Action learning drives the Emerald Academy

This account examines the action learning process adopted by Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., embedded in the organization through the in-company Emerald Academy. In case study format, the paper emphasizes that in order to align learning with organizational objectives joined up thinking and practice is needed beyond the learning and development function, with ownership taken of the process at all levels. To date the Emerald action learning corporate academy process is in its sixth year. It builds upon a tradition of management development through action learning which goes back to the early days of the company. Organizations seeking to develop a similar process would need to consider organizational commitment and readiness.     

教师转型:组织承诺与组织支持的共同作用

对转型发展典型高校X学院5名教师的扎根研究发现,教师转型是个体因素与组织因素良性互动的结果:教师出于对学校新办学理念、定位、目标等的认同和信任,形成较高组织承诺;在较高组织承诺推动或(和)组织支持拉动下,这些教师开启转型探索之路;在组织承诺支撑下,转型教师经过探索取得了一定转型效果,获得(更多的)组织支持,进而使转型向...     

美国KIPP学校发展的成效与启示

KIPP学校在长期的发展中形成了自身的特点,它以提高学生的学业成绩、发展学生的个性品质为使命,以高期望、卓越承诺书、超长的学习时间、强有力的领导和注重绩效为支柱,以高素养的师资、自主的学校管理为保障,在美国获得了快速发展。借鉴美国KIPP学校发展的成功经验,可以从学校办学模式和自主管理、促进教育公平等方面为我国普通学校...     

Relationships among organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and learning organization culture in one Korean private organization

The purpose of this study is to identify dynamic relationships among organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and learning organization culture in a Korean private company. Using a sample of 669 employees from five subsidiaries of a Korean conglomerate, this research found that learning organization culture is moderately and positively related to job satisfaction. In addition, organizational commitment, except for continuance commitment, was found to be moderately and positively related to learning organization culture and job satisfaction. This research enables CEOs and HR practitioners to view organizational commitment, learning organization culture, and job satisfaction as important variables that can be applied in their management, interventions, and practices.     

Students’ Learning Activities While Studying Biological Process Diagrams

Process diagrams describe how a system functions (e.g. photosynthesis) and are an important type of representation in Biology education. In the present study, we examined students’ learning activities while studying process diagrams, related to their resulting comprehension of these diagrams. Each student completed three learning tasks. Verbal data and eye-tracking data were collected as indications of students’ learning activities. For the verbal data, we applied a fine-grained coding scheme to optimally describe students’ learning activities. For the eye-tracking data, we used fixation time and transitions between areas of interest in the process diagrams as indices of learning activities. Various learning activities while studying process diagrams were found that distinguished between more and less successful students. Results showed that between-student variance in comprehension score was highly predicted by meaning making of the process arrows (80%) and fixation time in the main area (65%). Students employed successful learning activities consistently across learning tasks. Furthermore, compared to unsuccessful students, successful students used a more coherent approach of interrelated learning activities for comprehending process diagrams.     

Towards ICT in everyday life in Finnish schools: seeking conditions for good practices

The article discusses how to strengthen educational use of information and communication technology (ICT) in Finnish schools. The conceptions and experiences of the successful integration of ICT in everyday school settings are reported. Participant observations in 20 schools in different parts of Finland were carried out, including discussions with principals and teachers. The results show that when promoting new technology and practices in schools, many components overlap and support each other. The following six main characteristics of successful integration were identified: (1) ICT included in strategic planning, as part of school culture, (2) teaching and learning methods facilitating participation and leading to empowerment, (3) flexible curriculums, (4) high investments in communication, (5) optimum leadership and management, and (6) teaching staff's strong capacity and commitment. The research indicates that an open school culture allows staff to take risks when applying new technology, creates learning environments and empowers learners.     

Making Inquiry a Habit of Mind: Learning to use inquiry to understand and improve practice

This study examines how student teachers in a 2-year graduate program used inquiry to examine the day-to-day issues that arose in their student teaching placements. Through systematic questioning, collection of data and controlled experimenting with solutions, student teachers learned to apply the technical and theoretical knowledge they were learning in education classes to their individual student teaching situations. Essential to the success of this process was collaboration with colleagues for clarifying their questions and for understanding and analyzing the data they collected. Analysis of the data shows that student teachers learned to help one another so that their teaching was focused and successful in many different ways. Confirmation of this success was noted in the supervisor evaluations and observation notes for each student teacher. Student teachers did learn to make inquiry a habit of mind, thereby initiating a long-term commitment to professional self-study.     

Developing an action learning design model

As the number of organizations implementing action learning increases, both successful and failed cases also increase in action learning practice in South Korea. Existing studies on action learning have listed key success factors of action learning at the program level or at the team level but have not paid sufficient attention to the program design process itself. The purpose of this study was to show how to develop a design model of action learning that incorporates a step-by-step decision-making process and that provides design principles necessary along the way. This design model will present the importance of contextualizing the action learning process by asking ‘highly required’ questions and help raise the level of successful implementation of action learning programs.     

Centred knowing and its influence in emancipatory learning

This article reports on specific findings related to the knowing process of emancipatory learning that emerged from a qualitative study of change agents. The study involved 24 women who had a reflective awareness of consciousness‐raising leading to their commitment to social action. Data were gathered using a semi‐structured, open‐ended interview schedule. A comparative analysis of the data was done. To ensure credibility of the study's findings, peer debriefing and member checks were employed. While the study disclosed broader findings related to the nature of emancipatory learning and its facilitators, this article explicates three: (a) emancipatory learning manifested itself within these women's lives through a transformation from alienation to agency in knowing; (b) a knowing process centred in authenticity was an essential dynamic of their critical reflection; and (c) the knowledge constructed from this knowing in part motivated their action for the development of society.     

The correlates and influences of career‐related continuous learning: Implications for management professionals

Management personnel are increasingly aware that career success depends on the ability to continuously learn and adapt to the environment. However, scant attention has been paid to how learning activities contribute to managerial success. This study examines the degree to which involvement in career‐related continuous learning affects managerial career success. Career success as defined in this study comprises both objective (ascendancy) and subjective (organizational commitment, professional commitment, career satisfaction) elements. Five hypotheses are tested using linear regression modeling. Results indicate that as individuals increase participation in career‐related continuous learning, their managerial career success increases as well.     

Collaborative learning processes in the context of a public health professional development program: a case study

The health promotion laboratory (HPL – Canada) is a public health professional development program building on a collaborative learning approach in order to support long-term practice change in local health services teams. This study aims to analyse the collaborative learning processes of two teams involved in the program during the first year of implementation. Based on a multiple case study design involving observations, interviews, and documentary sources, the study: (1) describes the learning process by which each team built a common understanding of the problem at hand and developed an intervention to address it; (2) identifies factors that facilitated or hindered these processes; and (3) proposes a cross-case explanation of the collaborative learning process in the HPL. The results demonstrate that the two teams learned by expanding their repertoire of actions, albeit experiencing different processes. Results point to the central role of shared mental models and key influencing factors, such as commitment and participation (team cohesion), team climate (psychological safety), and leadership style. Unlike previous studies on team learning that concentrated on existing teams in organisations, the current research studied purposely created teams working at transforming their practices and showed that they can successfully learn if specific conditions are achieved.     

Senior Adults' Perceptions of Successful Aging

This qualitative study examined the perceptions of 18 senior adults about successful aging and the role of learning in the process of adapting to age-related changes. Findings indicated that successful aging involves engaging with others; coping with changes; and maintaining physical, mental, and financial health. Within these themes, learning emerged as an important factor in the successful aging process. Specifically, participants described learning in terms of a variety of purposes—such as a social experience, a coping strategy, and a way to have fun. Implications for the design and delivery of programs for senior adults are discussed.     

Can transformational leadership influence on teachers’ commitment towards organization,teaching profession,and students learning? A quantitative analysis

This study investigates the impact of transformational leadership as idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration on teachers’ commitment towards organization, teaching profession, and students’ learning. A quantitative survey method was applied, and four broadly hypothesized relationships were tested with a sample of 1,014 trained non-graduate and graduate teachers serving in twenty-seven secondary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. The results indicate a moderate level of teachers’ commitment and a low level of transformational leadership qualities among the respondents. This study found that inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation were the factors contributing towards teachers’ commitment to teaching profession, and there was no dominant factor influencing commitment to students’ learning. Moreover, it was discovered that inspirational motivation was a factor to teachers’ efficacy and teaching experience. Besides, teachers’ efficacy and teaching experience were predictors to teachers’ commitment to organization, teaching profession, and students’ learning, respectively. These findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between transformational leadership and teachers’ commitment to organization and teaching profession, but not students’ learning. The results of this study indicate the necessity for leadership development of school leaders so that they could systematically acquire and internalize the effective transformational leadership qualities that are crucial in changing teachers’ attitude and improving their commitment towards their profession.     

Une approche plurilingue pour faciliter l’inclusion scolaire : engagement et dynamique pédagogique

A multilingual approach to facilitating inclusion: Educational commitment and dynamics – In the school context, the first steps in the process of learning a foreign language require commitment and motivation on the part of the learner, as well as a commitment from the teacher to include all students. This raises questions about the inclusiveness of education and the educational achievement of multilingual and/or immigrant students in predominantly monolingual classes. The author draws on a corpus of research to explore a number of parameters involved in the implementation of a multilingual and inclusive approach. She links the foundations of a multilingual approach to the institutional framework and the positions of the actors in the didactic relationship, as well as in their relationship to languages. The article then gives an overview of the characteristics of the metacognitive strategies employed by multilingual learners and, in conclusion, proposes some innovative methods to go beyond the monolingual principles in learning and foster exchanges that are both multicultural and multilingual.     

The development of the Teachers’ Attitudes toward Career Learning Index (TACLI)

Teachers play an important role supporting young people to form their career identities and to make successful transitions into further learning and work. In England, there has been limited research that has looked specifically at the role of teachers and none of which has tried to establish a measure of teacher attitude toward careers work. This article details the development of the Teachers’ Attitudes toward Career Learning Index, which was created to measure attitudes and engagement in career learning on teachers in England. The instrument went through a survey design process which included content validity and construct validity components. The process identified five underlying factors in teachers’ attitude and engagement in careers work: (1) career learning and support practices, (2) school career strategy attitudes, (3) subject career learning attitudes, (4) career support attitudes, and (5) school career strategy practices. This process helped refined initial theoretical constructs regarding teachers’ roles in careers learning.     

The practitioner-scholars' view of school change: A case-based approach to teaching and learning

This paper contends that a course in school change must tap into the lived experiences of practitioners; thereby arguing for a cased-based learning experience in which practitioners reflect critically on their own practice and develop a sound rationale for change. Placing the practitioner's “own” stories at the center of this experience revealed many compelling themes. Three that are addressed in this article include: (1) that the change process address loss, gain, and healing; (2) that change be committed to a vision that benefits all children; and (3) that commitment, community, and communication are key aspects of a change process that is led by a champion.     

Consultants’ Learning within Academia: Five devices for the design of university-based learning opportunities for management consultants

This paper explores the ways in which it is possible for universities to design learning opportunities for management consultants. Drawing on a successful practice in The Netherlands and using the literature on learning, development of competencies and career theory, it investigates selected aspects of this particular “market”, comparing the conventions governing the practice of consultants with those of academic practice. Its subsequent argument for the successful design of learning opportunities for professional consultants is organised around a discussion of five learning “devices”: (1) a self-reflective design practice; (2) a design process operating along three dimensions - the acquisition of knowledge and/or techniques, development of professional competencies, and personal and professional transitions; (3) treating knowledge as a process rather than a product; (4) building on learning experiences in work and on anticipated performances; and (5) a prohibition of “ego” in consultants' learning. The paper concludes with some reflections on the use of these devices elsewhere.     

Head teachers’ leadership for social justice and inclusion

This article is concerned with exploring the ways in which head teachers’ leadership for social justice is understood and enacted within the context of inclusion. Head teachers’ leadership praxis is influenced by individual understandings of social justice, as well as dominant institutional realities and policy priorities that indicate the extent to which there is commitment to the process of socially just change. This commitment is significantly manifested in the ways in which an educational system advances new forms of professionalism, effectiveness indicators and accountability regimes that are aligned with concerns about providing socially just and non-discriminatory learning communities for learner diversity.     

课程学习经历何以影响本科生满意度?——专业承诺的中介效应检验

改善高校的教与学,以提升高等教育质量,是我国高等教育发展的重要途径。文章运用对重庆市6所高校493名本科生的调查数据探讨了学生感知的课程学习经历与课程满意度及专业承诺的关系。研究发现(1)本科生课程学习经历、课程满意度和专业承诺总体情况较好,女生感知的课程学习经历和专业承诺水平均优于男生;(2)课程满意度在主要的人口学变量上均无显著差异;(3)不同的课程学习经历对课程满意度存在显著影响,而这一影响受到专业承诺的中介影响。因此,高校优化课程学习环境可以增强学生专业承诺,提高其课程满意度。     

民族聚居区高校大学生学习倦怠、专业承诺与社会支持关系研究

采用大学生专业承诺调查量表、大学生学习倦怠调查量表和社会支持评定量表,以民族聚居区高校604名大学生为对象,探讨学习倦怠、专业承诺和社会支持之间的关系,结果表明:(1)民族聚居区高校学生的学习倦怠水平较高,专业承诺水平不高,社会支持的总体水平较高,但对支持的利用度不高。(2)专业承诺和社会支持是民族聚居区高校学生学习倦怠的有效预测变量。具体表现为:情感承诺、继续承诺、理想承诺是情绪低落维度的有效预测变量;理想承诺是行为不当维度的有效预测变量;情感承诺是成就感低的有效预测变量;主观支持、对支持的利用度是情绪低落维度的有效预测变量;主观支持是行为不当维度的有效预测变量;支持的利用度是成就感低维度的有效预测变量。