference in teachers' classroom management styles exists based on years of teaching experience. Data were collected from 282 elementary school teachers employed by 11 elementary schools in Turkey. The Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control Inventory was used to collect the data. Research findings were analyzed to help undergraduate programs and educators revise their program or practicum experiences to enhance preservice teachers' conceptual understanding of classroom management for successful teaching.     

School psychology students' perceptions of their practicum experiences

We surveyed a national sample of 139 school psychology students to better understand their perceptions of their practicum experiences. Specifically, we examined the students' reports of the types of activities in which they engage during practicum experiences and their perceptions of their school‐based supervisors' activities. This information is potentially important as school psychology engages in a paradigm shift. Although most school psychology programs may teach students the proposed new and expanded roles, it is unclear whether field‐based experiences are congruent with such university‐based training. Results indicate that students spent the majority of their practicum time in assessment‐related activities. They were generally satisfied with their practicum experience and supervisor, although many knew little about the range of their supervisor's activities. Most field‐based practicum supervisors appeared to provide limited modeling of new and expanded roles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 727–736, 2006.     

Use of the Collaborative Drawing Technique in School Counseling Practicum: An Illustration of Family Systems

According to the extant school consultation literature, counselors can effectively use brief family interventions and family assessment procedures in schools as part of a collaborative consultation approach. School counselors, however, often lack training in family systems theory, because counselor training programs tend to use individual counseling models. When used in a school counselor practicum course, the Collaborative Drawing Technique (CDT; G. M. Smith, 1985) introduces counselors‐in‐training to family systems concepts and lays the foundation for postgraduate training in family systems. The authors use a case illustration to explore paradigmatic shifts in trainees' case conceptualizations as a function of their use of the CDT with a family.     

Leading for Change: School Leader Advocacy for Undocumented Immigrant Students

School leaders can ally with other educational stakeholders to encourage undocumented student persistence in Pk-12 schools. We explore (1) how school leaders create systems of support for undocumented and newly arrived immigrant students, and (2) how school leaders interpret and implement policies or school structures that affect student educational access. Border crossing theory guides our examination of how school leaders traverse and transgress borders that can impede students' education. This embedded case study included interviews with nine administrators working on the US-México border. The study finds that leaders expected to make a difference in students' lives by focusing on relationships and programming, committing to equity, and resisting deficit thinking about students and their families.     

Longitudinal inter-relations between school cultural socialization and school engagement: The mediating role of school climate

The question of whether schools should promote cultural pride and engage students in ethnic traditions is hotly contested. To contribute to this debate, this longitudinal study examined whether school cultural socialization predicted adolescents' engagement in school over time and whether this relation was mediated by school climate. Data were collected in four waves during a two-year period from 254 African American fifth-graders (53.9% males; M_age = 10.95 at Wave 1) enrolled in three public middle schools. Results revealed that African American youth who reported more school cultural socialization also had greater school engagement over time. This longitudinal relation was fully mediated by youth's perceptions of school climate. Implications for how to promote African American youth's perceptions of schools as culturally sensitive and supportive environments are discussed.     

School demographic variables and out‐of‐school suspension rates: A quantitative and qualitative analysis of a large,ethnically diverse school district

This study examined out‐of‐school suspensions (OSS) in a large, ethnically diverse school district using both quantitative and qualitative procedures. Pearson product moment correlations and semi‐partial correlations were used to identify those school‐level variables that showed the strongest relationships to the duplicated OSS rate among elementary schools (n = 97) and secondary schools (n = 45). Additionally, interviews were conducted with administrators and student support personnel from the 24 schools in the district with the highest suspension rates and 24 demographically matched schools with significantly lower suspension rates. The majority of these schools served a high percentage of children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Although the correlational analyses indicated that student demographic variables (e.g., percentage of White students, percentage of Black students, percentage of students receiving free or reduced price lunch) were strongly related to a school's suspension rate, the school comparisons showed that not all schools serving a high percentage of children placed at risk have high suspension rates. Implications of the findings for school discipline reform are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

English community school teacher education and English as a second language in Papua New Guinea: a study of a practicum

This article explores community (primary) school teacher education in the subject, English, at a Papua New Guinea (PNG) teachers' college as manifested in end‐of‐year English lessons in practicum rounds of pre‐service community school teachers. English is the official language overlaid on 700 indigenous languages in this country where reconstructionism informs policy decisions. Given this, the importance of success in English in schools is not to be underestimated. The research focuses on the implementation the knowledge, skills, strategies and materials acquired by pre‐service English teachers in a coastal province in PNG in the context of a number of public statements on educational policy and practice. It examines the impact of these as indicated in lesson plans and supervisors' reports.     

School–University Partnerships: Reflections and Opportunities

Universities and schools have a long history of partnering with one another to achieve a range of educational goals in America's schools. For many years, the needs of the universities were the primary impetus for partnership. Universities needed practicum sites for student teachers and other educational professionals, as well as participants for the research of university social science faculty. In more recent years, the balance has begun to shift dramatically so that the needs of schools are increasingly driving the formation of school–university partnerships. This article briefly describes the recent history, development, and major foci of school–university partnerships. After identifying a relatively neglected area of school–university partnerships, the article describes an existing partnership that addresses this area in order to illustrate the potential and opportunities for partnership. Finally, this article closes with a discussion of the challenges and potential benefits of school–university partnerships.     

Evaluation of School Administrators’ Brand and Crisis Management Skills on Disability Services

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to enable teachers to evaluate the crisis management skills of the administrators in terms of school development. The study has been carried out on a sample group consisting of 376 teachers (sample) working in 10 secondary schools and high schools. The study is a survey research based on the use of a quantitative method. In this survey, the scale of “the evaluation of the crisis management skills of the school administrators by teachers in terms of school development (OGAÖTDÖ)” developed by Tokel has been used. In addition, it has been analysed with the independent ANOVA test to determine whether or not it differs according to the factor of professional branches. When the research findings are examined, it has been determined that teachers answer positively to the question directed about crisis management skills of school administrators (X ? = 3.52) on disability services. As a result, it has been concluded that school administrators have adequate crisis management skills and they need a reputation for the quality.     

A measure of cultural competence as an ethical responsibility: Quick‐Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Test

This article presents the psychometric qualifications of a new video‐based measure of school professionals' ethical sensitivity toward issues of racial intolerance in schools. The new scale, titled the Quick‐Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Test (Quick‐REST) is based on the ethical principles commonly shared by school‐based professional organisations and James Rest's model of moral decision making. The validation of the measure is established through two separate studies: one conducted with 238 school professionals, including teachers, administrators, psychologists, coaches and others who work in diverse schools; and the other conducted with 57 student teachers. The results, with regard to the internal reliability of the items and convergent and overall construct validity, showed that the Quick‐REST is a psychometrically sound measure of school professionals' ability to recognise violations of ethical principles as depicted in two five‐minute videotapes illustrating instances of racial intolerance in schools. There was no evidence of bias due to social desirability. Areas of use for the Quick‐REST in teacher education and ways to improve the scale are discussed.