Governance and decision‐making in higher education: Comparative aspects

In this paper, I shall put forward a model which highlights key issues to be taken into account in an attempt to improve academic excellence by the means of human resources management and leadership. Practices at the University of Eastern Finland and elsewhere are used as examples. It is maintained that logical and coherent human resources policies and capable leadership can support and contribute to academic performance and excellence. A key issue is not to interfere too much with active academic work, but still give sufficient support and prerequisites for academic basic tasks.     

Teacher participation in the decision‐making process: reality and repercussions in Indian higher education

The study reported here focused on comparing teachers’ actual and desired participation in different decision‐making situations and examined how participation in decision making differs in Indian higher educational institutions. The paper provides a comparison of findings with similar studies conducted in Western settings regarding the relationship of participative decision making (PDM) with some selected organizational variables: teachers’ job satisfaction, organizational goal commitment, role ambiguity, and role conflict. Data were gathered through a survey of 281 faculty members of Banaras Hindu University, India. Results indicate that in the Indian context, teachers’ actual and desired participation was highest in institutional decisions and lowest in technical decisions. Among the personal variables, age, designation, teaching experience and span of service in present institution were found to be significantly related with decisional participation of university teachers. It is recommended that administrators evolve a mechanism for inviting participation of teachers in different decisional domains, based on the findings of this study.     

Learning to teach in a context of education reform: liberal studies student teachers' decision‐making in lesson planning

Liberal studies is a new subject in the new senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong. This study attempted to identify factors that shape liberal studies student teachers' decisions in lesson planning. Based on interview data and lesson plans developed by the student teachers, this article maintains that four factors interacted with the subject features of liberal studies to shape the student teachers' planning decisions, namely, teacher knowledge, curriculum requirements, materials and resources, and interaction with equal and more capable partners. This paper further looks into how teacher knowledge expresses itself at different stages of lesson planning. The findings suggest that to facilitate enquiry learning in students, liberal studies teachers need to adopt an enquiry stance in lesson planning. This paper argues that the limitations of liberal studies student teachers' content knowledge need to be addressed in teacher preparation programmes and suggests teacher networking as one way to strengthen novice liberal studies teachers' content preparation. The implications for teacher education are discussed.     

Teacher education policy in Ireland and the challenges of the twenty‐first century

In line with the principles of the Bologna Process, teacher education systems across Europe are converging along a common path. Taking the Republic of Ireland (Ireland) as a case study, this paper examines the European agenda in relation to teacher education and asks how individual nation states are coping with the demands of greater comparability and compatibility. It suggests that while structurally, teacher education in Ireland has undergone significant reform in order to conform to a wider European agenda, significant gaps remain in existing teacher education policy particularly in relation to continuous professional development which will, if not addressed, impede Ireland’s capacity to adequately prepare teachers for the challenges of the twentieth‐first century.     

Reflections on the type of question as a determinant of the form of interaction in decision‐making and problem‐solving discussions

This essay advances the thesis that scholars interested in communication in decision‐making and problem‐solving groups have focused in their research on questions of policy at considerable neglect of questions of fact, conjecture, and value. One should not presume that the process involved in discussions of questions of policy is similar to those involved in discussions of the other three types. In fact, there is good reason to believe that because the decision frame presumably is different for each type of question, the pattern of interaction characteristic of discussions involving each type of question will be distinct. Such distinctiveness is suggested and better explained by viewing each type of question from a unique theoretical perspective. Accordingly, this essay explores discussions of questions of fact from a narrative perspective, questions of conjecture from a cognitive perspective, questions of value from a deontological perspective, and questions of policy from a social‐influence perspective in terms of expected patterns of interaction and the possibilities each presents in accounting for variation in the consensual outcomes of group decision‐making and problem‐solving discussions, as well as the appropriateness of the final choices the participants make.     

Argumentativeness: Its effect in group decision‐making and its role in leadership perception

Using perceived group leaders trained to argue for an extreme position, this study examined the function and influence of argumentativeness on leadership perception, leadership maintenance, and decision‐making in the small group. The data suggest that degree of argumentativeness influences perceptions of leadership, with the highly or extremely argumentative individual chosen over the moderate or mildly argumentative individual. Highly argumentative individuals were also rated as more influential on the group's decision. Extremely argumentative individuals, though downgraded in group ratings on “Influence,” were found to have had a disproportionate influence on the group's decision. Implications for small group communication research are discussed.     

Teacher education policy‐making in British Columbia: 1872‐1994

This paper presents the results of an investigation of policy‐making (from 1872 to 1994) about teacher education in British Columbia, Canada. Its primary focus is threefold. First, it outlines the administrative structures established for the administration of teacher education. Second, it identifies the major issues and concerns considered by the major commissions and reviews of teacher education and the changes which have resulted over time. Finally, it distills the lessons which might be learned from the past. Major conclusions include: that a clearly articulated philosophy of teacher education has taken second place to the mechanics of teacher education; that political control sublimated the need for the development of clearly stated policy, and change over time appears to have been mandated by legislation rather than developed from local and institutional initiatives.     

Teacher's roles in supporting inclusion and peer competence: Frameworks for decision‐making

Abstract

Social development is an important developmental domain for children ages birth through age 8. Increasingly, children with disabilities are included in general education classrooms. Preservice teachers need to develop the knowledge base and decision‐making skills regarding teacher roles and strategies related to peer social competence and inclusion. This paper focuses on how the faculty in the preservice Unified Early Childhood Education PROTEACH program at the University of Florida uses frameworks, including a hierarchy and continuum of interventions for promoting peer social competence, and frameworks for reflective teaching and collaborative teaming.     

Pupils’ voices about citizenship education: comparative case studies in Finland,Sweden and England

The aim of the article is to present and discuss a study in which Finnish, English and Swedish pupils’ understanding of citizenship education with regard to: (a) political literacy; and (b) attitudes and values was explored. The study was a cross‐national, multiple case study and data were collected through 18 focus group dialogues with 15‐year‐old pupils. Results showed that English pupils were much more well‐informed about rights and responsibilities than their Nordic counterparts and also more skilled rhetorically, but appeared less accustomed to open and confident relationships with adults than the Swedish pupils. Finnish pupils did not seem to be encouraged to talk; instead they kept their thoughts and feelings to themselves. One conclusion, among others, was that the study illuminates conditions for the development of a so‐called key competence – i.e., ‘interpersonal, intercultural, social and civic competence’.     

Attitudes to diversity: a cross‐cultural study of education students in Spain,England and the United States

This study explores the beliefs and attitudes that university students enrolled in teacher education programmes in Spain, England and the US (Texas) hold about individuals who differ. A beliefs and attitudes toward difference scale (BATD) was constructed using nine dimensions of diversity; culture, language, socioeconomic status/social class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political ideology, disability and special talent. A two‐way factorial analysis of variance indicated significant main effects due to the respondent groups on culture, religion and sexual orientation; significant main effects of worldview of difference on political ideology; and no interaction between the two factors on each of the nine domains of difference. An exploratory factor analysis was also performed in order to explore the viability of the theoretical model. The data suggest that attitudes towards people who differ include etic, emic and individual properties. These are discussed in terms of the uses of cross‐cultural data and further research opportunities.     

High Expectations: Untenured teacher involvement in school decision‐making

Findings from the current study show that new teacher expectations for involvement in school decision‐making are not being actualized. Based on feedback from elementary and secondary teachers (n=504) in 87 schools, the results show significant differences between actual and preferred levels of participation in 16 areas of school decision‐making. Although their motivation to participate is interpreted as a positive finding, the very high expectations for involvement suggest that new teachers are naive to the realities of school governance. These findings emphasize the need to better equip new teachers for the realities and the challenges of school governance.     

Part‐time higher education in Northern Ireland

Previous studies have shown that tutors usually enjoy teaching students and working for the University. During 1985 Reg Melton and colleagues in the Student Research Centre in the Institute of Educational Technology interviewed a number of tutors in depth to ascertain their reactions to the experience of reductions in their teaching. Job satisfaction and goodwill appeared to be under considerable strain.     

An exploratory study of argument in the jury decision‐making process

Different from most other group decision‐making contexts, courtroom jurors face two distinct layers of argument— arguments made during the trial and arguments made during deliberation. The juror often makes an individual decision prior to deliberation based on arguments heard in court and then, using that decision, creates arguments with the other jurors about “what really happened.” The researchers used Canary, Tanita‐Ratledge and Seibold's (1982) coding scheme to analyze arguments in 80 mock juries. The results revealed that jurors’ arguments were not complex; they used assertions and acknowledgments most frequently, followed by propositions, elaborations, and non‐related arguments. The conclusions suggest practical applications for attorneys as well as a model of argument in jury decision‐making.     

Quality assessment,decision‐making and institutional change

The paper studies the relation between different national cost‐sharing models and how students from different socio‐economic backgrounds finance their higher education in six different European countries: the Czech Republic, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. The findings reveal considerable differences both between the countries and also between different socio‐economic groups of students within each country. Even though there are only small social differences in the students’ level of income, there are considerable social differences in the students’ sources of income. The findings are discussed related to the country’s specific policy and higher education funding structures.     

Undergraduate non‐completion in England: Some implications for the higher education system and its institutions

Abstract

This paper, through a review of recent literature and policy documents, highlights: the rates of participation in higher education in the UK; the widening participation agenda and the potential impact of key financial changes in the funding of higher education, particularly for students from lower socio‐economic groups.