Leadership development programs: investing in school principals

Considering that some university-based principal preparation programmes may not be properly training principals for leadership roles, “grow your own” leadership development programmes have become more popular across the US. This study provides a contribution to previous research in terms of the specific components a district leadership development programme may incorporate into its curriculum in order to positively influence school principals’ effectiveness as school leaders. A purposeful sample of second-, third- and fourth-year campus principals working in a large urban school district in the south-west region of the US who had participated in their district’s leadership development programme were administered the Principal Effectiveness Survey and participated in semi-structured interviews to examine the influence of the programme on the participants’ effectiveness as leaders. Survey results indicated that principals consider training activities related to human capital, executive leadership, school culture and strategic operations as having a “high” influence on their effectiveness as school leaders. In addition, interview data revealed the importance of supervisor support and building relationships with peers as critical to their continued success as leaders.     

Tanzanian health libraries in the 21st century: initiatives and challenges

This article is part of a series in this regular feature, which looks at new directions in health science libraries. It highlights the initiatives health science librarians in Tanzania are implementing to ensure that their service meets users’ needs. To succeed, libraries must take steps to ensure that staff have access to education, training and professional development. Partnerships and collaborations are also vital to make the best use of scarce resources and to identify sources of funding. This article highlights the various challenges facing the library service and the opportunity for librarians to be recognised for the new roles they are taking on. J.M.     

迈向单一认证:欧洲联合项目质量保障新变革北大核心CSSCI

欧洲联合项目质量认证长期以国家认证为主要方式,这种方式在立法与认证、过程与手段以及结果与认可三个方面存在显著的弊端。为了促进欧洲一体化,提升高等教育整体竞争力,欧洲委员会于2015年推出了一种新的"欧洲方法"——单一认证。与国家认证相比,单一认证具有兼顾标准的统一性与特殊性、节省时间和成本以及共同参与的优势,但其在实践过程中也遇到了制度、系统以及操作层面的障碍。反思单一认证的实践,欧洲各国在进行联合项目质量保障过程中,应充分认识联合项目的特殊性、建立与欧洲标准接轨的质量认证体系以及落实保障单一认证的实践行动。     

Educational outcomes across the generational and gender divide: the rural family habitus of Pakistani families living in poverty

Education for all as a global agenda has particular repercussions for those living in rural poverty. By adopting a Bourdieusian framework to analyse interview data collected from fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in 10 rural Punjabi households, we expose the intersections of education, gender, poverty and rurality. The concept of a rural family habitus focuses attention on the collective, relational and dispositional worlds of such families. Three dimensions are used to analyse reproduction and transformation in each narrative set: intergenerational educational dynamics; on-going gender dynamics; and, social dynamics within the rural field. The findings challenge the stereotyping and assumed homogeneity of rural families whose gender cultures and positive educational dispositions are diverse and complex. The gendered histories of parental education, their aspirations, and their social status in the rural field intersect with the changing gender relations which result from schooling, and the increasing differentiation between educated and uneducated rural families.     

From mother to daughter: changes in intergenerational educational and occupational mobility in Germany

Recent decades have seen a dramatic expansion in the educational attainment and occupational opportunities of German women. Both the educational and occupational positions of the mothers and those of their daughters are continuously changing across cohorts. Our study aims to detect the probability of daughters to experience maternal-line intergenerational educational and occupational mobility. Using new data from the National Educational Panel Study of adult cohorts, we analyse successive cohorts of German women born between 1944 and 1984. We demonstrate that the relation between mothers’ and daughters’ educational and occupational career has changed over time. Maternal-line female mobility has decreased over cohorts. Our results also reveal that the relationship between educational careers and female job mobility has changed. The tertiary level of education has become more relevant across cohorts in preventing downward intergenerational mobility and it has become a prerequisite for taking part in the completion for upward intergenerational mobility.     

Using Quilts and Quilt Picture Books to Celebrate Diversity with Young Children

Quilts, with their bright colors, puzzle-like patterns and comforting touch, naturally appeal to children. Quilts may cover beds, blanket naps, or serve some other function in childrens homes, and the family context of quilts makes them appropriate for exploring diversity with young children in the classroom. A rich and extensive collection of quilt-centered picture books is available that explores cultural, intergenerational and social awareness themes through engaging text and captivating illustrations. Quilts and quilt-themed picture books are useful additions to an early childhood environment that explores, celebrates and integrates diversity in the daily life of the young child.     

Augmenting Learning in an Out-of-school Context: The Cognitive and Affective Impact of Two Cryogenics-based Enrichment Programmes on Upper Primary Students

Concepts learned in the classroom were reinforced and augmented by presenting them in a different context using cryogenics-based enrichment programmes (CBEPs) held in an out-of-school setting. The effectiveness of two CBEPs, which involve the use of liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen, was explored. Using a sample of 265 upper primary students, it was found that both enrichment programmes were effective in promoting the learning of science concepts. Fair improvements, albeit only transient, in two attitude constructs, enjoyment of science and career preference, due to either CBEPs were detected. The CBEPs did not have any significant impact on the attitude construct relating to students’ views on the social implications of science. The impact of CBEPs showed signs of retention, specifically in the cognitive realm, and reasonable indications of influencing subsequent learning and activities of students.     

教育与家庭地位影响青年初职地位获得的相对强度：1977-2014

通过分析改革开放后教育与家庭社会地位对青年群体初职地位获得的相对影响强度及变化，揭示我国社会阶层结构开放性变化趋势。利用“中国劳动力动态调查（CLDS）”2014数据，以青年初入职年份为组别，通过多层次随机效应模型分析发现：教育水平对青年初职地位获得的影响呈单调上升趋势；家庭地位的影响则呈波浪式变化。教育水平相对于家庭地位的净相对影响强度呈W型趋势。研究结果表明，我国社会结构整体开放性具有波动特征，近年来表现为逐渐上升的趋势。     

Perceptions of communication in a family relationship and the reduction of intergroup prejudice

From a contact theory perspective, links between variation in young adults' perceptions of communication with their grandparents and attitudes towards older adults are examined. The analysis pays particular attention to variation in communication with multiple grandparents, and finds links between that and perceived variability in the older adult population as a whole. More variation in perceptions of communication with grandparents is associated with perceptions of older adults as more heterogeneous. However, variation in grandparent relationships is associated with more negative attitudes towards older adults on measures of attitudinal central tendency. The results are discussed in terms of intergroup communication processes, contact theory and possible interventions to reduce prejudice in this and other contexts.     

Gender differences in the influence of parental class on young adults’ participation in postsecondary education in the US

As with earlier social disparities in educational achievement, re-enrolment in college education can depend on parental social background. We link this finding with gender differences using data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Youth 79 and ask if the decision to re-enrol in college is influenced by parental social class in a gender-specific way. The results show that adding maternal class position to the operationalisation of social origin can be beneficial and result in a better model fit. Moreover, there are gender differences on the part of the child. Working-class men are constantly disadvantaged in their chances to re-enrol in education throughout their lives compared to men with more privileged family backgrounds, while working-class women are only disadvantaged among early re-entrants. This result is reversed in later years and women with working-class parents re-enrol more often.