THE EMERGENCE OF DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION: WHY NOW?

ABSTRACT:  The recent emergence of distributed leadership has been very marked. In England, it has received official endorsement. But the evidence-base which supports this endorsement is weak: there is little evidence of a direct causal relationship between distributed leadership and pupil attainment.What therefore might explain its rise to prominence? Here three possible explanations are considered: first, it accords with the contemporary reform of the public services; second, it is legitimated by an appeal to a culture wherein all categories and classifications are rendered increasingly permeable; and third, it is regarded as functional for the 'new work order'.     

教师知识与教师专业化

制约教师专业化有许多因素,既有外在社会因素,也有教师内在的信念、知识和能力因素。本文从内部着手,通过对教师素质构成的分析和对教师知识的分类,认为在以往的教师教育中只注意到教师的“内容知识”,而没有认识到教师的“实践性知识”,提出应从提升教师实践性知识来促进教师职业的专业化,并给出了相应的措施。     

谈英语教师反思型教学

教师是影响教学改革的关键因素之一。英语教师不能仅凭所学的语言知识和基本教学技能从事教学,必须在具体的教学环境中不断地进行反思,才能把理论和实践有效地结合起来,成为问题的解决者和决策的制定者,并且借此可加强教师职业的专业化,进一步提高专业技能。     

Towards professionalisation? Restructuring of administrative work force in universities

This article examines the restructuring ofadministrative staff in universities throughempirically documenting such processes andproviding a theoretically foundedinterpretation and analysis of change. Theempirical material is drawn from a context ofNorwegian universities the last two decades.Two major changes can be observed in thisperiod. First, a period of steep growth inuniversity administration in early 1990sfollowed by a period of moderate growth and insome cases even decline. The second dominantdevelopment pattern in the 1980s and 1990s isthe change within administrative staff,which could be interpreted as a professionalisation of administrative staff.The article concludes by presenting possibleexplanations to the structuring of theadministrative work force in universities onthe basis of different theoretical approachesto organisational change.     

The impact of teacher professional conduct on learner experiences and performance in poor school communities in South Africa

A qualitative based study was undertaken to explore the impact of teacher professional conduct on learner experiences and performance in three poor primary schools in a disadvantaged community in Cape Town, South Africa. Data was gathered through individual and focus-group interviews, observations and document reviews. The paper uses the capabilities approach to show how teacher professional conduct impact on the aspirations of primary school learners. The paper highlights the silent role limited learning resources, contextual challenges, learner backgrounds, dysfunctional school management systems and policy play in exacerbating teacher unprofessionalism and learner unfreedoms in high-poverty-level areas. It also stresses the critical role the education system has to play in normalising teacher professional conduct by reassessing the impact of these constraints in the classroom. Teachers as part of the change process have to be accountable for their own actions and also voluntarily change their attitudes when dealing with learners.     

高校辅导员职业化建设的困惑及对策

辅导员队伍建设是老话题,但辅导员职业化建设却是新课题。本文从国家、高校和辅导员三个层面分析辅导员职业化建设的背景,通过对辅导员与高校其他几类职业的比较,理性地揭示了辅导员职业化建设艰难之路的深层次原因,并就如何推进辅导员职业化建设提出四点对策。     

Leadership for inclusion: a comparison of international practices

The issue of inclusion is high on the educational reform agenda in many countries. Set within the context of the United Nations organisation's push for ‘Education for All’, the aim is to find ways of increasing the participation and learning of pupils who are vulnerable to marginalisation within existing educational arrangements ( World Education Forum, 2000 ). In the United States, inclusive education is generally thought of as an approach to serving children with disabilities within general education settings. Internationally, however, it is sometimes seen more broadly as a reform that supports and welcomes diversity among all learners ( Ainscow, 1999 ). The research reported in this paper adopts this broadened formulation. It presumes that the aim of inclusive education is to eliminate social exclusion and that is a consequence of attitudes and responses to diversity in race, social class, ethnicity, religion, gender and ability ( Vitello & Mithaug, 1998 ). Children with disabilities and others seen as having special educational needs are part of this agenda. The paper focuses specifically on the implications of these developments for leadership roles in schools. In particular, it uses evidence from case studies of leadership practice in three countries to address the question, what types of leadership practice foster inclusion in schools? The paper provides a theoretical framework that throws light on what is involved in such practices and presents illustrative examples. The aim is to provide an analysis that will be of direct relevance to practitioners, whilst at the same time adding to theory. The examples of leadership that are examined were found in schools in England, Portugal, and the United States that serve culturally and linguistically diverse groups of children, including significant numbers from low‐income families. In each of the schools, children with disabilities and others categorised as having special educational needs are taught in general education classrooms alongside their peers.     

The influence of organisational identification on employee attitudes and behaviours in multinational higher education institutions

In order to operate effectively and efficiently, most higher education institutions depend on employees performing extra-role behaviours and being committed to staying with the organisation. This study assesses the extent to which organisational identification and employee satisfaction are antecedents of these two important behaviours. Key objectives of the research were to identify possible antecedents of organisational identification and to discover whether the consequences of organisational identification vary among the employees of multinational universities at home and foreign campuses. We developed a model that was tested using structural equation modelling, which assesses the influences of organisational identification on employee satisfaction, extra-role behaviours and turnover intentions. All of the paths in our model were significant, but employee identification, satisfaction and extra-role behaviours were lower at foreign branches than at the home campuses of universities, and turnover intentions were higher. These results suggest that higher education institutions need to implement different human resource strategies at home and foreign branches, with a focus on improving organisational identification at the foreign subsidiaries.     

Professional Responsibility – An Issue for Higher Education?

The aim of this article is to shed light on some aspects of professional responsibility by investigating students’ visions of future work and notions of professional responsibility. The data is based on interviews with samples of freshmen in three educational programmes at the University of Oslo in Norway. The data has been analysed in relation to two thesis claimed by Steven Brint: “The rise of a utilitarian ethos” in higher education and the movement from “social trustee professionalism” to “expert professionalism”. The findings show that the students in our sample do not think of higher education primarily as a means to get credentials that will be useful in the labour marked. An intellectual interest in the discipline is the most prevalent reason for the students’ educational choices. Furthermore our findings support an orientation towards “expert professionalism” rather than “social trustee professionalism”. But, embedded in the perspective of an expert there is an emphasis on ethical knowledge, moral and/or societal responsibility and the wish to do good for others. However, the students’ sense of responsibility seems to be restricted to certain “localism” of their specific occupation. Based on the findings we argue that the students reveal a moral awareness that should be taken seriously by the educational institution in order to foster critical rationality and professional commitments.     

教师专业化发展与教师培训策略

培养高质量教师、提高我国教师专业化水平是我国教师教育改革发展的必然趋势.本文分析了教师专业化的内涵;从新手教师--熟练新手教师--胜任型教师--业务精干型教师和专家型教师成长过程的阶段特征,提出相应的培训策略.