The Role of Parent Governors in School Governance in Zimbabwe: Perceptions of School Heads, Teachers and Parent Governors

This paper reports on a study of the role of parent governors in five neighbouring rural primary schools in Zimbabwe. The study proposed that despite the presence of a legal decentralised school governance structure in which parents form the majority, they did not have the capacity to function effectively therein, and were still marginalised in school governance decision-making. Four areas of decision-making were investigated: school organisation; curriculum; employment and appraisal of teaching staff; and financial resources. Interviews were conducted with parent governors, school heads and teachers. Findings show that all the respondent groups perceived significant parental involvement in the area of school finances only. However, parents were perceived to lack the capacity to make decisions in all four areas. The study concludes that the role of parents in the running of schools in the country has not significantly grown from that of being school financiers and builders of infrastructure. Therefore, building school governance capacity among parents is necessary.     

Reinventing Governance: The Role of Boards of Governors in the New Austrian University

In the last decade, the university sector in many European countries has undergone manifold changes in relation to the design of governance structures and processes. Accordingly, a board of governors with far‐reaching competences was implemented by the latest reform of the Austrian higher education system in 2002. Drawing on an empirical research project, this paper contrasts the basic ideas of this reform with insights into the concrete practice of the new governance structure. The results show that board members’ personal factors such as personality, experience, and their attitude towards the multi‐faceted nature of university governance, strongly influence the boards’ identity formation and actual work. It is concluded that such factors must be regarded when implementing governing boards in universities by means of university reform.     

Reinventing Governance: The Role of Boards of Governors in the New Austrian University

In the last decade, the university sector in many European countries has undergone manifold changes in relation to the design of governance structures and processes. Accordingly, a board of governors with far-reaching competences was implemented by the latest reform of the Austrian higher education system in 2002. Drawing on an empirical research project, this paper contrasts the basic ideas of this reform with insights into the concrete practice of the new governance structure. The results show that board members’ personal factors such as personality, experience, and their attitude towards the multi-faceted nature of university governance, strongly influence the boards’ identity formation and actual work. It is concluded that such factors must be regarded when implementing governing boards in universities by means of university reform.

     

透视美国学校教育中的家长角色

在学校制度高度发达的现代社会，家长依然需要承担子女的教育职责，而不应将自己的责任和义务拱手相让、全权委托。学校孤军奋战难以为学生提供优质教育，在缺乏家长关注和参与的情况下也难以完全满足家庭的教育需求。因此，倡导家长在学校教育中扮演积极角色意义重大，研究美国学校教育中的家长角色则为我国家长角色的优化提供了借鉴和参考。     

Science Activities That Work: Perceptions of Primary School Teachers

Many primary school teachers in Australia tend to be reluctant to teach science, partly because they are not confident in science and have limited science background knowledge. However, quite a number of primary school teachers still manage to teach some science. When they plan to teach science, many of them use the term science activities that work. Such activities seem to be related to science pedagogical content knowledge for some primary teachers. In order to better understand what the term activities that work means, twenty teachers from several schools were interviewed and asked what they understood by this expression. Themes that emerged suggest that activities that work are hands on, are interesting and motivating for the children, have a clear outcome or result, are manageable in the classroom, use equipment that is readily available, and are preferably used in a context where science is integrated into themes. Implications for curriculum and for preservice teacher education are considered.     

Teacher Perceptions of Parent Engagement at a Cyber High School

A growing number of adolescents are taking all or most of their courses online. This places a greater responsibility on parents to support and facilitate their students' learning. This case study used teacher surveys and interviews to better understand how teachers perceived and supported parents' attempts to support their online students at a single online charter school. The results indicated that teachers observed multiple ways in which parents supported their students by (a) organizing and managing students' schedules, (b) nurturing relationships and interactions, (c) monitoring and motivating student engagement, and (d) instructing students when necessary. However, teachers believed that parents could act as obstacles to their students' learning by being overly engaged in certain types of learning activities. Additional research is needed that examines parent engagement in a variety of online learning environments. Research that identifies best practices could also be especially valuable to online teachers and administrators wishing to improve the quantity and quality of parental engagement in their programs.     

Teachers’ Perceptions of School Inspection: a stressful experience

Research into inspection is increasing, although in the past much of it tended to focus on either the perspective of the school management or the inspectors themselves. As part of a 3 year study into inspection, Brimblecombe, Ormston and Shaw have completed a national questionnaire survey and in‐depth interviews focusing on the classroom teacher's experiences of inspection. Whilst the analysis is still in the preliminary stages, several interesting issues have emerged. This paper focuses on one of them‐‐the stress on teachers generated by inspection‐‐and examines what causes it, how it is managed, what forms it takes and what impact it has on the inspection process, the inspection outcomes and the teachers themselves     

School Governors: conceptual and practical problems

ABSTRACT The new role of school governor poses questions about the proper conduct of these new authorities in regard to the professional work of schools. Schools have unique purposes and for that reason metaphors for their governors' conduct from commerce and from democratic decision-making have important limitations as well as some strengths. Schools need to account for their use of public funds, but they are not institutions whose main purpose is profit. They need to respect the popular will, but this cannot mean the handover of all professional functions to governors. The distinction between management and governance is considered and it is suggested that the jury might be a more appropriate model for school governors' activity.     

Home School: TA Skills Transform the Role of Parent

A TA discovers that her skills and impact reach all the way home.     

Policy Perceptions of Headteachers and Governors in Catholic Schooling

The initial focus of this research centred on a study of the extent to which government legislation and action since 1965 has threatened or eroded the Catholic Church's influence over its schools within the maintained sector [1]. However, it became clear that this focus was based on the assumption that the Catholic Church in England and Wales had a clear set of educational principles which were not only distinct from those of the state but involved different policy outcomes. Moreover, during the course of the study, evidence emerged which indicated that the Church had not given as much attention to the principles underlying its educational policy as it had to the maintenance and numerical expansion of the schools themselves. It was also realised that the nature of Catholic education cannot be determined solely by examining the Church's official documents. Whilst official Church pronouncements indicate what Catholic education ought to be, they may not correspond to a reality of what a particular Catholic community has made of Catholic education. Therefore, this paper examines some of the beliefs and attitudes of a sample of Catholics involved in Catholic schooling.     

Future School Administrators' Perceptions of the School Counselor's Role

The authors examined the perceptions of future school administrators regarding the role of the school counselor. The study was designed to assist counselor educators and school counselors in identifying potential barriers that could interfere with establishing comprehensive developmental counseling programs that are supervised by principals and superintendents. Future administrators rated crisis intervention, assisting with transitions, and personal counseling as the most important duties of school counselors; however, some respondents identified administrative and disciplinary duties as significant ones for the counselor.     

Perceptions of Parents of Handicapped Children About School and Parent‐Teacher Partnership

This study examined the perceptions of parents of exceptional students concerning their child's problems and the educational services provided; the nature and extent of their involvement in school; levels of satisfaction; needs and recommendations. Three hundred and twenty‐five parents of five categories of exceptional students responded to a 30‐item questionnaire; findings revealed that while parents tended to have an accurate perception of both their child's problems and the services provided, they perceived themselves as having low levels of involvement in school, including IEP meetings. Nevertheless, the majority were very satisfied with the child's education. Information and training needs were identified, together with parent recommendations. Some significant differences by type of exceptionality were found. The article concludes with discussion of training needs for both parents and educators.     

Independent School Leadership: Heads,Boards, and Strategic Thinking

This study seeks to identify and assess factors that contribute to effective independent school governance at the board of trustees level. A review of extant literature reveals two major challenges: (a) definitions and standards of board effectiveness are inconsistent, and (b) there is very little empirical evidence to support existing definitions and notions of effective governance. Study authors have developed a “strategic effectiveness” metric to encompass factors associated with perceptions of board effectiveness and an “institutional performance” metric that includes factors that are critical to the sustainability of independent schools. Survey respondents include 806 heads of school and board chairs. School leaders at six independent schools in the Northeast, Midwest, and the South were interviewed to gather empirical data regarding strategic board governance and institutional performance. This study identifies two areas that impact school leaders’ ability to think and act strategically: (a) intentional acculturation of trustees over extended periods of time (“onboarding”) and (b) strategic identification and cultivation of potential trustees. Both of these factors impact strategic effectiveness and contribute positively to institutional performance.     

现代学校治理结构中校长的引领者角色——基于《义务教育学校校长专业标准》的分析

完善学校内部治理体系,实现学校治理能力现代化,是现代校长面临的必然问题,也是考量校长治理能力和治理水平的一项重要指标。在现代学校治理结构中,校长要充分发挥引领作用,在提升学校治理水平上凸显其校长的引领角色职能,从而建设学生向学、教师乐教、家长放心的现代学校制度。校长不仅要做好目标引领,让广大师生教有目标、学有方向,而且要引领教学,做教学的行家里手,引导广大教师不断打造高效课堂,大力提升教育水平和教学质量,同时要做好道德引领,做立德树人的促进者,培养道德高尚、学养丰厚的社会主义合格公民。     

Role Perceptions of Secondary Teachers as Related to Pupils' Perceptions of Teacher Behavioral Characteristics

Abstract

Role expectations of 178 Georgia secondary teachers as measured by TPQ (6), pupils’ perceptions as measured by POSR (7), and pupils' attitudes (2) were analyzed by sex" age, experience, perception, field, grade level, and selected interaction effects. Science and mathematics teachers perceived the Advice-information Giver Role as more important than did social studies teachers. Age and sex differentially influenced teachers’ perceptions of the Motivator Role- Grade level and sex-by-field interaction produced significant differences in Disciplinarian Role. From pupils' viewpoint (POSR), the experienced teacher was more knowledgeable and poised than the beginning teacher. For Strict Control, sex, experience, field, and sex-by-field interaction were significant. Pupils had more favorable attitudes toward women teachers.     

The Role of Class Teachers in a Key Secondary School in Shanghai

This paper reports on an investigation carried out in a 'key' secondary school in Shanghai. This investigation is set in the broader context of current developments in Chinese Education. Perhaps the first surprising discovery is that the affective aspects of education are seen as highly significant in these developments. Given the vast numbers involved and great regional differences, what is described here is likely to be only representative of the best practice. The particular focus of this paper is on the multifaceted role of the class teacher. The second surprise is that though there are great differences, not least in the politicization of education, there are striking parallels with English education and there are some instances where the class teacher's practice as described here is in advance of many of their English counterparts.     

Fostering Good Governance at School Level in Honduras: The Role of Transparency Bulletin Boards

Corruption is at the core of weak governance. In the education sector, corruption is a threat to the quality of and access to education. Although the diagnosis is straightforward, effective reforms are more difficult to implement. The principles of good governance (transparency, participation, accountability, and integrity) provide us guidance, but innovative ways need to be found to fill these principles with life and create dynamics of change. We present a simple, efficient experience of introducing transparency and fostering participation and therefore accountability at the school level in Honduras. The transparency bulletin boards (murales de transparencia) are a homegrown response to the call for improving governance in a challenging environment.     

Maximizing Learning in Early Childhood Multiage Classrooms: Child, Teacher, and Parent Perceptions

The multiage classroom is not a new concept. In fact, the concept of multiage grouping dates back to the one-room schoolhouse of the 19th century. Most educators believe that multiage grouping allows them to develop a more developmentally appropriate program. It is considered as a natural community of learners. Graded schools focus primarily on the model that teaching is transmitted to the learner, whereas multiage settings focus on the interactive nature of the teacher/student. Multiage concept is based on the assumption that children learn best in active ways through the interaction with the environment and with different people. This study emerged out of my curiosity to examine what it means to have a child in a multiage classroom, especially from the child's and the parents' perspectives. In an effort to gain perspective from several sources, the researcher spoke with children, parents, and the teacher involved in the program. Although multiage classrooms seem to have several benefits, there are some concerns: the parents' and communities' lack of understanding of the program, the lack of training of multiage teachers, and the teachers' fear of more preparation time and more materials. Nevertheless, the multiage class allows for each child to progress at their own pace. Individuality is also valued in the class, and labels are not used to describe the more or less advanced students. Children also feel less competition as opposed to a traditional classroom because they are all on different levels and have different expectations set for themselves. Since the children spend more than 1 year in a class they have more time to develop caring relationships with other classmates and the teacher. As schools progress toward more developmentally appropriate programs, multiage and nongraded environments will flourish.     

试论寄宿制学校教师的角色定位

本文从教师是实施新课程的执行者、学生生活上的指导者、学生心理偏差的辅导者、学生人身安全的保护者、学生快乐成长的陪伴者五个方面论述了教师的多重角色,希望教师劳逸结合、潜心钻研、悉心教书、全心育人、全面推进素质教育。