Curriculum matters: Creating a positive climate for diversity from the student perspective

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that predict students perceptions of their institutions success in achieving a positive climate for diversity. This study examines a sample of 544 students at a large, public, predominantly White Mid-Western institution. Results show that students perceptions of the institutions ability to achieve a positive climate for diversity is a reflection of students precollege interactions with diverse peers and the institutions ability to incorporate diversity-related issues into its curriculum. Results also indicate that these perceptions differ by race and gender. Implications for institutional researchers are discussed.     

The accountability generation: exploring an emerging leadership paradigm for beginning principals

School leaders in Queensland, Australia, are working in a rapidly shifting policy landscape, expected to work towards system-defined improvement measures involving increasingly higher external accountabilities. This article analyses a group of long-term case studies of the effects of school improvement expectations on principals since the introduction of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in 2008. Foucauldian theory is used to analyse the influence of performative cultures on a group of Queensland principals. A unique feature of this geographical region is the large proportion of small-school principals, the majority of whom are in the early stages of their teaching careers. Having joined the teaching profession post-NAPLAN, the influence of these accountabilities emerges as a point of difference between them and longer-established principals. The article identifies the emergence of this new leadership paradigm as an area inviting further inquiry within the field of educational leadership research, exploring the influence of rapidly shifting expectations on leadership practices.     

Distributed leadership of school curriculum change: an integrative approach

Since its inception in 1999, the distributed leadership framework of Spillane, Halverson, and Diamond [2004. “Towards a Theory of Leadership Practice: A Distributed Perspective.” Journal of Curriculum Studies 36 (1): 3–34. doi:10.1080/0022027032000106726] has supported research into leadership and change in schools. Whilst the conceptual integrity of the framework is sound, research based upon its premises has attracted some criticism. The research has had a narrowed focus which has not generally reflected the inseparability of the elements of the framework and the situation within which leadership is enacted. In addition, it often fails to account for the complexity of critical elements of the environment such as micropolitics. This position paper proposes a reconfiguration of the distributed leadership framework as a research framework in response to this critique. The paper asserts that this new perspective that is presented is able to respond to the critique through an integrated approach that encompasses situation, social distribution and task enactment and which supports an integrated approach to research methodology. This adapted framework has the potential to more fully support research design that is actuality holistic and embedded in the context.     

Diversity as a natural occurrence: an enrichment strategy of peer learning

Business educators are concerned with integrating diversity-related topics and seek methods by which to teach them. This paper suggests that as classes become more heterogeneous, the opportunity to examine diverse perspectives and experiences naturally arises in the course of class assignments and activities. The differential experiences of majorities and minorities are revealed when students discuss and write about their own experiences related to the content of various business courses. The issues of self and group identity and perceptions of others emerge in the context of small group discussions when students share their experiences as recorded in learning logs, personal cases, research assignments, and typical class discussions. The opportunity for community learning in heterogeneous groups provides a forum for diverse perspectives and experiences to be shared. Students and professors learn about different perceptions and reactions to personal and current events as well as their own perspectives, creating a culture of inclusion in the class. Implications and suggestions for a wider application of our methods to a global context are also offered.     

Raising achievement of black Caribbean pupils: good practice for developing leadership capacity and workforce diversity in schools

This research aims to examine the success factors behind raising the achievement of Black Caribbean pupils with focus on leadership and work force diversity factors. Drawing on case studies and focus group methodological approaches of research the study findings identified a number of success factors including the strong leadership of the Headteacher, effective use of a diverse multi-ethnic workforce, valuing and celebrating cultural diversity, providing an inclusive curriculum that adds to gives pride in being Black Caribbean. What is particularly special about the case study schools is that the leadership of the schools are strong on equality and diversity issues and there are also plenty of opportunities for teachers and school staff to celebrate cultural diversity and reflect on the achievement of Black Caribbean pupils. Overall the study suggests that Black Caribbean pupils do well in multicultural schools with a strong school leadership on diversity and equality issues. Policy implications for developing leadership capacity and workforce diversity are discussed in the final section.     

Understanding emancipatory forms of educational leadership through schooling justice work: an action research study into second chance schooling development

Concerned about the phenomena of early school leaving in our region, we are two teachers who initiated and developed a new school from the ‘ground up’ to re-engage young people disenfranchised with schooling back into formalised learning. Using critical action research methodology over a three and a half year developmental period, this endeavour involved us in exercising particular dimensions of leadership to engineer a sustainable second chance school. Twelve years after its development, the school continues with enrolments of over 100 senior secondary students in recent years. The schooling justice work we pursued during the developmental period drew us into ‘emancipatory’ leadership work that called us to be; (1) teacher activists embracing social entrepreneurial strategies imbued with (2) relational sensibilities, and (3) architects of socially just school design informed by (4) critical praxis within a university led professional learning community. The ‘second chance school’ has re-engaged over 1000 students back into formalised learning since its inception and has offered pathways into post-school tertiary study, apprenticeships and training for the majority of these students.     

Price leadership strategy or branding strategy:an empirical test of indigenous Chinese exporters

The effects of price leadership strategies and branding strategies on the export performance of indigenous Chinese exporters with a focus on developing country markets and developed country markets are examined based on the principles of strategy-environment co-alignment and marketing segmentation theory. Findings suggest that when focusing on developing country markets, the use of a branding strategy is more likely to enhance export performance. When focusing on developed country markets, neither the use of a price leadership strategy nor the use of a branding strategy enhances export performance. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.     

Pre-service teachers' dispositions towards diversity: Arguing for a developmental hierarchy of change

This article explores Australian pre-service teachers' beliefs about and attitudes towards diversity. Building on Garmon's [Garmon, M. A. (2004). Changing preservice teachers' attitudes/beliefs about diversity: what are the critical factors? Journal of Teacher Education, 55(3), 201–213] argument that there are three dispositional factors that influence students' likelihood of developing multicultural awareness and sensitivity in teacher education programmes, the authors explore the relationship between such dispositions as exhibited in students' autoethnographic work. In so doing, the authors posit that these dispositions may be hierarchically developed: beginning from ‘self-awareness/self-reflectiveness’; moving towards ‘openness’; and finally a ‘commitment to social justice’. After exploring the nature of this hierarchical development through the in-depth investigation of six representative student accounts, the paper concludes by discussing the implications for teacher education, including the necessity to adjust our expectations of changing the dispositions of pre-service teachers in discrete, short courses.     

School leadership development in China: a case study of schools in one district education bureau

This paper considers the effectiveness of leadership development (LD) processes in relation to school leaders’ needs within an eastern Chinese District Education Bureau (DEB). The analysis is based on Chinese and English sources relating to LD, documentary analysis of DEB initiatives and interviews with ten school leaders from two schools. The findings reveal that LD within the district stalled at principal level because of the tension between their managerial interpretation of the role and the expectation that they should develop as leaders. Although leaders reported that the emphasis in development activities on classroom teaching and learning, the interpretation of policy initiatives and school visits were helpful, much of what the government is doing is counter-productive. Informants also said that poor outcomes tended to arise from factors beyond the scope of the LD programme itself, for example from the centralised regulatory system, from their own lack of power and influence, from the absence of programme-based or wider in-school support, and from limited evaluative studies. School leaders believed that they needed to be trained to review their own real-world work collaboratively and to devise improvement. They suggested that policy-makers should encourage an inquiry-based approach.     

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.     

Designing and using an organisational culture inquiry tool to glimpse the relational nature of leadership and organisational culture within a South Australian primary school

This case study research found that the relational leadership and organisational culture at a public primary school situated in a high poverty location in South Australia was built upon the strength of the inter-relationships between the teachers, teachers and leadership, and between teachers and students. Supported by what we called ‘dynamic inter-relationships’ and a ‘commitment to ongoing growth’ manifesting as key themes across the qualitative survey data generated by the school’s participants, we found the individual strengths of staff served the ‘on-going formation of organisational life’. Cognisant of these disclosed relational underpinnings, the research provided recommendations to the school’s leadership team about how they could best progress their educational reform agenda. The findings affirmed an Appreciative Inquiry inspired approach designed for the research was ‘fit for purpose’ as it generated extensive qualitative data from the teachers and leaders, offering opportunity for deep interpretive analysis using hermeneutic methodology of the school’s relational leadership and organisational culture. The research findings were subsequently confirmed by the teachers and leaders through a dialogic presentation of the research findings as an accurate representation of the culture of their school.     

Articulating identities and analyzing belonging: a multistep intervention that affirms and informs a diversity of students

This article describes a multistep intervention developed for an undergraduate course called ‘Advocating Diversity in Higher Education.’ The goal of the intervention was to affirm diversity and foster a sense of inclusion among students within and beyond the course. We contextualize the intervention in student protests during 2015 and 2016 regarding racial and other forms of discrimination on college and university campuses in the United States, and we describe how it is informed by several theoretical frames and associated practices: intersectionality, belonging, and radical pedagogical partnership. Co-authored by the faculty member who co-designed and co-taught the course, an undergraduate student who co-designed the course, and a recent graduate who co-created the course when she took it, the article embodies the inclusion and radical partnership it analyzes. It is intended to offer individuals working in higher education an intervention that can be adapted across contexts.     

Responding to diversity: the challenge of expanding basic education for young people in the south

This article explores the extent to which and how non-formal education (NFE) contributes to the development of a more diversified basic education system and thus to the achievement of EFA. It outlines the current nature of NFE, the frameworks provided by the EFA movement, and the evolution of reflection, policies and practices in NFE in relation to basic education as a whole. Based on significant developments in various countries across the South, the article also discusses some key challenges that ministries of education and their partners need to face in moving towards relevant and equitable diversity in education. The article posits that, despite the many problems faced by NFE, there is justification for building on its experiences and integrating these within a larger policy and systems framework that responds more effectively to needs and circumstances of children and young people.

Testing for factorial invariance of the Modified Leadership Scale for Sports: using a Japanese version

The objective of this study was to provide empirical evidence to support psychometric properties of a modified four-dimensional model of the Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS). The study tested invariance of all parameters (i.e., factor loadings, error variances, and factor variances–covariances) in the four-dimensional measurement model between two groups of student-athletes. For testing multi-group invariance of the proposed scale, 335 middle school and 320 high school student-athletes in Japan participated in this study. The modified version of the LSS consists of 35 items representing training instruction, democratic behaviour, positive feedback, and social support. A chi-square difference test was employed for model comparisons. The results supported configural, metric, scalar and factor variance–covariance invariance in the modified LSS across the two student-athlete groups.     

教学与科研并重:研究型大学和谐发展战略的重要选择

教学和科研高度相关和有机结合是研究型大学最为显著和重要的特征之一。研究型大学办学中教学和科研活动的内涵特色及相互关系决定了研究型大学不能片面强调教学或科研,而应坚持教学和科研两者并重的和谐发展战略。目前,研究型大学中教学和科研存在着一些现实的冲突,要实现两者的并重和和谐发展,要在优化发展环境、大学管理思想、运行机制和制度规范等方面探索实现的途径。     

Good intentions are not enough: a critical examination of diversity and educational leadership scholarship

An emergent strand within mainstream educational leadership scholarship is an engagement with notions of diversity. This is part of a belated recognition that in an increasingly globalising world the largely masculinist, white norms from which most accounts of leadership derive, lack sufficient explanatory power for educational systems. Utilising critical, black and Indigenous feminist work on the recognition of difference, as well as recent feminist scholarship deconstructing diversity discourses in educational leadership, this article outlines the origins of the key diversity discourses from which the educational leadership field draws. It then analyses recent articles on diversity and educational administration, noting how the various diversity discourses have been taken up and the subsequent implications for educational leadership theorising and practices. It concludes by arguing that critical feminist research about the politics of difference, amongst others, provides an important body of scholarship from which to develop self‐reflexive and nuanced engagements with notions of diversity and leadership.     

Workforce diversity in Kenyan public universities: an analysis of workforce representativeness and heterogeneity by employee gender and ethnic group

Workforce diversity is considered an indicator of successful diversity and equal employment opportunity initiatives. In Kenya, it is a legal requirement for all public establishments to seek to represent the diversity of the population in employment of staff. This study analyses ethnic and gender representativeness and heterogeneity of the workforce in public universities. The results show over-representation of certain ethnic groups and non-compliance with diversity requirements in most universities. Variations between universities with regard to workforce heterogeneity are not statistically significant. However, the link between workforce heterogeneity and degree of urbanisation of university location is statistically significant. The conclusion is that compliance with legal requirements does not necessarily translate into representativeness and heterogeneity of the workforce. A shift from legal compliance to planned increase in numbers of under-represented gender and ethnic groups through diversity initiatives that identify and address barriers to equal employment and discriminatory employment practices is recommended.     

Creating a dialogic environment for transformative science teaching practices: towards an inclusive education for science

Abstract

This paper focuses on the design and application of a teacher training strategy to promote the inclusive education of students with disabilities in the science classroom, through the creation of adult learning environments grounded on the principles of dialogic learning. Participants of the workshop proposal consisted of a group of twelve teachers who were working at various educational levels. Teacher teams proposed and implemented in their classroom, innovative, inclusive science-learning activities about a topic of their choice. Data were collected from interviews with teachers five months after the courses, teachers’ portfolios about their practice during implementation of such sequences, and researchers’ observations. The data suggest that it is possible to stimulate a gradual transformation of teaching practices through a teacher training proposal that promotes self-awareness and critical reflection, situated in the creation of meaning and a willingness to change in the spirit of solidarity and social action. We found elements to recommend the incorporation of these innovations at the curricular and practical level for teacher training schools and for in-service teacher development programmes in Mexico and elsewhere.