The future role of the school administrator

The paper suggests that there is currently a good deal of uncertainty over the role of the principal, which is frequently described as one of educational leadership. This notion seems obsolete. Currently, there are pressures on principals to substantially modify this role, and these pressures seem to push the principal toward the definition of his role as that of administrator. On the basis of the beliefs of those involved in training programs for educational administrators, it is possible to predict that the future role of the school principal will, in fact, be that of building or school administrator. The role can be defined as that of administrative leader, as opposed to instructional leader. Administrative leadership involves at least the following elements: purpose-definding for the organization; coordination of the work of specialists, including decision-making; and responsibility for external relationships. The paper concludes by pointing out that this redefinition of the role of the school administrator, or administrative leader, has significant implications for in-service training for administrators, collective negotiations, and affiliation with teacher associations.

---

Résumé D'après cet article, il y aurait actuellement une bonne dose d'incertitude quant au rôle du principal, rôle assimilé fréquemment à celui d'un leader en éducation. Or cette notion semble être périmée. De nos jours, les principaux d'écoles sont soumis à des pressions pour modifier considérablement ce rôle et ces pressions semblent pousser le principal à considérer son rôle comme celui d'un administrateur. D'après les croyances entretenues par les responsables des programmes de formation des administrateurs scolaires, il est possible de prédire que le rôle futur du principal d'école sera, en fait, comparable à celui d'un administrateur d'école ou d'immeuble. Ce rôle peut être assimilé au rôle de directeur administratif qui se distingue du directeur pédagogique. La direction administrative implique, au minimum, les éléments suivants: définition des objectifs d'organisation, coordination du travail des spécialistes, y compris la formulation de la politique et enfin responsabilité des relations externes. En conclusion, l'auteur souligne que cette redéfinition du rôle de l'administrateur scolaire ou du directeur administratif a des répercussions considérables sur la formation pratique des administrateurs, les négociations collectives et l'adhésion aux associations d'enseignants.

     

Inequality and the school administrator

The vision of the public schools as the “great equalizers” of society is as yet unfulfilled. One of the reasons why the schools have not achieved this goal is attributable, in part, to the administration of the public school system. This article examines the nature of school bureaucracy in light of the power it grants to some and denies to others. Second, it is shown that the nature of administrative acts can work to displace the goals society has set for the schools. Third, the political nature of school administration is examined. The article concludes with reference to several significant changes occurring in educational administration: “marketplace politics”; the productivity movement; and collective choice policymaking.     

Direction-setting school leadership practices: a meta-analytical review of evidence about their influence

This study reviews evidence about the overall influence of direction-setting leadership practices (DSLPs), 1 of 4 major categories of practices included in a widely known conception of effective leadership (e.g., Leithwood & Louis, 2011) and a focus of many other such conceptions, as well. This study also inquires about how direction-setting practices influence distal organizational outcomes, including student achievement, conceiving of such influence as traveling along (or influencing variables on) 4 “paths”. Standard meta-analysis, narrative review, and effect size summation and averaging were applied on 110 studies involved in this review. The findings of this study, as one in a related series of investigations, inform the further development of a model of successful school leadership practices.     

长期实习支教对农村教育的影响

为了进一步发展农村教育,很多高等院校响应教育部门提出的大学生扶持农村教育的号召,积极组织在校大学生深入基层进行义务支教活动,扶持农村地区基础教育的发展。他们对农村基础教育阶段的教师发展、学生成长和家长理念等方面产生了很大影响,文章针对这些影响中的积极因素和消极因素,提出了扩大积极影响、克服消极影响的举措和保障。     

The impact of values education on school ambience and academic diligence

The article will focus on demonstrating the effects of values education on enhancing students’ academic diligence through the more positive ambience it creates in the school. Evidence will be drawn from international studies but principally from the Australian Government's Values Education Program and, especially from the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project Reports (2006, 2008) and the Project to Test and Measure the Impact of Values Education on Student Effects and School Ambience (2009).     

职业高中学生价值观的树立

职高学生处于步入社会前的最后阶段,普遍对于如何准备就业非常关注。但这种焦虑如何转变为动力,如何采取行动,是很多学生关注的问题。本文试图初步探讨一下这些问题。     

The influence of self-assessment practices on online training for investigative interviewing skills

This paper investigates how 192 trainees’ self-assessment practices and personal attributes related to their success in an online interview training program. Performance was measured pre- and post-training by evaluating the use of open-ended questions and positive interviewing behaviors. Personal data and a pre-training survey on self-assessment practices (i.e., SEFI, seeking external feedback through inquiry; SEFM, seeking external feedback through monitoring; SIF, seeking internal feedback; and SR, self-reflection) were also collected. Trainees with higher levels of SEFI had larger learning gains from the training, whereas trainees with higher levels of SEFM or SIF had smaller learning gains. Trainees with lower interviewing skills before the training, and those from policing backgrounds, demonstrated larger learning gains. Younger trainees evidenced a larger increase in the use of open-ended questions, while older trainees showed greater changes in prevalence of positive interviewing behaviors. The implications of the findings for the development of training programs are discussed.     

The influence of competences and support on school performance feedback use

Information‐rich environments are created to promote data use in schools for the purpose of self‐evaluation and quality assurance. However, providing feedback does not guarantee that schools will actually put it to use. One of the main stumbling blocks relates to the interpretation and diagnosis of the information. This study examines the relationship between data literacy competences, support given in interpreting the information, actual use of the feedback and potential school improvement effect. A randomised field experiment with 188 school principals from primary education was set up and a post‐test was used to investigate the effects of a support initiative. The results revealed that a minority of schools invested significantly in the interpretation and diagnosis of the school performance feedback (SPF), despite the fact that most of the respondents showed an interest in the SPF report. In addition, data competence support and the subsequent use of feedback were found to be limited.     

略论不正规教育对学校教育的影响

学校教育除了正规教育外,还存在不正规教育。然而在实践中,它往往被忽略,成为实施素质教育的冷点问题。不正规教育具有松散性、潜在性、非预测性等特点,不正规教育对学生的身心发展具有独特的影响,教育同行们应引起足够的重视。     

探究英语文化对大学生人生价值观的影响与对策

经济的全球带来了文化的全球化,西方文化正在逐步渗入我国文化体系中。尤其是英语文化,其价值观在某些方面与我国传统文化中体现的价值观是背离的,这就使我国某些大学生的人生价值观产生了混淆。本文从人生价值观的概述、英语文化对大学生人生价值观的影响以及对策这三方面进行详细论述。     

Perceived educational values of Omani school principals

This qualitative study investigated the perceived educational values of Omani school principals. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form which focused on the core values of school administration as perceived by a sample of 44 school principals; a focus group interview was also held. Data were analysed using Nvivo software. The study results classified the perceived values of Omani school principals into three categories of values based on Hodgkinson’s classification. The most coded values of the principals were cooperation, devotion/genuineness (organizational loyalty, eagerness to learn), respect (self, other, mutual), commitment, responsibility and citizenship, all of which fell into the category of consensus and consequences. A citrus model is proposed to give a visual image of the composition of the three categories of values in school administration. While this study identified a number of educational values, the process by which school principals can activate these values in daily school practices still needs to be clarified.     

The influence of core teaching conceptions on teachers' use of inquiry teaching practices

This article investigates three teachers' conceptions and use of inquiry‐based instructional strategies throughout a professional development program. The professional development program consisted of a 2‐week summer inquiry institute and research experience in university scientists' laboratories, as well as three academic year workshops. Insights gained from an in‐depth study of these three secondary teachers resulted in a model of teacher conceptions that can be used to direct future inquiry professional development. Teachers' conceptions of inquiry teaching were established through intensive case–study research that incorporated extensive classroom observations and interviews. Through their participation in the professional development experience, the teachers gained a deeper understanding of how to implement inquiry practices in their classrooms. The teachers gained confidence and practice with inquiry methods through developing and presenting their institute‐developed inquiry lessons, through observing other teachers' lessons, and participating as students in the workshop inquiry activities. Data analysis revealed that a set of four core conceptions guided the teachers' use of inquiry‐based practices in their classrooms. The teachers' conceptions of science, their students, effective teaching practices, and the purpose of education influenced the type and amount of inquiry instruction performed in the high school classrooms. The research findings suggest that to be successful inquiry professional development must not only teach inquiry knowledge, but it must also assess and address teachers' core teaching conceptions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1318–1347, 2007     

清教思想对美国主要价值观的影响

美国文化主流是基督新教文化,而新教中的清教则是美国殖民地时期的主流宗教,其思想对殖民时期的美国产生了巨大的影响,并作为美国文化的传统而深深地影响了美国人的价值观的形成。清教的预定论、天职观、财富观、直接影响着美国人对待职业、财富的态度,其对待圣经的态度使得美国人能在荒野中把教育办得有声有色,并使得美国的教育形成了实用的特色和严谨的作风。     

Embedding inquiry-based practices in schools: The strategic role of school leaders

The context of this study were research and development projects in Dutch secondary education, particularly funded by government to combine practice-based research with school development goals for inquiry-based culture. Aiming at better understanding of the strategic role that school leaders play in embedding inquiry-based practices in schools, the research question of this study was to explore to what extent and how do school leaders use the opportunity of participating in funded research and development projects for encouraging and integrating inquiry-based practices in their schools? Differences concerning the integration of inquiry-based working in the school as professional learning community were examined, distinguishing between school leaders’ strategies of capacity building. Twenty-eight school leaders of Dutch secondary schools, involved in nineteen projects, were interviewed retrospectively. Analyses showed the majority of the school leaders to be convinced that inquiry-based working is important for their schools’ development as a professional community. Their strategies for achieving school level project significance differed in school leaders’ successive attention on personal or interpersonal capacity building with regard to inquiry-based practices. Moreover, while some school leaders were actively involved with capacity building right from the start of the research and development projects projects, almost two-third of the school leaders developed interest in inquiry-based practices during the projects and started to enact in the final year of the project. In discussing the results, it is proposed that the interaction of strategy and context needs further study, for instance to inform peer learning among school leaders that are novice and experienced in inquiry-based practices as a means to develop the school as a professional learning community.