School Leaders as Learners: what attitudes and preferences do they have?

Leadership development is a key issue for success in leading educational reform and school improvement. Demands for more flexible, responsive, and enterprise‐driven schooling require that school leaders can create the kind of conditions which sustain vigorous processes of continuous school improvement. To meet this requirement, school leaders must be in command of a broader range of leadership and management expertise than was traditionally required of them. The changing environments make it essential for school leaders to have a high level of awareness of their preferences for leadership development and a commitment to improve their professional performance. This paper discusses findings of a survey‐based study of school leaders’ attitudes and preferences for professional development in Western Australia. Surveys conducted among principals and deputy principals of primary (n = 233) and secondary (n = 180) schools reveal some important similarities, as well as differences, in the extent to which primary and secondary school leaders have recognized the potential for work‐based and peer‐assisted learning.     

Perceptual information in conservation: effects of screening.

Variations of the screening method developed by Piaget and Frank made it possible to systematically vary the number and type of perceptual cues in the conservation of liquid quantity task. In general, nonconservation increased in kindergartners as the number of cues increased. In contrast, first graders were affected very little by the perceptual conditions. The results suggest that the development of conservation involves several levels, beginning with a concept which can be demonstrated only under facilitating conditions.     

I’ll Know One When I See It: Using Social Network Analysis to Define Comprehensive Institutions Through Organizational Identity

Research in Higher Education - Comprehensive institutions (CIs) have long been characterized as middling universities with a confused identity and purpose. Yet, their historical origins demonstrate...     

Health Sciences Patron Preference for Library Spaces: A Multisite Observational Study

Health sciences libraries are often challenged to make decisions regarding physical space allocation without quantitative data to support specific user preferences. This multisite, longitudinal study sought to answer the following questions related to academic health sciences libraries: (1) Which library spaces are popular with health sciences patrons? (2) How does time of day and allocated seating space affect patron choices? (3) What similarities and differences occur in space usage across four different health sciences libraries? Results suggest health sciences libraries must develop a nuanced understanding of their patrons’ preferences to best serve patrons’ needs regarding space allocation. Libraries can benefit from these types of methodological studies that target specific populations, supporting more informed space allocation decision making.     

Teaching metatheory through research application and design

We present an engaging and practical exercise in which graduate students grapple with metatheoretical perspectives often presented in their introduction to graduate studies or communication theory courses. To expand their understanding of and engagement with the major elements of the paradigms central to our field, students work in groups to apply and compare various metatheoretical assumptions to a specific research context. The goal of this activity is to strengthen students’ grasp and understanding of these perspectives specifically in the role they hold in guiding one's research study and design. We provide various examples and directions to aid instructors in the presentation of this exercise, as such topics are often challenging from a pedagogical standpoint.

Courses: Communication Theory, Introduction to Graduate Studies.

Objectives: To aid students in grasping, understanding, and comparing the major elements of metatheoretical perspectives and assumptions through application to specific research contexts.