Using collaborative action research to achieve school-led change within a centralised education system: perspectives from the inside

ABSTRACT

There are many examples of collaborative action research being used to promote school change. Reflecting on evidence gathered as a result of collaborative inquiry led by a teacher in a primary school in Cyprus over a 3-year period, this paper examines what is involved in using such an approach within a centralised education system. In so doing, it exposes the social and political challenges involved, whilst at the same time throwing light on possibilities for overcoming these problems in order to facilitate school-led change. In this context, frequent staff changes presented particular barriers, and recent increases in migration into the country were seen to add further challenges, whilst at the same time opening up new possibilities for stimulating innovations through collaborative action research.     

Balancing Economic and other Discourses in the Internationalization of Higher Education in South Africa

Since the end of the apartheid era in South Africa, “internationalization” of higher education has been a popular theme as the country takes its place as a regional leader in education and research in sub-Saharan Africa. However, competing discourses of internationalization have produced economic and moral dilemmas rather than the realization of philanthropic academic aims. The process of internationalizing higher education in South Africa has been greatly compromised by under-funding and over-crowding of post-secondary education institutions in the country.     

Reaching Out to All Learners: Some Lessons From International Experience

This article uses its author's experiences in leading an international research and development project in order to consider ways in which schools can be developed in response to pupil diversity. The analysis that is provided illustrates the potential of comparative discourse but, at the same time, cautions against the tendency to amalgamate research evidence across national borders. Use is made of illustrative vignettes in order to show how the introduction of strategies for responding to diversity can be a means of achieving improved arrangements for all learners within a school.     

Effective Tutoring and School Improvement

This article sets out to define effective tutoring and to establish links between effective tutoring and school improvement. Before identifying if a school has improved, one must first ascertain the function of schools. If one accepts Lodge's premise that the function of schools is 'to promote children's learning' (Lodge, 2000), then an improving school is one which improves learning itself. This paper argues that effective tutoring can play a part in helping schools to achieve this goal and outlines some practical ways in which this can happen. It draws on current practice at Greenshaw High School to explore some strategies for improving tutoring in order to impact on schools' effectiveness.     

Distance Education: The Experience of the University of Puerto Rico/Río Piedras Campus

The Río Piedras campus is the flagship institution of the University of Puerto Rico. It has made several attempts, throughout its history, to establish a distance education environment. None have succeeded. A new grass-roots movement is developing, which is conscious of the past history. Nevertheless, it is moving forward because it is situated in a conscious process of organizational culture change. Theory E and Theory O, developed at the Harvard University School of Business to analyze organizational change, is used to analyze the change process occurring at this academic institution.     

笨拙,但却美丽着

should we pity the poor young pelican?The ugly duckling, after all, grew up to be a beautiful swan, while the baby