The management of education and the social theory of the firm: from distributed leadership to collaborative community

Modes of organisation and control within educational organisations have tended to accord with those of the workplace. Bureaucracy has endured in both. Of late, it has been loosened. This has opened up a new conceptual space within educational management and leadership. Its underlying theme is collaboration. The analysis here extends the space associated with concepts such as distributed leadership and system leadership. It draws upon the recent social theory of the firm proposed by Paul Adler and Charles Heckscher, and introduces their concept of collaborative community, a concept which when applied to educational administration re‐instates both trust and community as contributing to education, economy and society.     

Collaboration and integration of services in Greek special schools: two different models of delivering school services

Multidisciplinary collaboration is considered to be very important for the education of pupils with special educational needs and particularly those pupils with the most severe disabilities. This research adopts a multiple case‐study design in order to understand collaboration and the integration of services and the effectiveness of these among pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) in Greece. The teams, choosing case studies in five special schools, considered 10 pupils and their parents. Reviews and analyses of the legislation; the use of diaries; participant observations and semi‐structured interviews were used for the collection of data. Two different models of service integration which provide different opportunities to the inclusion of pupils with PMLD were revealed since schools have different methods of integrating health and social professionals. In the first model, the school works with outside services, whereas in the second, services are within the school. In addition, roles and responsibilities differ within the different models. Service integration and collaboration were found to be more effective in schools where teachers and health and social professionals work under the same management. The study suggests the expansion of the second model of multidisciplinary collaboration with the integration in schools of health therapists, educational psychologists and social workers.     

The three-tiered support system and the special education teachers’ role in Swedish-speaking schools in Finland

ABSTRACT

In 2010, new amendments regarding special education were made to the Finnish Basic Education Act (642/2010), and they were officially adopted in 2011. The three-tiered support system that was introduced can be considered the Finnish approach to moving education toward a more inclusive system since it emphasises all teachers’ responsibility to deliver support within the regular educational setting, representing a new feature in the policy documents. This has brought about new expectations for special education teachers’ (SETs’) roles. Our research aims to contribute to knowledge about the implementation of the three-tiered support system and SETs’ roles in Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The data were collected using a questionnaire (N = 158). The results indicate that the SETs have an important role in the three-tiered support system, both as those with the knowledge and those who share this knowledge. The SETs’ role is more evident when it comes to pupils receiving support on the second and third tiers. Although inclusive values are emphasised in the policy documents, the SETs still use most of their time teaching pupils in educational settings that are often relatively segregated (individual or small-group teaching), and for example, co-teaching seems to be a less frequent approach to collaboration.     

The great neoliberal hijack of collaboration: a critical history of group-based learning in tertiary education

ABSTRACT

This article examines the teaching of collaboration within tertiary education, critiquing the hegemony of a neoliberal mandate. This review of academic literature first identifies the significance of social capital and an intrinsic motivation to collaborate, to theorize how an important and complex graduate attribute (termed here ‘collaborative dexterity’) might be approached by pedagogy. This leads into a historical analysis of research into higher education, revealing how the instrumentalization of collaboration to enhance the private advantage of learners continues to pervade academia’s understanding of collaboration. As higher education transitioned from learning ‘through’ collaboration to learning ‘to’ collaborate, extrinsic motivations for collaboration were promoted further through assessment procedures, maintaining a narrow economic-exchange approach to collaboration. These educational practices inhibit the development of collaborative dispositions, foster self-interest and ultimately limit graduates’ preparation for the needs of collaborative work environments. Moreover, while educational scholarship has extensively explored why collaboration is important and how it may be assessed, much less consideration has been given to how collaboration might actually be taught within diverse disciplinary areas in tertiary education. This suggests an urgent need for further research into how collaboration is taught within tertiary education, in ways that extend beyond a neoliberal conceptualization of collaboration.     

高技能人才的技能成长困境及其突破

产业升级对高端技能型人才的“高技能”提出了新要求,高技能人才迫切需要提升现代技能水平。技能岗位的职业性、技能操作的技术性和技能教育的跨界性,共同构成了现代技能的特征与演化趋势。但目前高技能人才技能成长面临教育困境,包括学校教育制度的纵向层次困境、技术技能教育的横向跨界困境,以及职业技能提升的终身教育困境。创设本科以上高职教育制度,建立高职教育“直通车”,架构人才成长“立交桥”,完善国民终身教育体系,是突破技能教育困境的方向选择。     

Structural adjustment and education: Adapting to a growing global market

Structural adjustment effects on education have largely been viewed as policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This view overlooks the larger process of structural adjustment in a rapidly growing global economy. This article seeks to locate the structural adjustment implication for education within a global framework. Education's systemic dependence and system influence are identified. Specific educational effects of structural adjustment are discussed, addressing both short-term implications and long-term responses. Educational policy implications and research trends are addressed in the light of the evolving world system of education.     

The challenge of sustaining change: contradictions within the development of teacher and librarian collaboration

Teacher and librarian collaboration has relatively low priority in schools and in educational research. This is a paradox, as teachers and librarians share a common social and educational mandate of literacy education. The purpose of this article is to examine this paradox through exploring systemic contradictions in teacher and librarian collaboration within literacy education. Our data consist of discursive interaction between project leaders in an educational intervention project in Norway. The aim of the intervention is to develop teacher and librarian collaboration in two primary schools. Our analytical starting point is a critical conflict that occurred in one of the project leader meetings. The conflict arises from differing discourses of literacy education held by the local education authority and by the intervention project. We analyze how the project leaders respond to the conflict, how the conflict triggers new tensions and dilemmas within the project leader group and how the conflict creates obstacles to sustaining teacher and librarian collaboration in the project schools. We argue that sustainable change can be achieved by tracing conflicts, dilemmas and tensions to systemic contradictions within and between activity systems.     

教育行政权责清单制度的反思与重构

教育行政权责清单是全面依法治国、依法治教背景下推进教育行政执法体制改革的基础性制度,具备教育法治建设与教育治理变革两大方面的制度功能。解决教育行政执法领域执法需求与执法能力之间的突出矛盾对执法活动的跨部门协同提出了更高要求,但实践中教育行政权责清单制度存在的"碎片化"问题严重制约跨部门协同目标的实现。为了提升教育行政执法协同效能,应适度拓展教育行政权力清单的规范性依据层级,充分发挥教育行政权责清单的行政组织法功能,创新教育行政责任清单编制模式,推动教育行政权责清单制度在新时代改革创新。     

Education in the twenty‐first century: Conflict,reconstruction and reconciliation1

This paper is an attempt to map out an emerging, and increasingly important field of study concerning the relationship between education and conflict. The field has two main parameters. The first involves the variety of contexts within which education systems are required to operate. Distinctions are drawn between education that is provided within relatively peaceful and stable environments; during times of violent conflict; as part of reconstruction following conflict or political transition; and as part of longer term peace and reconciliation processes. Educational priorities and concerns may be quite different depending on each of these circumstances. The second parameter concerns different levels of action within an education system. These include the political and policy environment, administrative and structural features and various aspects of educational practice. The paper argues that actions through various ‘entry points’ at each of these levels carry the potential to exacerbate or ameliorate conflict and suggests that a systemic analysis of investments in education systems from a conflict perspective should be a routine part of educational planning.     

How Do we Measure Implementation of Inclusive Education in the Pacific Islands? A Process for Developing and Validating Disability-Inclusive Indicators

In recent years, countries of the Pacific have been moving strongly towards enhancing inclusive educational practices within a previously segregated education system. Through the Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF) approved by 14 Pacific Island Education Ministers in 2009, the implementation of regional policies of inclusive education is a priority. To ensure that progress is measurable, these countries have been working collaboratively with several Australian institutions to develop a set of contextually appropriate indicators for measuring disability-inclusive education. This article describes the process adopted in developing these indicators and initial findings regarding the key outcomes. The research is guided by three key principles of collaboration, a need for systemic change and ‘nothing about us without us’. The process adopts a three-stage approach which is outlined and key issues and implications discussed.     

中外合作开办高等教育课程的政策与现状分析

中外合作办学已经成为我国教育事业的一个组成部分。然而,我国高等教育领域中的中外合作办学现状如何呢?这是国内外教育机构都十分关注的话题。本首先介绍了我国中外合作办学的管理和条例,这些规定也适用于香港、澳门和台湾;进而以国内25所高校与境外147个教育机构的116项合作办学项目为例,概括了中外合作办学的五种形式：境外课程、境外资历;双方课程、境外资历;双方课程、双方资历;境外课程、境外资历、国内证明书;双方课程、国内资历、境外证明书,并对每一种形式的教学方式进行举例说明;最后,作综合讨论了三个相关主题：优质的境外远程教育学历课程进入内地市场的挑战;未来教育的新模式对中外合作办学形式的挑战;香港高校与内地合作办学的独特优势。     

Characterizing cross-professional collaboration in research and development projects in secondary education

Collaboration between practitioners and researchers can increasingly be observed in research and development (R&D) projects in secondary schools. This article presents an analysis of cross-professional collaboration between teachers, school leaders and educational researchers and/or advisers as part of R&D projects in terms of three dimensions: reasons for collaboration, the division of roles and tasks, and the communication structure. Data were collected in interviews with participants from 12 Dutch projects, from documents and from meetings with participants. The results show that the parties involved can have the same reasons for cross-professional collaboration but that the external educational experts may also have additional objectives. Roles and tasks were divided in different ways, depending on who directs and guides the research and development, and whether teachers were involved as teacher researchers in the project. The communication structure appeared to be linked to the division of roles and tasks, but also to the number of participants in the project. The three dimensions proved to be valuable viewpoints to study cross-professional collaboration in R&D projects in Dutch secondary education. Furthermore, we distinguished four types of cross-professional collaboration in R&D projects. These types differ in the extent to which the school or the external party direct and guide the project: (a) School-directed collaboration; (b) School- and researcher-directed collaboration; (c) School- and adviser-directed collaboration; (d) Researcher-directed collaboration. Our findings can support participants to consciously choose a particular type of cross-professional collaboration that fits their purposes and specific situation.     

‘Talking up and talking down’: the presentation of educational need in an age of inclusive education policy reforms

This article draws on data from an ethnographic study that begins with the experiences of educational professionals doing the ‘work’ of educationally supporting students with long-term health conditions in a paediatric health-care setting in Victoria, Australia. The study was conducted over the same period of time but separately from the Keeping Connected project, although it utilises some selected research data produced as part of that larger-scale project. Investigations concerning the inclusion of students with disabilities – including those with long-term health conditions – within mainstream schools continue to indicate that not only do they often have specific educational needs but also that significant structural barriers exist within education for young people and families. I argue that intersecting discourses of child development and child-centred education, along with education reforms promoting social inclusion, construct particular understandings of capability and needs which do not fully account for the complexities facing teachers, students and families.     

What does the greek model of parallel support have to say about co-teaching?

Parallel Support (PS) is a co-teaching program designed to deliver education services in inclusive settings in Greece. In this quantitative study, 236 special education PS teachers from six major educational regions participated in a survey. The findings indicate that PS is similar to the One Teach, One Assist approach, constituting a static model, which typically provides services to one or two students with disabilities. Deeper cultural characteristics of the Greek educational system may shape the PS's peculiarities. In our transcultural hypothesis, the PS model is a compromise between a highly demanding collaborative approach and a pre-existing low collaboration school culture.     

An analysis of education inequality in China

This article analyzes both the current situation regarding education inequality in China, and its formation mechanisms. Policies promoting education have lead to remarkable progress in educational attainment, and also effectively decreased educational inequality. However, substantial inequalities in educational attainment remain, even though sustainable progress has been realized. Decomposition results using the Gini coefficient and Shapley value approach based on regression analysis indicate that the greatest contributing factors to educational inequality involve the urban–rural and social stratification divisions. Moreover, the household register system which divides city and country, as well as increasing income inequality is deepening institutional barriers and stratum differentiation. Though gender and regional gaps have been reduced significantly, the population residing in economically disadvantaged areas, especially females, still warrants social concern. In addition, age related decomposition results indicate that increasing educational attainment for the young plays a key role in reducing education inequality. At last, we argue that more educational investment should be allocated to disadvantaged groups and lower income groups; especially eliminating some institutional barriers such as the hukou system, unequal distribution of good quality educational resources, and so on.     

What Performance Technologists Should Know About Public Education: Implications for Professional Development and Training

Performance Technologists view discrepancies in human performance as products of the system (the set of interrelated components that work together to achieve a common purpose). Before designing, developing, implementing, or evaluating an intervention, Performance Technologists first identify and analyze all relevant aspects of the system. Consequently, to make significant and lasting improvements to public education, Performance Technologists must have knowledge of essential educational system elements and their interrelationships. This paper is divided into two parts. Part One specifies ten essential components of an educational system within the context of; the family and community, the public schools, business and industry, government agencies, and institutes of higher education. It describes the function of each component and examines related trends and issues, illustrating both the complexity and necessity of approaching educational improvement from a systemic perspective. Part Two discusses the implications of the systemic perspective for the professional development and training of Performance Technologists. Together, both parts provide a model for organizing and applying information related to key contextual factors in public schools for those interested in preparing PTs for work in K-12 education.     

Chinese perceptions of the interface between school and museum education

The current political and social backdrop in China that is characterized by rapid educational reforms to the K-12 education system, rapid growth in the number of science museum institutions, and Central Government policy which encourages collaboration between museums and school has the potential to be fertile ground for meaningful engagement between museums and schools. Notwithstanding, the Chinese K-12 education system generally does not utilize museum resources to support the curriculum, as is common in Western countries. This hermeneutic phenomenographic study elucidates the current Chinese views and perceptions among three stakeholders—school teachers, museum staffs and science educators—around this collaborative concept. The outcomes demonstrate that strongly entrenched cultural views and long-standing practices among stakeholder groups are obstacles to meaningful collaboration despite Central Government policy which encourages such engagement. The cultural values and perceptual views of stakeholder groups were discerned with the purpose of promoting mutual understandings and ultimately enabling meaningful collaboration in support of K-12 education in China.     

Development of shared vision: Lessons from a science education community collaborative

This is a qualitative case study of a collaboration among multiple stakeholders in science education who came together in order to create environmental field trips and the surrounding classroom curriculum. The collaboration involves 4 major facets of science education: formal education at the elementary and university levels, informal education, and educational research. The data were collected by means of observation, semi‐structured interviews, and written document review. This study examines how shared vision developed within the collaboration, the roles the participants played in its evolution, and how this process benefited both the collaboration and each individual collaborator. Several factors significantly affected the progress towards a shared vision and a successful collaboration including time, communication, understanding others' perspectives, dedication and ownership, as well as the collaborative environment. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 681–705, 2007     

Achieving quality and equity through inclusive education in an era of high-stakes testing

While great progress has been made by the international community to promote inclusive education for all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender or disability, many countries still continue to marginalize and exclude students in educational systems across the globe. High-stakes assessments in market-driven economies have increased exclusionary practices. Using international databases and research studies, this paper provides evidence of the poor performance of high-stakes assessment policies, particularly in the United States. The authors analyse and compare the key assumptions and consequences of a market-based system of education with those of a system that is based upon the principles of inclusive education through a school-community model and examples from Europe and Latin America. These models demonstrate that the twin goals of quality and equity can be achieved within a system that addresses educational policy and practices more broadly than market-based reforms. Conclusions call for policy-makers to respond to the discrimination and exclusion of various populations around the world by considering the impact of current educational models and the potential they have to support genuinely inclusive education for everyone.     

Donkeys and Superteachers: Structural Adjustment and Popular Education in Latin America

In the past two decades Latin American governments have carried out dramatic social and economic transformations. The application of different programs of structural adjustment and decentralization has promoted deep changes, not only in the economic and social arenas, but also within the educational systems. The dominant tendency is to look for all the answers to educational problems in the realm of the "free market". However, contrary to what this situation may suggest, practitioners of "popular education" in the region have not lost all their vitality. This paper explores the challenges and possibilities of popular education by examining the educational field after the application of structural adjustment programs, presenting a critique of Gramsci's model of the organic intellectual as understood by many within popular education, and offering the specific example of a popular education workshop in Argentina.