Higher Education Leadership and Management: From Conflict to Interdependence through Strategic Planning

Institutional leadership and management are two entirely different, yet intimately intertwined, aspects of the overall effective functioning of a higher education institution (HEI). This paper is intended to (1) define and differentiate between the two concepts, (2) critically discuss their importance and vital interdependence, (3) discuss circumstances that can create conflict or compatibility between these concepts, (4) critically examine models of strategic planning and suggest a better approach to this process, and (5) offer suggestions for the improvement of both leadership and management in the context of co-existence within a redefined strategic planning environment.     

Discriminating between Competent and Not Yet Competent Beginning Teachers: an analysis of principals’ reports

Principals’ written assessments of 50 high school teachers whom they judged competent for full registration and 32 whom they judged not yet competent and in need of an extended period of provisional registration were analysed in terms of the characteristics used to describe and determine beginning teacher competence. It was found that principals consistently refer to a narrow range of characteristics when describing competent beginning teachers and focus on an even narrower range in deciding whether or not full registration should be granted. Characteristics that describe approaches to teaching are used most often in this regard. While the majority of beginning teachers possess an adequate knowledge base in their subject area, success in the first year of school experience hinges on the ability to communicate such knowledge and concepts to students. The need for further refinement of the appraisal process, including professional development programmes for principals, is highlighted.     

In Their Own Words: Teachers' Reflections on Adaptability

Current research explores adaptability by gathering teachers' reflections on their adaptations. However, the field knows little of what the term adaptability means to teachers who currently teach in today's educational context. In this article, adaptability is discussed from the perspectives of 3 practicing classroom educators, teaching in various contexts (geographic region and grade level). Teachers' voices of adaptability are examined and a definition of adaptability is discussed. Obstacles are presented in these teachers' efforts to adapt their instruction in their respective contexts. Teachers then discussed the ways in which they navigated these obstacles to modify their instruction to fit a variety of learners and experiences despite these constraints.     

Peer Teachers With Autism Teaching 3D Modeling

ABSTRACT

Few autism programmes address the needs of adolescents and young adults, and those that do are unlikely to include individuals with autism in the design and evaluation of the programme. This study involved nine youth with autism (ages 16–25) in the development and evaluation of a peer teaching programme where they taught three-dimensional modelling to other students with autism spectrum disorder. The methodology was participant-oriented research where the students with autism were co-designers and programme evaluators in the research. This approach highlighted their unique strengths and abilities and shifted the power such that they were leaders and not simply the recipients of knowledge from instructors. Four themes emerged through the qualitative analysis of the students’ perceptions of the peer teaching programme: 1) the meaning of peer teaching, 2) motivations for peer teaching, 3) challenges and 4) coping with the challenges of the role.     

Chalkface challenges: a study of academic dishonesty amongst students in New Zealand tertiary institutions

This paper presents the findings of two investigations into the prevalence and profile of academic dishonesty amongst students in New Zealand’s tertiary institutions and compares this with findings from other studies. Staff and students report on their personal experiences of academic dishonesty and these are compared with official information requested and supplied by the institutions. Ways in which academic dishonesty are dealt with are discussed, including the reasons given by staff and students for lack of action. Staff and student reactions to institutional policies on the issue are presented, analysed and compared with data from other studies. Finally the study examines methods utilised by academic staff to minimise the occurrence of dishonest behaviour.     

网上的教与学研究:积极者、旁观者和消极者

随着网上课程的大量涌现,我们亟须通过实证研究来获得强有力的依据,为网上教学的实践提供指引,为网上教学质量提出评价标准。本论文旨在通过对当今教学论中的某些元素的分析,架构一个基于实证研究的框架,进而发展教学设计的原理,成为网上教与学的实践基础。通过实证研究获得的结果,既信度良好,而且切实可行,可以成为发展远程教育理论和实践的基础。     

Multi-informant assessment of maltreated children: convergent and discriminant validity of the TSCC and TSCYC

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the convergent and discriminant validity of two trauma symptom measures, the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) [Briere, J. (1996). Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources] and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) [Briere, J. (2005). Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources]. METHODS: Children's scores on the TSCC and their caretakers' ratings on the TSCYC were analyzed in a study of 310 children presenting to one of two child abuse treatment centers. RESULTS: TSCC and TSCYC scales generally converged in their assessment of symptomatology in maltreated children. Equivalent scales measuring anxiety, depression, anger, dissociation, and sexual concerns were generally most correlated with one another. Similarly, the Posttraumatic Stress-Intrusion (PTS-I) scale of the TSCYC correlated highest with the Posttraumatic Stress (PTS) and Anxiety (ANX) scales of the TSCC, the TSCYC Posttraumatic Stress-Arousal (PTS-AR) scale was correlated with the TSCC ANX scale, and the TSCC PTS scale was most correlated with the TSCYC ANX, PTS-I, and Sexual Concerns (SC) scales. The TSCYC Posttraumatic Stress-Avoidance scale was unrelated to any TSCC scale. Discriminant function analysis revealed that the TSCC PTS scale was the best single predictor of sexual abuse-related PTSD status as identified by the TSCYC. CONCLUSIONS: The TSCC and TSCYC display moderate convergent and discriminant validity with respect to one another, despite different information sources. Nevertheless, the relatively small association between relevant TSCC and TSCYC scales indicates that different symptom informants may have different perspectives on the child's symptomatology; an outcome that may be beneficial when both measures are administered simultaneously. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: These results reinforce the notion that both child- and parent/caretaker report measures should be used in the evaluation of traumatized children, so that multiple sources of information can be considered simultaneously. In the current context, administration of the TSCC to the child and the TSCYC to the caretaker, when appropriate (i.e., in children 8-12 years of age) may yield more clinical information on the child's symptomatology than either measure would alone-perhaps especially in cases when one of the two respondents under- or over-reports the child's distress.     

“Beyond Bali”: a transformative education approach for developing community resilience to violent extremism

The Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 confronted Australia and its neighbours directly for the first time with the dangers of violent extremism. Since then, the Bali Peace Park Association (BPPA), consisting of former victims, their families and other interested parties, has been lobbying for the creation of the “Bali Peace Park” to be built on one of the bombing sites. Peace parks have been conceived as community-driven projects against violent extremism, and the planned Bali Peace Park embodies this principle. In 2012, the BPPA initiated “Beyond Bali”, an ambitious and highly relevant curriculum development project, and secured funding from the Australian Attorney General’s Department. Drawing on the expertise of a counter-terrorism expert, two university education experts and the first-hand experiences of victims and their families, the Beyond Bali curriculum package was created. Beyond Bali covers a range of topics and activities, including social science studies and ethical dilemma learning, is suitable for Years 8 and 9 students studying the Australian Curriculum, and is available for free from the BPPA: http://www.balipeacepark.com.au/beyond-bali-education-package.html. In this paper we position Beyond Bali as a transformative education resource within the fields of peace and global education and argue that it embodies UNESCO’s “learning to be” principle.     

Knowledge engineering: An alternative approach to curriculum design for science education at a distance

Most of the curriculum design models within the technical-scientific approach utilise the rational and sequential process of designing and inter-relating the various elements of the design process. While this procedure may be efficient and adequate for conventional education in which the designers are professional science educators, there is doubt if it satisfies the particular needs of distance education. The experience accumulated through a multi-disciplinary team approach to distance learning courseware development for higher education at the University of Southern Queensland Distance Education Centre motivated this study which primarily focused on a search for an alternative approach to curriculum development with a more satisfactory functional value. Using selected units in Engineering as a focus, an experiment was designed in which a variant of the classical Wheeler model was used. This paper reports the results of this experiment. The implications for contemporary curriculum development initiatives in science especially within distance education settings are pointed out. Specializations: science education, learning strategies, curriculum development, instructional design, research and development in distance education. Specializations: Cognitive Science, curriculum development, instructional design, expert systems, research and development in distance education. Specializations: science education, learning strategies, curriculum development, instructional design, research and development in distance education.