Leadership in Distance Education: Qualities and Qualifications Sought by Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

This article presents the results of an investigation into the qualities and qualifications sought in distance education leaders by institutions of higher education in the United States. The researchers examined 191 distance education leadership position announcements posted by online sources between 1997 and 2010. Content analysis of these announcements suggests that distance education leadership in higher education requires preparation at the graduate level and a variety of academic and administrative experiences and skills including leadership, program evaluation, technical expertise, teaching, and course development. Leadership responsibilities are equally broad within a range of strategic, operational, and instructional areas.     

A review of distance‐learning studies in the U. S. military

Abstract

This review of literature includes recent studies of distance learning in military settings. Aspects of distance learning reviewed include 1) distance learning delivery systems, 2) effectiveness studies comparing distance learning and resident training, and 3) speculation as to the future of distance learning in military settings. Additionally, the results of interviews conducted at military sites and universities with experience in distance learning are reported.     

The preparation of Fijian school leaders: a framework for principal preparation in a South Pacific context

ABSTRACT

Increased school autonomy and a greater focus on achieving school effectiveness and improvement has made it essential to reconsider the role of school leaders (OECD 2009, Creating Effective Teaching and Learning Environments: First Results from TALIS. Paris: OECD Publishing). This recommends that leadership development in this rapidly changing world deserves significant consideration compared to the past. With the increasing interest entrusted to school leadership, this article reports on how school leaders are currently prepared by the higher education programmes offered in two out of three universities in Fiji. Through an extensive literature review as well as through programme documents and policy reviews, this article focuses on current educational leadership post-graduate courses offered at these Fijian universities and highlight areas of strengths as well as suggests recommendations for improvement that are in line with identified needs for effective principal preparation in a Fijian context with key connections made to the larger South Pacific region.     

The evolution of educational leadership preparation programmes

ABSTRACT

This article offers a review of extant literature specific to educational leadership preparation programmes. The author explains how leadership development and preparation programmes have evolved over time. Highlighted are: (1) historical contexts of educational leadership, (2) challenges faced when implementing quality graduate programmes in educational leadership, (3) a brief international perspective of educational leadership, and (4) reform efforts aimed at creating a new kind of graduate education in educational leadership. The authors conclude with final reflections.     

How does a STEM Access module prepare adult learners to succeed in undergraduate science?

ABSTRACT

This article explores the impact of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Access module on the progression of students to undergraduate Science. Drawing on the Widening Participation (WP) literature, this research investigated the experience of adult learners from disadvantaged backgrounds taking their first steps into higher education (HE). A mixed methods institutional case study was conducted, drawing on extensive survey data and interviews with students and tutors. Key findings included: enhanced student understanding of how to use tutor support; improvement in the skills and confidence of students in relation to maths, as a result of an embedded interdisciplinary curriculum; and an uplift in student study skills. This study was undertaken in a distance learning context, addressing issues in entry-level STEM, but the conclusions are applicable to other HE settings.     

Change in a culture of collegiality and consensus-seeking: a double-edged sword

ABSTRACT

The study aims to move beyond idealised and predominantly trait-based typologies of leadership and leadership roles and addresses collegial leaders’ practice of change in higher education. Collegial leaders at two research-intensive higher education institutions, who had received educational leadership training, were studied. In the study, we explored ordinary actions and change practices as a way of understanding emerging practices among collegial leaders. Five categories were identified that show how collegial leaders experience change, process change and organise the practice of change. The article also contributes a critical discussion on the notions of collegiality in a consensus-seeking context, which may be relevant for academic developers, policy makers, and researchers alike.     

Qualified to lead? A comparative,contextual and cultural view of educational policy borrowing

Abstract

Background: Around the globe, education policy borrowing remains pervasive and prevalent. The strategies, interventions and innovations of education systems that perform well, in international assessments, are enthusiastically borrowed and copied in the anticipation of similar educational performance and outcomes.

Purpose: This purpose of the article is to highlight some of the implications and consequences of policy borrowing by comparing the preparation and development programmes for school leaders in various education systems. The article explores the way in which the leadership programmes and models are being adopted and developed by different countries.

Sources of evidence: The article draws upon findings from a contemporary, comparative study of leadership preparation and development across seven different education systems (Seven System Leadership Study). This large-scale, mixed-methods, comparative research study is collecting quantitative and qualitative data about the nature and impact of leadership development and preparation programmes in seven different education systems.

Main argument: The findings from the study reinforce how leadership preparation and development programmes are increasingly becoming standardised as a result of education systems borrowing and adapting from each other. This article also argues that in the contemporary policy discourse, important cultural and contextual influences that significantly affect subsequent implementation and outcomes are increasingly being side-lined and ignored.

Conclusions: This article highlights some of the limitations and unintended consequences of educational policy borrowing. It concludes that adopting some of the design features of effective interventions rather than simply borrowing policies or strategies, in part or in their entirety from very different contexts, may be a more productive way forward.     

Doctoral Student Socialization: Educating Stewards of the Physical Education Profession

ABSTRACT

In preparing the future stewards of the physical education profession, the occupational socialization and professional development of physical education doctoral students is important to consider. To date, there has been scant scholarly inquiry into doctoral education in physical education. However, there is an abundance of research related to doctoral training in the higher education literature more generally. Drawing upon this larger body of work, this article expands occupational socialization theory to address the socialization of physical education doctoral students and faculty members. The case is made that effective doctoral training in physical education is essential to securing the future of the profession. Provided is an overview of the existing literature, presentation of an adaptation to occupational socialization theory that explains doctoral physical education socialization, and a discussion of key professional development issues that academic leaders and student support personnel should consider. Implications and recommendations for doctoral physical education leadership and academic programs are provided.     

The Superintendent's Leadership in School Improvement: A Rural Perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper contains a brief review of the research literature on superintendents’ leadership for school improvement as an introduction. Following that, the patterns of five superintendents’ leadership that evolved in five school improvement sites is reported; the activities in which the superintendents engaged in five quite different organizational settings is the focus. In addition, the strategies and events used by external assisters assigned to the sites to develop and enhance leadership behaviors are shared. The paper concludes with a short discussion of the unique conditions and influences on rural superintendents and their leadership for increasing educational effectiveness.     

Description of a Web-Driven,Problem-Based Learning Environment and Study of the Efficacy of Implementation in Educational Leader Preparation

Abstract

A Web-driven problem-based learning environment and instructional system was conceived and developed to study the marriage of the problem-based learning instructional method and Web technologies for instructional delivery of educational administration content material. The project described herein was undertaken to examine the efficacy of implementing this new mode of instruction in graduate courses in educational leadership. The ultimate goal of this line of research is to enhance the development of applications of Web technologies to support problem-based learning and improve the efficiency and efficacy of this instructional form in practice across higher education settings. This article describes the prototype software, the rationale and theoretical framework supporting its development, the process and results of research conducted during production and beta-testing, and the educational significance of the project.     

‘Distance education’ and ‘e-learning’: Not the same thing

This article examines the distinct differences between ‘distance education’ and ‘e-learning’ in higher education settings. Since the emergence of the new information and communication technologies (ICT), many have related to them as the new generation of distance education, and some have referred to their implementation in academia as challenging the very existence of campus-based universities. Many policy makers, scholars and practitioners in higher education use these two terms interchangeably as synonyms. But the fact is that distance education in most higher education systems is not delivered through the new electronic media, and vice versa – e-learning in most universities and colleges all over the world is not used for distance education purposes. ‘Distance education’ and ‘e-learning’ do overlap in some cases, but are by no means identical. The lack of distinction between ‘e-learning’ and ‘distance education’ accounts for much of the misunderstanding of the ICT roles in higher education, and for the wide gap between the rhetoric in the literature describing the future sweeping effects of the ICT on educational environments and their actual implementation. The article examines the erroneous assumptions on which many exaggerated predictions as to the future impact of the ICT were based upon, and it concludes with highlighting the future trends of ‘distance education’ and ‘e-learning’ in academia.     

Reformation of the Macedonian teacher education programme, 1999 – 2001

Background: In the last decade, much research attention has been paid to notions of leadership and the professional identity of school. It is widely agreed that school principals play a very important role in school improvement; international reports point to ‘school leadership’ as a key factor in education quality, and recent studies suggest that the leadership identity of principals is critical for achieving effective leadership in schools worldwide.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a thematic exploration of the literature relating to school principals and leadership identity.

Design and methods: A scoping review was carried out. Two major databases were searched for papers published on this topic in the last decade. Once we had established an overview of research on this subject, we conducted a thematic analysis to identify the topical focus of research.

Results: We found that the literature reflected an increasing and intensified interest in the topic of school leadership as the decade progressed. Furthermore, a range of emerging subtopics was identified. These included the relationship between school culture and professional identity in school principals; the influence of ethical and personal factors on the professional development of principals; the dilemmas of balancing education policies and personal experiences; and the relationships between gender identity, racial identity, professional experience/career, training and leadership identity.

Conclusions: Several key issues emerged from the studies included in this review, such as the importance of external and internal influences in the construction of the professional identity of school principals. Some of the research suggested that school leaders felt the need to develop a new professional identity. Overall, the study indicates that school leadership and its relationship with school improvement should remain an important focus for educational research investigation.     

Towards a leadership model for the effective management of Further Education and Training colleges

Abstract

This article focuses on the need for a leadership model for the effective management of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in the Gauteng Province. The research was motivated by the call for sound leadership in FET colleges that are grappling with the challenges of merging. A literature study showed that the study of leadership is interdisciplinary, covering a vast terrain, which encompasses the political, corporate, educational and human service domains. In 1994 the South African government inherited a fragmented, segregated and bureaucratic education system providing poor quality education. The necessary reform of the FET sector has placed enormous pressure on FET college leadership. A qualitative approach was used for this study to provide explanations for a need for effective leadership models for FET colleges. A case study of a newly merged college was chosen by purposeful sampling, and data collected by means of document analysis, individual interviews and observation. The research concludes with recommendations and a proposed leadership model for effective management of FET colleges.     

Television: The performance of nonresident students in the “economics U$A” telecourse

Abstract

Correspondence study represents the first and most persistent distance education format in American universities. Later called independent study, it enabled universities to disseminate instruction far beyond their campuses. Yet, national‐level leadership provided by the National University Continuing Education Association (NUEA) and its divisions has been relatively restrained. In contrast, leadership in the private correspondence school sector has been assertive, and sometimes even aggressive. The NUEA and its members shunned this approach, choosing instead to lead by persuasion and example. The NUEA developed standards of practice concerned primarily with replicating on‐campus teaching styles and values, rather than the promotion of distance education. With the abolition of its division structure, the NUEA's successor, the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), has opted out of a leadership role in independent study. This paper concludes that the NUEA's initial attempt at leadership in distance education— while reasoned and principled—contained flaws that made failure inevitable.     

Teacher Leadership: Rationale,strategy and impact

This article presents arguments for teacher leadership. It challenges the current orthodoxy of school organisation and seeks to extend the current debate about distributed leadership. It offers a view of teacher leadership which is inclusive rather than limited to those with management responsibility or specific change agent roles. It focuses on learning-centred development work in which teachers act strategically to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The article includes illustrative cases and proposals for strategies to support teacher leadership. It also offers a framework for planning and evaluating the impact of teacher-led development work.     

Teachers and Field Instructors as Student Role Models

Abstract

The social work literature often mentions the value and importance of faculty and field instructors serving as role models for students. Unlike allied disciplines, the influence of role models in social work education remains relatively unexplored. This article includes a search of two electronic databases on role models and social work education, identifies the various conceptual references the social work literature makes to the topic, and then discusses its inclusion as a variable in empirical studies. It argues that more qualitative investigation is needed into role modeling as an inextricable component of social work students' socialization to the profession.     

Collaborative Leadership and Sustained Learner Academic Performance in Secondary Schools: A Blaming Game?

Abstract

This article reports on a study that investigated how collaborative leadership can influence sustained learner academic performance in secondary schools. The key problem resounds about secondary schools that are unable either to sustain or improve learner academic performance when intervention strategies rolled out from the district offices are concluded. The literature pursued in the study covered collaborative leadership from both schools and district education offices and their impact on learner academic performance. Participants were circuit managers, subject advisors, principals and teachers. They completed open- ended questionnaires that sought to explain the relationship between collaborative leadership and sustained learner academic performance. Major findings indicated that participants (at the various levels of leadership) attribute low learner academic performance to all other involved parties except themselves. Thus, collaborative leadership within the school and between schools and district education offices is not enabling sustained learner academic performance.     

Analysis of leadership dynamics in educational settings during times of external and internal change

Background: The article concerns the tensions that can arise during demanding external, and consequential internal changes and considers how educational leadership is able to respond to them. Leadership is here understood as a collaborative endeavour, producing shared sense-making in situations of tension.

Purpose: The main research question was: what kinds of leadership dynamics underlie situations of tension brought about by external and internal change? The sub-question was: what kind of micro-level sense-making processes, argued to be the true source of change, assist in revealing these dynamics?

Programme: Educational organisations increasingly face demanding external changes, such as the two mergers described in this article. Tensions can easily be brought about during such external changes and the consequential internal changes, such as two pedagogical innovation projects in this article.

Sample: The study was conducted with three leadership teams within two organisations. The first organisation was a vocational education organisation with around 4000–5000 students and 500 staff members. The leadership team that was studied was followed for almost two years. The other organisation was a business school which comprised of around 7000 students, 150–200 professors and 500 staff members. There, two leadership teams were investigated and followed for almost three years.

Design and methods: The data for the sense-making process was selected by way of qualitative content analysis and an experimented model called TenKeys®. This data were analysed using a grounded theory approach to uncover the underlying leadership dynamics.

Results: Ten micro-procedural leadership dynamics were identified. Actions related to the pedagogical projects were then interpreted by means of these dynamics.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that understanding underlying leadership dynamics might help educational organisations respond to possible tensions brought about by external and internal change and, consequently, support learners’ learning processes, albeit indirectly.     

Encountering Violence in Field Work

Abstract

The increase in violence in our society has been well documented in the media as well as in professional journals. Social workers experience a particularly high incidence of physical and verbal violence. This article presents a current review of the literature on violence, describes a Risk Reduction Model for social work practicum education, and discusses implications for further study. The literature review includes reported incidence, the professional response, and the impact on social work education. The Risk Reduction Model addresses school policy and procedures, a school based teaching module, training for field work instructors, and consultation to agencies regarding their safety policies, procedures and training.